Old accounts

So I was inactive for years, then came back. I would have been annoyed if my account had been deleted. 😔

b3cca I think the OP was more talking about suspicious accounts that log on but don't seem to do any actual modelling/photography/or anything else. "Lurkers"

ANDY00 said

 don't you think that a lot of the image thefts that happen on the site

TBH, when I see someone worrying about image theft, I feel the need to explain the facts of internet life. If you post pictures on the internet one way or another they will be seen by people you don't want to see them and/or via routes you don't want to be used to see them. 

"Lurker" accounts can included people who are not actively shooting but still want to be part of the community; people who have gone away but left their portfolios, and by people who took the trouble to become a member to harvest members-only pictures. Since most pictures on PP are available without logging on, it's a very small leak that this would plug,

Like most well intentioned changes it would end up hurting some legitimate users, and those wanting to steal images would just work that bit harder. 

This same subject pops up on a regular basis. If it keeps people happy to quickly see an account has been inactive for a prolonged period, perhaps Admin could overlay a flag on cover image highlighting the account has been dormant for say more than 12 months. This wouldn't affect anybody's use of the site and would provide a quick visual reference. Some model accounts go dormant for various reasons and likewise photographer accounts. There's no need for draconian measures imho.

Edited by indemnity

Just wondering if any of these accounts are being used to bump up Loves and Suggested images on other profiles. I heard that sometimes happens on here, so maybe that's what's happening with some of them? I suppose the 'Activity' button might reveal more. But who has the time for that ?

I had a recent discussion with another photographer who I know from here and they drew my attention to a model profile on PurplePort which had a few hundred references, but on closer inspection almost 60 of these were made by the same person and yet not a single image displayed by either party to show for these 60 something sessions. When I clicked on the photographer their profile was gone. Deactivated. But the references remained. I found this to be a little misleading. Apparently dozens of other references for the same model also drew a blank on images. This was a model I had initially thought about booking and the photographer advised me not to bother, claiming two thirds of the shoots were, in their opinion, possibly bogus.

So just wondering if some of the accounts being discussed on this thread might be set up to boost the profile of others. I know it happens on other sites and forums as I have friends who do admin for some. That said, I'm not sure what you do about inactive accounts or members who merely browse and don't post. Some people browse for inspiration or to create mood boards. I've seen lots of inspiring shots on here myself, even though most of my shoots are with models not on here (12 shoots this year but only 3 with models on PurplePort). So I guess a lot of members do use the site for different reasons. As members we do have the choice to leave if we don't like it.

As for image theft, well, if you choose to post any images on-line then you're open to theft. If that's a concern then don't post. It's as simple as that. Not ideal I know, but that's the way it is.

Holly Alexander said

b3cca I think the OP was more talking about suspicious accounts that log on but don't seem to do any actual modelling/photography/or anything else. "Lurkers"

Indeed.  And my attitude is that if they're not causing problems then leave them be.

If course, if they are causing problems, then bring it to Admin's attention and let them make a determination as to whether anything needs to be done.  But I seriously doubt that's the case for many, if any.

Holly Alexander said

I don't think this site will ever change membership, but it would be interesting to know if there would be interest in a different site that was perhaps a bit more tailored to those actively working.

Could be stuff like a more in depth sign up process, a warning email if not logged in for a year that their account would be hidden etc.

Sounds good to me. I'd lend my support to that and I know others who would. I'd support any new site which was fair, transparent, inclusive and which operated a zero tolerance policy against cyber bullying and bullying by proxy - something we see far too much of these days.

El Lobo

Have you reported this account as suspicious?

El Lobo said

Just wondering if any of these accounts are being used to bump up Loves and Suggested images on other profiles. I heard that sometimes happens on here, so maybe that's what's happening with some of them? I suppose the 'Activity' button might reveal more. But who has the time for that ?

The powers that be could run a report from the data they have in two minutes flat and probably do. 

I screen-scrape FPI and suggestion info from time to time and I noticed one account near the top of "most suggested" had (IIRC) about 400 pictures in their portfolio, 3 FPIs, and the 397 others had all been suggested. That stood out like a sore thumb. What I can't see is who suggested them... there is someone who has added a lot of my photos (~100)  to their "inspiring images" and that's either flattering or suspicious, until you look the collection and see it has tens of thousands of images in it.  Same for comments, a few people comment on a lot of my images, but when I looked they're not giving me special treatment, they leave a huge number of compliments.  Some people "love bomb" everything certain models do, confined to one model it's creepy and stalkerish, someone who genuinely admires the work of a bunch of models... 

Stu H said

El Lobo

Have you reported this account as suspicious?

No, I just moved on from it and won't book the model. I don't suppose it's against the rules to not show images which accompany a reference but when there are 50 or 60 references from the same person (who has since deactivated) and not a single image, it seems odd and hardly fills me with confidence. Many of the other references for the same model also have no images. I'm told this might be an attempt to appear more popular and boost chances of bookings, but in this case it had the opposite effect and I booked somebody else.

CalmNudes said

El Lobo said

Just wondering if any of these accounts are being used to bump up Loves and Suggested images on other profiles. I heard that sometimes happens on here, so maybe that's what's happening with some of them? I suppose the 'Activity' button might reveal more. But who has the time for that ?

The powers that be could run a report from the data they have in two minutes flat and probably do.

   

Would like to think that was the case, but wonder what action they would or could take if proven. Is there anything to stop a partner, mate or fellow creative setting up an account and creating a load of blag references, Loves or Suggested votes? Not sure what you could do about that really. I suppose anybody could get a mate to say they'd shot together fifty times and who's to say they hadn't? It just struck me as odd and very misleading and so I swerved the model after that. So back to my original point, I wondered if some of these 'inactive' accounts (as far as uploading goes) were being used in this way. Just a question for my own curiosity. I don't know how the site works in respect to the data sweep you describe. I imagine it could be easy to do. But again, would they do anything about it anyway? How would you prove the shoots didn't take place? In which case the only solution might be a rule to say multiple references from the same person must be accompanied by images. I can understand no images for one reference, but not 50 or 60 from the same person who then deactivated their account. I just think that's misleading.

El Lobo said

CalmNudes said

El Lobo said

Just wondering if any of these accounts are being used to bump up Loves and Suggested images on other profiles. I heard that sometimes happens on here, so maybe that's what's happening with some of them? I suppose the 'Activity' button might reveal more. But who has the time for that ?

The powers that be could run a report from the data they have in two minutes flat and probably do.

   

Would like to think that was the case, but wonder what action they would or could take if proven. Is there anything to stop a partner, mate or fellow creative setting up an account and creating a load of blag references, Loves or Suggested votes? Not sure what you could do about that really. I suppose anybody could get a mate to say they'd shot together fifty times and who's to say they hadn't? It just struck me as odd and very misleading and so I swerved the model after that. So back to my original point, I wondered if some of these 'inactive' accounts (as far as uploading goes) were being used in this way. Just a question for my own curiosity. I don't know how the site works in respect to the data sweep you describe. I imagine it could be easy to do. But again, would they do anything about it anyway? How would you prove the shoots didn't take place? In which case the only solution might be a rule to say multiple references from the same person must be accompanied by images. I can understand no images for one reference, but not 50 or 60 from the same person who then deactivated their account. I just think that's misleading.

There's nothing to stop it. But if I ran a report that said (e.g.) the top suggesters were  users A-Z and user X has given all their suggestions to the same person  I might do something. 

A user who has left more than 10 references for the same user in the last month ditto.  

The nature of my day job means I'd be running these reports anyway but the same rules don't apply to photo web sites  :-) 

CalmNudes said

El Lobo said

CalmNudes said

El Lobo said

Just wondering if any of these accounts are being used to bump up Loves and Suggested images on other profiles. I heard that sometimes happens on here, so maybe that's what's happening with some of them? I suppose the 'Activity' button might reveal more. But who has the time for that ?

The powers that be could run a report from the data they have in two minutes flat and probably do.

   

Would like to think that was the case, but wonder what action they would or could take if proven. Is there anything to stop a partner, mate or fellow creative setting up an account and creating a load of blag references, Loves or Suggested votes? Not sure what you could do about that really. I suppose anybody could get a mate to say they'd shot together fifty times and who's to say they hadn't? It just struck me as odd and very misleading and so I swerved the model after that. So back to my original point, I wondered if some of these 'inactive' accounts (as far as uploading goes) were being used in this way. Just a question for my own curiosity. I don't know how the site works in respect to the data sweep you describe. I imagine it could be easy to do. But again, would they do anything about it anyway? How would you prove the shoots didn't take place? In which case the only solution might be a rule to say multiple references from the same person must be accompanied by images. I can understand no images for one reference, but not 50 or 60 from the same person who then deactivated their account. I just think that's misleading.

There's nothing to stop it. But if I ran a report that said (e.g.) the top suggesters were  users A-Z and user X has given all their suggestions to the same person  I might do something. 

A user who has left more than 10 references for the same user in the last month ditto.  

The nature of my day job means I'd be running these reports anyway but the same rules don't apply to photo web sites  :-) 

That's interesting. Thanks.

El Lobo if anyone is creating accounts to bump loves or for suggested images it's bizarre. I think they would have been caught out already. I don't think that's something to be concerned about though. When it comes to references it's always wise to see if a model has credited photos but realise that when some models change levels they sometimes these days disconnect from their old photos to create a new image of themselves.

Wondrous said

El Lobo if anyone is creating accounts to bump loves or for suggested images it's bizarre. I think they would have been caught out already. I don't think that's something to be concerned about though. When it comes to references it's always wise to see if a model has credited photos but realise that when some models change levels they sometimes these days disconnect from their old photos to create a new image of themselves.

Bizarre indeed but there all the same. I think they may have already been caught out, but nothing can be done. I'm only concerned in that it was enough to book somebody else. But again, this was a question I was asking in relation to the thread discussion as to why some members don't upload anything.