@ZombieGenesis said in Image Attribution & Creative Commons:
While I don't ever see using actors/models/whatever as PBs going away I do think this brings up a good discussion. It's one we had on Blood Falls not that long ago as well. Someone wanted to use an Instagram "influencer/model" as their PB and wanted to know if it was okay. I told them I wasn't comfortable with it and would rather people keep their PBs to celebrities and use only "pubic" publicity photos(no paparazzi shots or candid shots from Instagram or anything).
I think it's a thin line but one I justify by saying that celebrities put themselves in the public spotlight. They release photos to publicize themselves and make themselves known. Fan sites have used these photos since the inception of the internet to "fan cast" various things.
And I thought about this, so as some kind of thought exercise I took it to the extreme:
Is it acceptable to (WITHOUT CONSENT) roleplay as (including using their likeness, expressions, and doing so to the point of effectively acting as a puppeteer for them) a hardcore pornographic actor in a sexual situation that even matches their go-to form of porn without their consent?
Technically, be it porn, tv, or movies those people choose what content they want tied to their face and likeness applied to, and even if it's stuff they logically might choose, they aren't being given the opportunity to provide consent.
Fan casting is just "I want Idris Elba to play Bond".
So, my own personal feelings on PBs (despite my opinions related to writing/ceeativity) is that in a TS sense you're basically using another human being's likeness as a sock puppet or sexual object without their consent.
ETA: Then I suppose the next logical thought exercise is to ask yourself: "If you were a famous person, what would your reaction be if you came across a website of someone using pictures of you to roleplay as you (including cybersex)? What if that person is your spouse, sister, or dad?"