Photo credits and ownership

[Scott Rose]

The internet is a place where duplicating and disseminating images is incredibly easy. The difficulty is providing credit appropriately. I have run across multiple copies of the same picture, all proclaiming ownership. The truth is the majority of these pictures are not owned by the poster or the poster they go them from and the actual owner is forgotten in the fog of time.

We here at the Warbirds Resource Group will do our best to assign credit on photographs were it is known. If it is not known then we will still use them and adjust the credit is discovered.

In general, wartime or government images are public domain. These were taken by government employees and government time. If a crewman used his personal camera to take pictures while on a carrier those are still technically government photos. That's by current law.

This continued bitching about 75+ year old picture does one thing and one thing only. It makes these pictures disappear. These pictures deserve to be seen and not remain in some private collection of pictures that somebody bought off EBay.

Now this is going to piss some people off and so be it. We are struggling to survive in an age of Facebook and Instagram and in case it your don't realize it, when you upload pictures there then you grant them the rights to use it in any way they see fit.

If you are the legit owner of an image and you find it on any of the Warbirds Resource Group sites then let us know and we will remove it or give you credit if you can prove ownership.

But lets just try to get along and not find every little reason to troll each other.

If you don't like it, go elsewhere.

[Lon Moer]

Please tack this thread.

[Mark Allen M]

Thx for making a stand Scott. This helps in my decision to continue to post old photos (once again). It may or may not be the true legal way, but it's the WIX way and that's good enough for me. I'm sure it won't take long for the internet police and wannabe copyright lawyers to show up and start yet another regurgitated debate on photo copyrights and ownership of old photos. But all I can tell you is I'm coming up on being way too old for this nonsense.

I fear the internet as we know it will someday, sooner than later, not be how it is today and i always fear these old photos will disappear for good. That would be a tragedy I cannot allow as long as I can do something about it. I just checked my files and I have over 850,000 photos (95% copies of copies of copies and of those 90% 75+ years old) I do own many original photos and albums as well and my fathers original WWII photos that I own and have posted here on WIX. Over the years I have found several of dads on many a website, facebook page, flickr account and even ebay. Although I'm never a fan of those who feel the need to sell old photos on ebay etc., it's not for me to tell others what to do with them. I have actually been fortunate to have purchased some quite rare photos and albums on ebay, but I do it not to re-sell them or hoard them to myself, but rather to share them with anyone and everyone. I don't have a problem with others right clicking and saving photos I post that I own and/or my father's photos and I could really care less about credit for them. I only ask that those who have copies of them respect them and do not alter or abuse them. Just do the right thing and teach or learn. It's that simple.

For those who care, I list sources when I know who it is and I'm always happy to do it. (see my disclaimer) yet I have zero time left to bicker and argue with those who can't handle how I post photos or feel the need to whine about whatever. You have a problem? do as Scott has suggested and as I've made clear countless times anfdthat is to contact Scott and/or myself via PM and state your complaint. IT WILL BE HANDLED!!!!

FWIW Chino was a nice time today.