Credit all the things.

Ok you guys. Time for a little lesson on crediting sources.

In school it was made very, very clear how important it is to credit sources that are not yours. A quote? Credit it. A photo? Credit it. Even factual information that was used to inspire your own composition? Credit it. In college, you could get into a lot of trouble for not crediting someone else's work.

So I figured it was just common sense, something everyone knew. If you present work that is not yours, you credit the person who created it.

But more and more I have been seeing my own photos, and fellow bloggers photos floating around blogs, and especially Tumblr, completely uncredited.

I'm not sure if people just don't know it's what you're supposed to do, or if they just don't know how.

So if you're confused, here's a good way to credit someones work. Example: 
Disneyland via Vixen Vintage

That's it. "Disneyland" links to the post which it came from, "Vixen Vintage" links to the homepage.
Here's how to make the text link to a webpage:
If there is an HTML option, click it. Blogger has it, as does Tumblr. 
Follow the directions in this tutorial (The bit titled "HTML Link Syntax" and the "Example" below). 

With the photo above, lets say you want to post it on Tumblr. Instead of crediting as Via Vixen Vintage, you'll want to credit the original source as well:
Bird dress from Twila Jean, found via Vixen Vintage
This mainly credits Twila Jean, as it originally came from her site, and is her photo, but as you found it here, it's polite to also credit where you first found it. But it's not essential. 
I've seen a lot of photos that people post from their personal inspiration folders, but don't remember the source. Please don't do this. 
If you can't recall the source, don't post it publicly. 
Even when asking "where is this from, I forgot?" can lead to someone taking the photo, publishing it elsewhere, and never going back to see if the original source was found. 
It can be so easy to just take a photo from the internet, they're all over the place after all! Especially on Tumblr, where you re-publish the photo with the click of a button.
But please credit all work from it's original source, or do your best to do so. 
This website, like many other bloggers, artists, and crafters is my way of life. This is my source of income, and it's insulting to see my work thought of as someone else's. 
Please credit all sources. It's so very easy!  
{Later edit}I have been informed the phrase "___ all the things" originated from the painfully hilarious blog Hyperbole and a Half. And here I thought it was something everyone just said on Pinterest! Now we know. 

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Credit all the things.

Reviewed by Unknown
Published : 2011-12-28T19:00:00-08:00
Rating : 4.5