Ask before tagging!

[rockfotze]

I know a few people who refuse to have their photos posted on the internet without their express permission. I never really got it, until very recently. My life-partner-in-crime was in a predicament where an ex-workmate posted a bunch of photos from a work event and tagged him wherever he appeared. He’s always untagging himself from Facebook photos, much to my dismay, and in this case he asked the poster not to post photos of him any more. The poster took this really badly and it all blew out of proportion, telling him to get off Facebook if he’s too good to have his pictures posted on the internet.

Now I’m the kind of person who has never really cared if a bad photo of me is posted on the internet. I admit I have cringed when a really nasty one is posted and then tagged on Facebook, but I’ve not given it much more thought than “Oh god, I wish that photo had never been taken”. So this incident (which got very serious indeed, but that’s another story) got me thinking about the way people upload the photos they take onto social networking pages like Facebook and MySpace and then tagged so that everyone can see them and know that you got really drunk and had shitty photos taken of you when you could barely stand up.

And you know what? No one should have to put up with that. Just because you got drunk and let your friend take crazy photos of you while you were completely inebriated does NOT mean you give up all right to whether or not those photos see the light of day. A good friend would ask you if you wanted that photo on the internet before posting it anywhere, and wouldn’t just post it, tag it and let people see how messy you get after eight beers and four tequila shots. Unfortunately people do NOT consider the fact you might not want a photo of you throwing up in the gutter or making out with a random posted on the internet for all to see.  Hence why I have over 350 tagged photos of myself, many of which are pretty fucking awful.

If your mate posts a picture of you looking like rubbish and you don’t want it tagged, tell them. In  fact, if you don’t want it on the internet at all, you have every right so say so and request they take it down immediately. I don’t need my mum or people from my past (particularly exes) seeing me at my workplace, at a club, blinking or generally looking horrible, just because someone I know was there with a camera and didn’t have the decency to ask me before uploading the picture.

The internet is a big place where most people remain unnoticed but if the wrong person was to get hold a nasty-ass photo of you, god only knows what the result might be:

(P.S. This photo was almost impossible to find)

Mirrored from rubyvelour.com.

Comments

[weaverandom.livejournal.com]

There's a setting on Facebook - awkward to find, but there - where you can choose not to allow people to tag pictures of yourself.

It's in privacy settings - i think you have to click on custom options or something, it's been a while.

[http://users.livejournal.com/disarm_/]

i have in my profile on facebook to not post photos of me and people still do and when i tell them to take the photos down they have a huge cry. it is my face that is plastered all over the internet i have every right to tell someone to take it down. i am 100% on Anthony's side!! i have people i work with and hope to work with on my facebook, i do not need them seeing inappropriate photos of me that may cost me a job but some people just do not understand the concept of NETWORKING site.
tagging is a horrible horrible invention.

[good-like-jesus.livejournal.com]

Ugh I have had that, one girl I work with i'd go out occasionally with and she'd take these godawful photos of me slightly to totally wasted. I'd ask her to flat out not put them up and she always would AND tag me. She'd also show others at work, it eventually got to the point that I refuse to hang out with her outside of work and I removed her & her husband off my facebook. I found it pretty ridiculous that she just couldn't respect my wishes. I'm not picky about my photos going up, it was the fact that she had a lot of management and sales reps from my office on her facebook. *sigh*

[gumbuoy.livejournal.com]

at michelles christmas party last year, someone i didnt know was running round taking photos of absolutely everyone - i knew it was just for the chance to facebook a bunch of photos, and i didnt really want to be on this girls facebook, so i refused to be in them...

[arachnerd.livejournal.com]

i'd want to metaphorically die if certain images of me were posted on the 'net. luckily, my friends are decent enough not to post things if i tell them not to.

[angriest-girl.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of that.

[tie-me-down.livejournal.com]

that picture... of that girl dancing... whats that from again? I've seen it before...