Mermaid M stealing famous photos for personal gain

[AniaR]

I was going to put this in the bitch section but I decided to rant about it here. It's been brought up before that Melissa has taken famous photos and photoshopped herself into them. It makes her look like she's doing things she hasn't actually done. It's purposefully misleading to clients, and it's stealing from other artists, along with their photo campaigns. She removes their watermark and puts her own watermark on them. I was ranting about this on FB so I thought I'd rant here too.

Here's some examples of what I take issue with:

24942

The above image is featured on their FB, (https://www.facebook.com/MermaidMelissaPage/photos/a.10150465044758294.450154.214150993293/10152604423143294/?type=3&theater ) her youtube, and until I posted my FB rant it was on their website. (I assume she's following my posts about it and took it down) it's one of the first things to pop up if you google her.

This is the original image:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R6FYDzBXqa8/T91dZ-hD_wI/AAAAAAAABT0/WKBaSUzKpyQ/s1600/nancy_rajan_feature.jpg

The sad thing is not only is it stealing from another artist, making people think she swam with an elephant... it's taking viewers away from the actual story and cause for this elephant which can be seen here:
http://undiscoveredindiantreasures.blogspot.ca/2012/06/andaman-islands-rajan-ocean-swimming.html

She claims to care about animals but doesn't mind exploiting an actual cause for personal gain. :/

Next up is this one:

24943

very clearly photoshopped which drives me nuts. Mermaids have trained hard and worked hard to swim with whale sharks. It's not cool to just fake that. Here's the original

http://www.canald.com/polopoly_fs/1.1416977.1400847633!/image/Ou_observer.jpg_gen/derivatives/cd_796_449/Ou_observer.jpg

Yeah let's just erase the guy in the photo


Then we have this one:
24945

Which is very clearly photoshopped upon full view, but the website has them all thumbnail. It's from the same series where this one was done, http://mermaidmelissallc.deviantart.com/art/Mermaid-Melissa-Underwater-275221364 and https://scontent-b-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10356728_10152889625243294_8945036942888776707_n.j pg?oh=71c94df83448d09e235ca6d799c123e3&oe=54E9501C

I *do* think it hurts us all in the end when mermaids fake accomplishments. It sets a distorted precedent of what's 'normal' and what professionals should be able to do. I think it harms us all in the end especially when a person gets caught in it, then it reflects on everyone. It's better to stick to what you do know, can offer, and have really done IMO

NOT TO MENTION COPYRIGHT THEFT UGH. Illegal. And intentionally misleading = false advertising.

She's not going to listen to me though, so if it bothers you the way it bothers me consider sending her an email and letting her know her fans don't like her stealing other people's photos and acting like she's done something she hasnt.

[BriannaPixieDee]

This irks me so much. The last example is obviously photoshopped. Hopefully if enough of us give her a good nudge she'll listen and admit doing this is wrong.

I take issue with this for the same reasons you do and I have had art stolen from me to be used professionally without credit. This is unprofessional on so many levels. Thanks for the post I wouldn't have known other wise.

[AniaR]

To summarize:

1) It is copyright theft


2) It takes away from the individual causes by changing the context. The elephant image has a whole series of images and a story about elephant conservation. So does the Whale shark image. To claim to be a mermaid who cares about all creatures, it’s lame to steal from a cause to make yourself look better.


3) It undermines the mermaids who have actually done these things. Mermaids train for a long time to swim with whale shark. It takes a lot of ability. And they’ve all tried to raise awareness about the whales. Then since these are faked, it makes other people wonder if the actual mermaids who did swim with the sharks are faked.


4) It causes problems for all professional mermaids by creating and unrealistic benchmark for what mermaids are capable of. Photoshopping these extreme images makes it look like something standard instead of rare. Oh no big deal, we swim with elephants.
I dont think there’s things wrong with enjoying photoshopping photos and imagining yourself doing something you’ve never gotten to do. But it’s something all together to steal the photos, put your own watermark on them, and present them to your followers like fact. It’s misleading and false advertising. Along with being criminal.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

That's so annoying. What can you do in these cases? Do you sue or ignore?

[AniaR]

The original photographers can file a DCMA takedown notice with her. She can legally be sued for copyright infringement, false advertising but really the original people have to be the ones to do it. I just think it's really lame and I feel like the community as a whole inches toward a lower standard the more people like her pull stuff like this. First it was the fake fans which is so freaking abundant.

[MermaidCora]

I was curious why I could see the photos but never any actual footage of her swimming with the elephant or whale shark... I mean, if I were to ever swim with an elephant or shark I know I would want VIDEO proof!! IDK... can't just go assuming things, but it is strange!

[deepblue]

It certainly doesn't change my opinion of her, but I wasn't a fan to begin with. ;) Hannah does swim with whale sharks, with humpback whales, with tiger sharks and great whites, perhaps Melissa was jealous and wanted to cash in. Perhaps she sees it as a harmless fantasy-creation. It makes no difference as to why she does this, it's really dishonest and rather low. I wouldn't mind seeing her explain why she sees this as all right, only out of curiosity; how can she justify this?

I wonder how she'd feel if someone started taking all her actual photos and superimposing their head onto them. I imagine she would not see that as harmless.

[Yulia]

This doesn't really have anything to do with her stealing pictures, but I'm sick and tired of
all the googled "cute & funny animals" pictures she spams her page with.

[Mermaid Galene]

She must either have a severe lack of self-confidence or be egomaniacal, or maybe both, to engineer these deceptions and think it's okay.

[AniaR]

I know she's knows it's not okay, because back in the day when she was hating on eric she posted thread sand threads on mer.yuku calling him out on similar stuff. She even made videos calling him out. (he claimed he worked at sea world as a pearl diver for a year which is what she did) She also made videos showing how Eric photoshopped his photos. And I helped her early on in her career with people stealing her photos and taught her about watermarking.

She knows. exactly. what she's doing.

[Prairie Mermaid Jamie]

This is terrible! I never thought much of her myself, but now i just plain dont like her. She should have put some effort in and did it for real herself. Such a shame that these images are associated with her now.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

This is so sad and disappointing!





Anyway Raina all this fake stuff about her stays with her, I mean that in this way sooner or later people will think that everything she does is fake and her business will lose credibility and clients.





This is really disappointing from her...


Also because everywhere on her website she wrote at the end of the page that everything is on that website is copyrighted and no one can take her pictures or anything else without her written permission..... But now I wonder if laws are valid for us why aren't they for you?





This really hurts because I know how much efforts people make to have high standards to be as much professional as possible and respect the others job and then you see people just"taking the easier way" -I don't know if you get what I mean-





I'm really disappointed!

But what we can do to stop this?

I suppose she has a filter for her emails so that she can see only costumers messages, she'll just delete our email we need to find another way (maybe contract the original owner of the photos) because in my opinion if someone is so selfish to do something like that and all the other bad thing she did will not change her/his way of act only for some messages from our community (I don't think she cares much about our opinion otherwise she would have stop to buy fake likes and all that things when Raina found out she was doing it)

[Mermaid Cascada]

I used to be a fan and then I found myself diliking her more and more. I unsubscribed from her YouTube for numerous reasons...Some of the video titles seem like they are written by someone who defiant speak english very well or a five year old. They are so jam packed with different things like: Mermaid swims in lagoon news channel ocean... um what? Repetitive posting of basically the same video. When She and Antonio made their relationship known there were sooo many videos about that and it felt like they were using it as a publicity stunt.
Not only that, but she tags them with a billion things in an attempt to poach more views. If you were to search for a mermaid in Michigan, guess who else is gonna pop up even though they aren't a mermaid in Michigan... It really gets me. In fact their are so many tags unrelated to the topic, Im suprised she didn't tag it with fish sticks or McDonald's or something.
And her logo... her darn logo. Clever, sends a good message but I don't think she's deserving of it. Saving oceans before they become mythical... What are you doing to achieve this? I've seen a couple of things but... no. I think Mermaid Hannah is more deserving of that. And I feel like whatever Melissa has done, it's immediately or eventually used to gain more fame. She doesn't deserve the selfgiven title of best mermaid in the world, especially when you act like one of the worst.
And now this!? Basically stealing... If we were to notify the photographers, how would we go about doing it? She really shouldn't get away with this.

[AniaR]

When She and Antonio made their relationship known there were sooo many videos about that and it felt like they were using it as a publicity stunt.

Those of us who have been around long enough will remember when she faked relationship with Eric... so I have a had time believing their relationship is real. You can still find videos of her and Eric smooching and nuzzling online...


Not only that, but she tags them with a billion things in an attempt to poach more views. If you were to search for a mermaid in Michigan, guess who else is gonna pop up even though they aren't a mermaid in Michigan... It really gets me. In fact their are so many tags unrelated to the topic, Im suprised she didn't tag it with fish sticks or McDonald's or something.

^THIS. The whole reason I was alerted to her copying photos is because I was fixing the meta data on my own website and testing it, and her website kept coming up BECAUSE SHE TAGS MY COMPANY AND A BUNCH OF CANADIAN STUFF. Melissa can't LEGALLY work here, so there's no purpose to that except trying to get more website hits.


And her logo... her darn logo. Clever, sends a good message but I don't think she's deserving of it. Saving oceans before they become mythical... What are you doing to achieve this? I've seen a couple of things but... no. I think Mermaid Hannah is more deserving of that. And I feel like whatever Melissa has done, it's immediately or eventually used to gain more fame. She doesn't deserve the selfgiven title of best mermaid in the world, especially when you act like one of the worst.

I took issue with the logo from the start for those reasons. Also a lot of her claims on her website I know to be untrue. She hasn't been a mermaid as long as she claims, because in Christmas 2010 I was helping her try to get her own mermaid tail when adam martyn stole money from her. She didn't get a tail of her own until 2011 through MVD. Prior to that she'd been occasionally hired through Eric and didn't own a tail and was one of his 'models'. There's also a bunch of poorly worded claims about her tails being the only safe ones for being around kids and in the water. There have also been parts of my book duplicated in her blog and the sudden appearance of the word "merwrangler"

Honestly, I helped her with another mermaid, get started. I know a lot of stuff and I have trouble talking about it all online because if I post everything I know, it just makes it look like I've got it out for her or am picking on her. So I hold back and hope that other people will see what I already know. But for this particular issue I just had enough.


And now this!? Basically stealing... If we were to notify the photographers, how would we go about doing it? She really shouldn't get away with this.

I've tried getting ahold of the elephant guy but I can't find his specific contact, and I don't know who took the whale shark photo- the articles associated with it aren't English.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

I saw also a picture with a big pool made of glass in front of a house where she photoshopped herself inside that pool like she took a picture of her on one of her tanks and then put it on the glass of this giant glass pool.

What we can do to help you to stop all this nonsense Raina?




@mermaid cascada
As for her relationship with Antonio I don't know what to think because she said that she found out to like him when a friend in common confessed to have a crush on him and suddenly mermaid Shannon and her two tails(who worked with her also when Eric hired Melissa) disappeared from Melissa's company.
Now this makes me think that Shannon was the friend in common and what she did to her is.... Playing with her feelings, they were supposed to be friends.

But at the same time from what I've heard Antonio doesn't live with Melissa (that's strange because how she depicted their story and all the tv thing it seemed they were inseparable).
Moreover she would have told him something about all that tv interviews and what she was telling to the world about their relationship and he could agree only in two conditions in my opinion: 1 only advertisement for the company, 2 they really are in love but still want to use this for something (honestly if I love someone I would never use him to make my company look better)....

I really don't know what to think about her...

[Mermaid Cascada]

Honestly, all the stuff she's doing is adding up... I really hope she gets what's coming to her. It really frustrates me that she's about to get away with all of this... *sigh* Perhaps we should report the photos and videos to YouTube and Facebook, for copyright? I doubt she has permission to use them as seeing she doesn't give credit and the other divers are completely removed from the picture.

Edit: Another thing that I just have to get off my chest, is why did she start suddenly condemn SeaWorld and start being an advocate for seeing ocean animals in their natural habitat rather in captivity, yet she still has the videos of her being a trainer at SeaWorld and other aquariums (swimming with animals in captivity)? Is that just because it's more appealing to the public to say that? Why didn't she say it before the documentary Blackfish became popular. I may be being harsh but that feels like a publicity stunt too. If you felt that strongly about it wouldn't you take the videos down?

[Mermaid Galene]

It sounds like she's unscrupulous through and through. Yuck.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

She won't take the videos down because it's still advertisement.
Everything she's doing now seems to be only for the seek of fame and that's all, nothing related to what mermaids really do and saving the animals.
Actually that's quite sad to see how she started and how she developed... A really bad development... I'm so sorry for this! I really liked her when she started.

But yes I agree with you if she really felt it that videos wouldn't be there anymore.

[deepblue]

I shared the basic info on my page, and am glad to see the one friend I have who'd had her page liked has unliked it. :) Really, most people don't want to invite more low integrity into their lives.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Raina you said that she copied full parts of your book this isn't stealing like for the pictures she photoshopped?
Can't you do anything for that?

[AniaR]

But at the same time from what I've heard Antonio doesn't live with Melissa (that's strange because how she depicted their story and all the tv thing it seemed they were inseparable).
Moreover she would have told him something about all that tv interviews and what she was telling to the world about their relationship and he could agree only in two conditions in my opinion: 1 only advertisement for the company, 2 they really are in love but still want to use this for something (honestly if I love someone I would never use him to make my company look better)....

I am sure Melissa bought and read my book, and then did that after reading it. I talked about press kits- and I had an anon tumblr ask about press kits I answered. The general jest was what else can make you unique and I brought up how my boyfriend works and supports me and people often enjoy hearing that in the media. Then all of a sudden she appeared everywhere in the media (which is the sign of a press kit having been distributed) and the main focus was how her never before identified boyfriend was so supportive of her. You *can* report stuff to youtube but they are slow going. A famous person photoshopped a photo of Phoenix Mermaid, and she and I both reported it and last I checked the person still had it up.


Edit: Another thing that I just have to get off my chest, is why did she start suddenly condemn SeaWorld and start being an advocate for seeing ocean animals in their natural habitat rather in captivity, yet she still has the videos of her being a trainer at SeaWorld and other aquariums (swimming with animals in captivity)? Is that just because it's more appealing to the public to say that? Why didn't she say it before the documentary Blackfish became popular. I may be being harsh but that feels like a publicity stunt too. If you felt that strongly about it wouldn't you take the videos down?

She's much different on her website, she talks about it more from the middle and saying she can see both views and promotes her work with sea world. I had heard from people who know her (everything I usually say is something I know for myself from having spoken with her or my own observations, so take this as a grain of salt) that she worked like a 6 months on 6 months off with Sea World for the past few years. Back in 2011 I knew she has been supporting unemployed family members (very noble- she told me), and investing loads of money in her company (all the tails, the tank, the expensive camera- you could observe this by his FB activity) so I suspect she has a lot of debt so for those two pieces of information, I do find it personally hard to believe she 100% doesn't work for sea world. I do believe her sister is one of the trainers in Blackfish though. So it's hard to know for sure. I just know there's no way she's making a full time living as a mermaid- she barely does anything and reposts a lot of old stuff as if it were new.


Raina you said that she copied full parts of your book this isn't stealing like for the pictures she photoshopped?
Can't you do anything for that?

It was all paraphrased (poorly) in blog posts, and other online posts. Moreso annoying than anything else.

You gotta understand, with my history with Melissa I am beyond sending an email to have a friendly chat. (I have tried in the past). When I talk about my reasons for not liking her I try very hard to stick to the facts and my personal experience. But when she tells people reasons why she doesn't like me, it's made up stuff she can't prove. (all the stuff I am posting here I can back up with emails I still have saved, and most of it you can all see for yourself on her posts and website)

An example of the more personal side of things: if you recall about 1.5 years ago there was a guy in the mercommunity who had a bit of a personal rampage with me and ended up getting banned from mernetwork because of it. He's long since gone from the community as a whole, but he went right to Melissa and he was acting DANGEROUSLY making threats against my life, I think I mentioned in other posts about him putting my on exploitation websites intended to harass and blackmail women, made a twitter account meant to be me, and loads of hate mail. He went to her and she KNEW he was dangerous because previously to hating me, he hated her with a passion. (there were many off colour posts about her on here that we're okay, calling her a "fat cow" a "naga" and all sorts of other things etc) She knew how dangerous he could be and she fed that fire and filled his head up with a bunch of lies about me. Not a single one true that she could provide any proof for. And he in turn started telling it all to community members. There are still people today that believe it. It's not so much I cared about people believing it- in that the guy was freaking dangerous with his behaviour- I had to call the police locally in his area because of stuff he was pulling. And she knew from her own years of harassment from this guy he wasn't okay. But with her, I believe as much like my previous experience with a certain tail maker, the idea was, discredit Raina by any means possible. Make shit up. Once she is discredited, people will never believe what she has to say about me. Well, that doesn't work cuz I work my butt off to keep proof of things that happen and I try my best to be transparent with the community. I'm certainly no perfect angel and loads of people won't like me and I'm okay with that. But I don't make a habit of simply setting my sites on someone and unleashing the internet hounds as so to speak- for made up reasons. We're a big enough community now that people notice this stuff on their own. I don't need to point things out all the time anymore.

I stopped being her friend right around the time it got back to me (having spent my whole Christmas holiday helping her with Adam Martyn issues) that she'd told several people she couldn't stand me but kept me around because I "knew my stuff" and "knew how to make mermaid stuff work" and deal with "legal stuff". 3 different people told me that. And yeah, I'll admit. My feelings were hurt. I was investing so much in trying to convince her not to give up being a mermaid and I did care about her. (I had even written her a song as a gift that had been on youtube)

I also think, she likes to make it look like she got where she is on her own. So she doesn't want anyone from the past around her to say anything different. I don't need credit or anything it was so freaking long ago I don't care. I try to let that stuff go routinely. it's stupid stuff like finding our stuff tagged or even my own company names and my mermaid name tagged on her stuff that makes me see red. The photos is just the straw that broke it for me because we all work so damn hard in the community to make sure no one is exploited through their photos.

I have to admit I find it hard when I speak out about her issues to not dive into loads of our back story. I think because I kept it in and just tried to be the bigger person for so long. But I don't think she cares a bit what the community thinks of her. We've been calling out her crap for a long time. She keeps doing it, and she's distanced herself big time from the community. Other mermaids still rely on the community for certain things openly (Linden with her kick starter, Hannah with appearances etc) even when they aren't directly involved. But Melissa does more behind the scenes involvement. The sneaky stuff. She still got some loyal "we hate Raina so we'll pass this all on to you" fans right on here, so I'm sure it'll all get distorted and sent back to her, or rehashed on other forum. But she hasn't seemed to reply to drama stuff publicly in a few years.

I just try to be content with people knowing it happens and making up their own mind. I've seen a lot of good change (not perfect, but improvement) from other people in the community in the last year and it gives me hope. So you never know. Sometimes when you're lucky people change.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

We'll I think she's still watching the forum because after not too much time the thread "what does this means exactly?" she changed her.... How to call it... Title in "world's famous".



She changed it to its previous form just a little time ago.







I'm really sorry for what happened to you Raina I really wish I could do something to help you!



For the moment I'll try to get a contact to the owners of the pictures hoping to give you some news.







That's really sad to know such things about her but speaking with a friend of mine it came up that we should expect Melissa's behavior.



That's still really sad!







But don't worry as we say here in Italy "lies have short legs" sooner or later everyone will find out the truth.







What!?!? I really can't believe she sent to you a kind of stalker?!?!? O.O

What kind of person is she????
Ok she hates you but to put in danger another person is non-human!



No that's too much!

[Mermaid Blaire]

Wow, Melissa? I actually thought she was a good person.
I did some research just now and checked out her website and looked at the fake pictures. Anyone who can see could tell that was photoshopped..

And not sure if anyone mentioned this (I found it on her website as well)
SUMMARY:Mermaid Melissa is the only woman in the world legally named Mermaid!
Erm… ?
What does she mean by "legally"?

It is sad that she has done wrong things.. We can only hope she gets better, though.

[PhaylennMurúch]

just wondering, does any other mer out here have options for tipping on their business page? apparently if I like her page I can tip her up to $1000

[deepblue]

SUMMARY:Mermaid Melissa is the only woman in the world legally named Mermaid!
Erm… ?
What does she mean by "legally"?

It is sad that she became a terrible person. We can only hope she gets better, though.

Anyone (in the USA) can change their name legally to just about anything they want to, there's a basic court process and voila; new name. So any one of us could go out and have the new name 'So and so Mermaid.' Or Mermaid Whoevva. Anyone.

[AniaR]

just wondering, does any other mer out here have options for tipping on their business page? apparently if I like her page I can tip her up to $1000

We have tipping on our website, after a request from clients. But it is set up differently and tips go directly to pay for our expenses when we do charity work.

I'm not sure how you can check people's legal names. That seems like a privacy violation to look up if anyone else has a certain name. So she may have legally changed her name, I'm not sure she can claim to be the only one until someone proves or disproves it.


I want to clarify I dont think she's a terrible person I just have a lot of issues with what she does.

[deepblue]

If she changed her name in California, legal name changes are a matter of public record, and in fact, when they're changed you have to announce it via various public means- usually newspapers, in the Public Notices section- and provide proof of that before the judge will sign off. There are ways around that for people who have a record of being abused, stalked, etc. But there is little to no privacy about it for most, and most courts have online systems to search for said files.

Her name being legally Mermaid is not a far fetched claim at all, for anyone wondering. I have a friend who legally changed her name to Pooka because that's what she's been known by forever. Point is- I don't think anyone needs to question or search that claim, but it in no way makes her more dedicated than other mers.

I don't know if she's terrible, I don't know her, but it makes me sad when people do things like she is and think it's okay. bah.

[Shimmer Mermaid]

We have tipping on our website, after a request from clients. But it is set up differently and tips go directly to pay for our expenses when we do charity work.

I'm not sure how you can check people's legal names. That seems like a privacy violation to look up if anyone else has a certain name. So she may have legally changed her name, I'm not sure she can claim to be the only one until someone proves or disproves it.


I want to clarify I dont think she's a terrible person I just have a lot of issues with what she does.

I really want to point out that there are interviews from people she has worked with, and said that she is the "original" or "first mermaid" Not to mention the fact that they are saying that she IS the best and she started the whole mermaid thing and learnt it all on her own. Horse crap. I really used to be inspired by her, and then it completely changed when I learnt of her being a poo to other mers. I can't believe that someone who claims to want to be THE "Mermaid Mascot" can be so ill mannered...wait, I totally can seeing it's her. :mad:

[AniaR]

I mean she couldn't search the whole world to find out if someone else is also named ( birth or changed) mermaid.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I have personally disliked her 'professional' behavior since I first became interested in the mermaid world. It has always felt... plastic. Her tails are gorgeous (mostly) and I think some of her work is okay, but her actions are detestable. And I'm being nice. -.-

[Shimmer Mermaid]

I've always felt the same way, it was like she was trying to hard. And now I know she is. Is she good at mermaiding? Sure, her movement is unique. Is she good at being a MERMAID (and everything that comes with it, honesty, loyalty to fellow mers, and compassion)? No, and I feel like we all can agree that she's not at the moment.
I feel like the whole "my legal name is Mermaid" thing was a big middle finger to all other mers, and was a way of saying "I'm a better mermaid because I'm so commited"

[-Annwyn-]

I think the snark is getting a bit high in this thread, so here's a recipe for golden syrup dumplings.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
30 gms butter chopped
1/3 cups milk
1/3 cups golden syrup
Sauce


30 gms butter
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cups golden syrup
1 1/2 cups water
Method
STEP 1 Rub butter into flour.
STEP 2 Add milk and golden syrup and stir until just combined.
STEP 3 Roll mixture into balls and drop into simmering sauce.
STEP 4 Cover and cook for 25 minutes.
STEP 5 Sauce: Heat all ingredients in a saucepan until sugar has dissolved.
STEP 6 Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer.
STEP 7 Dumplings should be puffed and golden when cooked.
Notes
Serve with cream and or icecream.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

I was talking with mermaid Adriel and both of us think that if there is an archive of Meryuko it could be shared to let everyone know who really she is and what really she does.

Because thinking about that they're all things written directly from her what better proof we can find and show?

In this way she'll ruin her image with her own hands and Raina will be safe.

For what happened between Raina and all the people she hurted because she's a mean and selfish person(from what I've seen)



For pictures I'm still working on trying to contact the true owners of them

[-Annwyn-]

I was talking with mermaid Adriel and both of us think that if there is an archive of Meryuko it could be shared to let everyone know who really she is and what really she does.

Because thinking about that they're all things written directly from her what better proof we can find and show?

In this way she'll ruin her image with her own hands and Raina will be safe.

For what happened between Raina and all the people she hurted because she's a mean and selfish person(from what I've seen)



For pictures I'm still working on trying to contact the true owners of them


24978

[Echidna]

eh, well.
While I think something should be done about taking photos you don't own and shop yourself into it, MM is not the only one who does the other things loudly lamented here.

Calling yourself "the best", the "first", "the only" and so on, when you're not, or alleging "the only person in the world named so and so" is basically just bullshitting, because
1. it's likely not to be true, and
2. even if it were true, there's no way to tell.

And here again; there are many, far too many mers who are doing the same or something similar.
As I said in another thread regarding this:

it's apparently a fad among perforMERS to call themselves "the first ...", "the only ...", "the best ..." etc.
It might be done with no ill intent, but it's not a very good style (not to mention silly).

I know of several cases where a mer calls herself "The only mermaid of ...town", while in fact, there are whole schools of mers in that very area, with many of them also performing, but they are deemed "inferior" by the one with the self-given title because she somehow assumes she's the best, and therefore the only one worthy to mention.

I guess the mers who do this think it's a great way to sell their services by lying about their competition and saying they are the only one.
I doubt it's legal, but mermaiding probably isn't considered a "real" business and therefor no laws are broken.

Imagine a lawyer, vet, contractor etc going "the ONLY XX in this entire county!!".

yea.
It's bad, it's stupid, it's bad form, but there are metric tons of mers who do the same thing.
Melissa just happens to be the most well-known offender.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Wow!
This really made me think I know nothing about how to act in a bad way for other mermaids...
Wow! I have no more words for this...

[Shimmer Mermaid]

I will admit that I have stated that I'm the only mermaid for hire currently in my area, but that is by far NOT my title. I want more mers in my area desperately. And I have asked around if there are and I have googled, there is a little girl with a tail but she doesn't do shows or anything currently. It's frustrating. But I think that's why people in my area haven't caught on to a mermaid for hire, because it's entirely new to them. I live in a small southern town, so it's not surprising. But Mermaid Goldie is a few towns away.

[AniaR]

Nobody has been snarky at all Annwyn, You've previously brought up mermaids who have done similar things (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?999-Will-the-ORIGINAL-Mermaiding-Mermaid-please-stand-up-!-O-o).

And since no one is being snarky, and expressing opinions & experiences without breaking rules, I don't think there's any need for your memes that are clearly intended to sidetrack the conversation in my thread. You usually take issue with my posts and occasionally express that on other forums- that was essentially the entire point of one of the other forums. It would be great if you added me to your ignore list. I'll do the same ;)


I was talking with mermaid Adriel and both of us think that if there is an archive of Meryuko it could be shared to let everyone know who really she is and what really she does.

Because thinking about that they're all things written directly from her what better proof we can find and show?

In this way she'll ruin her image with her own hands and Raina will be safe.

For what happened between Raina and all the people she hurted because she's a mean and selfish person(from what I've seen)





Some of the helpful posts from mer.yuku were ported over, but everything else was just backed up and kept my admin. I do think if the *admin* were to take all those posts and put them up- it then makes mernetwork as a whole look biased and like they're out to get Melissa. And while mernetwork allows us to have a place to talk about whatever I know they're very very careful about blacklisting people. (I think Adam Martyn, and Fishbutts, are the only ones to date as far as I know, and that was a responsibility thing for the whole community) So asking them to post that stuff puts the admins in a bad spot. A lot of us were around and remember reading it. I will say, if there was a legal issue and a lawyer needed those files as proof, they could be provided. (some things you can see examples of on her facebook page back from 2009-1011)


eh, well.
While I think something should be done about taking photos you don't own and shop yourself into it, MM is not the only one who does the other things loudly lamented here.

Calling yourself "the best", the "first", "the only" and so on, when you're not, or alleging "the only person in the world named so and so" is basically just bullshitting, because
1. it's likely not to be true, and
2. even if it were true, there's no way to tell.

And here again; there are many, far too many mers who are doing the same or something similar.
As I said in another thread regarding this:

it's apparently a fad among perforMERS to call themselves "the first ...", "the only ...", "the best ..." etc.
It might be done with no ill intent, but it's not a very good style (not to mention silly).

I know of several cases where a mer calls herself "The only mermaid of ...town", while in fact, there are whole schools of mers in that very area, with many of them also performing, but they are deemed "inferior" by the one with the self-given title because she somehow assumes she's the best, and therefore the only one worthy to mention.

I guess the mers who do this think it's a great way to sell their services by lying about their competition and saying they are the only one.
I doubt it's legal, but mermaiding probably isn't considered a "real" business and therefor no laws are broken.

Imagine a lawyer, vet, contractor etc going "the ONLY XX in this entire county!!".

yea.
It's bad, it's stupid, it's bad form, but there are metric tons of mers who do the same thing.
Melissa just happens to be the most well-known offender.

You're totally right and I see that a lot too. But I believe Melissa was one of the first ones to do it, just like with the fake likes. And as a role model to other mermaids (whether she asked to be or not) she sets the precedent for a lot of people. I think it's an issue all around for sure. Which is part of the reason I called out the specific issues of the photos. Because when Melissa gets away with it, other people know they can too and will try. I would LOVE to see much more integrity in the mermaid community. I have seen people though who you're referring to who called them self the only, then change it to "the first". Or sometimes people form a group, like in my case. So their name takes on a different context. I'm not blaming it all on Melissa, I just think it almost makes it worse when someone so well known does it because it sets the precedent.


I will admit that I have stated that I'm the only mermaid for hire currently in my area, but that is by far NOT my title. I want more mers in my area desperately. And I have asked around if there are and I have googled, there is a little girl with a tail but she doesn't do shows or anything currently. It's frustrating. But I think that's why people in my area haven't caught on to a mermaid for hire, because it's entirely new to them. I live in a small southern town, so it's not surprising. But Mermaid Goldie is a few towns away.

There's nothing wrong with it if it's true. A lot of times people are the only business in town for a while. We're still the only *registered* mermaid company in Canada. I know that because I paid to see the list and put myself on it. I think the only other *company* besides mine is the Vancouver Mermaid- as she has several mermaids as well. In between us there's many solo mermaids. She's on the west coast and I'm on the east. I never thought about advertising us as the "only" before but I think I actually could if I wanted to lol.

Back to the Melissa issue, I share my personal stories to give context to the issue at hand. Melissa is excellent in what she does. She's probably one of the most athletic mermaids out there along with Linden. What she's been able to do is amazing, running a business with the tank and the big van and all the mermaids. Being on the TV shows she's been on, travelling to where she has. It's all awesome. But I personally feel when you pull stunts like that (calling yourself the world's best, stealing photos, misleading on your website) it undermines all your hard work. We all screw up and make mistakes, especially in business. It's hard to know if you aren't an actual business person. (I am lucky, I formed a board of directors out of people who help businesses get started so they know it all!) But in the instance with the photos, I know she knows it's wrong. She demonstrated that she knows it's wrong back when she was using the forums and making posts on facebook. As I demonstraited in my first 2 posts I think these types of issues affect us all as a community and it's important to be aware of them and discuss them. Ideally, I'd like to see her stop doing it and go out and do those experiences instead.

[Shimmer Mermaid]

Honestly I think if she posted videos of her actually swimming with whale sharks, and doing all of these things that she says she's doing through photoshopped photos, she could be forgiven for the most part and go about her business as long as she cuts the crap. As someone who personally used to look up to her (along with many other mers including you :) ) I'd love to see her take the photos down, and make a public apology to the photographers and to her fellow mers, and to you...basically everyone in general. Things will never be the same for her but at least she could have a clear mind about the whole ordeal.

[PearlieMae]

In a court of law, in the US, the things she calls herself would be considered "puffery", and impossible to prove. For instance, in an infamous pizza court battle, it boiled down to this:

"You've seen commercials where a company claims to have the "best" thingamajig. "Best" can be used without having to backup your statement. When you use "better," you "better" have proof to substantiate your claim."

[Echidna]

Melissa is excellent in what she does.
She's probably one of the most athletic mermaids out there along with Linden.

Then why does she photoshop what others have DONE?
And then makes up a title calling herself superior to those who have been longer at it, and did the things she pretends to do for real?

Doesn't add up for me.

Just like buying likes and promotes for ads and youtube.
I didn't hear of her or know who she was for a looong time, but got her videos shoved in my face on youtube nonstop
(none of which I found particularly impressive, btw).

There's being good, and pretending to be good.
Methinks it's the latter in this case, otherwise it wouldn't make sense at all to stoop to the level of lying and manipulating- she could just go and do it, but she doesn't.

[AniaR]

Ooooh Jari, you're entitled to your opinion and as messy as these threads can get try not to curse her out or call her names k? I know it's hard when people act horrible- and it's okay to talk about behaviour etc. but on mernetwork we do have a no name calling and try to be sparing with the swearing ;) I think I know who you are from facebook (looking at your profile) it's really awesome to see you here! Be sure to post in the introductions thread so everyone can get to know you!!!! <3


"You've seen commercials where a company claims to have the "best" thingamajig. "Best" can be used without having to backup your statement. When you use "better," you "better" have proof to substantiate your claim."

oh wow that's a way easier to understand example! Makes me think of the commercials where they say they are better than the brand name etc and always have to back it up with an example from a study or something. Good point.

[PearlieMae]

Hahaha! Just went to her facebook, and just like on a certain egomaniacal tailmaker's page, for some reason, I have been banned from commenting. :lol: (What did *I* do? :thinks: )

Also, the "tipping" paypal link - it's pretty standard on escorts' websites.

She also has a life event of ten years as a professional mermaid, but if you read the 'about' bit, she contradicts herself.

[AniaR]

She also has a life event of ten years as a professional mermaid, but if you read the 'about' bit, she contradicts herself.

Yeah a lot of her dates contradict as well as statements.

Though, I often confuse the date I started doing mermaid stuff with the date I started dating Sean (about a year in between) because they're in the same month but different years hahaha

[merman_jari]

My apologies for the previous comment. U r absolutely right MermaidRaina. Its just that when you admire highly spoken Mers n find out that he or she has been fraudulent in their works and just using it for personal vanity is just upsetting n disappointing. Thats what ii meant to say. Forgive me (lol) The South Dallas Texan came out of me.

[Echidna]

Also, the "tipping" paypal link - it's pretty standard on escorts' websites.


not sure if I follow, but:
if someone actually went through with this, they're bound to have waay more customers than the average mer :lol:

Too bad it's not my line of work, I'd have lots of fintastic world-first advertizing lines for that one, sadly none of which I can write here, but there's so much hilarity potential!

would need a special tail tho

[PearlieMae]

would need a special tail tho

I could design that.


;)

[Mer-gal]

This makes me sad because I thought she really did these things. I thought she was really cool and now i feel like she is a fake. :( It is wrong to post fake pics of yourself just to get clients. :thumbdown:

[Sandra Siren]

Wow, what an eye opener. I actually hadn't heard of Mermaid Melissa until I got seriously into professional mermaiding research, and then she showed up everywhere! I live fairly close to Sacramento and our famous merfolk are the Dive Bar mermaids and mermen. It's a shame such a public figure is setting such a poor example. Since those who are close to her have already had their say, and the folks who own the original photos/videos aren't speaking out, perhaps our best option as a community is to to raise our integrity bar. Let's step up respect for one another and show people that she is the exception and not the rule. :)

[AniaR]

My apologies for the previous comment. U r absolutely right MermaidRaina. Its just that when you admire highly spoken Mers n find out that he or she has been fraudulent in their works and just using it for personal vanity is just upsetting n disappointing. Thats what ii meant to say. Forgive me (lol) The South Dallas Texan came out of me.

it's cool, you're brand new, and we all have a moment where we get carried away I just didn't want you to get in trouble when you just joined is all. Mermen are few and far between!! <3 we love having more men on the site for sure.

It looks like a LOT of people really thought that elephant pic was real. I got a lot of PMs about it on FB and it sorta clicked for people why they could never find the video or other photos.

I will say, it's harder to be a mermaid who is more or less in the spotlight. Speaking from personal experience, people hold you to really high standards that are almost impossible to keep up with. I have cracked under the pressure multiple times. I think there are good things you CAN admire in her, just perhaps separate this situation as a pretty uncool thing to do.

[-Annwyn-]

Nobody has been snarky at all Annwyn, You've previously brought up mermaids who have done similar things (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?999-Will-the-ORIGINAL-Mermaiding-Mermaid-please-stand-up-!-O-o).

And since no one is being snarky, and expressing opinions & experiences without breaking rules, I don't think there's any need for your memes that are clearly intended to sidetrack the conversation in my thread. You usually take issue with my posts and occasionally express that on other forums- that was essentially the entire point of one of the other forums. It would be great if you added me to your ignore list. I'll do the same ;)







Some of the helpful posts from mer.yuku were ported over, but everything else was just backed up and kept my admin. I do think if the *admin* were to take all those posts and put them up- it then makes mernetwork as a whole look biased and like they're out to get Melissa. And while mernetwork allows us to have a place to talk about whatever I know they're very very careful about blacklisting people. (I think Adam Martyn, and Fishbutts, are the only ones to date as far as I know, and that was a responsibility thing for the whole community) So asking them to post that stuff puts the admins in a bad spot. A lot of us were around and remember reading it. I will say, if there was a legal issue and a lawyer needed those files as proof, they could be provided. (some things you can see examples of on her facebook page back from 2009-1011)



You're totally right and I see that a lot too. But I believe Melissa was one of the first ones to do it, just like with the fake likes. And as a role model to other mermaids (whether she asked to be or not) she sets the precedent for a lot of people. I think it's an issue all around for sure. Which is part of the reason I called out the specific issues of the photos. Because when Melissa gets away with it, other people know they can too and will try. I would LOVE to see much more integrity in the mermaid community. I have seen people though who you're referring to who called them self the only, then change it to "the first". Or sometimes people form a group, like in my case. So their name takes on a different context. I'm not blaming it all on Melissa, I just think it almost makes it worse when someone so well known does it because it sets the precedent.



There's nothing wrong with it if it's true. A lot of times people are the only business in town for a while. We're still the only *registered* mermaid company in Canada. I know that because I paid to see the list and put myself on it. I think the only other *company* besides mine is the Vancouver Mermaid- as she has several mermaids as well. In between us there's many solo mermaids. She's on the west coast and I'm on the east. I never thought about advertising us as the "only" before but I think I actually could if I wanted to lol.

Back to the Melissa issue, I share my personal stories to give context to the issue at hand. Melissa is excellent in what she does. She's probably one of the most athletic mermaids out there along with Linden. What she's been able to do is amazing, running a business with the tank and the big van and all the mermaids. Being on the TV shows she's been on, travelling to where she has. It's all awesome. But I personally feel when you pull stunts like that (calling yourself the world's best, stealing photos, misleading on your website) it undermines all your hard work. We all screw up and make mistakes, especially in business. It's hard to know if you aren't an actual business person. (I am lucky, I formed a board of directors out of people who help businesses get started so they know it all!) But in the instance with the photos, I know she knows it's wrong. She demonstrated that she knows it's wrong back when she was using the forums and making posts on facebook. As I demonstraited in my first 2 posts I think these types of issues affect us all as a community and it's important to be aware of them and discuss them. Ideally, I'd like to see her stop doing it and go out and do those experiences instead.


wow, you had to really search to dig that one up, Raina? Well done. Point out the flaws in others. Way to go. Brava! See the difference between that post of mine and you is that I pretty much let the issue go after a few days and didn't obess over it like you are with Melissa.

I don't argue with you that you sentiments towards her are unfounded, my opinion is that she's just not worth the amount of time and heartache you are giving her. It makes you look like you are jealous of whatever success she appears to have, which is really silly. She's probably aware that this issue bugs you, so she does it anyway.

Heck, if she wants to post cute animal photos and change her name, let her. As for the photos, notify the photographers, but let them deal with it. It has about as much bearing on you as me, which is none. The sheer energy you put into this snark campaign (and yes it is Snark) would be better spent turning the other cheek and ignoring her and going to work on yourself instead. You give the people you don't like airtime, which is what holds you back.

I'm not trying to be mean here, just frank and honest. Think about it.

[AniaR]

wow, you had to really search to dig that one up, Raina? Well done. Point out the flaws in others. Way to go. Brava! See the difference between that post of mine and you is that I pretty much let the issue go after a few days and didn't obess over it like you are with Melissa.

Nope. Just one click of the button actually. "Posts started by Annwyn". Not pointing out a flaw, simply pointing out that you were allotted the ability to bring it up and discussed what you and others thought about it. No one memed your thread to sidetrack it. No different than what's being done here. I could also use the example of Mermaid Melanie bringing up issues with Mermaid Kat. Which was also discussed by the community. And Hawaain mermaids bringing up concerns about Kariel. And, I'm not sure how I am obsessing by posting in my active thread that hasn't even been up for 24 hours yet. Sure, if I'm going at it a year later, tell me to shut up and call me obsessed. I rarely bring up Melissa on the forum- I tend to wait for others to post and echo what they said. I think this may be my only time starting a thread about her ever.


I don't argue with you that you sentiments towards her are unfounded, my opinion is that she's just not worth the amount of time and heartache you are giving her. It makes you look like you are jealous of whatever success she appears to have, which is really silly. She's probably aware that this issue bugs you, so she does it anyway.

Hell yes I'm jealous she gets to do some kick ass things that I will never be able to do. but jealous of photoshopped photos and fake facebook fans? Nah, not really. What Melissa does rarely effects my life. Honestly it used to upset me anytime you would try to deter my threads by saying "I look jealous". But now I just dont give a rats butt. Pretty confident no one here thinks that jealousy motivates my posting or my position on the matter. You've never really thought much of me, so if you think that's what it is I don't really care. I'm willing to have people like you think I'm jealous, for the sake of raising the matter and getting something done about it ;) I don't need everyone in the community to like me, I'd rather stick to what I feel is ethical. God Knows I've had disagreements with people in this very thread but we all just keep speaking about what we think is important anyway. I always find the "your just jealous" argument is a cop out when faced with facts that someone can't dispute.


Heck, if she wants to post cute animal photos and change her name, let her. As for the photos, notify the photographers, but let them deal with it. It has about as much bearing on you as me, which is none. The sheer energy you put into this snark campaign (and yes it is Snark) would be better spent turning the other cheek and ignoring her and going to work on yourself instead. You give the people you don't like airtime, which is what holds you back

Meh. I turn my cheek on a lot of issues. (I've turned it a LOT with you- speaking of obsessions...) For every 1 that sees the light of day there's probably a good 20 I let go and forget. This is about community standard, as others have brought up there are many other mermaids who have picked up similar habits. I've always spoken out about community standards regardless of the people involved. Whether it's buying 100,000 fake facebook likes, making fan pages to harass other mermaids, one mer taking advantage of others, mermaids who seem to only come to the community when they want money, issues of bad tails and customer service, and other problems. Speaking up is what I do to draw community attention to issues that need to change. I can't *force* things to change, but when people become better aware of things it makes it harder for people to pull that stuff, and deters them from trying when they see the kind of outrage it sparks in the community.

So really, if you think it's all too much and pointless, don't read the darn thread or participate. It's just like people who hop into the drama thread and complain about drama. There's no rule breaking, (save for the one warning to a brand new member) everything's on topic, I'm not really going to defend our right to have a thread to the person who has started countless ones about me on wave dancers and the merforum that would of actually broken rules had they been posted here.

I like that you think I'm holding myself back btw :p I think I'm doing freaking great given what I have to work with!!


I'm not trying to be mean here, just frank and honest. Think about it.

I feel like I should be saying that about starting the thread. :p

[Shimmer Mermaid]

No one is being snarky. And Raina was giving kind of a warning to us fellow mermaids. When it comes to standards set by a mermaid who really has a high impact on the community, then that same mermaid screws up and does something she knows is wrong, or in this case illegal, people tend to state what they are doing wrong, and kind give others a heads up, which is what Raina was doing. She put her own experience because of the fact that it DOES retain to the original reason of the post-not giving credit where credit is due. :) The way I (and a lot of others) see it, it's the same as if you draw a picture, a beautiful picture, and someone were to take that picture and copy it, and say that they drew it.

I have had to deal with similar situations. My boyfriend took a picture of me on my horse rearing up, and someone photoshopped the photo with them on him, and then said that someone else had taken the photo. And if I had helped someone like Raina had helped her, I'd be upset as heck if someone did what M did. Period. There is no reason for you to single out Raina because of her speaking her mind and because you have a past. Move on. Onto the next fishing hole, right?

[MarkF]

Raina I don't think many of use truly understand your battles and struggles to keep your business going, then see MM is cheating.
I don't know if she claims to have done the poses in the shots. Last time I talked with MM she wanted to do some deep water photo shoots, looks like shes just created them. If they were from me you'd never have found the originals.
I wonder if she'd paid royalty on these, it possible. A lot of the ads I've done recently using others copy righted images in backgrounds were actually pretty cheap well within both of your budgets.

[AniaR]

I considered that too and looked it up via google image search (the actual image search, not just the image tab) and they aren't associated with any stock websites, only news articles and her. I'm on the stock websites regularly for my own use, so I'm pretty familiar with them. As far as I can tell these images are only licensed for the news reports about them.

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if she purchased some stock photography and presented it as a fun photo manipulation. I would still take issue however if she tried to present it as something she did. or mislead people

[MarkF]

Stock Photo's you's pay yous dollar and get - Click link for surprise.
http://www.istockphoto.com/photo/whaleshark-encounter-26034291?st=6538680

Does this seem silly to you, it does to me. In a world of Fiction and Fantasy arguing the pictures aren't real.
Next someone will say Mermaids aren't real!

Too easy - had to do it - sorry. :shame:

[AniaR]

oh good job finding it! i'm not sure she bought the stock though, because the version she has is so small and pixellated it looks ripped from the original posting. If she actually paid for stock that makes me feel a tad better- it means a photographer isn't getting ripped off. But she's still presenting it as if it's something she's done with no context on her site with her watermark. And I know the elephant photos aren't stock, I tracked down that photographer.

(can you let me know how you found the image? I tried searching whale shark stock, whale shark photo, and I uploaded the original image I found right onto google search images and the only hit was hers)

[deepblue]

The reason this isn't silly, as Raina pointed out, is that she is representing it as real, when there is only one mermaid I can think of who actually DOES do the things she's pretending to have done. If it were all only fantasy, that'd be different. But when Hannah Mermaid has photos of herself swimming with ocean behemoths, it's real. One mermaid doing that, one with a really excellent reputation that she backs up with her own actions, is not really representing the whole of mermaiding. But when others pretend to do it, yes, indeed, it can do harm because it sets an unreal bar and gives false impressions.

But eh, there ya go. Not everyone is going to agree that it's a problem- I'd not have a problem with it were she not trying to pretend it's real.

[AniaR]

I actually gathered a HUGE list of mermaids who have swam with whale sharks and other ocean creatures :) Thing is, Melissa *has* swam with amazing creatures. Hammer head sharks for a start. I don't think there's any need to fake it when she's had experiences so many of us will never have. She should show what she's done- because what she HAS done is still amazing.

[deepblue]

I was wondering, as I typed that, how many I don't know about. :) Since divers swimming with sharks isn't rare.

I stand corrected and informed, and it begs the question even more, why would anyone fake something that they COULD do, then? Perhaps it's as Mark said, when it's all fantasy, perhaps they see the line blurred enough that they include 'shopped photos.

[Echidna]

The only reason I could imagine is she didn't have a photographer/camera man with her when she swam with the sharks or w/e.

I know I've been tempted, because I've swum with wildlife in the ocean too, but there was no one around to film it.
Doesn't explain the elephant and other stuff she hasn't done for real though.

Maybe there's no reason, and she just has an overambitious marketing manager who thinks spamming the entire net with fake tags and fake photos and thinking up ridiculous titles is great for one's business :p

[Mermaid Wesley]

I take offense with it because of something else Raina has said (not sure if it's in this thread) she makes it seem like nothing. Oh yeah all mermaids can swim with elephants and whale sharks and we do it all the time. That's what those photoshopped pictures say. It raises the bar for everyone and makes it easier for Internet people to yell at you for not being a real mermaid. It makes people expect that you can do these things easily or frequently, when really it's a HUGE deal. It's taking away from the impressiveness of actually swimming with these creatures. Do I care that she photoshops all of her pictures? Not really. Do I care if they were stolen? Yes. Do I care that hey trivialize other people's hard work and effort? Yes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Echidna]

and by fake tags I mean tagging yourself with about every town, country, and ethnicity in the world along many other things (Disney, news show names, etcetc, there's nothing she doesn't use as a tag for herself).

People don't think about it twice because "it's the internet", but imagine for a second what the real life equivalent would be:
someone comes into an agency saying "I need an african mermaid, or maybe an asian model" and Melissa jumps into his face out of nowhere yelling "ME ME THAT'S ME", hindering him to go away or look elsewhere.

I know I have a hard time clicking away all the ads she pays for, and I'm not even looking for a mermaid lol.

[Mermaid Wesley]

and by fake tags I mean tagging yourself with about every town, country, and ethnicity in the world along many other things (Disney, news show names, etcetc, there's nothing she doesn't use as a tag for herself).

People don't think about it twice because "it's the internet", but imagine for a second what the real life equivalent would be:
someone comes into an agency saying "I need an african mermaid, or maybe an asian model" and Melissa jumps into his face out of nowhere yelling "ME ME THAT'S ME", hindering him to go away or look elsewhere.

I know I have a hard time clicking away all the ads she pays for, and I'm not even looking for a mermaid lol.

THIS IS THE BEST ANALOGY.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PhaylennMurúch]

for me the difference is in the face. In her pictures where she IS swimming in shipwrecks and with sea life there is a sparkle in her eyes and a light to her face, a thrill that runs through her is palpable. In the photoshopped ones you can tell that she's just swimming in a pool and looking up. By tossing the faked images in with actual pictures of her she is implying that she has done them.
It shouldn't be too much for her to set up a photo shoot, being world famous and all.

[MarkF]

After careful consideration I'm going to the pool, see ya in a few. :cool:

[Shimmer Mermaid]

Best point ever. When you see videos of her actually doing things, her expression is like "wow, I've probably seen this all a million times, but I'm having fun, and I am enjoying myself" but in photoshopped images of hers she just looks like she's saying "Meh, I've done it all before. I'm just here." With as many opportunities she has at the tips of her fingers, I don't see why she doesn't set one up to do the things she's pretending to do. I don't understand it, at all really. I know she could easily get footage. She could literally call almost anyone who knows how to make amazing underwater videos, and simply ask, and they would probably jump on that opportunity. I know if I were her, I would be getting footage every chance I get, even if I would have to put my phone in a ziplock bag, and get footage, I would get that footage.

[AniaR]

She really can't though. A lot of what she shares are the same events from the past 3 years. She's not doing as much as she portrays. And she's not rich. I remember she got paid ( she told me) all of200$ a week when she did Ripley's and she had to move there. I don't think she's fairly compensated for the stuff she has done.

[Mermaid Momo]

and by fake tags I mean tagging yourself with about every town, country, and ethnicity in the world along many other things (Disney, news show names, etcetc, there's nothing she doesn't use as a tag for herself).

People don't think about it twice because "it's the internet", but imagine for a second what the real life equivalent would be:
someone comes into an agency saying "I need an african mermaid, or maybe an asian model" and Melissa jumps into his face out of nowhere yelling "ME ME THAT'S ME", hindering him to go away or look elsewhere.

I know I have a hard time clicking away all the ads she pays for, and I'm not even looking for a mermaid lol.

THIS THIS IRKS ME SO MUCH.
I was looking for dark skin mermaids and mermaid art, because sometimes when I'm feeling down I need to see some representation of mers that look like me you know? And among the like 5 pictures of actual dark skin mermaids that show up when using "african mermaid" or "black mermaid" Is freaking Mermaid Melissa! Like can you not? please?

[AniaR]

^ yeah like I said, this was how I found out about it to begin with. She openly tags my company on her stuff. I have been asked by clients if we employ her. She also tags me on youtube. You can actually see that she tags these things on her website. It's not even like they happen to come up. At the bottom of all her posts are all the things she tags.

I figured it was always rule of thumb to tag things that actually apply :p I wouldn't care so much if she wasn't actually tagging my business name.

[Starfrit]

I'm not sure how effective or plausible this option could be, Raina, but have you considered sending her a Cease and Desist? Associating your company name with her own business is confusing to your potential clients (assuming she works for you when she doesn't, that she performs in Canada when she doesn't, etc.) and creates dishonesty/misrepresentation regarding her own business and practices, similar to false advertising.

If she wants to use your name in ANY capacity to advertise herself, especially after all the crap she's put you through, she can pay you for the right to or shag off, frankly. :T

You'd think the world's first, best, most popular mermaid ever wouldn't have to rely on other people's hard work to get a few extra hits.

[AniaR]

You;re right about all the issues, but legal means between canada and the USA aren't all the same. And quite frankly, we just don't have the budget to spend 1000's of dollars to go after someone internationally for a few tags on the internet. I try to keep a legal slush fund for worse things. I could try and make a case but even in Canada it would be hard because it's really just hashtags. There are lawyers who don't even know what a hashtag is lol. I think one day she'll step too far and a big client will be able to do something about false advertisement.

[Tetra]

This is upsetting to learn. She is one of the first people besides Raina that I found when researching this mermaid thing seriously, and to find out that she is not as legit as she seems makes me very upset. I didn't realize I had been supporting a thief. I don't condone that at all.

[deepblue]

Wow. She gets worse and worse. This is just disgusting.

[Harpress]

I think the snark is getting a bit high in this thread, so here's a recipe for golden syrup dumplings.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
30 gms butter chopped
1/3 cups milk
1/3 cups golden syrup
Sauce


30 gms butter
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cups golden syrup
1 1/2 cups water
Method
STEP 1 Rub butter into flour.
STEP 2 Add milk and golden syrup and stir until just combined.
STEP 3 Roll mixture into balls and drop into simmering sauce.
STEP 4 Cover and cook for 25 minutes.
STEP 5 Sauce: Heat all ingredients in a saucepan until sugar has dissolved.
STEP 6 Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer.
STEP 7 Dumplings should be puffed and golden when cooked.
Notes
Serve with cream and or icecream.

LOL! Freakin' Gold Annwyn!

[QueenZero]

This is so disappointing. I admit I was not aware of Mermaid Melissa until I joined this forum, but for some reason I expect more of a professional mermaid. The blatant art-theft makes me see red, and the poor photoshop adds insult to injury. (You could AT LEAST doctor the photo decently!) The use of the elephant conservation photo...ugh.

[PhaylennMurúch]

wait, only $200 a week?! I made more than that working part time at Starbucks, after insurance and before tips. She needs to set up a better price guide 'cause she got taken for a ride there

[AniaR]

it was when she was starting out, and it wasn't her choice. that is standard in the field. They make barely above min wage at weeki. And many of the other mermaids who work at aquariums, do so within regular working hours of having a non-mermaid job there.

[Mermaid Leira]

Taking someone elses work without permision is an awful thing to do and illegal, spamming people is annoying, google add words is legal though, but if there's no proof from the photographers that took the pictures that she did not have permission, couldn't this thread be considered slander or defamation of character? I don't really like her page it's not my style but I really don't think there's need to speculate someone else earns per week or their relationships etc. Good on you for contacting the photographers though :)

[Starfrit]

Taking someone elses work without permision is an awful thing to do and illegal, spamming people is annoying, google add words is legal though, but if there's no proof from the photographers that took the pictures that she did not have permission, couldn't this thread be considered slander or defamation of character? I don't really like her page it's not my style but I really don't think there's need to speculate someone else earns per week or their relationships etc. Good on you for contacting the photographers though :)

Well, technically it would be "libel" since it's written, but legally nothing could be done about this thread unless there were substantial evidence that what was written here, specifically, actually had a negative and harmful impact on Melissa's reputation and business, which I honestly don't think would be the case-- people within the mercommunity aren't Melissa's target clientele, really, so things being posted on a fringe internet forum for other merfolk wouldn't be likely to reach any of her potential clients and have any noticeable impact. There's nothing shared here that hasn't already been shared anywhere else before, plus what's been shared here (well, beyond the money-making aspects and her personal relationships) has enough evidence available to back it up as fact; Slander/libel and defamation of character don't necessarily apply if there's evidence to prove that the statement(s) being made are true.

(Note: I am not a lawyer, just sharing what I've learned through past discussions both online and off with people who have more experience than me in the legal field)

As for the photographers, if it came down to a lawsuit for copyright infringement the burden of proof would be on Melissa to show she had proof in the first place. The copyright holders for the images themselves could easily proove their case simply by citing a lack of correspondence from Melissa for permission to alter their images.

That said, though, I definitely agree that it seems a bit reaching to be speculating on her finances and relationships.

[Mermaid Leira]

I meant no one has confirmation that she in fact did or did not have permission to use the images . I have never heard the word 'Libel" thanks Tieri. :)

[AniaR]

Well, technically it would be "libel" since it's written, but legally nothing could be done about this thread unless there were substantial evidence that what was written here, specifically, actually had a negative and harmful impact on Melissa's reputation and business, which I honestly don't think would be the case-- people within the mercommunity aren't Melissa's target clientele, really, so things being posted on a fringe internet forum for other merfolk wouldn't be likely to reach any of her potential clients and have any noticeable impact.

It would also have to be untruthful, and the things I say about my personal experience- I can prove In a court of law if need be. (I just figure it's pretty tasteless for me to post all our emails and fb conversations here to back up my context when the issue at hand is the photos). I'm pretty well versed in the laws as one of the reasons why we created mernetwork and left mer yuku was to have more freedom within those laws, and those laws are actually documented in earlier threads on this site with examples of how and what people can and can't write.

I believe my initial points still remain steadfast. Only #1 is questionable after seeing the use of the stock photo.



1) It is copyright theft

I tracked down the elephant guy and his images are used personally for his own story telling of the experience he had, along with related news stories. I could not track down the whale shark person. But we have seen there's a possibility that could have been used from stock. Either way, typical stock usage requires public/published acknowledgement of the stock being used via the licensing number credit. (you'll see even in news articles that use stock images there's a number or link for shutterstock and other websites) So even *if* she used a stock photo (the whaleshark. I do not believe the elephant photo is stock) she has not credited it properly and has still stuck her own watermark on the image. I can 100% agree that at this point being presented with the whale shark photo that there is a chance she paid to use stock. And even if that's the case, I think the following 3 points still stand:



2) It takes away from the individual causes by changing the context. The elephant image has a whole series of images and a story about elephant conservation. So does the Whale shark image. To claim to be a mermaid who cares about all creatures, it’s lame to steal from a cause to make yourself look better.

Particularly with the elephant image.



3) It undermines the mermaids who have actually done these things. Mermaids train for a long time to swim with whale shark. It takes a lot of ability. And they’ve all tried to raise awareness about the whales. Then since these are faked, it makes other people wonder if the actual mermaids who did swim with the sharks are faked.

Stock or not I feel this point still applies, and is one of the main issues other mermaids are concerned about.



4) It causes problems for all professional mermaids by creating and unrealistic benchmark for what mermaids are capable of. Photoshopping these extreme images makes it look like something standard instead of rare. Oh no big deal, we swim with elephants.
I dont think there’s things wrong with enjoying photoshopping photos and imagining yourself doing something you’ve never gotten to do. But it’s something all together to steal the photos, put your own watermark on them, and present them to your followers like fact. It’s misleading and false advertising. Along with being criminal.

Again, most of this would still apply if we're going with the speculation that she 8may* have bought the stock use for the whale shark photo. She's still intentionally misleading people to believe she's done something she hasn't.

The point of this thread is not, oh everyone look at how awful Melissa is, let's speculate all the reasons for her awfulness etc. It's, I ignore a lot of her behaviour in the community trusting people will see things on their own. (and they do) but in this instance so many people believed she swam with that darn elephant (as mentioned I have multiple communication about it) I just can't stand to see someone in the field blatantly lie to others/ mislead them when the rest of us work so hard to be genuine. She does present her image as a celebrity and I think it's pretty standard people discuss things they disagree with in the public eye.

I"m not necessarily trying to convince people she's a bad person, I give my own personal story as context as many other people on this site do as well when raising concerns about others. People can still like her and just not like her choice. Still be her fan etc. I'd just like to see the images taken down, or a clear caption that they're created as a photomanipulation.

Im okay if this thread ends FYI :p I don't need it to go on and on for days. I trust people will look at the pictures and make their own decisions as to whether or not they believe it to be okay.

[Mermaid Leira]

Wrong to take others images and claim those events happened, hope she stops if that's the case, people get carried away and turn things like this into full character assassinations and it wouldn't be shit if starting it reflected poorly on you and your motives were lost in the commotion of everyone's two cents being chucked in about her

that elephant shot would be amazing if it were real! Swimming and diving with whale sharks next May :) :) :)

[Fun123joker]

has anyone notified the original photographers about this? have any of them called her out?

[Sandra Siren]

Raina has been trying to notify them, and found d the photographer for one of them, I think

[Imogen Finnly]

Good heavens this thread is a scandle.

formerly jayy

[TheSirenSongstress]

Wow. It sounds like she's not even trying to cover her lies. I hope one day karma returns what she's done tenfold. So sad. [emoji17]

[Morganna]

I will be honest, I went to her FB page, and I was scrolling through her photos, and I saw more pictures of random animals, with no explanations, than pics of her. It makes me wonder if either a) I was looking at the wrong page. or B) She really hasn't done many things that she can feel proud of herself for.

For me personally, I know I haven't done much, but I am working up to it and doing my best. On a personal level it upsets me that someone who I would normally look up to is so deceitful. If you are so attention needy that you need to lie about your accomplishments (and yes, I consider what she is doing lying!), I honestly believe you need to take a nice long look in the mirror and re-evaluate your life.

"The climb up the latter of fame is far more important than that small patch of stage the spotlight hits because the learning and earning of the audience's admiration is what develops the character of a star."

[MermaidBonnie]

Thank you for sharing this information Raina. I was approached by a client who wondered if I had swam with elephants. I was very confused. He saw Melissa's picture and thought that this was the new standard for professional mermaids. My cousin recently just got the veterinarian position at the Elephant Sanctuary here in TN. I asked her, if I could model with her "patients". She said no, and her elephants are trained with and used to people. To swim up to an elephant in a mermaid tail without equipment and training would be very dangerous. I'm not saying swimming in the open ocean with various animals doesn't have its own dangers but that's totally different. I hope in sharing this people will see the facade, not to embarrass Melissa (I do not know her), but just to make sure no one tries out this stunt and gets hurt.

[Coradion]

Wrong to take others images and claim those events happened, hope she stops if that's the case, people get carried away and turn things like this into full character assassinations and it wouldn't be shit if starting it reflected poorly on you and your motives were lost in the commotion of everyone's two cents being chucked in about her

that elephant shot would be amazing if it were real! Swimming and diving with whale sharks next May :) :) :)


That's so freaking cool, I'm jealous! Where are you diving?

[Coradion]

Stock Photo's you's pay yous dollar and get - Click link for surprise.
http://www.istockphoto.com/photo/whaleshark-encounter-26034291?st=6538680

Does this seem silly to you, it does to me. In a world of Fiction and Fantasy arguing the pictures aren't real.
Next someone will say Mermaids aren't real!

Too easy - had to do it - sorry. :shame:


Haha, yeah a lot of the businesses I've worked for even the aquarium subscribes to stock sites. And how dare you suggest mermaids aren't real :P

[Coradion]

In a court of law, in the US, the things she calls herself would be considered "puffery", and impossible to prove. For instance, in an infamous pizza court battle, it boiled down to this:

"You've seen commercials where a company claims to have the "best" thingamajig. "Best" can be used without having to backup your statement. When you use "better," you "better" have proof to substantiate your claim."



Yeah, it's a business strategy. She reaches a lot of people, it's a business choice. She definitely gets a lot of exposure and I think she has a unique perspective on things not only as a mermaid but also from conservation viewpoints. Getting a job as a cetacean trainer is pretty cut throat, you have to be really good and really driven to get a position even at smaller facilities. Just because I don't agree with every choice someone makes doesn't mean it's not effective or I think they should be punished for it. It just means I don't agree. I still value a lot of the other things she has to offer.

[Seatan]

I am not a fan, but I don't hate her for stealing a few photos--what you said about her directing a dangerous stalker toward you, Raina, is much more disturbing to me! Artwork theft and misrepresentation are unethical, but putting someone in danger simply because you dislike them is flat out wrong. The elephant photo I could shrug off. Blatant disrespect for a fellow mer's safety, definitely not.

[Coradion]

I am not a fan, but I don't hate her for stealing a few photos--what you said about her directing a dangerous stalker toward you, Raina, is much more disturbing to me! Artwork theft and misrepresentation are unethical, but putting someone in danger simply because you dislike them is flat out wrong. The elephant photo I could shrug off. Blatant disrespect for a fellow mer's safety, definitely not.

Careful though, as with all things there are many stories. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone here, but Melissa is not on this site to share her story. Before people get up in arms, try for the path of discernment before passing judgment. If there were a thread like this about any of us and we weren't even aware of it going on how would you feel? Already a lot of people have passed judgment on Melissa without a single word on the situation from her mouth. I know if people dug hard enough they could find things I thought of as being casual fun and turn it into a huge scandal. I'm a pole dancer and an aerialist, yes I have performed in speedos, etc. If someone took one of my pictures from IG or tumblr, or other publications, they could definitely start some shit especially if I weren't there to say anything about it and clarify.

Let's just all be careful about what we say and how we react especially when we only have one side of the story.

[Seatan]

A fair point, Coradion.

[-Annwyn-]

Careful though, as with all things there are many stories. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone here, but Melissa is not on this site to share her story. Before people get up in arms, try for the path of discernment before passing judgment. If there were a thread like this about any of us and we weren't even aware of it going on how would you feel? Already a lot of people have passed judgment on Melissa without a single word on the situation from her mouth. I know if people dug hard enough they could find things I thought of as being casual fun and turn it into a huge scandal. I'm a pole dancer and an aerialist, yes I have performed in speedos, etc. If someone took one of my pictures from IG or tumblr, or other publications, they could definitely start some shit especially if I weren't there to say anything about it and clarify.

Let's just all be careful about what we say and how we react especially when we only have one side of the story.


Excellent points you make there, Coradion. There are always two sides to a coin, and we are only hearing one side here.

[AniaR]

The photos speak for them self. I don't expect two members who actively disagree with everything I post to care about my personal experiences. So cast them aside and you still have her very clear history of posting to the forums and you still have the photos. What you choose to take from that is up to you.

[Echidna]

Melissa has done all those things, and she is still doing them.
There are no "two sides", unless you are referring to a yet unheard sob story of hers how she was totally forced to lie and steal :rolleyes:

[-Annwyn-]

The photos speak for them self. I don't expect two members who actively disagree with everything I post to care about my personal experiences. So cast them aside and you still have her very clear history of posting to the forums and you still have the photos. What you choose to take from that is up to you.

Who says I disagree with everything you post?
The thing is, Melissa hasn't posted in the forums in years, and I could not care less about what she does.

[Carolina Mermaid]

I knew there was something off about her pictures!

[Mermaid Leira]

Ningaloo Coradion :) west coast Australia, but first balinext month then , Boracay in March, heard there's a mermaid school there, can combine diving and mermaid ing :) :):)

Pretty sure Melissa would have been show this, i hope they're non stock photographs and the thread is valid, but if they are it's no different to many pics I've seen for example a mermaid with super imposed background of anything. I am not experienced or a professional by any means but I don't understand how the picture could cause a client demographic to raise the industry standard.

[AniaR]

Bonnie gave a perfect example already.

[Mermaid Leira]

Great example it just blows me away that someone would assume everyone could / would have experience with swimming with elephants as standard, or it would matter your average day to day clients.

check this out though, it is possible, you should do a real photo shoot with Rajan

http://diveandamans.com/page/swimming-elephant

[Miyu]

Wow, how neat! Wouldn't it be something for a mermaid to actually swim with him? I mean, just to even get to swim with Rajan at all would be totally freakin' awesome!

[Mermaid Leira]

Probably could, It sounds like he is used to people and ones wearing strange fish suits of sorts and with equipment anyway :) swimming with the Island pigs in the bahamas would make for an interesting shoot too, they look so funny and cute in the water :)

[AniaR]

That's sorta my whole point with the post is that there are people/mermaids who really do things like this and I find it undermining to falsify that you've done something you havent. For instance, Bonnie trained forever to swim with whalesharks. The guy who did the photo of the elephant did a big article to raise awareness. Why fake it if you can do it for real? It takes away from the message, the moment, and other people who actually do it. No problem with PS for fun, just don't put it out there with the intention of misleading people. Putting the photo in her official video biography of her swimming with an elephant and both on here and on FB everyone is saying they always wondered why they could never find the footage lol

[Mermaid Leira]

Well, she's ripped off the photo and herself by not experience something amazing she maybe could have, her loss. It's given others a chance to see this could be possible, and done in the right way to promote conservation and tell Rajan's story. :) I wanna see it really done! she will be caught out when she's questioned personally and about the pics by clients and when a photographer has had images used without permission and chases her down when they come across them I'm sure.

People from other agencies in my field can be dodgy characters, but I think it's best to leave it up to their self built reputation and the authorities intervening rather than publicly out them in a forum when not 100% on facts and it could leave me open to critique, a law suit or put me in danger or hurt feelings.

Time would be better spent working on ones self and letting others make their own beds, that's where I'm coming from.

[Coradion]

I think this thread might be better off closed, even if some of the things on here might be true in part it seems people have said what they wanted to. Why put effort into this thread when you can put effort into painting, sewing, or creating.

Why don't we start a thread of Mermaid Original Shoots. Not just show us your pictures, but like an anything creative shoot that you think is all you not just a replica or generic shoot. Mermaids at the movies, underwater pillow fight, sledding in a tail, I dunno.

[AniaR]

No reason to close it just cuz you don't agree with it. Stop following the thread.

[Merman Chatfish]

She just changed her profile picture and wow it really is photoshopped. I am a bit horrified.

[AniaR]

Actually the one I just saw is real.

[Merman Chatfish]

yea I saw the video after I posted it. Its so confusing! It just seemed like everything was so blue except her tail.

[Coradion]

This doesn't look photoshopped, this is the same effect you get when you take pictures of fishes at depth using a strobe. Everything else is super blue because she's at a depth where most things grey out and blue light is penetrating. Taking a photo with a strobe/flash at this depth illuminates an area, such as her and her tail. The light is thrown off the reflective elements of her tail which if there's any substrate in the water can even create a halo of glow effect. You can see similar effects in a lot of underwater pictures, not just mermaid photos. I doubt this is photoshop, it's just good underwater photography. If you say it's photoshop when it's not it's an insult to the photographer.

https://scontent-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1962642_10153338639573294_2897081743506724794_n.pn g?oh=eca33a9c0f59d33504fff4ba3664a0ca&oe=551DF5E0

[Coradion]

Like this photo of Hannah has the same effect, she is luminous against the blue backdrop. Again, most likely from a strobe flash throwing light off of her into the surrounding water.



http://www.bluespheremedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ShawnHeinrichs-2012-11-04at21-00-22-45132.jpg

[PhaylennMurúch]

I was not expecting nipples when I went online today, surprise!

[BayouMermaid]

I was not expecting nipples when I went online today, surprise!
Must have been cold in the ocean that day.

[Merman Chatfish]

This doesn't look photoshopped, this is the same effect you get when you take pictures of fishes at depth using a strobe. Everything else is super blue because she's at a depth where most things grey out and blue light is penetrating. Taking a photo with a strobe/flash at this depth illuminates an area, such as her and her tail. The light is thrown off the reflective elements of her tail which if there's any substrate in the water can even create a halo of glow effect. You can see similar effects in a lot of underwater pictures, not just mermaid photos. I doubt this is photoshop, it's just good underwater photography. If you say it's photoshop when it's not it's an insult to the photographer.


I didn't think about that. going to go back to hiding in my cave.


I was not expecting nipples when I went online today, surprise!
fish have nipples?? I don't see them.

[AniaR]

I love how awesome Hannah is about boobs :D I wish I had some of that guts but it's a hard thing to balance when you work with kids too!

[SeaGlass Siren]

Hannah's photo looks absolutely beautiful... I agree with Raina, we need to be comfortable about boobs.

Back to the photoshop thing though, I need an explanation: wouldn't the flash also reflect back on the globey looking thing like the way her figure would?

[Coradion]

Not necessarily, light diffuses quickly in the water and is heavily influenced by depth and ambient substrate in the area. If you shine light on a bright object like Melissa's tail it can bounce off and actually make other bright things appear dim. Some camera strobes only work on close subjects, like if you see ocean pictures from deep down fishes in the front appear bright while those in the back may be dark even if they're the same species.

[AniaR]

I believe they used a red filter because the video have similar quality as well. It could have been tweaked on both ends to improve color but it's def NOT her photoshopped in terms of the other one. Not at all.

For those who are interested, here's some info on shooting underwater:

underwater strobe guide: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/underwater-photography-strobes

filters used underwater: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/underwater-photography-filters

Greg Ampton is around the forum and on FB as well and is an accomplished underwater photographer. He can talk your ear off in the best way about these topics :) There's also a behind the scenes video somewhere from a photo shoot Iona did where the photographer shows himself using the flash, and when you see the finished images you can see it really helps them pop!

[SeaGlass Siren]

thank you both :)

(LOOK! SOMETHING YOU GUYS BOTH AGREED ON :p)

[PearlieMae]

As a mermaid, I wouldn't really have a problem putting myself into stock photos that I've purchased legally. I mean, it's hard enough to get good photography on a budget.

As an art director, I have extensive experience with Photoshop on a forensic level. I can spot bad photo manipulation a mile away.

As a photographer, if I found anybody using my images to promote their business without compensation or my permission, my lawyers would be after them like jackals on a wildebeest.

If M wants to tarnish her reputation with dodgy practices, that's on her. Whether it affects her or not, who cares? If it affects me or my business as a mermaid/art director/photographer, or if I feel it negatively affects the mermaid community as a whole, you can be sure I will have something to say about it in public forums.

[AniaR]

Eloquently said!

[PearlieMae]

Thank you, Raina!

Of course, after a couple glasses of that World Famous Mermaid Punch, I might get mouthy and opinionated ;)

[Mermaid Galene]

What Pearlie said.

And bring on the Punch! Root ti toot ti too! (See, that's an inside joke which absolutely nobody here will get.) (Okay, I'll tell you. I was a Punch and Judy Professor (puppeteer) for 25 years.)

[MarkF]

I think this otta be renamed Mermaid M Hate'r club.

[Echidna]

We don't hate her, we hate the stupid (and illegal) things she does.

[PhaylennMurúch]

I don't think it's hate, I think many are disappointed and frustrated with the choices she has made. Pictures like the elephant one use falsehood to raise the bar, it's only a matter of time before people expect mets to all have swum with elephants, etc. And it's only natural that other photos are now being scrutinized, who's to say that not all of her pictures of Photoshoped? We know that she has done a lot of cool things but these blatantly fake ones call everything else into question.
Hell, When I win the lottery you can be damn sure I'm gonna go swim with that elephant because everybody's going to see all of the pictures and videos starting from the plane ride there and ending with me going "I swam with a freaking elephant!"

[PhaylennMurúch]

Mers, stupid autocorrect

[AniaR]

If we hated her why would we correct someone for thinking she photo shopped her latest profile pic? Gimme a break this thread has been more than fair. People have gone out of their way to be fair

[MarkF]

Ya but, my favorites mers have gone from discussions of Mermaid life and techniques to discussings thier dissatisfaction with a Mermaid not part of this network. It's just become gossip.
Remember when the interest was improvement.
For me personally it's become disappointing.
On another channel everyone have a great turkey day.

[AniaR]

No one's really gossiping I've provided proof for what I've said about photos, and for my personal stuff you can still see her old postings on the forums and her own FB and I've got copies of my emails.

Now we had a NEW user come in and make a wrong assumption that could of turned into gossip. But it was shot down instantly and he was corrected. Take a look at the drama thread if you wanna see what members hating on other mermaids looks like.

And the mernetwork isn't secluded to discussions of only here. It's the whole mer world. I feel there'd be zero outcry if this was about a different person or company.

Either way, I'll risk a few people thinking bad of me, for the majority seeing my concerns and being more aware of what's happening in the community. I think everyone for the most part has really worked hard to be fair about the points. A LOT worse things could be said but aren't. I'm actually quite proud of how everyone handled the thread honestly. Nothing compared to others. I think people all handled it maturely and I don't mind an odd joke about mermaid punch ;)

[Coradion]

Ya but, my favorites mers have gone from discussions of Mermaid life and techniques to discussings thier dissatisfaction with a Mermaid not part of this network. It's just become gossip.
Remember when the interest was improvement.
For me personally it's become disappointing.
On another channel everyone have a great turkey day.


Kinda how I'm feeling about this thread too. I really don't think everyone who commented on this thread would be willing to say things the way they did if they knew Melissa was reading the thread which she might be.

[AniaR]

We established in the first page she was reading it when she edited something based on the thread. People have said these things directly to her on her page. She deletes comments and blocks them. Really, the post is about the images. You're the one who continually wants to debate the thread as a whole. That's the only thing that is actually detracting from the original posts. So, either start your own thread debating what is appropriate to post on the forum, report it if you think it breaks a rule ( it doesn't) or quit reading the thread. You're the guy who over the past 2 years has posted untrue and downright hateful things about me all over this forum and another forum created souly for bashing people a select few of you don't like from here. Don't drone on about two sides to every story and not liking a thread. Its getting old.

Melissa Photoshopped herself into photos to give the impression she's done things she hasn't. Its a valid discussion. We discuss things like this all over the forum.

[Morganna]

That's awesome. I don't really know enough about photography or photoshop to chime in on the convo, but I think it's awesome that so many people are so knowledgeable about the subject.