i want to upload, but the more i think about it, the more i feel i should ask the artist permission. how many people actually do that, though?
would it be that big of a deal as long as they were credited as the artist?
i'd feel nervous reaching out to the actual artist, but at the same time, i'd hate to be the reason they become do not post or even hurt them somehow.
i've heard stories about artists finding out about uploads without permission, then going on to delete all their work off of the web. i don't want to be the cause of that.

@garfieldfromgarfield: My personal philosophy is that, if the artist has a couple pieces already uploaded, then someone probably asked for permission at some point and I shouldn't bother them by asking again. But if the artist has zero/only one or two uploads, I send them a message and ask first. In this case, I can also recommend doing a search for the artist's name along with status:deleted, to see if they have any previously deleted works which follow a pattern to avoid (and obviously checking the Avoid Posting List ).

I definitely believe this puts me in the minority though, and that most people work on a "post now, delete later" principle. Though I can say that from my personal experience with two separate artists (monstrifex and unixcat) that they were both very open to me posting their content (and having the affirmation was also a great way to alleviate the uncertainty you're describing).

@garfieldfromgarfield: I always ask for permission before posting to e621. Even if I paid for the art myself.