Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Am I Just A Bitch?

  After (a lot of) years of lurking TG Captions in various locations like TF Media (old & new), Rebecca's World, Freya's, and Yahoo Groups out the yazoo, and being inspired, entertained, aroused and erupted, I decided to throw my hat into the ring. While being far from on a par with such greats as Evie/Argus, Rauk, Miss Simone, Kelly, Sasha (old & new), Smitty, NRAE, (the list is endless and growing); I started to compose captions with little knowledge of  'Paint' software and less knowledge of whether anyone would even like the stuff I made.

  Since then, I have tried to show my appreciation of those who have come before and have set a high standard in the realm of TG Captions and Fiction. While it is hard for me to spend as much time enjoying the work of others since beginning my on flavor of captioning, I have tried to continue to let others know that their works are an inspiration and a titillation to my warped sense of  the erotic and desirable.

  I don't expect to ever have the body of work or depth of fans that most others have developed over their years of effort, and neither do I think that I'll be able to do this for as long as some have, (personal and health reasons). Maybe that is why seeing the recent (?) addition of bloggers who like to post works not their own without reference or comment to those whose artistic efforts they claim to enjoy and appreciate.

  A case in point being Jess, whose tg caption blog has neither 'her'(?) own work, which she readily states, nor mention of those whose captions she is posting, which she also readily states. Nothing like a comment in the post body to say "Hey I really like so&so's captions, check their work out at "//whoever dot com"!" When I started doing captions I found that the people who had inspired me to 'come-out' and do some of my own were certainly deserving of respect and consideration.  I left a comment on her recent 'thank you' post, which may sound more angry than the gentle vehemence with which I intended it, more intended as an admonishment than a condemnation.

  Admittedly, I need to do more to reference / source the images I use to build my compositions around, and name models where possible. Toward that end, I try and leave visible the sites or watermarks on the images I use. But that aside, the community of TG/TF captioning is a more personal, or kindred, in my humble opinion, fellowship in which we all move in a similar direction and help each other along. Maybe I'm just too naive, or submissive to those who've paved the way and done such wonderful works, to suppose that posting their work without a personal thought expressed with regard to it is something that one should not presume to do.

  I have hit a time, it seems, that whatever 'muse' steers/stirs my mind has hit its 'mute' button. Or maybe it's just that the shit growing between my ears, (that is more literal than you might think), has put my mood off and set me to this rambling tirade. Or maybe... just maybe, it pisses me off that someone would post a hundred of other peoples' captions in 3 mass uploads and not type a single character of appreciation, admiration, or infatuation about it.

  I'm sorry, folks, for going off about this. And I doubt that this will get read much, but, I just didn't feel that not saying anything about it was anything like a solution. I really do appreciate the welcome and supportive encouragement that so many have shown me, and hope that I have not failed in expressing my thanks to you as well.

Sincerely, peace, love & kisses to all;
Elle

8 comments:

  1. Wow! I am honoured to be included in your list there! I agree with you and share your concern about being 're-blogged' without consent but after I explained that Jess should keep the original titles and keep the watermarks, I suppose it's ok - most people reading will understand who the caption is from after all!

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    1. It is I who am honored, NRAE, by your response, as I have been a long-time fan and, for much too long, remiss about expressing it! My issue is less about the 'intellectual property' aspect than it is the 'kudos' from a fan. I haven't looked through the sites of those whose caps were re-posted to see if they even commented on your originals. It just seems like less of an appreciation or admiration when they just post it without saying anything positive to or about you. And there are some cappers who do not brand or watermark their work. (my early stuff lacks any 'label'.)

      Peace,Love&Kisses!!!

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  2. It's good to vent your feelings, Elle. I know how you feel. I've seen my captions posted on other places without any mention of me being the one who put it together. I haven't seen it lately though. Plus I still don't have any kind of watermark on mine and I've been making caps for over a year now. I'm just now sure how to handle it.

    And thanks for including me in your list of who you think is great at captioning.

    In the time I've known you of making captions, you definitely have your own style and creativity being shown in them.

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  3. When working on my ever-changing (mostly expanding) blogroll, I had to decide whether to include these sorts of caption aggregation sites. In the end, I decided not to, principally because there wasn't any formal attribution given. Were pages like that to say, "this caption is from ____" or "thanks to ___ for this caption", then I might. But for now, I think that each blogger's work should stand on its own unless properly attributed.

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  4. Thank you, Kelly and Mindy, for your responses and accolades! I am touched and honored that you took the time to reply. (And I would also like others to know that, as with Mindy's blogroll, please, do not think that my not mentioning them in this post is any slight or dislike of their work on my part.

    As for 'following' or adding those blogs whose owners fail to mention or thank the authors of the work they post, my thinking is this; By adding them to my list of "Fun TG Sites" I get informed of their updates, and am thus able to look at whose stuff they're using without the authors' knowledge.

    If readers, whether open or lurking, are looking for ever more material to enjoy, then exploring the followers of other sites is an avenue rich in options and variations. While I view the practice of following others' blogs as a means of supporting their efforts, it does also act as a cross-promotional method to allow readers to find what they like. As captioneers have various styles in theme, presentation, method, rating, etc.; it only makes sense to help people find the genre or niche they like most!

    Peace,Love&Kisses;
    Elle

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  5. No, you're not a bitch. People shouldn't pass along other's work without attribution.

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    1. Thank you, Ann Michelle, or even a, "Thank you, 'whoever', for this cool caption!", as there are many who do not 'label' their work, or even the older work of some, now renowned, captioneers.

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  6. You shouldn't feel bad for feeling the way you do. On sites like Deviantart, people are banned for posting other's art (or posting it with slight alterations).

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