Property

rude girl ? rsm posted a photo:

If you don’t know what’s going on, you can read all about it here. But basically, people have been going around Flickr and stealing photos of children and making fake profiles for them on Orkut, tagging them with some of the most bizarre descriptions. If you want answers on why, you’re not going to get any. Not if you’re a NORMAL person, anyway.

Notes From The Trenches was kind enough to inform me when she came across one of my images on someone’s fake profile. It’s happening to way too many other people, too, and much more identifying pictures at that. This is only one that someone happened to find for me, who knows what else is on there. Including your kids as well. Don’t assume you’re safe, there are THOUSANDS of these profiles on there, look for yourself.

I’ve been privatizing pictures of my kids for a while now, so luckily this person only got a shot of the back of her head. But, even as lately as the past few weeks, I’ve been slacking on it. This whole blogging/Flickr thing really has a way of giving you a false sense of security. This picture for what it is doesn’t bug me, but this is far from the first time I’ve had my work stolen, including stuff of my kids. I’m sick of it happening and I’d be an even bigger idiot to just shrug it off AGAIN. It’s only going to continue to get worse.

I really love sharing my life with you all, but this shit is just not worth it anymore. I have tried watermarking and privatizing their faces and have STILL had them stolen. The only thing left really to ensure my kid’s privacy is to stop posting them, period. And so be it.

It’s really a shame that it’s had to come to this. There was a time when blogging was a lot of fun, but it’s been a while since that was the case. This particular story is not surprising at all, it just really pisses me the fuck off. More than anyone involved, I’m most pissed at myself for continuing to expose my kids when I’ve known full well that it’s probably not the best idea. So, I apologize to my kids for putting them in a position that compromised their privacy. The blog is my choice, not theirs, and it’s wrong of me to continue to post photos of them when I have been shown time and time again that people will not be fucking normal. I’m sorry, kids. It won’t happen again.

I understand the mentality of wanting to share your children with the world, but I urge all of you to reconsider how much you post of your children! Many people feel safe behind the fact that they are not a "popular" blogger, but I can assure you that it makes no difference. We are all proud of our kids and we want to share their cuteness, but at what cost? I HATE when people get dramatic over shit , and I understand that these are just pictures, no harm done in the grand scheme of things. Bullshit. If there’s even the slightest risk, why take it when it’s our kids we’re talking about? Don’t make the same mistakes I have with all of this many times now and PLEASE consider privatizing their pictures!! This is not about being "bullied", this is about your children’s right to privacy and safety. And as parents, it is our duty to put their safety over your popularity, explore, and ad earnings, like it or not. It’s life. I don’t like it, but I’ll deal. My kids are more important than any of this bullshit. I hope yours are, too.

Both Orkut and Google (affiliated with Okrut) have basically told everyone involved to go fuck themselves and that they don’t care. In order to file an officially complaint with them, you basically have to sever your appendages and then win a basketball tournament.

You can go here for all the links to file complaint to try to help fight this. Nothing will change, in fact, it will continue to get worse, until some serious legal framework is put into place (and even then I’m not so sure). But nothing will change without demand, so please, take a few minutes to chip in. It’s appreciated by all parents.

And fuck you to anyone who has stolen any copyrighted material from me, photos and writing. You’re lucky you have the ability to hide behind the internet because I don’t scare easily. And I know Mr. T. And he ain’t playin’, sucka!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION TO HAVE ORKUT SHUT DOWN FOR NOT HELPING THE PARENTS WHO HAVE DEMANDED THEIR CHILDREN’S PICTURES BE REMOVED