#for anyone who is new around here or is rusty on Tumblr etiquette

[kwistowee]

Guys, I am so serious: I see you reposting my gifs, artwork, or creations OR someone else’s gifs, artwork, or creations, and I will block you immediately! I operate on a zero-tolerance theft policy.

[kwistowee]

Hey! Wanted to ask a q about giffing. I saw your recent post about not reposting gifs, only reblogs. I totally get that, so how do gif reactions come into play? Like is it okay to search for a gif as a reply or comment? (or are thes two separate things im conflating?? Im such a tech grandma 😂). Anyway, i very much appreciate all the hard work you do! Your gifs are so lovely 💛

Thank you so much for wanting clarity and for appreciating gifmakers' efforts. I likewise love your writing and I'm grateful for all the hard work you put into crafting beautiful stories! ♥️ You're not the only one who has asked about this so I'm going to direct my answer to the masses:

Concerning my earlier post, reposting is when someone creates a post comprised of someone else's original creations without permission: that's never okay, whether you "give credit" or not. Reaction gifs are different. Adding a reaction gif to someone else's post is totally fine! It's part of the language of Tumblr, and the internet as a whole. Some of the greatest posts on this site are what they are because of the additional images and comments made as the post circulated. (Some of you are hiding absolute gold in your tags; please consider adding those thoughts as comments so that people can see them!)

When Tumblr added the gif search function back in 2015, many people understood what that was intended for and used that function to search for reaction gifs to add to existing posts. However, others used that function as a way to find gifs they liked, create an original post comprised solely of other people's work, and then claim that it was okay because at least they were "giving credit" ("yeah i took your stuff but at least i told everyone who i stole it from...").

Reposting is theft. Reposting removes the creator from their work and seriously damages the changes of others finding the creator. I've seen reposted work with thousands of notes, and brilliant comments and tags the original creator should have seen and enjoyed, but they didn't because someone stole that from them. I don't know a single semi-notable gifmaker on this site who hasn't experienced that and it is so disheartening. Reblogging, on the other hand, is wonderful and is what makes this site functional.

If someone asks you not to repost something they made, take it down without an argument. Telling someone they should expect other people to take their stuff if they post it online is like telling someone they should expect other people to steal their car if they park it outside of their garage. Of course it is a possibility, but we shouldn't expect or tolerate that kind of behavior. It is incredibly selfish to feel entitled to take anything you like. We should try to be respectful toward each other.

Learning the ins and outs of different social media platforms takes time, and I remember being in those shoes back in 2012 when I first stumbled onto Tumblr. I'm definitely willing to grant leeway if someone is unfamiliar with the etiquette of this goofy site. But I've also had plenty of far less pleasant interactions with reposters, almost always users who are fully aware of Tumblr etiquette (and basic common courtesy), but who chose to ignore it anyway. I have zero patience for that kind of disrespect toward myself or other creators. So, again, if I see anyone reposting my gifs, artwork, or creations OR someone else's gifs, artwork, or creations, I will block them immediately! You take my stuff and I block your access to the rest of it. So never repost. Reblog the original.

[kwistowee]

Hi dear. I just wanted you to know that this person reposted your gif without giving credit. It really bothers me when people do that so I wanted to let you know. Love what you do! 🧡

Thank you, I love giffing and sharing edits here! It’s incredibly sweet of you to let me know when you notice that kind of thing! That really bothers me, too. I reached out to them and they were gracious enough to remove the post and were very kind.

It can take a while to get used to how we do things here, and I remember being in those shoes back in 2012. I’m definitely willing to grant leeway if someone is unfamiliar with the ins and outs of this goofy site. 😊

But I’ve also had plenty of far less pleasant interactions with reposters, almost always users who were fully aware of Tumblr etiquette, but chose to ignore it anyway. I have zero patience for that kind of disrespect toward myself or other creators.

Reblogging is wonderful and is what makes this site functional. Reposting is theft. If someone asks you not to repost something they made, take it down without an argument. Telling someone they should expect other people to take their stuff if they post it online it’s like telling someone they should expect other people to steal their car if they park it outside of the garage. Of course it is a possibility, but we shouldn’t expect or tolerate that kind of behavior. It’s incredibly selfish to feel entitled to anything you like. We should try to be kind to each other.��

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.