DalNiente

These new terms of service create a lot of unique problems for the flicker community For the people without “Pro” accounts it essentially fractures the entire community. “Where do we upload now” is the common question being asked. Pixiv – DeviantArt – Twitter. While there are alternatives not every former flicker member will flock to a single option and not everyone will be willing to learn a new platform. Not to mention Flicker is it’s own animal when understanding trends and how to gain a following. This will cut creators visibility in half, assuming they are using other alternative forms of social media. With less visibility those struggling to gain any sort of audience or build a community will have to work two or three times as hard. It might cause some to drop the hobby all together. It’s common to say Flicker is a clout machine but it was an excellent way to share a story, advertise fashion and events, or see parts of second life you normally wouldn’t be exposed to. Can’t you do that just posting “safe” photos? Sure but rules can be subjective, just like clothing. Speaking of clothing and events I assume there are designers who lean on flicker more rather than facebook or twitter. Perhaps it’s easier for them to show off something more risque. Well perhaps said outfit goes against the Flicker TOS. That designer suddenly has to scramble for a new means of advertising or they fade into obscurity. This is just conjecture based on my part but both second life and flicker are tied at the hip. Last thing to consider is people upgrading their accounts for the sake of keeping their content. I’m in no way belittling those that chose that path but how many of your followers are normal users? I wonder how many will stick around, myself included. Will I still have an audience when people find greener pastures? This is my first post here but I want to stress the importance of community here. Flicker gave us an outlet to explore more than we knew no matter what the topic, human avatars, furry avatars, trains, planes, entire sims were all under one roof together. Now people will sink back into other communities, groups will seem like cliques, things we sometimes loath in second life. It’s a real shame. Thank you for reading my depressing TED talk.