Image use guidelines

The short version

You may use the merit badges posted here on your blog or website or as a user icon, provided you

attribute the badges to this blog
do not alter the badges to create derivative works
save your own copies of the badges you’ll be using rather than linking directly to my art files
use the badges only for non-commercial purposes

See below for more details on each of these points and some general notes.

The longer version

Attribution

Linking to the Merit Badger blog is the preferred method of giving me credit for the badges you use. You should link back either to the main blog (http://badger.dinorodeo.com) or to the specific post your badge is from. It’s up to you if you want to make the badge art itself link back, put a text link near the badge, or both.

If you’re using a badge as a user icon, it’s possible there will be no good way to directly link back. In those cases, please provide credit by listing the Merit Badger address in text if there’s a reasonable way to do so. (An example would be crediting http://badger.dinorodeo.com in your LiveJournal userpic info.)

No derivative works

If you need to resize a badge to display it, that’s okay. If you need to save it in a different file format for your personal use… Well, it’s allowed, but I don’t recommend it simply because .png files are kind of magical. If you leave the badge files in their original format, they’ll work on top of different colored backgrounds like so:

Beyond those exceptions, please don’t alter the badges or use them to make new art.

Save your own copy

When you find a badge you want to use, please right-click (Mac: control-click) on it and choose “Save Image As…” You can then upload your saved copy of the badge art to your blog or website.

I ask you to do this rather than linking directly to my art files because

I want to be able to move or rename my files when needed without breaking the image links on your site.
When you win the Nobel Prize in Blogging (congratulations in advance, by the way) and trillions of people flood your site, I don’t think my little site could take the strain of your massive popularity if you were pulling art directly from my server.

Non-commercial use

The idea here is that you’re not trying to make money off of the badges. If you have a personal site or blog and the goal of posting the badges is simply to show off how awesome you are for earning those badges, you should be fine. If you suspect what you want to use the badges for crosses the line into commercial use but you’re not sure, you can always post a comment here or contact me.

Extra Credit

If you feel like it, you can post a comment on the page of the badge you’ll be using. Brag about why you’ve earned it, and tell us where it’ll be posted.

Copyright

It’s important you understand that while portions of this sound a lot like a Creative Commons license, this is NOT a Creative Commons license. Nothing against CC, but after spending a headache-inducing night combing the print so fine it’s not even contained in the fine print, I decided I couldn’t use a CC license for this project. Everything on this site is under regular old copyright.

Miscellaneous

This is only granting you permission to use the merit badge art. I am not currently granting permission for use of the mascot, decorative elements, etc. found on this site.

I do reserve the right to alter the image use guidelines or stop providing the service at any time. Not that I have any current plans to do either of those things, and if I ever have to I certainly don’t intend to be a jerk about it.