| LED Digest 2019: Dealing with Image Thieves |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" pair Networks: The LED's Web Host Hosting and Domain Reg. from a Trusted Leader pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest post, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. September 2, 2005 Issue #2019 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= <Moderator Comment> ~ Bonus Friday Issue --== Religion and Business ==-- ~ Renee Kennedy "If their religious beliefs correlate to the site, then it is relevant...to their SEO." ~ Robert Parker "Sometimes political correctness is absurd." ~ James Miller "Not a problem in the UK..." --== Firing Clients ==-- ~ Marsha Kopan "...seriously weigh the impact if he's influential in your niche market." ~ Richard Dudley "Be graceful, but just fire them." ~ Martha Retallick "Quite often, the jerk tax has the desired effect..." --== Dealing with Image Theft ==-- ~ Mark Kawabe "...consider slightly changing the names of your image files..." ~ Shari Thurow "Replace the graphic image with something unrelated to what you sell." ==== BILLBOARD =================== --== Open Source & Microsoft ==-- ~ Nancy Cardinali ===== CONTINUING ================================= <Moderator Comment> Greetings LEDer, A special Friday issue for you today. There are so many posts it would be a shame not to use them right away -- plus I didn't want you hanging on 'till Tuesday! Have a great weekend (a 3 day-er for those in the states) and we'll see you next Tuesday. Best wishes, Adam ------------------------ From: Renee Kennedy Subject: Religious biz > Have any of you dealt with clients who've insisted > on promoting their religious beliefs on their company > web site? How did you handle it? - Beth Earle, LED 2017 If someone is promoting something on their web site that is evil - like a hate group - then I would simply refuse the work. If their religious beliefs correlate to the web site, then it is relevant and possibly important to their SEO. For instance, a web site for a Church is obviously going to have a religious theme. About six months ago, I worked on a site that sells a children's book, it's a very positive, uplifting book about self-esteem. The author of the book had some very strong ideas that he wanted to convey on the site - both religious and promotional. Some of his wording may have come off sounding a little hyped, but it's also his site, and in the end the client and owner of the site makes the final decisions. http://www.thewonderfulstoryman.com/ Renee Kennedy -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Robert Parker Subject: Religious biz I can't understand why this should be a controversial topic. Why should not a company with strong religious beliefs make that clear on its Web site? It's market might be people who share those beliefs. Should that market be unapproachable through the World Wide Web? If any agency objects to that practice it surely is an intolerant agency, and should be known as such. Sometimes political correctness is absurd. Bob Parker -------- new post - same topic --------- From: James Miller Subject: Religious biz Not a problem in the UK. No-one would be that stupid, as about ninety-five percent of us here have seen the light and realised what religion is really about. If you want a laugh look at these two web sites :- http://www.ianpaisley.org/ http://www.ianpaisley.org.uk/ Will the real Ian Paisley please stand up! James Miller Daisy Analysis www.daisy.co.uk -------- new post - new topic --------- From: Marsha Kopan Subject: Firing clients > What's the best way to fire a client who's become > a massive drain on resources but who's also > somewhat influential in a market we'd like to > continue to pursue? - Beth Earle, LED 2017 It's ok to fire a client but you have to seriously weigh the impact if he's influential in your niche market. Is there a way that you could subcontract his work to another provider explaining that your business is growing and the demands require outsourcing his work? Another way to fire a client is to tell them that you can no longer service his account due to a change in your business structure. Offer to help him find another provider. If you could be more specific on how he is a drain I could give you some other ideas. Marsha Kopan, IVAA CVA, CRESS, PL Executive Secretarial Services www.execsecsrv.com -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Richard Dudley Subject: Firing clients Be graceful, but just fire them. There's an interesting post about the "11 Clients You Should Fire Now" at: http://www.christopherhawkins.com/06-13-2005.htm#78. One thing I've learned through the years is that anyone who believes the client you fire isn't someone you want to do business with; anyone you want to do business with has figured that person out and your reputation won't be affected. Whatever you do, don't let them drag you down. Rich Dudley www.bloomery.com -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Martha Retallick Subject: Firing clients If the client is becoming a massive drain on your resources, then you should tell him that. Put it in writing, and specify exactly what the problems are. For example: 1. We're spending at least 10 hours a day on your account, and that's taking too much time away from our other clients. 2. You're being verbally abusive to our staff. That is not acceptable, and we are prepared to withdraw our services immediately. 3. We fielded 22 after-hours telephone calls from you just last week. This is too much of drain on our family time, and our families have made it clear that this cannot continue. That sort of thing. Then tell him that if he continues to take up so much of your company time and energy, that he is going to have to pay more. A lot more. In some circles, this additional payment is known as the "jerk tax." As in, if they're going to be a jerk, charge them more. Quite often, the jerk tax has the desired effect on the client -- it makes them go away. Martha Retallick Western Sky Communications Web & Graphic Design http://www.westernskycommunications.com -------- new post - new topic --------- From: Mark Kawabe Subject: Image stealing > ... some images are being used (ie referenced direct so > they are using our image on our hosting - not copied to > their own server) by other sites... Is there an easy way > to stop this? - Emma Mackintosh, LED 2018 If it's not too onerous to do so, you might consider slightly changing the names of your image files (i.e. image.jpg to image1.jpg). Of course, you'll have to change the links to those images in your HTML files, but if you're using a WYSIWYG web development tool like Dreamweaver or FrontPage, those changes will be made automatically. Just make sure you upload the pages and REMOVE the old image files from your web server. This step will prevent people from stealing your bandwidth in the short-term (because they might figure out what you've done and change their own site) and it will also cause the images to show as broken on their own website, which gives them a nice, unprofessional look. A short, strongly-worded letter to the owner of the company also works well. Often the owners are unaware of what their programmers are doing. If you want to be creative, send them a bill for image hosting and graphic design, referencing all the images of yours they are borrowing. Who knows? They might pay! Enjoy the day! Mark Kawabe Niagara Falls Attractions http://www.attractionsniagara.ca -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Shari Thurow Subject: Image stealing Hi all- This is in response to Emma Mackintosh's post in LED #2018 regarding image stealing. This might not be an ideal response, but it worked at a Web hosting company I worked at years ago. First, I sent a polite but firm email to the person who was borrowing images without permission. Technically, it's a copyright violation. So my polite but firm email comes in the form of an attorney's email. Don't make veiled statements, either. Be prepared to follow through. Usually, it works. Then there is the method my colleagues at the Web host did about 8 years ago. I'm only writing this because some people might find this amusing. A Webmaster from Australia was borrowing a large number of our client's graphic images for his online store. What my colleagues did was replace the original graphic images with a rather tasteless "adult" graphic images. Result? The Aussie's site with our client's stolen graphic images suddenly have (ahem) tasteless, unrelated graphic images displaying on their Web pages. Add in the time difference in Australia... and you have one ticked off Webmaster. You can imagine his surprise when he saw his Web site the following day. In the meantime, my colleagues renamed the stolen graphic images. Needless to say, the graphic-image thief contacted my colleagues and criticized them, saying that children look at his site. (Which is why I would never substitute with an "adult" graphic image.) This combined with the nasty lawyer's letter got the job done. I do not claim to know the legality of this example. I can only tell you that my colleagues got a big kick out of it. Here are my real suggestions: (1) Email or phone call from an attorney. Clearly state the copyright infringement. Be specific. List URLs and where these URLs originate. (2) Send email or call both the graphic-image thief AND eBay. I am sure using someone else's copyrighted material is a violation of eBay's policies. (3) Replace the graphic image with something unrelated to what you sell. Of course, don't resort to my former colleagues' level and use adult images. (4) Be diligent and follow through. Keep detailed records of everything in the event you must pursue legal action. I have an ecommerce / Internet attorney who deals with these matters. Usually, when people hear from an attorney (with the letterhead and everything), they understand that I mean business. Sincerely, Shari Thurow, Webmaster/Marketing Director Grantastic Designs, Inc. ==== BILLBOARD =================================== From: Nancy Cardinali Subject: Open source Hi all, I have found Firefox's web development tool bar invaluable and an incredible time saver. I wonder if IE has such a thing? I'm guessing not, but sure would help to get the kinks out of web design. I can validate a site in Firefox; looks good in Safari, but NOT in IE & Opera. Yes, I'm on a Mac, but after it looks good in those browsers, I turn around (literally) and fire up the PC for more exciting developments! Maybe Opera browser has the web development tool bar? I have searched, to no avail. Maybe someone has some ideas? Nancy Cardinali ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by pair Networks: pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains Copyright 1995-2005 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell |
