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Why not watermark?
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ProgrammingAce



Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 580

PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:41 am    Post subject: Why not watermark? Reply with quote

I generally agree with the consensus around here that watermarks are bad, but i saw something in my server logs that makes me want to reconsider.



http://ruliweb2.empas.com/ruliboard/read.htm?num=28236&table=game_xbox02&main=xbox

446 different websites (not web pages, but entirely different sites) are hot linking the same set of images off my server. One of which hot linked from a page that has received over 30,000 hits.

Most of the sites that hot linked received 20 hits or less, in which case i don't really care. You want to hot link feel free, just don't hammer my server with 30,000 hits.

Now the part that really starts to bug me, I just happened to throw those pics on my programmingace.com server, which has the ability to track these things. My GamerHistory domain can't give me server stats. I've posted thousands of screenshots and pictures there, how many hundreds of thousands of hot links do i have going there?

I used to feel bad about crap like this: http://www.unseen64.net/xboxps2/ninjagaiden.htm

Then i realized the idiot webmaster there never bothered to ask for unwatermarked pics. I'd have been more then happy to provide them if asked. I've done it for lots of people...

Am i going to start watermarking my images? No. Am i going to go switch that jpeg with goatse? Yes. From now on, anyone who hot links gets goatse. It's better then a watermark.
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Smeg
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Why not watermark? Reply with quote

ProgrammingAce wrote:
Am i going to start watermarking my images? No. Am i going to go switch that jpeg with goatse? Yes. From now on, anyone who hot links gets goatse. It's better then a watermark.


I was going to suggest something along these lines without reading your post, till I noticed the last line. I will say that goatse is a bit passe though, be creative! "goatse. It's better then a watermark" would be a great slogan though.
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kap
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You should be using mod_rewrite or some other method of redirecting referers, excluding the ones you specify, elsewhere. This isn't a failsafe, but it works in most cases. Even if they just download and re-use your images on their server, it's saving you the bandwidth.

Mod_rewrite > watermarks, unless you've really truly creating something of your own and want to protect it.

(Note that while there are many to defeat things like mod_rewrite, the majority of users don't know or don't know how, and even if they do, so what? It's a small number of people relative to the whole. This of course excludes people that have javascript redirects to pick up images and extract referers (!@#$%^!@#$%), but you can't really do much about them besides swapping out images. Which is fun anyway.)

Also, as far as replacing images goes, goatse.cx is played out and old hat to people now. Go Moser or swing.gif or something. IMO, the most creative thing you could probably do (outside of TheRedEye's awesome awesome fake SkyFox screenshots) is use other photos from the goatse.cx photo set, since most people haven't seen anything but the one.
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ProgrammingAce



Joined: 26 May 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I set the mod_rewrite on the gamerhistory domain, but my programmingace server doesn't support .htaccess so i'm pretty limited. I ended up replacing hot linked images with a really huge jpeg of my site's logo.

Watermarks won't really solve my problem, i want people to take these images and use them somewhere else. Hell, they can even take credit for them for all i care. Just don't run up my hosting bill.
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Xkeeper



Joined: 04 Nov 2005
Posts: 327
Location: Henderson, NV

PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few compromises I've seen usually revolve around

- Using a script to apply a watermark to an image, and redirecting hits to the (new) image
- Replacing the image entirely with a picture, which most people seem to feel need to be 900x900 to create impact

A good tradeoff might be using a mix of the two; create small (max-size 127) thumbnails with a small watermark and site URL and using those as hotlinked images.

That way, you manage to both save bandwidth and inform of the original origin of the image, while still allowing people to get the full version off your site.

Your milage may vary, of course, but from my standpoint it seems like a decent idea.
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shawnphase



Joined: 22 Dec 2005
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

lolz, capcom forgot to remove the IGN WATERMARK from their cover of okami from the wii, how lame is that? i couldnt see it at first until someone posted a closer pic of it!



and the closer shot:



why the hell are they using watermarked images for their own product?

certainly this is a new high in low.
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BMF54123
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You've got to be kidding. That's on the actual, printed cover art?

Maybe it's just subliminal advertising...which would still be pretty low. :P
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shawnphase



Joined: 22 Dec 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

totally on the cover art. i donno, maybe its subliminal advertising.
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Sardius
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This makes me angry at IGN more than anything else. Looks like I'm not the only one who has trouble finding unaltered publisher-distributed screenshots and art assets for games that are more than a few months old. But at least they're protecting those screenshots they didn't take of games they didn't make!

Oops I mean LAUGHING OUT LOUD WHAT A STUPID MISTAKE SOMEBODY SHOULD BE FIRED FOR THAT ONE LAUGHING OUT LOUD
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BMF54123
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote



Even the text is there...

This is actually pretty funny, to be honest.


(Haha, oops, this is actually Xkeeper borrowing BMF's account. Wow, I'm stupid.)
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ArnoldRimmer83
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

On the bright side, it looks like the wolf is about to eat the IGN logo.
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ProgrammingAce



Joined: 26 May 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sardius wrote:
This makes me angry at IGN more than anything else. Looks like I'm not the only one who has trouble finding unaltered publisher-distributed screenshots and art assets for games that are more than a few months old.


http://www.gamespress.com/

*whistles*
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TheRedEye
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Joined: 26 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ProgrammingAce wrote:
Sardius wrote:
This makes me angry at IGN more than anything else. Looks like I'm not the only one who has trouble finding unaltered publisher-distributed screenshots and art assets for games that are more than a few months old.


http://www.gamespress.com/

*whistles*


yeah, you try getting an editor to pay for that when you're freelancing.
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ProgrammingAce



Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 580

PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Honestly, it's less then 10 cents per picture and i lied to them about my credentials. Besides, a lot of the stuff is free anyway because the publisher pays them to host it.

I have 40+ gig of press kits sitting on my server (10 gig is solely devoted to Bungie). Most of it is from 2002 on, so if you need anything, let me know. It's not that hard to convince most PR firms to put you on the distribution list, whether you should be there or not. I'm sure as hell not going to tell them who i really work for...
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KingMike



Joined: 04 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could've sworn my copy of Okami had a "IGN 9.5 out of 10" bubble imprinted into the artwork.

I stand corrected. The IGN logo IS on there. But it's "9.5 out of 10 -Play" that is printed on the cover art.
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neomerge



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow I can't believe this is on the retail product. What happened did Capcom lose their original copy and decide to print out IGN's cover?
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ProgrammingAce



Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 580

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ProTip: 75% of the time, images hot linked from my site are replaced with my logo. The other 25% it's replaced with a picture of Goatse with mario jumping out of his ass...

I hope that makes it into the next capcom release! Just imagine "Mario, Sonic, and Goatse at the olympics".
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shawnphase



Joined: 22 Dec 2005
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.capcom.com/artredemption/

capcom offering replacement box art, loloolololol.
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kap
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find that incredibly classy of them.
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neomerge



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What the heck did you guys read this recent kotaku article?

The Official Brady Games Strategy Guide has an IGN watermark on it too and its in a different place.



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