Contributor rules

Like all the best things in the world, Blipfoto has grown out of a very simple idea - taking and publishing one photograph a day.

When I launched Blipfoto.com as my personal photo journal in 2004, it was this basic idea which got me completely hooked, and captured the imagination of the people who started looking at my journal every day. It was also this idea which provoked many of those viewers to ask if there was any way they could start doing the same thing themselves.

So, when my colleagues and I set about building the current version of Blipfoto last year, it was based on exactly the same concept I started with two years earlier - the only major difference was that everyone else could join in too.

We realised very early on that, while it was going to be exciting watching other people interpret Blipfoto in their own way, we'd need some simple guidelines in place to protect its core principles. I really, really didn't want Blipfoto to end up as just another photo sharing website or dumping ground for old photographs. So, a couple of weeks after launch, we put in place the 'Seven Golden Rules', which have acted as our guiding light ever since.

I'm delighted that these rules have provided a framework within which a supportive community of wonderfully talented people has since developed, and continues to grow.

A year and 50,000 images down the line, we've now got a ton of experience in dealing with misinterpretation (or simple neglect) of the rules and a much clearer idea of the challenges which face us in this area as we go boldly forth.

The first step in addressing those challenges has been to update the contributor rules. We'd appreciate you taking a few minutes to review and understand them before you post your next entry (you'll need to be signed in to see them):

http://www.blipfoto.com/rules.php

All contributors now have to confirm their understanding and acceptance of these rules when posting a new entry.

We won't be applying these rules retrospectively and, as things continue to grow, it's going to become impossible for us to look at everything added to the site. This means two things:

1. Use the rules as your guide to what is and isn't acceptable, not other people's entries. These aren't up for debate and aren't there to be broken or bent.

2. If you think something you've seen breaks one of the rules (or simply offends you), please help me out by clicking on the 'report' link at the bottom of the relevant entry. This won't remove the entry and the contributor you're reporting will never know that you've reported it - it just gives my moderators the chance to review the material properly and remove it if necessary.

We'll be introducing more new things soon, which will help keep Blipfoto such a great, safe and rewarding place to spend time. In the meantime, I'd really appreciate your help in protecting and maintaining my original vision for Blipfoto.

Thanks for reading - happy Blipping!

Joe