I agree that wade's cautions should always be followed - there are a ton of shady folks on the net, and I have been the victim of plagiarism before. But it's important to understand two concepts, which can be applied to this circumstance as well as life in general. I will deliver them via crude metaphor, as is the style of the Modern Day Internet Forum Warrior. I hope you enjoy this tongue-in-cheek post.
a) Just because one chick gave you an STD doesn't mean the next will. When you're flirting with a lady, when you're shopping for a car, when you're considering a binding legal contract with a business ... be aware. Be aware that there can be group-trends, but that each is an individual situation. Without saying anything about other sites, Flickr is reputable. They allow you to set your own
legally binding level of control to your images. Their business model includes free and paid accounts. They are a for-profit holding of Yahoo! and that's how they make money. They have satisfied my paranoia about intellectual property. I think highly of the RDO community and would not suggest this idea if I sensed any hint of BS.
b) Lem is using the RDO forums to steal our words for his Super Reefs Book - Look at the TOS! Legalese does not imply intent. In fact, an "iron clad" legal contract doesn't imply anything. It states things in black or white. Claiming or insinuating that they do imply malicious intent is a tactic that privacy rights advocates sometimes successfully employ. They utilize the public (or court's) lack of knowledge to draw picture of motive derived from pessimistic conjecture. Thus, they have turned a business' legalese into a weapon to be used against it. Brilliant, but immoral. RDO needs to have a bit about "data you transmit or store may be copied bla bla" because hard drives fail. Arrays get moved, folders archived ... it's the normal course of business these days. Len's not stealing our words.
...
So, without further ado ... I present to you the
RDO community group on Flickr. Yay! Now please, my photos suck, are old and need to be shown who is boss. Go forth and uploadify!
Note to site admins: PM me here or on flickr and I'll set you up as admins, or turn the group over to you completely. =D