Who cares that some poor fool spends a majority of their life honing their skills, ass-loads of student loan debts looming over their head, equipment and material costs just to work, and they get fleeced, right?

Who do they think they are? Just creating gorgeous media to share with the world and making everything we look at more pleasing to look at - by design. I know what you're thinking and yes, this is satire and I am an artist speaking from the 'other' perspective.

Creative Commons are a 'Common Courtesy' - let's not ruin that

Just took an image right from Google images and I refuse to credit the poor dumbass that created this.

This is not a typical response, however, it is symbolic of the actions that are very much typical behaviors online.

Far too many people either have zero understanding of how media is to be used, how licenses work, and how to credit the creator OR too many people just don't give a half-eaten-shit about artists.

I'd like to believe that it is the first one because if a majority of people do not have any concern for media creators while taking, using, enjoying their work - that's pretty hard to swallow. Let's hope this isn't the case because these creators make our world and our experiences better - BY DESIGN.

This is no accident, my friends. We're talking about the people who create everything we see from art to zen gardens. Everything that we interact with in our daily lives, that is made-by-humans, is designed that way. It sure as hell is not a process that happens overnight.

What to do: Pretend Nobody Knows

Great strategy, you're a genius and I knew your brilliant mind would think of something like this. The only problem is blockchain can't be altered like a typical document. Once you put it there - it is there to stay. So, just pretend that nobody knows so at least you are oblivious to the fact you just made a permanent mistake that is immutable and unable to be removed or rescinded. In the future, it will only become easier to track and identify misuse of media, so your days as a pirate are numbered. That might shiver your timbers a lil' bit.

^{source license info: CC SA 1.0}

Whatever you do, don't listen to this advice: If you can't make it take it borrow it responsibly!

I mean, come on. That sounds like 5% more effort than lazy shitposters want to kick out but really it is only 2% more - it is less painful than you think. You're already a copy/paste pro so this should come naturally. It's time to learn how to cite your source and give credit where credit is due!

How to cite your source and not even have to starve anyone out of work:

First, check your search! If you use google images, please read my previous post here on how to check image license in Google image search. I recommend using public domain media/creative commons media from known sources.

Here are some great sources for open-use, high-quality media:

• https://pixabay.com/

• https://pixnio.com/

• https://www.pexels.com/

• https://www.flickr.com/groups/publicdomain/

How to cite your source under an image in your Steemit post:

Here is a method for making links on Steemit using [ ] & ( ):
[source / link title goes here](link to your source goes here)
Example:

[Visit My Blog](https://steemit.com/@grow-pro)
Result:
Visit My Blog