[Coinlive] What is the NFT Right-Click Culture?

What do you do when you ‘right-click’? Well, I am sure we are all right-click warriors, for better or worse. We right-click to create a new folder, to open a link in a new tab, and more, but one of the most common actions without much of an afterthought is to right-click and save an image (if you cringe, then you are one of the guilty parties)! It is such an easy process that we do it so naturally (as naturally as breathing) without thinking twice and we do that for almost anything.

The all-too-familiar image of what we see when we right-click to save an image

The right-clicker mentality is as literal as it is, referring to one right-clicking on an image and selecting the “save” option so as to save a copy of the image to whatever device one is on. Well, this term is very prevalent in the NFT market too. To NFTs diehard fans, they would not dream of being a right-clicker. But to NFT naysayers, they do not believe in the value of digital art, specifically crypto art, and mock the former for paying a hefty price on images that you can just right-click and save. There is no hard right or hard wrong to this; it depends on how you view it. It is like splurging $5,000 on a Louis Vuitton bag whereas you can get a knockoff for just $300? If the knockoff looks more or less like the real deal, not many people can tell the difference. Or if you pay $40 for a HD version of a movie whereas someone can download it online for the same quality free-of-charge (FOC) when it releases online. So, for NFT artworks, let us say you pay $100,000 for a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT, but someone can just right-click and save the image for no cost: both parties now have the image but the right-click warrior does not possess the ownership of it. In a nutshell, they do not own it, simply a copy of it only.

The “right-clicker mentality” is a term first coined by NFT Collector and creator Midwit Milhouse who complained about a man recreating Salt Bae’s gold-coated steak for a fraction of the real price

Then what are the pros and cons of it?

Pros:

• - Yes, you spend NOTHING to right-click and save the NFT artwork
• - You can troll those who actually spend money (often times a hefty amount) so bragging rights?

Cons:

• - You own a copy of the digital image, yet you do not actually have the ownership of it
• - You miss out on all the perks and benefits (kind of like having a country club membership) that come with purchasing the NFT artwork like discounts, exclusive or limited-edition collectibles, gala invites, and more
• - No resale value since others too can right-click and save the image you saved
• - In some sense, you are actually doing free marketing for the NFT holders

Twitter debuts hexagon-shaped NFT profile pictures, differentiating them from the usual circles available to other users. To find out information about the art and its ownership, one just needs to tap on the picture. This is a solution (partial) provided by Twitter to remedy the situation a little

So, who is right? In some ways, both groups are. The online battle has been raging on for a long time; there are scores of critics shaking their legs on the sidelines and right-clicking to save images while trolling those who unwaveringly support NFT artwork by spending their money, while some are neither here nor there as they waver between sides or just cannot be bothered about it. Do you own the NFT or are you getting owned? I am guilty of the right-click culture, I admit so. How about you?

Written by: [Coinlive] Catherine