Writerightforyou

For about a month, Flickr has offered a program Wall Art, where users can order large, commercial-quality prints and photo books of either their own photos or images from a curated collection provided by Flickr.

Though relatively new, Flickr has been quickly ramping up the product. On the fifteenth they announced that they were shipping globally and launching a 40% off sale for the holidays.

However, another move made shortly after that has angered a lot of their users and caused many to question the logic of their decision. That decision was to add Creative Commons images that allowed commercial reuse to the curated gallery, making them available for sale automatically, without a commission being paid to the photographer.

While the move seems to be legally sound for Flickr, the backlash from its community seems to raise the question of whether it was worthwhile or not. It’s also raised a serious conversation about Creative Commons, its intent and the rules within the community.

To understand it all, we first have to look at Creative Commons and how Flickr’s Wall Art project fits in.

Legally Speaking

Creative Commons is a series of licenses applied by a creator or rightsholder to a work indicating, in a blanket agreement, that they grant permission for certain uses of a work. Though all of the main CC licenses require attribution, they can allow or disallow other items such as derivative works and, most relevant here, commercial use.

Flick has long been a haven for photographers wanting to license their work under CC licenses, since before 2005. It was one of the first photo sharing sites to adopt CC licenses as an alternative and by far one of the largest photo collections.

To be clear, Creative Commons is popular on Flickr but it is not the default setting. All rights reserved, or regular copyright is. As such, the photographers who are involved in this actively chose to upload their photos to Flickr and to place them under a Creative Commons License that allowed commercial reuse.

As such, Flickr is probably well in the clear legally on this front. Since its prints provide attribution in the form of a sticker, it meets the requirements of the license (though there might be some issues if it can be easily peeled off). Flickr, in essence is only doing what its users gave everyone, including them, permission to do.

While there are still some potential legal issues, including photos that contain other copyrighted works or photos of people where publicity rights could be an issue, as far as the copyright between the photographer and Flickr goes, Flickr is more or less in the clear.

So why the backlash? There’s no easy answer to that question but it seems to boil down to a simple issue: This wasn’t the type of commercial use the photographers had envisioned.

Tone Deaf and Bone Headed

As Patrick O’Keefe pointed out in his blog post, doing what’s legally right doesn’t mean you’re doing what’s best for the community.

O’Keefe is completely right that Flickr is, primarily, a community of photographers and the move is extremely one-sided, drawing benefit from the photographer while giving nothing back, not even a royalty or a free pro account. This makes the move good for Flickr, but bad for the Flickr community.

But this move is not only tone deaf within the Flickr community, but within the Creative Commons community as well.

Creative Commons has its origins in the remix culture and the idea that permissive copyright licenses allow for the creation of new and exciting works. At the very least, Creative Commons arrangements are meant to be symbiotic, one where both the user and the creator benefit.

However, as stated above, these prints have no benefit for the creator. They won’t result in much additional exposure, there is no revenue flowing to them and the photographer might not even be aware of the use.

In short, where Creative Commons is about creators and reusers working together to their mutual benefit, Flickr’s latest move is solely about their benefit and padding their bottom line.

This makes Flickr’s move well within the letter of Creative Commons, but not within the spirit, at least not within the spirit as defined by their community and that, in turn, risks losing them a great deal of hard-earned goodwill.

Bottom Line

There are many situations where a commercial use of a work can be mutually beneficial. Commercially releasing a remix can help the original artist find a new audience. Using an attributed photo in a textbook can help build a photographer’s portfolio and so forth.

Whether these trade offs are worthwhile is up to each individual creator. However, it’s pretty clear that there’s not much way Flickr’s latest push is of mutual benefit.

In the end, the effect that this is most likely to have is to discourage the use of Creative Commons Licenses, in particular commercial licenses, altogether. While this type of outright sale of a Creative Commons work has long been legal, it’s rarely been done for a variety of reasons.

To be fair, those who are upset and licensed their photos under commercial Creative Commons Licenses need to take some of the blame. It was their decision to license their works so openly and this type of behavior has always been legal.

If you are upset about this, the best thing to do is either set your photos to private or change your licenses to disallow commercial use. It should only take a few moments. That will remove your images from the search that Flickr uses to find appropriate images and prevent it from being printed and sold.

But while completely legally sound, this exploitation of Creative Commons work is bad for both Flickr and the greater Creative Commons mission. When it’s all said and done, both will most likely be worse for the experiment.

Today it is literally freezing in every state in America. But no where has been hit harder than Buffalo, New York, which yesterday got buried under 70 inches of snow. Yeah, seven-zero, as in nearly six feet. At least six people there have died, and one hundred are still trapped.

The video below, from Buffalo-based producer Joseph DeBenedictis, shows yesterday's apocalyptic storm sweeping across the city. The insane snowfall was brought on by something called the "lake effect," which could grow more severe with global warming—our friend Eric Holthaus at Slate has the details on that.

A "mosaic chart" of Middle Eastern relationships

THE rise of Islamic State has upended geopolitics in the Middle East and drawn America's military back to the region. Though IS is popular among militants, the group has no allies on the political stage, making it even more isolated than the official al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra. Our "relationship mosaic" above visualises the rapports among countries, political groups and militant organisations in the Middle East. It provides a quick glimpse of who is friends with whom (albeit a simplified depiction of relationships; the "neutral" category, for instance, embraces a large number of possibilities). The Syrian government is disliked by many countries but supported by Iran and Russia. The Iraqi Kurds count numerous friends and no sworn enemies among the entities listed. And the chart shows the degree to which America needs to play a delicate diplomatic game in holding together allies that may not always be friends with each other.

To promote the speech synthesis capabilities of Chrome and to help non-native speakers improve their English skills, Google created Spell Up. This voice-activated game, available only on desktops that use the Chrome browser, is like a spelling-bee. Players must spell words aloud, letter by letter. Correctly spelled words stack up to build a tower and players can reach new levels with mystery words and word jumbles. As the tower gets higher, the words become more difficult, but if you spell a word wrong, the tower crumbles.

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The 3 Most Popular Modern-Era Presidents with Independent Voters

In the past, party affiliation was beneficial for presidential candidates when it came to getting elected. Republicans and Democrats may likely have a team favorite: perhaps George H.W. Bush for the GOP or John F. Kennedy for the Democrats. Independents (or non-affiliated voters), on the other hand, are a fickle bunch.

Nevertheless, three post-WW II U.S. presidents have been able to transcend party lines and capture the approval of the independent voters of their time, according to data provided by Gallup.

Though Reagan’s approval rating with non-affiliated voters waxed and waned throughout his two terms, it remained above average for nearly his entire presidency after his first 3 years in office. His lowest points in favorability trended at the same rate across party lines, meaning polarization wasn’t to blame when voters were dissatisfied wit his administration.

Reagan started his political career as a Democrat, and didn’t become a Republican until 1962, famously saying, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” Throughout his time in office, Reagan was able to influence popular opinions, regardless of party affiliation.

Bill Clinton was and continues to be one of the most popular living presidents, despite several scandals during his time in office.

His administration saw one of the longest abiding eras of growth in trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by Clinton, reduced tariffs on both imports and exports to the United States in an agreement with Canada and Mexico.

While it is still debated today whether its provisions are more positive than negative, one thing is sure: NAFTA had a direct impact on the amount of trade occurring between the United States and its surrounding countries.

Analysts and commentators will also debate just how much of a direct impact Clinton had on the economic growth experienced in the 90s. However, it typically does not matter to American voters, who are usually influenced heavily by the current state of the economy when forming an opinion of the current president.

 

The president most notably revered by independents in the post-WW II era was Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose independent approval rate continues to tower over even his closest competitor, Bill Clinton.

During Eisenhower’s presidency (1953-1961), a majority of the public was united against communism, the cold war was in full swing, and the Korean War had resulted in stalemate.

These tensions fueled much of his support for space exploration, which was extremely popular due in large part to the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik’s first Earth orbit in 1957. He was a decorated war hero, viewed as an extremely effective leader, and was well-liked for reasons other than his policies and achievements in office.

He signed the Federal Highway Act of 1956 which started one of the largest, most labor intensive public projects in U.S. history. As a result, Eisenhower was able to gain more support from the independents for his time than many other president’s could find in their own parties, which is what makes him the reigning champion of independent approval during his time in office.

 

Though Eisenhower takes the cake when it comes to favorability amongst independents, both Clinton and Reagan were able to get re-elected and garner even more support from independents in their second terms, just as their predecessor had before them.

Reagan’s second term ended with an overall 5 percent escalation from his first term, while Clinton concluded with an 11 percent increase. However, even with the large boost in support from independents, Clinton still trails Eisenhower by 10 percentage points.

However, the growing number of independent voters in the United States makes it difficult to say how much longer it will be before the title is usurped.

 

Vincent AstolfiIVN.us - Independent Voter Network: Unfiltered News

Home buyers seeking assistance paying their down payments are better off in Southern real estate markets than elsewhere, according to a new survey and analysis by Down Payment Resource (DPR).

The DPR’s June Homeownership Program Index analyzed 1,654 programs available nationwide. Across Down Payment Resource’s databank, nationally, 90 percent of programs are funded with the greatest number of programs available in the South.

. The Index measures homeownership programs available across the country and the percentage of funded programs. DPR, the nation’s only search engine for homebuyer programs, aggregates the benefits and eligibility requirements for programs including down payment assistance, grants, affordable first mortgages, and tax credits.

 

June 2014 Homeownership Program Index

 

The Homeownership Program Index highlights the availability of valuable homeownership programs administered by state and local Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs), nonprofits, and other housing organizations. Programs are funded in a variety of ways, including mortgage revenue bonds and mortgage backed securities.

Many borrowers today have the income and credit rating to qualify for a home, but don’t have the funds for the down payment. With today’s median existing-home price of $201,700, a 20 percent down payment would be more than $40,000, a challenge for first-time homebuyers managing stagnant wages and student loan debt. In fact, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) April Realtors Confidence Index, sales to first-time homebuyers decreased to 29 percent. Realtors report that tight underwriting standards and increases in FHA mortgage insurance costs are discouraging buyers.

According to DPR’s analysis, an average of 70 percent of for-sale homes could be eligible for one or more homeownership programs (subject to the buyer’s eligibility). In addition, HFAs administer low down payment programs and, in some cases, programs that do not require mortgage insurance.

“Homeownership programs can be especially valuable for homebuyers whose qualifications are outside the Qualified Mortgage (QM) guidelines. They will find their most affordable options through HFAs and their participating lenders,” said Rob Chrane, President and CEO of Down Payment Resource.

 

Programs include:

• Home loans: competitive interest rates, below-market interest rates, 100 percent financing
• Down payment and closing cost assistance
• Grants for down payments, which do not have to be repaid
• Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCCs): up to $2,000 in annual tax credits that are good for the life of the loan
• Rehab loans that allow buyers to renovate certain properties.

“While some housing experts advocate for a 20 percent down payment, it may not be possible or advisable for many prospective buyers. Every situation is different and it’s important that buyers investigate all their home financing options,” said Chrane. “When using a homeownership program, buyers retain savings for moving expenses as well as for emergencies and retirement. Most programs also require homeownership counseling, a key predictor of successful homeownership.”

 

Designer and photographer Alex Cican has created a site that may make you confront some uncomfortable truths about time and TV.

If you watched all nine seasons of Seinfeld, you spent a total of 17 days and five hours glued to the tube. Not so embarrassing (who doesn't love Seinfeld?) but what about your secret Beverly Hills 90210 fetish? That's 29 days and 10 hours wasted on Tori Spelling. And it gets worse. Star Trek the Next Generation: 40 days, three hours. The Simpsons: 51 days, 16 hours, and 30 minutes.

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Many Tennessee hospitals have already made painful choices, limiting their capacity to serve with their usual high degree of performance and availability. There’ll be closings of rural hospitals, closings or limiting of oncology units, and steep reductions in necessary trained staff. Our state’s medical leadership doesn’t sugarcoat the causes, and I understand they’ll be even more vocal soon. To be supportive, our job is to be informed and involved.The austerity measures are tied primarily to the refusal to expand Medicaid and, to a lesser degree, to Republican-forced sequestration and other budget cuts. Conservatives will say Obamacare is the cause, but that’s without base. Hospital associations agreed during the crafting of the new law to receive less federal help for uncompensated care and other reduced federal payments. To offset those reductions, they designed the new law to expand health coverage through Medicaid. By the Tennessee Hospital Association’s calculations, Tennessee would receive $32 for every $1 invested in TennCare expenses in the first five years, amounting to billions of dollars for local and state economies. These billions, ironically, are billions we pay in taxes that would come back to us through expanded Medicaid — but will go to other states if we don’t.Simple and straightforward. An obvious choice, right? Without politics, yes, but, oh my. The conservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court foolishly changed one provision of the Affordable Care Act, giving the states the choice to expand Medicaid, and look what they’ve wrought. Most of the red states immediately embraced one more way to attack the president. Please, give this a thought: Might this compulsion to hurt the president do its destructive work elsewhere and hurt us instead? It’s already happening in Tennessee, which is why conservatives will fail in spite of bluster from Nashville. One by one, red states are caving and expanding Medicaid, pressured by their grass roots to swap a hurtful ideology for human decency.What’s happening in big powerful red Texas is set to shake the most arrogant, entrenched conservative ideologue. Molly Davis, a reporter for The Dallas Times Ledger, wrote on Dec. 3 that Texas’s Republican state legislators, themselves forced by constituents, have forced Gov. Rick Perry to the bargaining table to give him no option but to expand Medicaid. The state with the highest percentage of uninsured has awakened and their Republican-dominated state house knows better than to ignore them. Gov. Perry was still adamant about never giving in, but his Republican lawmakers understand why he must be overruled.One interviewed for the article “shook his head with an air of resignation. ‘Yeah, I got caught up in the tea party and the Perry presidential run and then the Cruz crusade, but, ya know, I got people to help, who have kids to feed and grandparents to take care of, and I’m not going to let them down.’” Exactly. He continued: “I went to the local tea party meeting last week and ya know how many people were there? There were six people there. Two years ago ya couldn’t fit them in the building there were so many of them. “Yesterday I talked to the spokesman and he just signed up for Obamacare. I asked him ‘what are ya doing, John?’ and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘I’m doing what I got to do, you got your insurance, just what do you expect me to do?’ And he just walked away from me.” Exactly.Texas legislators’ change of heart gets a powerful push because outside their office windows they see the Turn Texas Blue “outfit that means business,” signing up people for health care and registering them to vote. “The sense of panic in the Republican caucus,” one says, “is so thick you could cut it with a knife.” Conservatives will rue their boast that no Republican voted for the Affordable Care Act.The people of Kentucky are having such a positive experience getting health care that U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is in trouble for opposing that good thing. Virginia’s new Democratic governor comes to a state house appearing more ready to make the decent choice for their people. We’re just over the border. It won’t take long to register that we’ve been snookered. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s obstinacy isn’t characteristic, and I think he’ll do the right thing. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey typically struts and threatens to defy the governor should that happen, but he’ll lose in the end, sputtering as coherently as he‘s capable. I know little about state House Speaker Beth Harwell, but I don’t sense she’s narcissistic enough to defend a discredited position, a la Ramsey’s regrettable style.If our hospitals would hang huge outdoor banners exposing these three in advance of significant cuts or closings threatening the facility, we’d see a scrambling for a more responsible outcome. Your voice is power, and here’s all you need. Contact Haslam at bill.haslam@tn.gov or 615-741-2001; Ramsey at lt.gov.ron.ramsey@capitol.tn.gov or 615- 741-4524; Harwell at rep.beth.harwell@capitol.tn.gov or 615- 741-0709; state Sen. Rusty Crowe at sen.rusty.crowe@capitol.tn.gov or 615-741-2468; and state Sen. Steve Southerland at sen.steve.southerland@capitol.tn.gov or 615-741-3851.Judy Garland of Johnson City  is a community activist.

Having a themed bedroom is a dream of every geek (check here for signs of whether you are a geek yourself). That’s the personal space where a geek’s interests and passion is reflected in privacy. We’re not talking about movie posters or those you rip out of magazines, or a measly figurine collection that could hardly be called ‘a collection’. That’s mere child’s play.

No, what we want to see are the bedrooms of the No.1 Fans out there. The rooms you as a megafan could only dream of sleeping in. Where the walls, bedsheets, lighting fixtures, furniture, floor, right down to the pillows are made with the fantasy theme in mind. Because at the end of the day, what could be more fun than entering your very own world at night and waking from your fantasy dream every morning?

Recommended Reading: 35 Tech-Inspired Pillows For Geeks

Be you pirate or wizard, jedi or gamer, these are the 25 fantasy-themed bedrooms to die for.

Superman. (Image Source: Home Decor)

Superman. (Image Source: Home Decor)

Spiderman. (Image Source: ThemeRooms)

Batman. (Image Source: eden-motel)

X-Men. (Image Source: Victoria Court)

Star Wars. (Image Source: Walls Of Art LLC Muralist)

Star Wars. (Image Source: damngeeky)

Star Wars. (Image Source: Mary)

Space Geek. (Image Source: madincrafts)

Space. (Image Source: Houzz)

Deep Space Fighter. (Image Source: PoshTots)

Hyperspace. (Image Source: HLK)

Airplane Cockpit. (Image Source: Apartment Therapy)

Legoland Pirate. (Image Source: California Legoland)

Legos Inspired. (Image Source: Anita Roll Murals)

Super Mario. (Image Source: nocagri)

Super Mario. (Image Source: PixFans)

Pacman. (Image Source: Anita Roll)

Hello Kitty. (Image Source: Grand Hi-Lai)

Narnia. (Image Source: imgur)

The Portal Game. (Image Source: The Portal Bedroom)

The Hobbit. (Image Source: Florian)

Harry Potter. (Image Source: cosmosmagic)

Harry Potter. (Image Source: iTrip)

Hogwarts. (Image Source: piercethepanic69)