1. DON'T FLOOD YOUR 'STREAM
There is an art to posting on your photostream. Sure, I'm not saying I've perfected it, but I can offer some advice. My basic principle is that you shouldn't flood your photostream - people don't want to see a picture of the same thing, just a bit zoomed out, and it's just going to waste their time looking through it, as well as your 100MB (if you're not a Pro member).
Four pages of photos is maybe a bit too much!
So, say you want to keep the photos on your photostream to a minimum. What then? Well, you could put a whole gallery of your pictures - that's right, every single one of your almost-identical pictures - on another website, like Brickshelf, Photobucket, or even MOCpages. That way, if we like your MOC, we can see more, and if we don't like it we don't have to trawl through pages upon pages of pictures of it.
All you need is links! (da da da da daa!)
2. FUNNILY ENOUGH, PLAGIARISM IS BAD
There is an unwritten rule on Flickr. It doesn't really need to be written, because most people have enough decency to follow it without being told it, but I'll say it anyway: Other people's stuff is theirs, not yours. Yeah, weird, huh? If you want to show off a great creation you've found, put it on your blog. Flickr is no place for showing off other people's stuff even if it already on Flickr. That's really all I have to say about this, because it is such a basic principle. Still, every now and then, a user comes to light who has a photostream full of stolen pictures. Let me say this - we're not going to like you for doing it.
3. POPULARITY IS POWER
That's right, people. Just because you think logically and have a lot of good, decent arguments about a particular topic does not mean people will side with you. You need popularity - if people see your photos, and if people like your MOCs, then they'll like you, and you have the power to say possibly offensive stuff and do idiotic things (see 'Don't be an Asshole' below). However, if you're not popular, don't think you have power! You have no right to slag off someone else's creation without reason if you are a worse builder than them, and don't even think about kicking out more popular people from your group.
I think we all remember this day.
4. DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE
People do some dumb shit on Flickr. You'd never know it, would you? Heh.
Let's take an example: Exxtrooper. Everyone's favourite lovable Norweigian. He manages to say some of the most stupid things, you'd never know he had a sense of social decency. So that's my point: if you think something will be offensive, or you just want to do it to get on people's nerves, don't do it. Some people may argue that, if you show that you are actually a decent person, acting like an asshole sometimes is acceptable (Dano's made a living out of it). In fact, brief, offensive comments can also be very logical.
The word 'moronic' comes to mind. In fact, so does the word 'perma-ban'.
You go girl!
5. DON'T BE A PERVERT
There are a lot of female users on Flickr. And, surprisingly, there is also a lot of questionable content on Flickr. So, if you do want to be a pervert, maybe stay away from the nice, just-wanting-to-show-off-their-photos female users, and search around for some of those female users with less decency.
Comments are not to be abused, people. As is explained in another section, comments are for words with meaning. That's right, no-one wants to hear what you'd like to do with the girl in the picture. You can run back to 4Chan to perv over whatever you want there - just stay away from Flickr.
"I'm wearing a strapless shirt" - comments have been disabled on this photo, very wisely.
"You single?" is, surprisingly, not appropriate.
6. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOUR STORMTROOPERS
One of the growing trends in the community, or at least in the Lego group on Flickr, are these insanely boring pictures of stormtroopers. For some reason, Flickr members (who, most of the time, are not actual MOCers) seem to think that people like to see cute pictures of stormtroopers holding onto walls, or kettles, or with their helmets off, or whatever else. Here's a tip: we don't.
Surely a piece of photographic genius.
7. COMMENTS ARE FOR SAYING STUFF
Sure, sometimes comments don't need to be long. Sometimes people just like someone saying "Cool". I know I do - I get a bit cranky if no one comments on my photos. Praise is good. Too much praise is not good - after a while, you'd get big headed and become allergic to criticism (then again, maybe others of your fans would back you up when the person criticizing you is wrong. I'm talking Sir Nadroj here).
So don't waste our time. If you've got something interesting to say, say it. If you haven't, don't comment. And if your comment doesn't make sense, don't publish it.
On a similar note: if someone asks a question on your photo, answer it. Because, funnily enough, that's what it's meant for.
Side note: if you have more to say, put it in the same comment. Having four of your comments in a row is just plain stupid.
Side note: if you have more to say, put it in the same comment. Having four of your comments in a row is just plain stupid.
I guess he thought it was rhetorical.
Acceptable. Just.
Nicely said, LittleBuilder.
8. IT'S NICE TO KNOW YOU HAVE A CRAFT KNIFE
Well, I guess it is - but stop cutting up Lego and go out and do something useful with the knife for once! I don't care if you go out a stab someone with it, it's better than us having to look at your pitiful BrickArms modding skills. And that goes for the people who paint a helmet, put it on a minifig, take a picture and show us. We don't care. So, to summarise:
If you're going to experiment, do it in your own time.
Simple enough - I'm not stopping you playing around with your new BrickArms, trying it on your minifigs, whatever - just don't show us. What skill is there in giving a Han Solo minifigure a Brickarms gun and showing us? "Wow, what a new concept" will be the last thing we'd say! Time is money, and the average Flickr-goer is not going to waste it on looking at your dumb Brickarms mods.
Well, I guess it is - but stop cutting up Lego and go out and do something useful with the knife for once! I don't care if you go out a stab someone with it, it's better than us having to look at your pitiful BrickArms modding skills. And that goes for the people who paint a helmet, put it on a minifig, take a picture and show us. We don't care. So, to summarise:
If you're going to experiment, do it in your own time.
Simple enough - I'm not stopping you playing around with your new BrickArms, trying it on your minifigs, whatever - just don't show us. What skill is there in giving a Han Solo minifigure a Brickarms gun and showing us? "Wow, what a new concept" will be the last thing we'd say! Time is money, and the average Flickr-goer is not going to waste it on looking at your dumb Brickarms mods.
Put it in a MOC!
9. IMAGE IS EVERYTHING
There is a knack to naming yourself on Flickr, and a knack to choosing a profile picture. It's not just "I like the look of that so I'll use it as my profile picture" or "Hey, I'll include dumb symbols in my name just for the heck of it" - by choosing these things you give off an image of yourself. What do you want to be seen as? The answer to that will be the reason behind your profile picture choice.
If you want to hear my rant on picking a decent account name, click here. For now, though, I'll concentrate on avatars.
In a way, it's like advertising. You're flicking through Flickr (heh), and you come across some comments. All you see of the commenters is their avatar and name. That is the only moment you get to sell yourself. If the viewers aren't interested, they'll move on and you'll lose their valuable faves and comments. You've lost them. So pick something instantly recognizable as an avatar - people will think "Hey, that guy builds Lego, that avatar is a good picture, I'll see his/her stuff!" and you've got them. That's all there is to it.
One thing to stay away from at all costs is a picture of yourself as your avatar. No one (and I repeat NO ONE) will be interested in seeing your stuff if your picture shows an acne-ridden 13 year-old. Why? Because then that's what they think you are. Sure, you may be that, but you don't need to let them know!
Note: another thing to avoid is frequently changing your avatar, if you use only one most of the time. The avatar is what people know you by, so it's good to have a way that people can say 'Hey, that's Worker' or 'Hey, that rubber band holder is Nnenn'.
10. KEEP IT TO YOURSELF
Now, this time I'm not talking about rude comments, though you should keep those to yourself as well. I'm talking about pictures. Flickr is a great place for hosting images, even if you don't want to show them off, but other people don't have to see them.
Here's I'll let you in on the secret - there's this thing, right? Yeah, this thing. Really useful. Mmm-hmmm. Hell yes. It's called Privacy Settings. That means you can upload a picture to Flickr and no one will be able to see it except you. You can use the image, embed it, the URL is there - but other people don't have to see it.
Then, there's an added trick: you can embed the pictures, private or not, in a comment! So if you're using a picture to prove a point, you can upload it as a private image, put it in the comment, and not pollute your photostream!
11. YOUR PICTURES AREN'T THAT GOOD
I hate pretentious people. You probably think I'm being pretentious writing all this, but I know I'm no better than some of the people I criticise here. Yes, my avatar needs work. Yes, a lot of my comments just contain praise and no criticism. And yes, I've acted like an asshole now and then. I'm not perfect.
But I do hate people that are pretentious. Let's put it this way: if people start plagiarizing your pictures, then (and only then) you can put a filter on your pictures.
So what is this filter thingy? Well, if you're paranoid, then you can stop people downloading your photos. That means if you right click then press 'Download Image' or whatever you'll end up with a blank picture called 'Spaceball.gif' (or whatever they've changed it to now). That, my friends, is the ultimate RAEG moment. Sir Nadroj does this - and I must say it is the most frustrating thing. If I want to blog his stuff, I can't - I either have to blog using the Flickr blog function, or sneak off to MOCpages and grab the low-quality picture from there. So please, no one's Lego pictures are that valuable. Don't do it unless you have a real reason to.
12. DON'T ABUSE NOTES
By that title, I mean don't abuse what notes are for - not don't abuse notes' privacy. I'm sure there are several international organizations which will try to persuade you to not molest notes.
I said in the last section that I hate pretentious people. There's something I hate more than pretentious people - and that's whole-image notes. If you have a comment about the whole thing, don't add a gigantic note, dumbass! Add a comment. Is that so hard to consider? Is it such a crazy concept?
No. No it isn't. And that's why I've blocked every user who's done that on my photos.
But there's more note abuses than that. I quite like 'Note War' pictures - they're quite fun - but non-'Note War' pictures are not intended for your stupid notes. So think before you write your notes!
13. DON'T BE A N00B
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh with this one, but a lot of people in the community don't like what has come to be referred to as 'MOCpages n00bs' - that's right, the type of people who are obsessed with Clones and Halo. I don't mean them harm, and I'm sure they're all nice [12 year-old] people, but MOCpages is not like Flickr. There's a lot you need to learn, and then people will start to respect you. So here's some basic rules if you've just migrated from MOCpages:
So that's it, folks. Follow that rules and people will actually like you. Now, I know I've probably said some hugely insulting stuff, but someone had to point out the obvious. I hope this gives you some ideas for how to improve your image on Flickr, or even if it just provides some LOLs. I mean no offense to anyone. I am now criticizing anyone's creations, or photostreams, or comments, or avatars - I'm just suggesting some stuff. I don't mean to make myself look better than everyone else, because I am far from that.
Thanks for reading!
~John
There is a knack to naming yourself on Flickr, and a knack to choosing a profile picture. It's not just "I like the look of that so I'll use it as my profile picture" or "Hey, I'll include dumb symbols in my name just for the heck of it" - by choosing these things you give off an image of yourself. What do you want to be seen as? The answer to that will be the reason behind your profile picture choice.
If you want to hear my rant on picking a decent account name, click here. For now, though, I'll concentrate on avatars.
In a way, it's like advertising. You're flicking through Flickr (heh), and you come across some comments. All you see of the commenters is their avatar and name. That is the only moment you get to sell yourself. If the viewers aren't interested, they'll move on and you'll lose their valuable faves and comments. You've lost them. So pick something instantly recognizable as an avatar - people will think "Hey, that guy builds Lego, that avatar is a good picture, I'll see his/her stuff!" and you've got them. That's all there is to it.
One thing to stay away from at all costs is a picture of yourself as your avatar. No one (and I repeat NO ONE) will be interested in seeing your stuff if your picture shows an acne-ridden 13 year-old. Why? Because then that's what they think you are. Sure, you may be that, but you don't need to let them know!
Just your average set of avatars. I wouldn't click on the first, for instance - "is the user a grasshopper? Ew! Maybe he's a bug enthusiast...". The second is quite hard to make out (or that may just be my image discerning skills), the third is alright, if a bit boring, and the fourth is quite weird
10. KEEP IT TO YOURSELF
Now, this time I'm not talking about rude comments, though you should keep those to yourself as well. I'm talking about pictures. Flickr is a great place for hosting images, even if you don't want to show them off, but other people don't have to see them.
Here's I'll let you in on the secret - there's this thing, right? Yeah, this thing. Really useful. Mmm-hmmm. Hell yes. It's called Privacy Settings. That means you can upload a picture to Flickr and no one will be able to see it except you. You can use the image, embed it, the URL is there - but other people don't have to see it.
So no one has to see your Facebook photos!
Oh, OK, I'll ignore it... oh wait - damnit, I can't! I must stop reading this... ach, I've read it! I can't ignore it! Nooo!
Another way of showing different pictures of your MOCs...post the main pic, then show the others embedded in a comment.
11. YOUR PICTURES AREN'T THAT GOOD
I hate pretentious people. You probably think I'm being pretentious writing all this, but I know I'm no better than some of the people I criticise here. Yes, my avatar needs work. Yes, a lot of my comments just contain praise and no criticism. And yes, I've acted like an asshole now and then. I'm not perfect.
But I do hate people that are pretentious. Let's put it this way: if people start plagiarizing your pictures, then (and only then) you can put a filter on your pictures.
How I feel when I see there's no 'All Sizes' button because the owner of the image has put on a filter.
So what is this filter thingy? Well, if you're paranoid, then you can stop people downloading your photos. That means if you right click then press 'Download Image' or whatever you'll end up with a blank picture called 'Spaceball.gif' (or whatever they've changed it to now). That, my friends, is the ultimate RAEG moment. Sir Nadroj does this - and I must say it is the most frustrating thing. If I want to blog his stuff, I can't - I either have to blog using the Flickr blog function, or sneak off to MOCpages and grab the low-quality picture from there. So please, no one's Lego pictures are that valuable. Don't do it unless you have a real reason to.
12. DON'T ABUSE NOTES
By that title, I mean don't abuse what notes are for - not don't abuse notes' privacy. I'm sure there are several international organizations which will try to persuade you to not molest notes.
I said in the last section that I hate pretentious people. There's something I hate more than pretentious people - and that's whole-image notes. If you have a comment about the whole thing, don't add a gigantic note, dumbass! Add a comment. Is that so hard to consider? Is it such a crazy concept?
No. No it isn't. And that's why I've blocked every user who's done that on my photos.
But there's more note abuses than that. I quite like 'Note War' pictures - they're quite fun - but non-'Note War' pictures are not intended for your stupid notes. So think before you write your notes!
Heh heh. I'm sure the owner of the photo loved that. (sarcasm)
Overkill much?
13. DON'T BE A N00B
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh with this one, but a lot of people in the community don't like what has come to be referred to as 'MOCpages n00bs' - that's right, the type of people who are obsessed with Clones and Halo. I don't mean them harm, and I'm sure they're all nice [12 year-old] people, but MOCpages is not like Flickr. There's a lot you need to learn, and then people will start to respect you. So here's some basic rules if you've just migrated from MOCpages:
- Don't advertise your own stuff. No one likes adverts on their photos (see picture below).
- Don't make Halo MOCs, or at least don't show them to us. Unless they're fantastically made, we've seen it all already.
- We don't care about your Clone legion. We never will do.
- Flickr is a place for photos. That's those images that are in focus.
- Don't abuse groups. That means don't post idiotic discussions (see 'Don't be an asshole' above) and don't start up your own stupid groups unless you're sure it will gain interest.
- Write in proper grammar. So people can read it.
- If you don't think something will be interesting to other people, don't put it on your goddamn photostream!
>:(
Excuse me sir, this isn't MOCpages.
So that's it, folks. Follow that rules and people will actually like you. Now, I know I've probably said some hugely insulting stuff, but someone had to point out the obvious. I hope this gives you some ideas for how to improve your image on Flickr, or even if it just provides some LOLs. I mean no offense to anyone. I am now criticizing anyone's creations, or photostreams, or comments, or avatars - I'm just suggesting some stuff. I don't mean to make myself look better than everyone else, because I am far from that.
Thanks for reading!
~John
