May I give you props?

April 6, 2008 10:12 PM

Netiquette and/or legal requirements for posting stories and pictures of other people?...

I had this idea to pay homage to the people that have influenced my life and helped shape who I am today (friends, family, role models, teachers, ex's). The idea was to write about an experience we shared and/or qualities they have that I admire, and post a picture of them (using first name only). Almost like paying reverence to the relationship itself, and putting it out there that I'm grateful that our paths crossed.

The next thought for me was, wouldn't this be a great website? I haven't seen anything like that out there. I've seen all sorts of self-promotion, blogs, causes, politics, etc. Nothing solely just celebrating other people.

Then a friend brought up that I should make sure to check with people before I post anything, especially a picture, because some people are very sensitive about their privacy. I think she has a legitimate concern. Yet at the same time, it seems a bit crazy and nonsensical to me that there are paparrazi and smear campaigns and all sorts of negative net stuff, yet someone might be potentially upset if we were thanking them in this kind of way.

What I want to know is...
1) Your thoughts, good idea or not, doable, anything I might not have thought of about this, etc.
2) Legal ramifications, netiquette, regulating what people post (if they are supposed to get someone's ok, how do I know that they did?)

Thanks in advance.

posted by healthyliving to human relations (7 comments total)

Yet at the same time, it seems a bit crazy and nonsensical to me that there are paparrazi and smear campaigns and all sorts of negative net stuff, yet someone might be potentially upset if we were thanking them in this kind of way.

People don't like paparrazi because (among other things), they act without the subject's consent. Do you really want to be in that basket? Just ask the people. They'll likely be flattered, and there will be no problem.
posted by pompomtom at 10:28 PM on April 6

Thanks for your answer. Just so the question is clear - I'm sure I can ask my people and they'd be fine with it. But if I turned it into a website where the purpose was people posting about others (even with the intention of gratitude), are there any legal ramifications or anything else I need to know about to regulate this kind of thing so I won't end up in trouble?
posted by healthyliving at 10:33 PM on April 6

wouldn't this be a great website?

Well, if by great you mean cheesy, then sure. It could be a good novel perhaps.

I haven't seen anything like that out there.

Probably a good reason for that.

Nothing solely just celebrating other people.

At some point you have to ask yourself what the point would be. I mean, sure, you'll get some satisfaction out of it and the people your profile may feel honored, but beyond that how can your story really touch other people.

I mean. Woohoo. You've had some great people in your life. Lucky you. Why should I care?

Then a friend brought up that I should make sure to check with people before I post anything, especially a picture, because some people are very sensitive about their privacy.

Warning bell number one should have been the fact that it took a friend to bring up this very obvious point. If this wasn't one of the first considerations to jump into your mind when you were thinking about this fantasy website of yours then you probably should rethink it further...

it seems a bit crazy and nonsensical to me that there are paparrazi and smear campaigns and all sorts of negative net stuff, yet someone might be potentially upset if we were thanking them in this kind of way.

Um. Yeah. It's one thing to dish the dirt on celebrities. It's another thing to plaster your friend's pics on the web with some type of goofy narrative about how they helped you or whatever... mainly, one is a legal industry unto itself, the other is just creepy.

1) Your thoughts, good idea or not, doable, anything I might not have thought of about this, etc.

See above.

2) Legal ramifications, netiquette, regulating what people post (if they are supposed to get someone's ok, how do I know that they did?)

There are multiple seperate questions here. Netiquette has no legal definition. Legal ramification for retelling true events and posting pictures to which you have clear rights? None.

If I were you I'd just worry about coming across as a big weirdo to both your friends and strangers.

Seriously. If you're serious about putting this narrative to words then consider writing a novel. Any crank can stick up a webpage with pictures of their friends under a heading of, "These ppl rawk!" You should do something more thoughtful, more labor intensive if this is something you really care about and not just stream of thought, half ass wish fulfillment.
posted by wfrgms at 10:54 PM on April 6

I can't answer point 1, so point 2:

2) Legal ramifications, netiquette, regulating what people post (if they are supposed to get someone's ok, how do I know that they did?)

If I were putting together a project like yours, I would be very concerned about permissions and copyright before using any person's image on my site. You are looking at needing two different sets of permissions: a photograph release from the copyright holder of the image, and a model release from every person in the picture agreeing to have their face displayed on your site. (I tried to find samples of these forms tailored to digital publishing, but these forms I found for print I found show the gist, and are very like the ones I used to use when I worked in academic publishing.) I'd put them up as .pdfs on my site for contributors to download and return with any essay they'd like considered for publication. That might be more work and hassle than someone is willing to do to submit writing without payment, so if this were a money-making venture I'd pay some fee for the writing, nominal at first but increasing as the site became more solvent.

Are you legally required to do this? I don't know anything about digital rights. I do know that a lot of people are made extremely uncomfortable by having their faces put online, even if only tied to a first name. Because your goal is to create good feelings it's best if you do everything by the letter -- nothing will kill a project that requires good will to succeed faster than angry vocal people complaining about being mistreated by your site. Basically, you don't ever want anyone to stumble across their own picture unawares. It's not at all "crazy" or "nonsensical" to want your picture to stay private even if it's being used for a purpose meant to flatter you, and any hint that you feel that way that comes through on your site is going to pointlessly offend a lot of people.
posted by melissa may at 11:36 PM on April 6

Unless you're trying to sell something here, you don't need a model release. You do need to hold the copyright for the images (or get permission from someone who does).

That said, as silly as it might be for people to be mad about photos of them taken in public being displayed in public, if you're actually trying to "honor" them (and not doing this primarily for your own edification), it seems nonsensical to do something which might later piss them off. If you're doing this for them, get them to approve the whole thing, text, picture, etc.

If you're doing this as a service where other people can post their own homages, understand that people will attempt to abuse it in more ways than you have probably imagined yet. Spend a lot of time thinking about how and plan for it.

...but the real question I have is this: since pictures seem to be the big show-stopper here and, presumably, most people will either a) already know the person being talked about or b) wouldn't know them even if they saw a picture... why not just ditch the photos?
posted by toomuchpete at 7:02 AM on April 7

Definitely ditch the photos, and possibly the whole idea. I get the impression that you want the subjects of your praise to stumble upon this website someday, and you imagine them feeling pleasantly surprised and glowy that someone was thinking good thoughts about them. So maybe you don't want to ask them ahead of time, because that ruins your surprise. BUT - the thing you're not getting is that the surprise will probably not be a pleasant one, regardless of how positive your words are. I've been majorly creeped out by discovering that a friend wrote something about me on his website, even though it was entirely positive and used only my first name. If there had been a picture involved... Ugh. I hate to even consider it. If you go through with this idea, please please get permission from your subjects ahead of time.
posted by vytae at 8:05 AM on April 7

I would be extremely weirded out if someone wrote about me on a website like this. I like not having pictures of me all over the internet. Especially if they were posted by my exes or other people I've chosen not to have in my life anymore.

Not to mention, it sounds like a recipe for stalking, or at least some very creepy shrines. A friend of mine did a poetry reading at a university a few years ago, and one of the fewer than ten audience members was so moved by his work that he became minorly obsessed and began posting photos and homages to him on a blog thanking him for his artistic contributions to the world. He composed an epic poem about my friend's life. We laugh about it now, but it was more than a little disturbing at the time. Your site sounds to me a little too much like that.
posted by decathecting at 11:53 AM on April 7