Many Hive posts we share on Reddit are quite untidy. We have no choice sometimes - sloppy, unprofessional formatting is common on Hive. This doesn't help build a good reputation for Hive frontends on Reddit.

Here, I want to talk about the most common way to make a bad impression from the very first second: it's placing an image at the top of your post with a source link below it. It literally screams "blog spam".

"Source" is an awful Hive tradition we learn from each other as a special form of magic that saves us from the wrath of Hive Watchers, spaminator, and so on. I probably used this protective spell too just to be sure I would be fine... Some community moderators even ask authors to fill their Hive posts with these fleas

source

source

source

source

source

And that's okay: if your whole family slurps during dinner, no one will blame you for your bad habit at home. But when you step outside, it's a different story.

Let's Learn from Pros

The Guardian credits images this way:

The New York Times credits that way:

The New Yorker's captions and attributions look this:

No matter what media outlet, it's always:

The caption + attribution.

Why should it be different on Hive? But add a link to the source to help Hive Watchers with their work.

For example:

Donald Trump has called for peace in Israel in a handwritten prayer pushed into the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Photograph: The Telegraph

I quoted and added the source in the form of the name of the media outlet, not URL. Choose the name, not URL when it's possible.

I used the quotation to show Hive Watchers that these are not my words. Moreover, a quote from reputable sources always levels up your post.

Choose an Image from a Reputable Source

An Image can be a quote, too. If you quote, choose a reputable source to level up your write-up.

The number of dust storms like this one have more than doubled from the 1990s to the 2000s. Photograph: Joseph Plotz / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Legal Issues

I remember I was told by someone that you can use only Creative Commons (UPD: except CC-NC - read the details) and public domain images on Hive. But I don't know if Hive Watchers actually want us to follow this rule.

What I do know is that most people just add a 'source' below an image linking to any source website to prove they don't try to raise Hive rewards on images taken by others. But such linking doesn't solve the legal issue at all.

I am not saying we have to change this attitude - I don't know, and that's not my duty to think about this.

But if you care about legal issues, don't forget about fair use (although laws are different in different countries). If you write a review for a movie, you can freely use screenshots - it's fair use. But not only. Let's ask a lawyer for the poor, ChatGPT:

Parody, criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, or research often qualify for fair use

If you use a photo from a mainstream media outlet in your blog post, fair use might apply if and only if:

1. Commenting on the photo itself (e.g., what it shows, how it represents a bias, etc.)
2. Reporting on the news event shown in the photo, and the image is essential to the context
3. Adding your own original analysis, opinion, or explanation

It's NOT fair use when you

1. Just throw in a dramatic image from Reuters to spice up your headline
2. Use it without attribution or context
3. Don’t add substantial commentary about the image itself

Here, I refrain from making any recommendations. Just wanted to mention this.

As for my opinion, I believe, if a picture works as a quote of another article in your blog post, confirming your thoughts expressed in the post, it's fine. But I am not a lawyer and not Hive Watcher.

Most images on American federal government websites (.gov) are in the public domain

It's because they are taken by governmental employees. Some guys even sell images of NASA on Shutterstock - I think it's legal.

I already told you that an image is a quote and better to quote reputable sources. And the US governmental agencies is a good example. Like, NASA:

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter finds indications of high thermal inertia. Photograph: NASA

Other Ways to Make Your Post Untidy

• bilingual posts - some love writing them, but they look messy and unprofessional,
• writing with bold or/and italics all the way,
• huge, endless paragraphs,
• enlarged distance between paragraphs,
• when people duplicate the title in the text right below the title (double title - madness),
• and more.

Many posts we share links to have something from the list.

I am not saying these posts can't generate good upvotes. I know that they can and they do. I am saying you never encounter this mess in articles in media outlets, and we don't need it either, if we want to grow as a community of content creators.