Very valid points bro. I see where you're coming from. There are not as many purists nowadays when it comes to photography who are really after loss less quality.
Personally, I hate watermarks, I believe they are distracting and interfere with the proper appreciation of the photo. This is the reason why for the longest time (backread for my earlier posts), I did not use watermarks on the photos I posted (as a photohunter or "mamumulot" as Yubi puts it, meaning I admit to getting these from social networking sites, websites, and every nook and cranny on the Web), even those that I personally took (check out the Espiya camera and phone camera threads, where I still don't watermark, I also have some original photos in the College Athletes thread).
I also believe that everything posted on the Internet should be free for everyone to enjoy, you post it, it belongs to the world. Simply put, I am not a believer in copyrights and other variations of intellectual property.
Watermarks primarily work to identify the creator of the image. However, here in Espiya, at least for purposes of my post, they do not serve to identify the creator, they serve merely to identify that these images were originally posted here. Again, they do not serve to mislead the viewer that espiya.net took that photo, it is to simply show that it was posted here. You don't see a "bill clinton" watermark or my real name or initials on any of my posts. A regular web enthusiast who sees the "espiya.net" watermark will not think that espiya.net actually took that photo but will think that the photo was lifted from our site, thus increasing the awareness about our home.
Why you may ask? There are a gazillion forums in the Internet. They all jockey for the reputation of being "number one" or "ahead of the pack." My watermarking came as a reaction from one such blogsite that claimed to be the "definite source for sexy pinays." He started lifting photos from our site en masse (meaning buong buo) and claimed that his site is the source of these photos. This businessman also has ads on his site from which he earns. Should lame @$$ profiteers such as this blogger profit from the efforts of SG and the entire Espiya community while he just sits back, lifts our site's content, posts them as his own and earn from them?
I think the answer is more than obvious.