No matter what many folks think, posting a photo on the web does not put it in the public domain.

All photos are copyrighted by the artist upon creation. They remain copyrighted unless he/she specifically places them in the public domain. You can also allow selective rights using the creative commons licensing, i.e. images may be reposted for non-commercial use.

Adding a copyright notice to your images makes it more obvious to a casual observer, but is not required. Registering your images with the copyright office my grant you additional rights in case of infringement, but it's not required either.

Most website owners will remove a photo as soon as a copyright violation is brought to their attention (with reasonable proof) rather than waiting for a DMCA violation notice. This proves "due dilligence" in respecting copyrights, and works in your favor should you ever be involved in a claim.

In this case, it may be possible to claim the photo is being used under "fair use". It could be argued that the use is commentary, news and/or research. The fact the images aren't being used for financial gain helps. Whether or not this is a valid claim is open to interpretation. Consult your copyright lawyer...

The Yahoo group has been scrubbed, there are no July 4th posts, going by the message numbers about 10 messages have been deleted.

-Hudson

I think the question we have to ask now is are we going to do more harm to the community going on a witchhunt and bringing down unwanted scrutiny on EVERY operation as a result, or letting this slide and potentially setting the precedent that this sort of thing is ok?

For a group that has done nothing wrong, it sure does seem strange that they are going to such great lengths to cover up the incident. If I truly wanted to clear my name I would post the undoctored pictures.

And let's say it was an actual steam up, and all evidence points that is was, then the management should be responsible and put out a statement.

Admit that it was an unauthorized steam up, and that all parties involved are being dealt with. I would much rather beg for forgiveness, then have to make up elaborate stories and make false statements.

I'm locking this topic. It's run on long enough. We're not here to debate if she was under steam or not based on photos posted on the internet.