Frequently Asked Questions

General

• What is this place and why is my art here?

  Derpibooru is an image repository which lets people bring together art from all over the internet, annotate the images with tags and an original source URL for easy searching, and discuss the artwork. Your artwork is here because someone liked it enough to post it to the site to share with the community here.

• Is it possible to remain anonymous on this website? What benefits do I get from registering?

  An account is not necessary for most site functionality. Additionally, if you are logged into an account, there is an option to hide your username when posting comments and uploading images. Registering an account is highly recommended, as that will allow you to utilize filters to hide content you don't wish to see, vote on images and add them to your favorites, send private messages, collect badges, and more!

• Who runs this site?

  Derpibooru is run by a team of approximately fifty volunteers, including artists, art fans, coders, and people who just love hanging out on this site. You can view a list of the site's current staff on our staff page.

• How can I help out on the site?

  Simple! The best way to help out is by submitting art, and helping make sure that the tags and sources of images to help make sure everything is properly organzied.

• Is Derpibooru affiliated with any other sites?

  Derpibooru is an independently operated website and is not affiliated with any other websites, communities, companies, or organizations.

• What is the difference between derpibooru.org and trixiebooru.org? Are these different sites?

  There is no difference between the domains. They are the same website.

Rule Explanations

• Rule 0: What does apparent only purpose being to incite anger, argument, or controversy mean?

  While many controversial or offensive things may be useful for purposes of enjoyment or argument, sometimes they are clearly posted merely to get rise out of others, and we will not tolerate this. Note that for artwork, we have no intention of removing it simply because it's controversial or provocative, as artwork really has a place in being such, but it must have value beyond merely causing anger. Images that are simply text lazily overlaid on things or that are otherwise simple edits will receive the harshest treatment, as they contain little in the way of artistic quality.

• Rule 0: What does harass mean?

  Calling people names, throwing out wild accusations, and casting shade in general isn't really a way to be excellent to others, and so has to be forbidden. There is consideration here of whether you're going after a specific person, especially one on the site; there is a bit of leeway to call public figures/groups names, so long as it is kept quite tame. Also, it is fine to talk about people's behavior and make reasonable accusations, but not to slander with something where there is little to no evidence.

• Rule 0: What is discrimination?

  "Personal characteristics" are things one has little control over being when growing up, like ethnicity, sex, sexuality, religion, or even their handedness, and we don't allow any discrimination on them. Because this is an especially troublesome area for there to be hatred in in a community based around My Little Pony, we apply strict standards to images to determine if they are advocating discrimination. Racism can be depicted in artwork, just like it has been depicted in Friendship is Magic, but the image should not appear to be a mouthpiece for it. An OC stating to the viewer that they hate a race is not okay, nor is showing characters gleefully hitting the button to kill someone due to their race. As for what is allowed, an example is image #26452, because it portrays discomfort at the very notion that the character would express such a thing.

• Rule 1: I want to post an edit of an artist's work

  Please check the artist's tag first; some artists expressly forbid edits of their work and your edit may be deleted. If you have permission from the artist, note that in the upload's description.
  
  Otherwise, keep in mind the list of edit types we automatically assume are against most artists' wishes; if you believe an artist whose work you wish to edit and post would be OK with such edits, include a link or other evidence of that in the upload's description. This also applies to using AI to emulate an artist's unique personal art style in general; if you have evidence they're OK with their style being copied through AI, present it.

• Rule 3: My AI Generated image was deleted for low quality, but it looked great?

  It's likely your image included bad anatomy (additional limbs, impossible bending, clothes merging into flesh, etc.) or artifacts (floating elements, fake text). In general we treat AI Generated images with little or no human editing in a similar way to screencaps: we only keep the best. We recommend you curate your generations and select the finest if you wish to share on the site. We also recommend looking into how to edit and improve these images manually through edits in external apps, collaging, etc., as well as drawing base sketches to work from, to make such images "truly yours" and not rely solely on AI.

• Rule 6: What are "similar images"?

  This refers to screencaps of shows or games, edits, character creators, and AI generated images. Alternative versions of an artist's original work, such as versions with different clothing, are exempt.
  
  - Screenshots of shows: alternative crops of the same screencap, or minute differences between screencaps that are just a few frames apart.
  - Paper-doll/kisekae type games and character creator tools: screencaps or exports of the results with no significant editing variation
  - AI Generated images: images that follow the same prompt / theme, even if several details are different.

• Rule 6: AI Generated upload restrictions

  This restriction only applies to AI Generated images without significant amounts of human editing. If you upload more than two AI Generated images within a 24 hour period, staff may delete some of them at their own discretion. Repeatedly uploading too many AI Generated images after being warned, or trying to circumvent the two per 24 hours limit, is grounds for being banned.

• Rule 7: What is graphic or highly controversial?

  This refers mainly to what would be hidden by the Default filter for sexual, horror, or controversy reasons. For instance, exposed breasts, gore, or racism and related symbols. Things Default only spoilers are generally fine, and some things it hides may be okay due to not being graphic, but in gray areas, it is best to get staff approval.

Images, Tags, and Sources

• What are tags?

  Tags are how Derpibooru stays organized. They are used to describe images, including information such as the artist of the image, the character(s) in the image, theme of an image, and more. Using tags allows our members to quickly and easily find the images that they are looking for.

• What tags should I add to an image?

  Tags should accurately describe the contents, such as characters, a theme, OCs, and items, and meta-information, such as the artist and rating, of an image. There is a quick tag table located below the tag editing box which contains most of the site's most commonly used tags.

• Can I add any tag I want to images?

  No. Tags must accurately reflect the image. Adding random, nonsensical, or irrelevant tags to an image, as well as removing valid tags from an image, is considered tag vandalism and if done intentionally will result in a ban.

• I found two tags that mean the same thing, what should I do?

  You should create a thread in the Tagging Discussion Forum requesting either an alias (if both tags mean the exact same thing) or an implication (if one tag means another tag, but not vice-versa). Please see this thread for more information.

• Who can edit tags and the source URL on an image?

  Everyone and anyone can!

• How do I update images?

  If an image has been updated or fixed by the artist, upload it and report the old image as a duplicate of the new. Click the "Reporting" tab on the old image, then "Updated or previously uploaded", and enter the ID number (example: https://derpibooru.org/452979) of the new image. All duplicate reports are processed manually by a member of the site staff, and will be looked at as soon as possible.

• What is the difference between favorites and votes?

  Voting lets you show your approval for an image privately. It only changes the score of an image. Faving is public, and lets you find images you liked again.

• How do I get a custom description for my OC's tag?

  Please make a request in the OC Tag Description Requests thread.

• Difference between AI Generated and AI Assisted

  These tags are exclusive to each other. AI Generated images have been created by an AI / Machine Learning Algorithm and have no editing, or only minor editing, such as fixing small errors like removing extra nostrils. AI Assisted images use AI as a part of the creative process combined with significant human artistic input. This can mean things like using AI models to apply colours to hand-drawn lineart, using AI generated imagery for background elements, or adding AI voices to a human-created animation. AI Assisted also applies to images that originate as AI Generated, but have been extensively edited by a human by means such as heavy inpainting, manually painting over, tracing the artist's own lineart, and/or combining elements from different AI generated images; essentially, where hours of manual work have been put into creating the image, rather than just hitting "generate" until the AI creates something "good enough".

• I uploaded an AI Generated image and can't find it?

  Please check your current filter, as most default filters are set to hide AI Generated images.

Accounts

• How do I get badges?

  Badges are earned in recognition of being an artist, contributing quality uploads to the site, helping with translations, and for various other achievements. Though some are unique, unobtainable, or have secret criteria to be earned, a partial list of what badges we have and how to earn them can be found here.

• I'm an artist, where's my badge?

  The Artist Badge is available to all artists who have art on this website, so long as they have a verified public user link and an associated artist tag.

• What are user links?

  User links are a system to help the users of this site find your Deviantart, Tumblr, Inkbunny, etc, galleries, as well as intended to confirm your identity as the artist of your gallery for administrative reasons such as takedowns. They can be public or private; a private user link is only visible to site staff, and serves to confirm your identity without the publicly available links. If you're an artist, set up a user link today!

• How do I delete my account?

  It is not possible to fully delete accounts. You can request that your account be deactivated and have all personally identifiable information (such as your email and IP address) wiped by contacting ops@derpibooru.org from the email address associated with the account. Note that if you wish to have your username no longer associated with the site, you must change it before submitting the request.

• How do I rename my account?

  You may rename your account by going to your Account Settings page, and looking for the the link to rename your account at the top of the page. Please be aware that you may only rename your account once every ninety days, and if the link is not visible, that means your account was renamed too recently.

• Someone registered an account name I want to use and isn't using it, can I have it?

  If someone has registered a username that you would like and has had no activity on the site, we will be glad to "clear up" the username so that you may have it in most circumstances. Please contact a moderator for assistance with this.

Bans and Deletions

• When I try to post an image it tells me my IP is high risk!

  If your IP has been marked as high risk, you will need to create an account to use the site.

• Why am I banned? How do I appeal it?

  Ban messages will include a reason for the ban. Note that, due to how IP addresses work, you may have ended up with an IP address that was banned while someone else used it.

  Contact us if you want to appeal a ban, or you think a ban is incorrectly affecting you. Discord and IRC are preferred.

• Why was my upload deleted?

  We actively monitor images and will delete any upload that violates the Site Rules, or belongs to an artist on our Do Not Post List. Though we are very liberal with what we allow, we had to draw the line somewhere. The rules give detailed accounts of what is not allowed on the Booru and will be taken down. If you feel your upload was taken down in error, please don't re-upload it – contact us and we'll talk! We're only human and mistakes do happen.

• Why did / didn't Meme X get deleted?

  Rule #3 was recently changed to be more strict. "Obligatory pony" posting, or the practice of putting a non-related image in a pony template to justify uploading it here, is no longer allowed. However, old pictures from before this rule change that now break this rule are allowed to stay. Alternately, memes that have been spammed, such as the same image with a different caption uploaded again and again, will likely be deleted. If you feel an image breaks the rules report it using the "report" button found on every image page. If you feel an image was taken down in error, please contact us.

Technical Questions

• Why do I keep getting logged out?

  To remain logged in, check the box labelled "Remember Me" on the log in screen. Additionally, an occasional bug in the authentication framework the site uses may prevent you from using more than one simultaneous login. Please log out of all instances and try again.

• I have a great idea for how to improve the site! How can I suggest it?

  You can make a post in our Feature Suggestions thread.

• I found a bug or am having trouble with a site feature, what should I do?

  Please file a report in our Bug Reports thread for most technical issues. However, if you believe you found a security bug with the site, please contact a site developer via private message.

• What is 'philomena'?

  The site is powered by a custom Phoenix application. Philomena is the canon phoenix in MLP:FiM.

• What was 'booru-on-rails'?

  The site used to be powered by a custom Ruby on Rails application. The name 'booru-on-rails' is a wordplay of Ruby on Rails.

Takedowns and Do-Not-Post Requests

• Can I get my artwork removed?

  Yes. You can find information about that on our Takedown Requests page.

• Can I make it so that nobody can ever post any of my art ever again?

  There is no way to automatically block uploads, but if you make it clear to the moderators when requesting a takedown you'll be added to the Do Not Post list. Your artwork, if spotted by a moderator or reported, will be removed. In addition, once a particular piece has been removed it cannot be reuploaded thanks to our deduplication tools.

• You're violating my copyright and I want to sue you!

  Feel free to issue us with a takedown notice. These will be dealt with as rapidly as a normal takedown request, and will make lawyers richer. We heartily recommend issuing a normal takedown request, since this method is significantly faster, easier, and does not involve anyone paying any lawyers anything.

• Someone uploaded a picture of my OC, how do I get it removed?

  OCs are not copyrightable, and therefore will not be removed by request of the OC's owner. The artist who created the image is the only one who may request a takedown.

• I don't want an image I commissioned on this site, how do I delete it?

  Per copyright law, ownership of commissioned images remains with the artist who created the image, not the person who commissioned it. The artist who created the image is the only one who may request a takedown.