[quote=@Chai]

Just as YouTube removes videos with a copyrighted song at the artist's request, it's the staff's job to remove copyrighted material at the artist's request. Doesn't matter if you think it's unfair or stupid or that you can make it right by "linking it to their crappy blog." If they want it taken down, then just take it down. Respect for the art community, guys. 

[/quote]

[b]THIS.[/b]
Just respect the art community. It's not that hard.  If they don't want it up, just take it down. 
I wouldn't ever want to see my artwork on a RP site. Especially if I'm trying to find a job that does background checks on social media. It sometimes will ruin people. 

And no, because it's a "[i]100% public[/i]" doesn't mean that it's there for you to use freely. There's Copyright laws and if they catch you using their work inappropriately for whatever reason, they can take legal action on you. It's much more complicated than you think.

If they artist says not to re-post their art, don't re-post it. If the artist says not to use their art on another website, don't use it. And I understand it's hard to keep track of that because people will remove tags or scratch off the artist signature, but if it comes down to it and an artist comes in and says they want it removed, I think it's common courtesy to have it taken down. 

The Youtube scenario from Chai is like the perfect example.