ribbonchocolate:

There is something I spot a lot in the Sailor Moon fandom, and that is basically a lack of posting etiquette. I don’t say this often, but I’d actually appreciate it a lot if you reblog this, because I feel that a lot of people need to see this. It’s been said before, but it obviously needs to be said again.

1. You need to credit where credit is due

Every single day, I scroll past tons of uncredited fan art, photos, gifs and other artworks. Now, I would not say that wanting to share your favorite piece of art is wrong, but you need to credit the fucking artist.

To explain some simple Tumblr terms before we go any further:

Reposting: This is when you take another Tumblr’s work, and upload it to your own Tumblr as if you are the original creator. This is bad.
Reblogging: This is when you post the original post the artist made, on your Tumblr. This is good!

2. Posting artwork from non-Tumblr artists

Finding out who created a piece of artwork that you like, is something you need to do before posting it in the first place. I’d say the easiest way is to simply toss said image into Google’s image search. You could also use TinEye.

“But it didn’t work!”, you may say. Well, I can tell you, the artist does not give a fuck about that. Either make sure you are able to credit them, or don’t post it.

3. Posting artwork from Tumblr artists

I find this behavior very odd, but there are some people who will repost artwork from artists on Tumblr, without credit. After seeing the actual artist post it. On Tumblr.

The proper course of action, when you see an artist on Tumblr creating a beautiful piece of art, is not to repost it, but to reblog it.

This way you retain any comments the original artist had to say about the piece, and you also credit and link back to their Tumblr automatically, so they will gain more exposure. Which is kind of the point about posting other people’s artwork in the first place, right?

4. I don’t care about credit!

Well, you should. Imagine if you were an artist, and you just posted a fan art you were incredibly proud of. Suddenly you see posts with said art popping up everywhere, but it doesn’t have your name or your Tumblr URL anywhere on it. The poster is basically taking credit for your work. If you say this would make you feel happy, well, you’re lying. So stop being a dick and just credit where credit is due.

5. I credited the artist, but they’re still pissed off!

Some artists explicitly ask you to get their permission before posting their art anywhere. It’s their full right to do so, and it’s your job to respect this. You do not own the copyright of their work.

Of course, mistakes can happen (hell, I’ve done it), so if you fuck up, make sure you apologize to the artist and immediately take down said artwork to avoid it to spread further. I’d say most artists will forgive you if you’re polite about it.

6. FINE! So how do I credit people?

I’m glad you asked!

I can tell you straight away, “Google”, “Polyvore”, “Pixiv”, “Insert Random Site Here” aren’t valid sources. Why? Because that says absolutely nothing about who actually created said piece.

Proper credit should either be done in the description, and/or inserted into Tumblr’s own Content Source field, which can be accessed by clicking the little cogwheel:

Put the artist’s name and link back to their site in the description. Use Tumblr’s Content Source field to place the exact URL of said artist, for example: http://sakimichan.deviantart.com.

The content source field is great, because it can’t be removed during reblogs. It ensures the credit for the artist will always be glued to the post itself.
It’s always visible on top of every post on the dashboard, as well as on your theme (unless you’re using a bad theme, in which case you should add credit manually if it’s not in the description already).

7. TL;DR;

Don’t be a dick. Credit, or your favorite artist may stop posting altogether.