The One In Which I Lecture

credit: me. see what i did there?

please ignore the hideous state of our back patio. we inherited this "landscaping" and we're working on it. 

Today I am going to get on my soapbox for a few moments and then you can resume talking amongst yourselves.

When you blog or Pin or Tumbl (??) an image, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, please link to the ORIGINAL source of the image.

Now, I know that I have not always been good about this, especially when I first started blogging, and then again when I first started Pinning.  I would read blog posts like this one and roll my eyes and wonder why everyone was getting their panties in a bunch.

Then, a few months ago, I read this article.  And got scared and started going through all of my Pins to figure out which ones linked to original sources and which ones didn't.  Turns out, most of the stuff I had actually Pinned {meaning, for example, I saw a recipe I liked and pinned from the website} were original.  But almost all of the ones I had repinned linked to a Tumblr or had been uploaded by the user with no link to the source.  Yikes.

I seriously considered giving up Pinterest.  I "consulted" with a few lawyer friends and they talked me off the ledge.  And then I read this article and realized I was probably OK.

And somewhere during all this time, I realized that it didn't really matter whether linking to the original source or not was a legal issue. {Well, actually, it does matter, quite a bit, but speaking strictly from a moral standpoint...}  It was an issue of respect for the original source's integrity.  Be it the author of a recipe or the photographer or the event planner, it's important to give credit where credit is due.

I am slooooowly working my way through my ancient blog posts and pins to right these wrongs.  Now instead of just mindlessly repinning some image because it's pretty or looks yummy, I "like" it.  Then when I have the time, I click to see if the pin goes to the original link.  If not, I Google image search it until I can find the original source.  If I can't find the original source, then it doesn't get pinned and I unlike it.  Sadface.

From a practical standpoint, this is helpful for all those times you've seen a Pin and thought "Wow, that's beautiful! Where is that?" and clicked on it and ended up lost in someone's Tumblr account.  It's nice to know where said beautiful place is in case, you know, I ever want to go see it in person instead of just staring at it on a computer screen.  Same for finding an interior design photo with the PERFECT fabric or wallpaper, only to spend way too much time trying to track down the source so that I, too, can have the perfect fabric or wallpaper.  It's so frustrating and I know you've all experienced it.

With the move and the new job and the new dog and the state of politics in our country, it doesn't take much to make me angry these days.  And right now, I get REALLY angry when I see a blogpost that says "All pictures courtesy of Pinterest."  PINTEREST IS NOT A SOURCE.   It's just not.  Neither is Tumblr.  Or someone else's blog where the image isn't credited.

OK, end rant.

All I'm saying is, show the original artist/author some respect and common courtesy and link to your source.  Make life easier for your fellow Pinners and bloggers.

*Please note I am not a lawyer nor will I ever been.  I took a few classes on the Supreme Court in college and that's about it.  Do not use this as legal advice.  This is my just my personal opinion.  Legal-eagle readers, feel free to correct me on any of the above points.*