It’s the HO’s right to not want this posted where there’s a direct connection to them, period. This is not censorship.
Other HO might not have read the blogposts and therefore haven’t complained about them. Or the blogs don’t post pictures of the pets…or they don’t care, who knows.
Nowadays a platform can be held responsible for what their members post so THS stays on the safe side and removes them as soon as there are complaints.
There were photos inside of the house and also personal information gleaned over the dinner table when they were gracious enough to invite him for dinner.
Promoting a personal blog on a review is not appropriate.
It’s clear that the review process also needs to be blinded.
@pietkuip on this occasion I think the homeowners may have done you a favour .
Hear me out please😜
Not all home owners ( even great 5 star ones ) will be happy to have a blog written about them … so yes if you wish to include it in your profile then future homeowners that you apply to can decide if they are happy with having a sitter who will write a blog about the sit .
Some will be fine with it and some won’t, it’s their choice. You want a sit where the homeowner doesn’t mind you writing about them , so it’s a win / win to “disclose” this in your profile.
@pietkuip
I agree with some previous replies, it might be better to have the blog link on your profile.
If you want to respond to their review of you, you can post a response directly on your profile. That might be more useful for you when you apply for future sits.
You wanted people to know that these home owners don’t have a shower in their house, and you have said that in your review. That part hasn’t been removed, right?
You aren’t telling us anything new or different.
THS censorship is very bad, THS has silly rules that they have no power to enforce that solely exist so they can try to shirk responsibility and legality. You know this, as does everyone else.
Edited to meet posting guidelines
The HO reviews is petty and inappropriate. He’s a tall Dutch guy. Not large, heavy, etc. Normal for his ethnicity. The chair breaking is not his fault. It’s a chair.
It’s critical that these petty tit for tat reviews stop. Which they won’t until there is a blinded review process.
@Lulubelle Correction: This is not inside their home. It is underneath a roof, a kind of garden shed, but it is open to the weather, I stood outside under the open sky.
If it is difficult to see that, it is obvious that this does not reveal anything personal. (These were the cats for which there was not enough food. I bought some, 11 €.)
Anyway, you published a photo for which I have the copyright. In the EU, that is now an offence. Not that I will complain about it, I am giving you permission, I am only saying that I could. The HO, on the other hand, does not have any legal reason to complain about this photo.
Also: the “pet centered photos” on the sitter profiles are often taken inside. It does not require permission.
You should probably use a watermark if you wish to have your image copyright protected.
Complain as you wish.
No, permission is not required if you can take the photo from a roadway or other public space, but yes if you have to enter the cow owner’s land or other private property to get the photograph.
If the photographer is on private property then the owners’ permission is required by law - internationally.
If an image on a social media site (such as this) is reposted on the same site there is no copyright breach. There would only be a breach if the image was downloaded and published elsewhere.
Thanks. I wasn’t sure what the law was outside of the US. Appreciate the post.
I agree that @pietkuip can have a blog that he lists on his THS profile, but it’s unrealistic to think that most HO wouldn’t be offended by being content.
As a sitter, I would never feel that it was okay to create content that identifies the HO or posts identifying photos of their homes or pets, as this would lead to prospective HO, that are overly value their privacy, not inviting me to sit.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
In my opinion -
As a HO, I would object to anyone publishing photos of my pets, photos of my home (inside or out), and especially the content of my dinner conversation. It may be “legal” but it’s poor form and would feel intrusive when done, without asking permission, by someone I’ve entrusted my home to .
Mining the sits for blog content just feels icky.
As far as THS’s editing of your review, that’s not ideal either. But when faced with a complaining HO, I can see where they may have sided with them for the reasons I mentioned above.
@Marj My picture of the cats had been taken from my blog and published on this forum without prior permission. Technically, that was violating my copyright, but I gave permission, no problem.
I think you may be confused with copyright of works of art. One cannot take a photo of a recent painting in someone’s home and publish it without permission by the artist. Not even the owner of the home or of the painting can do that without permission. Most countries have a “freedom-of-panorama” exception which allows publication of photos of art that anybody can see on the street.
Copyright is fairly international, regulated in the Bern convention (but not exactly the same everywhere).
Privacy laws are different in different local jurisdictions, there is nothing international about that. In the EU, there is GDPR about digital privacy rights (it does not govern analog technology). It can limit digital publication of photos of persons or of personal information. Organizations (eg schools) need to think about. Also in advertising by companies where often model releases are required.
Then there are rules that can be set by owners of the property. A zoo can require that photographers must ask permission for professional work with tripods and lighting, there is often something about that in the conditions that one agrees to when buying a ticket. But almost every visitor makes photos of the elephants and publishes those without needing permission.
Anyway, these owners have their own housesitting blog:
Edited to remove blog link in line with forum guidelines.
@pietkuip There’s no point in continuing this discussion - you are convinced you are right. BTW I lecture in law for photographers at a University and I am not confused.
Hello everyone
Firstly, I just wanted to say thank you to those who took part in this topic and provided such helpful advice.
I just wanted to pop on and see if I could clear things up a bit, as the Community Guidelines have been broken multiple times, so I’m closing the topic as I don’t think that there’s much to be gained by keeping the topic open to new replies.
The guidelines I’m referring to in this instance are:
"Self-promotion: solicitation of members for self-promotion or sales purposes, i.e. blogs, websites, surveys, and social channels is not allowed. "
“When posting images on the forum you confirm that you have obtained all necessary permissions, consents, and rights from the owners of the homes, pets, and any other relevant parties depicted in the photographs”
“You may not post anything digital that belongs to someone else without permission. You may not post descriptions of, links to, or methods for stealing someone’s intellectual property (software, video, audio, images), or for breaking any other law. You may not quote publicly in the forum from personal messages or emails from other users or members without their consent.”
@pietkuip - we’ve got the MS team double-checking things from their side, and one of the Forum team will send you a DM with any feedback that we receive.
I also wanted to leave a link to the THS Acceptable Use Policy which you would have agreed to when signing up to THS. The policy has a couple of relevant clauses which relates to not uploading content that invades someone’s privacy or which could identify someone else.
It’s worth bearing in mind that I’m just highlighting what I’m finding after reading over the policies, and when it comes to the T&C or acceptable use policy, you might like to reply to MS asking if they can be more specific, if you want to understand their decision in more detail.
We want the Forum to be a safe place where everyone can express themselves, where members can celebrate their positives, and support each other through the negatives. In order for us to do that, we really need everyone to stick to the Community Guidelines that you agreed to when you joined the Forum.
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that closing a discussion should be the last resort, but I hope that you can understand my reasoning here.
Jenny