First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
I think Bricklink is pretty neutral on it.
There are a LOT of my images on eBay. Most of the time I am flattered. There
is one seller who watermarks my images and I complained to him and he didn't
care. I complained to eBay and they didn't answer.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
I think Bricklink is pretty neutral on it.
There are a LOT of my images on eBay. Most of the time I am flattered. There
is one seller who watermarks my images and I complained to him and he didn't
care. I complained to eBay and they didn't answer.
Thanks, that pretty much covers it then.
BTW, there is a non-visible extended data on JPEG for copyright info. But any
site stripping the extended data effectively neutralizes that.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
I think Bricklink is pretty neutral on it.
There are a LOT of my images on eBay. Most of the time I am flattered. There
is one seller who watermarks my images and I complained to him and he didn't
care. I complained to eBay and they didn't answer.
It’s very disrespectful when they do that, it’s basically theft and eBay should
do something about it.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Yes, it's certainly a concern for many submitters and should be for BL. I
could bring it up at the next Catalog Panel and see what they have to say.
Personally, I don't care if my images are used wherever. (As long as they
don't contain BL Catalog info like part numbers which are protected.) I guess
one solution is to use watermarks which I detest. I realize I did the work to
produce the image but not the content. It's not like a minifig is my own
artwork. Nor is my representation of the minifig artistic or original in any
way.
I guess one solution is to use watermarks which I detest.
I mentioned this elsewhere, but the JPEG standard does have a field for copyright
information. I've tried to use it in the past, but the site I was uploading
to was stripping the EXIF data on upload, and would not change their policy.
This gets into a really long discussion about Google Products, which I'm
not going down that rabbit hole today.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
BrickLink only allows images from LEGO.com or images created by our members.
If someone scrapes an image and we find it, we remove it. The credit for most
all of the images in our Catalog is clearly indicated.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
BrickLink only allows images from LEGO.com or images created by our members.
If someone scrapes an image and we find it, we remove it. The credit for most
all of the images in our Catalog is clearly indicated.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
BrickLink only allows images from LEGO.com or images created by our members.
If someone scrapes an image and we find it, we remove it. The credit for most
all of the images in our Catalog is clearly indicated.
Sites like ebay also have strong policy images. How is it determined if it was
scraped? Can't one contributor create an image to distribute a product across
multiple sites? There are APIs that distribute data across multiple sites. Has
bl removed images accredited to other sites?
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
BrickLink only allows images from LEGO.com or images created by our members.
If someone scrapes an image and we find it, we remove it. The credit for most
all of the images in our Catalog is clearly indicated.
Then you need to explain to me how, when I see the same image (non-LEGO) all
over eBay for a specific product, and all the sellers (when you dig down to where
the seller is actually located) are in China. Either they all have official use
of the images (from their upstream product supplier) or eBay does not care.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
BrickLink only allows images from LEGO.com or images created by our members.
If someone scrapes an image and we find it, we remove it. The credit for most
all of the images in our Catalog is clearly indicated.
Sites like ebay also have strong policy images. How is it determined if it was
scraped? Can't one contributor create an image to distribute a product across
multiple sites? There are APIs that distribute data across multiple sites. Has
bl removed images accredited to other sites?
It's already been stated here that ebay does not respond well to requests
to take down images. This is my experience as well.
The images here are highly curated. The vast majority of BL images are submitted
by a very small group of people. Each image is approved by an catalog admin.
It's very easy to spot someone who's grabbing an image from a youtube
video or some such because of the lighting. Also, BrickLink requires minifig
images to be as they are first built in the instructions and without any accessories.
This definition is, to my knowledge, unique to this site. This leads to a lot
of images that are created just for us.
There are no APIs distributing images to us. No, there's nothing to say that
I can't share an image with BrickLink and then upload the same image somewhere
else. If someone was concerned about an image being used elsewhere, they can
try and contact the submitter here and simply ask if they shared it there as
well. Like I said, except for some additional images, all images here have a
credit linking it to the submitter.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
BrickLink only allows images from LEGO.com or images created by our members.
If someone scrapes an image and we find it, we remove it. The credit for most
all of the images in our Catalog is clearly indicated.
One point ... A real long time ago, BL was scraping (or accepting) images from
peeron. Those images were being tagged as submitted by peeron, not by who submitted
them to peeron.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
BrickLink only allows images from LEGO.com or images created by our members.
If someone scrapes an image and we find it, we remove it. The credit for most
all of the images in our Catalog is clearly indicated.
One point ... A real long time ago, BL was scraping (or accepting) images from
peeron. Those images were being tagged as submitted by peeron, not by who submitted
them to peeron.
NR
I hate the gotcha or the extreme examples because there is always an exception.
But there are apps that do multiple sites, if they get their hands on an item
prior to release they can't add it to bl, but can on ebay and Amazon, and
the third party api listing site might "own" the image. The lister may
not take a new picture, but it's already owned by 3 parties, but still an
original. I'm just being a devil's advocate and a pain
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
A good point, especially considering BL also engages in image harvesting. It
seems to me, the salient point to this whole discussion, is consent. Yes, BL
does harvest images from its membership, but does so with consent.
That said, I’m pretty much aligned with axaday’s take on images I’ve created,
recreated or bettered/improved. Use them… just don’t claim them as your own with
watermarking, disallowing others the use of the image you yourself harvested
That is brazen!
As I’ve stated in the forum before: Images are far more important than many of
us often realize. We are visual creatures after all, using much of our brain
to process visual information about the world around us.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
A good point, especially considering BL also engages in image harvesting. It
seems to me, the salient point to this whole discussion, is consent. Yes, BL
does harvest images from its membership, but does so with consent.
I don't even know the last time the site has done this. We catalog admins
have the option to do this, but we don't. We are _very_ strict about images
being added to BrickLink being directly from the LEGO Group or original creations.
If it is found otherwise, the image will be removed. BrickLink and the catalog
admin team take this very seriously.
That said, I’m pretty much aligned with axaday’s take on images I’ve created,
recreated or bettered/improved. Use them… just don’t claim them as your own with
watermarking, disallowing others the use of the image you yourself harvested
That is brazen!
As I’ve stated in the forum before: Images are far more important than many of
us often realize. We are visual creatures after all, using much of our brain
to process visual information about the world around us.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
A good point, especially considering BL also engages in image harvesting. It
seems to me, the salient point to this whole discussion, is consent. Yes, BL
does harvest images from its membership, but does so with consent.
I don't even know the last time the site has done this. We catalog admins
have the option to do this, but we don't. We are _very_ strict about images
being added to BrickLink being directly from the LEGO Group or original creations.
If it is found otherwise, the image will be removed. BrickLink and the catalog
admin team take this very seriously.
So you reject the "image harvester" with it's abilities...
"BrickLink catalog admins have an image harvester that shows all items
in the catalog that don't have an image for which there is a listing out
there with an image for that item. Sellers who disallow BrickLink permission
to harvest images from their listings are automatically excluded from this query"
Don't see why. Seems to me to be a very useful and mindful tool, made available
to you that work so very hard improving our catalog
That said, I’m pretty much aligned with axaday’s take on images I’ve created,
recreated or bettered/improved. Use them… just don’t claim them as your own with
watermarking, disallowing others the use of the image you yourself harvested
That is brazen!
As I’ve stated in the forum before: Images are far more important than many of
us often realize. We are visual creatures after all, using much of our brain
to process visual information about the world around us.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
A good point, especially considering BL also engages in image harvesting. It
seems to me, the salient point to this whole discussion, is consent. Yes, BL
does harvest images from its membership, but does so with consent.
I don't even know the last time the site has done this. We catalog admins
have the option to do this, but we don't. We are _very_ strict about images
being added to BrickLink being directly from the LEGO Group or original creations.
If it is found otherwise, the image will be removed. BrickLink and the catalog
admin team take this very seriously.
So you reject the "image harvester" with it's abilities...
"BrickLink catalog admins have an image harvester that shows all items
in the catalog that don't have an image for which there is a listing out
there with an image for that item. Sellers who disallow BrickLink permission
to harvest images from their listings are automatically excluded from this query"
Don't see why. Seems to me to be a very useful and mindful tool, made available
to you that work so very hard improving our catalog
That said, I’m pretty much aligned with axaday’s take on images I’ve created,
recreated or bettered/improved. Use them… just don’t claim them as your own with
watermarking, disallowing others the use of the image you yourself harvested
That is brazen!
As I’ve stated in the forum before: Images are far more important than many of
us often realize. We are visual creatures after all, using much of our brain
to process visual information about the world around us.
-popsicle
The image harvester doesn’t work for catalog admins because it can’t reliably
tell which setting the user has made. Practically speaking, it is broken.
Sometimes I will use an image from a listing because I can see the user’s choice
another way. But we don’t do this often. We feel that asking the user is the
best solution anyway, because it builds the relationship with the community.
Rarely will someone refuse to let us use an image.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
A good point, especially considering BL also engages in image harvesting. It
seems to me, the salient point to this whole discussion, is consent. Yes, BL
does harvest images from its membership, but does so with consent.
I don't even know the last time the site has done this. We catalog admins
have the option to do this, but we don't. We are _very_ strict about images
being added to BrickLink being directly from the LEGO Group or original creations.
If it is found otherwise, the image will be removed. BrickLink and the catalog
admin team take this very seriously.
So you reject the "image harvester" with it's abilities...
"BrickLink catalog admins have an image harvester that shows all items
in the catalog that don't have an image for which there is a listing out
there with an image for that item. Sellers who disallow BrickLink permission
to harvest images from their listings are automatically excluded from this query"
Don't see why. Seems to me to be a very useful and mindful tool, made available
to you that work so very hard improving our catalog
That said, I’m pretty much aligned with axaday’s take on images I’ve created,
recreated or bettered/improved. Use them… just don’t claim them as your own with
watermarking, disallowing others the use of the image you yourself harvested
That is brazen!
As I’ve stated in the forum before: Images are far more important than many of
us often realize. We are visual creatures after all, using much of our brain
to process visual information about the world around us.
-popsicle
The image harvester doesn’t work for catalog admins because it can’t reliably
tell which setting the user has made. Practically speaking, it is broken.
Maybe disable the (last updated 2008) page then? At least until sorted out.
Sometimes I will use an image from a listing because I can see the user’s choice
another way. But we don’t do this often. We feel that asking the user is the
best solution anyway, because it builds the relationship with the community.
Rarely will someone refuse to let us use an image.
Well, empirically speaking, imagines have been used without the 'relationship
building' ask. I'll go in and check the box now though, to make it
so nonetheless.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
A good point, especially considering BL also engages in image harvesting. It
seems to me, the salient point to this whole discussion, is consent. Yes, BL
does harvest images from its membership, but does so with consent.
I don't even know the last time the site has done this. We catalog admins
have the option to do this, but we don't. We are _very_ strict about images
being added to BrickLink being directly from the LEGO Group or original creations.
If it is found otherwise, the image will be removed. BrickLink and the catalog
admin team take this very seriously.
So you reject the "image harvester" with it's abilities...
I wouldn't quite say we reject it, because we would use it if we needed to.
These days we have a small cohort around here that are constantly supplying improved
images to the catalog. As long as they continue to do what they like to do, we
don't have much need for it.
Russell is also trying to work with others in the LEGO group to provide much
higher quality images for vintage stuff. That would be a huge boon for the site.
"BrickLink catalog admins have an image harvester that shows all items
in the catalog that don't have an image for which there is a listing out
there with an image for that item. Sellers who disallow BrickLink permission
to harvest images from their listings are automatically excluded from this query"
Don't see why. Seems to me to be a very useful and mindful tool, made available
to you that work so very hard improving our catalog
That said, I’m pretty much aligned with axaday’s take on images I’ve created,
recreated or bettered/improved. Use them… just don’t claim them as your own with
watermarking, disallowing others the use of the image you yourself harvested
That is brazen!
As I’ve stated in the forum before: Images are far more important than many of
us often realize. We are visual creatures after all, using much of our brain
to process visual information about the world around us.
First, I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, I'm really not.
I was idly searching on eBay for something totally non-LEGO. The search results
engine over there inserted one LEGO result, and likely because it matched some
criteria. So I looked at that seller's offerings and picked one torso+arms
at random. Then wondered how their eBay price compared to the going price on
BL.
In the process of answering that question, I noticed that the image they are
using in eBay is the same image as the BL catalog has.
Does BL care, and is there some policy about this ? Part of me is surprised that
this slipped past a Google Lens like check for originality, and then I remember
seeing dozens/hundreds of non-LEGO listings coming out of China, all using the
same image, so I guess they no longer care over there.
Is this a concern ?
NR
Did the image originate on bl? Could it be ebay, amazon, lego.com, bricklink,
brickowl, insta, etc. Did the image initially get uploaded to bricklink? How
can it be confirmed that it didn't originate elsewhere and get submitted
to bl as a secondary.
A good point, especially considering BL also engages in image harvesting. It
seems to me, the salient point to this whole discussion, is consent. Yes, BL
does harvest images from its membership, but does so with consent.
I don't even know the last time the site has done this. We catalog admins
have the option to do this, but we don't. We are _very_ strict about images
being added to BrickLink being directly from the LEGO Group or original creations.
If it is found otherwise, the image will be removed. BrickLink and the catalog
admin team take this very seriously.
So you reject the "image harvester" with it's abilities...
I wouldn't quite say we reject it, because we would use it if we needed to.
These days we have a small cohort around here that are constantly supplying improved
images to the catalog. As long as they continue to do what they like to do, we
don't have much need for it.
I see. Thanks
Russell is also trying to work with others in the LEGO group to provide much
higher quality images for vintage stuff. That would be a huge boon for the site.
That would be.
"BrickLink catalog admins have an image harvester that shows all items
in the catalog that don't have an image for which there is a listing out
there with an image for that item. Sellers who disallow BrickLink permission
to harvest images from their listings are automatically excluded from this query"
Don't see why. Seems to me to be a very useful and mindful tool, made available
to you that work so very hard improving our catalog
That said, I’m pretty much aligned with axaday’s take on images I’ve created,
recreated or bettered/improved. Use them… just don’t claim them as your own with
watermarking, disallowing others the use of the image you yourself harvested
That is brazen!
As I’ve stated in the forum before: Images are far more important than many of
us often realize. We are visual creatures after all, using much of our brain
to process visual information about the world around us.
I find that I can normally spot a BL image, if only because they are quite low
resolution. And if someone on ebay is selling without their own photo, I tend
to back out and look elsewhere. It takes seconds to take and add a photo when
listing on ebay. If they don't have one, then they are either lazy or hiding
something. Either way, it's not good.
USA, Florida
Canada, Ontario
France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
United Kingdom, England