www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Gentlemen,

There has been a problem on another of the boards I am a member of. It seems some low-life has been showing girls pictures of them that have been posted on this board. There have been prior abuses here and elsewhere as well with the copying and stealing of photos. Please consider what you are doing, because if it persists then eventually these actions will drive away other posters. I like to know what's going on around the world and often pictures of a pretty girl are a part of this.

I respect a posters rights with these pictures and there are some rules that should be followed no matter what board you are on:

1. Do not download them
2. Do not share them with other mongers
3. Do not show them to girls
4. Do no repost on other sites.
5. Do not post photos on your own site and claim them as your own.

Update:
6. If the girl asks you not to put them on the Internet, please don't.
7. Respect other mongers privacy - they may need / want to stay anonymous so don't show pictures of them.

It's up to the owner of the photos to decide where they go. The only exception to this rule is as I have said before, if the picture poster grants permission and then you must give them credit.

Thank You.

Please feel free to copy this to other boards and also send me any suggestions on anything else I might have missed. I would appreciate your not adding to this, instead send me updates but this is your choice.

DownandUp.. It has been our policy that you should not copy or download any photo that does not belong to you... If I Find this policy is violated the poster will lose his VIP privledges and will be banned.

If you have any links as to who posted these photos so that I can verify if they were submitted by the same person here please let me know as I will deal with this swiftly and harshly.

THANK YOU!

_________________
Thank you for supporting CRT!

A couple of thoughts on this subject.

I've downloaded a handful of the better pics in the past on to my personal hard drive. Maybe 3 or 4 of them were of public buildings that I reposted for my map project which I created for the benefit of all the VIPs here. In those few cases I didn't post any credits because I wasn't sure of exactly who posted the original photo. However, I didn't think anyone would really mind. If everyone thinks I acted improperly, I will certainly remove those pics and seek out replacements. It should be noted that most of the pics used in the project were ones I actually photographed myself on my last trip. With the exception of the 3-4 pics from the VIP gallery (and a few others that I got off of other public websites), for any photos that were taken by others I went out of my way to make sure they were given full credit (even if they didn't ask for it or expect it or even said it was not necessary). Of the few other assorted pics I may have downloaded from the VIP gallery, I did so solely for personal use or enjoyment (and faster and easier access) and haven't shared them with anyone else or tried to pass them off as my own. Personally, I think the rule should be that VIP pics should not be downloaded for anything other than personal use and under no circumstances should they be shared with others without the express consent of CRT or the original poster. Adding a discreet watermark to the photos might help in enforcing this policy.

My second thought is that this code of ethics fairly thoroughly covers the ethics of posting in regards to protecting the rights of the person TAKING the photographs. It completely ignores any mention of the rights of those BEING photographed. So I might add a few other restrictions:

1) Any photo taken that includes recognizable faces of other gringos should either have those faces obscured or have the express consent of those individuals to have their images posted on the internet.
2) Any photo taken that includes recognizable faces of any chica should show similar regard for her rights. Obviously this might not always be practical but there are a few clearcut examples of inappropriate posting.
a) if the shot is clearly a hidden camera shot, then it is unlikely the person taking the picture got any form of consent from the subject.
b) if the chica in the pic was aware they were being photographed, they most likely were at least aware of the possibility that the pic might wind up on the internet. If the chica in question specifically asked that the photo not be posted (or even shared) or if the person taking the picture promised it would not be posted (or even shared), then that person should honor whatever promises they had made in regard to what would be done with those photos.

These last rules are very important for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost from a moral standpoint they're important. It is simply the right and honorable thing to do which is something that should matter greatly to a board that holds itself out as a band of gentleman distinct from the many mongers that frequent the Gulch.

The other reason is more practical. Most of these chicas are aware that their photos can wind up on the internet. In some cases, it is a fellow "monger" that shows them as a way to show off. Even with a rule against such behavior, someone somewhere is going to violate it so make sure your photos don't violate any other rules. Regardless of how they find out, if they do and it was without their consent, they will become much more wary of allowing any pictures of them to be taken by any gringo in the future. Violating my rule "2a" can make it much harder for the rest of us to be able to take any pics in the future, even if we are only taking the picture for our private collection without any intent to post here or anywhere else.

One last thing I might add. One should not link directly to any pic in the VIP gallery or otherwise embed it on any webpage existing elsewhere as a means of getting around these restrictions. Those around here that know how to do this know what I'm talking about. While technically it might not qualify as downloading and reposting and so might seem to fall within allowable behavior, it certainly violates the spirit of these guidelines.

Boy did you hit that nail on the head.

I've never seen so many pissed off chicas as last week about their photos on the internet, and CRT is getting a very bad reputation with the chicas over this.
VB was able to make his argument again Thu. evening against taking/posting photos and with what I saw and heard from some chicas his points are for the most part right.

My first regular of the trip said no photos ever again as some of her showed up online, I asked what site but she didn't know. (I know not here)
A member was confronted at happy hr. by a chica pissed about some pics of her posted on CRT.
Another member was asked by a chica if he knew about the site CRT that has pics.
My first night in town I wore my CRT T-shirt and got comments from 2 different chicas that it was a "bad site" that portrays pictures of the chicas. Hard to imagine who would be showing all the chicas their pics but someone is and the word is out.
One problem I mentioned during VB's debate (which I brought up here last year ) is that anyone with access to the gallery can copy & paste the photos, emailing or reposting to other sites at will. This could be blocked easily which would stop some of the problem and keep the pics in the gallery.
Of course there's always the guy (idiot) with VIP access that will just log on and show the chicas...
From what I saw last week and out of respect for the chicas my posting in the gallery days may be over and will limit my photo sharing to only members I know personally.

_________________

Living well is the best revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUtj_YnNoY

In ZB one of the girls went to CRT website and showed me her pictures.
So much for privacy and discretion.

I enjoy browsing the photos, but wonder why I can see the guys faces on some.

I don't post pics.
If I did it would either be of a problem TICA, so others can avoid her,
or pics with the identity obscured.

_________________
It is cheaper to pay now and get it over with.
It is also easier to get them to leave.

Maybe it is just as well I posted this. I'd known that we had had this problem here before but I had hoped it was over and finished with. As I said, the problems were on another board.

I should have added rule number 6 as it has been suggested to me a few times. When the chica asks you not to put them on the internet then don't.

Admin - on Clubhombre they block pictures from being displayed in some countries. Users or admins categorise the photos as coming from Brazil or Thailand. Then when any user is in that country they are blocked from seeing those pictures from that same country. Maybe all our photos should be blocked from being seen in Costa Rica.

I know that this might raise howls of complaint but let's face it, at any time there are only a small number of members in town, yet we are being harmed by VIP members who are obviously not being the gentlemen they are expected to be.

rule number 7 should not apply just to faces, but to any image of mongors who have not explicitly given their consent.....

_________________
I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

Downandup... We have covered this in the VIP Section regarding photos....

And we certainly think everyone should use good judgement, follow comon sense, and respect others privacy....

For the Record only gentlemen who give us permission to show their mugs are posted. THERE ARE NO PHOTOS OF anyone who has not consented and it will always remain that way.

Once again, we have no major issues here, and we don't want to blow a problem up that really doesnt exist.

_________________
Thank you for supporting CRT!

I'm not a lawyer but I believe there is a legal issue here also, besides the ethical. I have studied law and I remember this from somewhere. Without getting written permission, in the form of a signed release, you cannot post photograps on the internet or distribute them in any other public forum. By doing so, you may be liable. I don't think it's a criminal issue, but more of a civil ($$$$) issue. You may be "asked" (by a judge ) to pay up. I don't think it qualifies as defomation of character when you photograph a dude in the arms of a Costa Rican prostitute....

-Orange

Orange: You are wrong in your legal terms and I will not debate it here, as we previously consulted legal counsel on this issue.

_________________
Thank you for supporting CRT!

Like I said, I'm not a lawyer, so I'm sure whatever they told you is correct.

The only time I look at the pics is when I am in the US. In Costa Rica I don't have the time or use for it.

I've talked with at least one tica who was surprised to know that her photo was on a "Costa Rica" web site of this nature. She wanted to see the photo and the web site. And you know what? I can't blame her.

I made up some bullshit excuse about how my internet connection wasn't working.

I think that if we want to talk about ethics, then it is only fair to inform the girl that her picture is going to be used on the site, and what the nature of the site is. That is, if we're talking about ethics and being "gentlemen" with the ladies.

However-- I think that talking about ethics on a monger board seems to me a lot like talking about chocolate at a fat farm.