RAINMAKER, Thanks for your willingness to share with the OOTP community. My previous reply was intended for you RAINMAKER. (5¢ a pack aka 'luvbblogos')

Thanks for the kind words. I am big on research and discovery relating to my baseball passions. If you want to talk about custiom contact me on a private message. Talking about custom cards is a lot like talking about your fantasy baseball/football teams -- you will be shocked how little other people care!

Interesting Orphans
 

Whle some of the images I refer to above are unmistakably Topps Vault orphans, a few come from God knows where. And not that any of you have any God-like qualities as far as know, some of you might be able to ID the source -- MLB, Brace, maybe even Topps.
All I know is they're nice and very much photos I am glad I found.

Attachment 479588 Attachment 479586
Humberto Robinson, Charley Smith

Attachment 479584 Attachment 479587
Al Oliver, Earl Averill

Attachment 479585
Bobby Floyd

Where is the folder for these orphan pics? Is it on the onedrive.com server?

Everyone...

the good folks here at OOTP have very specifically requested that certain guidelines be followed regarding re-posting of ToppsVault images, including no postings of the early, non-watermarked ToppsVault images. Several years ago and prior to my understanding of ToppsVault's restrictions on these images, I posted a long "Who-Am-I" thing on Flickr using many of these images. I have since deleted those images, and I have deleted all ToppsVault files from my OneDrive account. I have done my best to scrub everything I have online of ToppsVault images. PLEASE honor OOTP's guidelines regarding this stuff.

I won't be posting here anymore, since it appears I am responsible for this.

I noticed I couldn't access the onedrive page.

Goodbye. It was fun being here. I didn't mean to ruin it for anyone.

You didn't ruin anything for anyone. Please keep posting. We all enjoy the photos.:)

I was referring to the fact that it seems the Topps Vault zip file folders are no longer available.

I feel by asking about where the orphaned pics were that I caused this.

Topps Vault image usage rules
 

I find myself confused by the recent discussions over TV image usage on this forum. Over the years I've seen posts referencing rules of usage but it would be useful, to me anyway, to have them captured in a single succinct post. I have noticed some images used to create custom cards elsewhere on the net. It would be especially helpful to know the rules governing this latter sort of usage. I believe Merkle has indicated in the past that the "rules" are more of guidelines worked out with Topps over the years (in part due to his own efforts).

I continue to be grateful for Topps' making these images available, but also frustrated with them for, as I perceive it, their continued resistance to their non-commercial, fully credited use.

If my inquiry has run up against a third rail that I'm not aware of, private responses would also be appreciated.

Sorry, my reply wasn't meant to be directed toward you specifically... that's why I began it with "Everyone"...

OOTP has been gracious in allowing this space to be used by us, and they've simply asked that we honor the restrictions they've placed on posting ToppsVault images in particular and any watermarked images in general. Since files that were collected many years back and posted on my Flickr account have begun showing up here in spite of those restrictions, I decided that the best course of action for me (and my standing with OOTP) was be to get rid of everything that I had that was Topps related. I don't want to be responsible in any way, even tangentially, for complicating things for OOTP.

I didn't realize it back in the day, but Topps places extremely stringent limitations on their images - read the fine print on their eBay listings to see what I mean. Even if you buy the photo transparencies, Topps claims all rights to the images in perpetuity.

No More images from me
 

I was merely trying to find out about the origins of some images that did not show up in any of the (formerly) existing Vault folders -- meaning I had no evidence they were truly Topps Vault product.
Apparently, I saved a folder no one knew still existed. Any future communication about this -- and I'd still like to know what Folder we are all missing -- will be by private communication or personal email.

That's great I suppose Rainmaker....Yet some of us relied heavily on the gracious services that John was providing in storing and offering the images in a very convenient and effective manner. John/tnfoto, not sure there is a way to rectify any of this, but in trying very hard to keep within the seasonal theme after these fresh new unfortunate developments, I would like to offer a heartfelt thanks in all you have done and continue to do for this 'hobby'.

Missing Player Charlie Heard 1890 Pittsburg Alleghenys
 

I've located a photo of Charlie Heard, who pitched for the 1890 Pittsburg Alleghenys. He lived in Philadelphia all his life and is pictured being sworn in as a city assessor in the February 24, 1924 Philadelphia Inquirer. Details of his post baseball career in the David Nemec's The Rank and File of the 19th Century Baseball.

...

I guess I'm supposed to apologize. But I was only making an honest inquiry as to how these images came to be and where they came from. The only way I know to get the answer to a question is to ask or research. I felt that I was putting this out there for a person or people who had done the research and could get an answer, not the equivalent of bolting the windows and locking the doors.
I was told some time ago that, when it comes to this site, some questions should not be asked. I guess this was one of those.
But to make many of you happy, I will quit asking as of now.

Missing numbers in Folder CC
 

These numbers were inadvertently dropped out of Folder CC checklist:

962-963 Ralph Rickey (Cubs minors)
964 Fred Rico (as a Twin!)

Rico was in Twins system in 1972, three years after his only MLB time.

OOTP Community
 

In the past several days I suspect a 'public lynching' is going on. RAINMAKER posted several photos (Glorious sharp early Vault images found) on 11/23/16. I myself down loaded everyone of them. RAINMAKER stated "3) is it kosher to post some of these images since they cannot truly be documented as Topps Vault issues? Here is where the OOTP officials (and possibly? MERKLE923, only because of his expertise in these manners and one who is held in high esteem and a wealth of knowledge for the community at large) and of course JOHN from BASEBALL-BIRTHDAYS, should have contacted RAINMAKER to advise him of the rules and guidelines regarding his postings! KEONLEAFS responded by crediting JOHN/FLICKR of "super work' regarding his restoring of these photos. RAINMAKER posted more photos on 11/24/16, and yes I downloaded them once again. RAINMAKER posted several more photos again on 11/24/16 where he states ", a few come from God knows where .....some of you might be able to ID the source .....". BASEBALL-BIRTHDAYS responded on 11/24/16 that "no postings of the early, non-watermarked Topps Vault images" be reposted on OOTP according to their guidelines. DEWEYINTHEHALL indicated that MERKLE923 worked with Topps concerning guidelines and rules to follow concerning the above. Now as I see it; RAINMAKER did absolutely nothing wrong. He was upfront about his postings and requested our assistance in it's legality. He was more than willing to contribute to the 'community' by way of sharing. Shouldn't we all. JOHN/BASEBALL-BIRTHDAYS who has more than given of his time as well as sharing with us hundeds of images on his Baseball-Birthdays site and his FLICKR site will hopefully reconsider his removal of the images and folders he allowed us to access. I look at it this way, he has had his FLICKR site up for some time and Topps has not shut him down yet, so as they say 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' or 'let sleeping dogs lie'. I would not allow a few 'rogue' internet punks ruin it for the majority of 'law-abiding' (those who adhere to the guidelines and rules) hobbyists. And personally I would gladly 'compensate' JOHN or anyone who helped me get these images for my own personal use. Life is short and I hope we can all work together within this community. For a 67-year old man this 'hobby' if you will, is more fun that yard work! (Soon I will be asking the community if they can help me obtain the photos that JOHN had in his ONE DRIVE folders and his hundreds of photos that were in his FLICKR albums as I never took the time to download them.) In closing here's a shout-out for OKCOCHISE.

I would have had nothing whatsoever to say had my name not have been brought up in the problematic posts - and, quoting from a PM regarding ToppsVault postings sent to me and several members here (including Rainmaker) from the OOTP moderator a while back-

"Essentially, if it has a watermark, and it is a rare/useful photo, post it. Discretion is the key here; we don't want to flood the forum with 23 more Don Sutton/Dodgers photos. If it is one of the older TV images that doesn't have a watermark, please don't post it here. If you have an image with a watermark, please don't crop out the watermark (...) The only exception here is to post a 180x270 or smaller head shot." (emphasis mine)

Personally, I think the claim of posting images to see if they're OK to post is a bit disingenuous... if you have some doubt about a given image's propriety for the board, wouldn't asking the moderator in a PM before posting the image be the way to go?

In any event, it's not a "lynching" of any sort. OOTP has asked that we follow the guidelines quoted above - and anyone who's been around this forum and paid any attention at all to matters concerning ToppsVault images cannot be unaware of the sensitivity OOTP has about this stuff. Why is that a difficult thing?

Recent posts about and around TV images
 

Sorry to chime in so late, I was away for a bit for the holiday...

There has been a great deal of discussion during the past few days about Topps Vault images, especially those older images which do not bear a Topps watermark. John (Baseball-Birthdays) has nicely summarized the OOTP position on sharing Topps Vault photos. The private message John quoted above, which I sent, articulates my/OOTP's position on the issue. It bears repeating:

"Essentially, if it has a watermark, and it is a rare/useful photo, post it. Discretion is the key here; we don't want to flood the forum with 23 more Don Sutton/Dodgers photos. If it is one of the older TV images that doesn't have a watermark, please don't post it here. If you have an image with a watermark, please don't crop out the watermark (...) The only exception here is to post a 180x270 or smaller head shot." (emphasis John's but I concur)

To put it plainly, OOTP is not the place to share or otherwise post older, unwatermarked TV images. This is not meant to single anyone out, it is simply a community guideline that we all must follow. If anyone has a question about whether an image is suitable to post, please PM me. I'm happy to help.

I hope this puts the question to rest and we can all go back to sharing and enjoying baseball photos.

JOHN-BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS, Thank you for your post. Your 'clarification' should help everyone concerning this issue. Hopefully we can all work together now as 'one with a common goal' in advancing this 'hobby' and helping everyone's 'personal wants'. You have my respect. (5¢ a pack aka 'luvbblogos')