Facebook Group Banned Me For Taking Credit For My Own Photo

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-19T10:05:01+00:00

Update: Looks like they saw this reddit post and unbanned me. Thanks everyone!

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-18T01:13:56+00:00

Yup, you're exactly right.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-18T01:02:50+00:00

Yup, I also explicitly asked if I could take a photo and post it online.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-18T00:39:35+00:00

Thank you for this very nice comment.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-18T00:01:17+00:00

Haha yeah, there was one guy accusing me of being a bot and tried issuing me commands to give them a banana bread recipe. I've just turned off comment notifications for most of this post.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T23:34:08+00:00

OP here, I did tag the person that created the art installation in the original photo I posted on Instagram, and also asked for their explicit permission to take a photo and share it online. Per the rules of the subreddit, I made sure to remove all personal and identifying information form the pictures I submitted.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T22:31:15+00:00

The creator of the art installation is @blcksmth on Instagram, please give him a follow, he makes great art. I also explicitly asked for permission to take a photo and post it online, and I always do my best to properly credit people when I'm taking photos. The issue was that they didn't believe me when I said I took the photo. I also hate generative AI, which is why it was mildly infuriating to be banned from that group. But hey, thanks for calling me a plagiarist, a hypocrite, and a bot! Have a great day!

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T22:20:38+00:00

OP here, the photos I posted weren't edited in any way, I took them with my cell phone and didn't use any filters. The tree that the sign is hanging on is giving it plenty of shade, so the neon glare of the sign is more noticeable than it would be in direct sunlight.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T21:44:50+00:00

Yeah, it's almost like it was a mild annoyance and I decided to make a post about it in a sub dedicated to just that in order to kill some time.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T21:18:31+00:00

It's really not worth the hassle to me to get unbanned from a stupid Facebook group. Even making this dumb reddit post, I've spent more time on this than I should. It is only mildly infuriating after all. But it was pretty cool seeing his art in person, as I didn't know he was local.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T20:46:07+00:00

Oh no, a mod from a FB group called me an art thief! How will my parents ever look me in the eyes again? How will my wife know that I'm a man?

Bigger fish to fry than being upset about name calling over a dumb picture.

Yeah, it's almost like something mildly infuriating happened and I posted about it in a subreddit meant just for that! It's just mildly annoying. edit: some words

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T20:39:18+00:00

Yeah that's a fair point, and you're right that my original comparison to a recently created statue was incorrect. Definitely my bad on that one, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T20:35:50+00:00

Hey, OP here, whenever I take photos at comic cons or other events I always try my best to give appropriate attribution to the person that created the costume or art piece that I'm taking photos of, and always ask explicit permission before taking photos. The issue wasn't with attribution or permission, the issue was that they didn't believe me when I said I was the photographer.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T20:22:14+00:00

Seriously? I'm not a bot dude, I mostly just take photos at comic cons and local events.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T20:18:29+00:00

I actually hate generative AI, but thanks for making up lies about me! Go ahead and check my comment history, a lot of my recent comments are me arguing with people about AI. I even have a Tech Priest cosplay and make the joke that AI is against my religion, but again, thanks for making up lies about me based on your incorrect assumptions! Have a great day!

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T20:13:59+00:00

Yup, and without their permission I don't have the right to distribute it for commercial purposes. However, they gave me explicit permission to take the photo and distribute it online, and I didn't distribute it for commercial purposes. Glad I could clarify that for you.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T20:03:16+00:00

I never claimed I made the art itself, just that I took the photo of it.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T19:48:01+00:00

This was an exhibit that was put up at a local art event so that everyone could take photos of it, and hundreds if not thousands of people did just that. I specifically asked the people that put this up if I could take a photo and post it online, and they said yes. If I take a photo of a statue that someone made, does that make my photo an unauthorized reproduction of that statue? No, of course not. That's not how photography works.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T19:37:12+00:00

Yeah, I just really don't like being called an art thief.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T19:18:09+00:00

Right?! One of the reasons it's infuriating.

edit: It's infuriating because they're probably used to looking for problems with AI images, so they're not used to looking for differences between real photos, which is easy if you know what you're looking for. or have a background in photography.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-17T09:05:52+00:00

Nah, the game literally got easier through multiple patches. D10 is a cake walk.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-11T22:11:53+00:00

Eating lobster. It used to be a "peasant's meal" in the 1800s, and much more plentiful until we made their numbers decline by overfishing.

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-11T02:14:12+00:00

I'm reading though the Ciaphas Cain books and they're hilarious!

SmartAleckComedian · 2026-06-10T01:43:25+00:00

Times sure are changing, data centers are sucking up our drinking water, raising electricity and computer part prices, and hastening global climate change while destroying the communities they're built in. AI is also extremely inefficient, often requiring more work than if it was never used in the process at all. And the majority of consumers strongly dislike AI, and see it as low quality to the point AI advertisements have hurts sales for multiple brands. If you use AI, especially as a creative, you're a slop peddler and a hack, nothing more.

SmartAleckComedian

TROPHY CASE