taking your words without your ok?

[ptpgrad]

So I post recaps regularly. On AFR today, someone posted that they are copying my entire post to another newsgroup that is interested in what I am saying. Didn't say where, didn't ask me if it was ok, just took the whole thing lock, stock and barrel.

This gives me heebie jeebies. I mean, I know I write it vaguely enough and respectfully enough that I should not actually offend/hurt anyone or give too much away...but hrm...its a snippet of my life. Can't they direct the people who are interested to the original post?

I also don't like how she interpreted what she thought I was saying.

Ah well. Just makes me extra careful about what I write and to whom.

Joy.

Comments

[cozit.livejournal.com]

Now I *know* you're tired, or that you're definitely not using Netscape.

The other ng was alt.usenet.legends.lester-mosley

haven't the foggiest what it's all about, though (it shows up in Netscape under the newsgroups posted to list... like the "To:" list for e-mail).

[bittibuddha.livejournal.com]

its a strange collection of posts. Without reading ~all~ of them, i would swear its almost like virtual "hoarding"... just bits and pieces from all over the web. strange.

[pyratelady.livejournal.com]

Technically, that's a copyright violation. At the very least, it's theft of your words.

[bonkoif.livejournal.com]

I believe it's a little more grey than that. As long as they're not claiming it as their own work, it was originally posted in a public forum without a "do not redistribute" notice. Without guidance from the copyright holder in that situation, it's not neccessarily illegal.

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

I agree... it would bother me too. I've been asked before if it were okay to copy some of my posts elsewhere, and I almost always request them to send a link or redirect, simply because I don't always trust random people to put my writings in the proper context. Even though, like you, I try very hard to weigh my words and write respectfully, one never knows how someone else will interpret things.

[thalionar.livejournal.com]

eeew... very not cool, and it is copyright violation.

[morghana.livejournal.com]

Really what they OUGHT to do is link back to your post. That's the polite (and in my mind) the ETHICAL thing to do.

Not sure about the copyright violation portion, but it is definitely grey....

[silverstah.livejournal.com]

Well, that's just freakin' rude.

If you're going to recopy a personal post (even if it is a public post!), you should ask the author's permission.

*grumble*

[faireraven.livejournal.com]

I can't blame you for feeling that way... I'd be wierded out too.

And honestly? It's just plain rude. You link to the original, or ask permission to redistribute, you don't just take it.

Well, unless it's a meme, but that's not yours to begin with, it's already being passed on, and with that intention. But even then, it's still polite to say where you got it.

I'll agree with the rude part...

[mongo.livejournal.com]

The copyright thing is a whole different story. If you're putting it on AFR or even Live Journal and not restricitng it, you are releasing it to the public to read (but then agaon permission to read is not the same as permission to take it and post it somewhere else).

The best way to handle something like that would either be to a) get your permission before cross posting it or b) post a link so people could read more of your writing. Or if you simply MUST take it and post it, at least have the courtesy to say where you got it from.

But in a way it is a compliment to your writing, which I admit to enjoying and I promise I will not cross post anywhere since I now know how you feel about it. Wish I could get down there this year to see you again (and so you can meet the Carpet Shark).

Be safe. Have fun.

Well...

[chimp-ninja.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: I know jack about the law. Your mileage may vary. Not a flotation device.

If it's a verbatim reproduction, it's likely copyright infringement. (See http://www.benedict.com/digital/Internet/Usenet.aspx for a snarky layman's explanation of why.) I say "likely" because the law and the Intarwebs intersect in murky ways, mostly because the law is slow and the Intarwebs are fast.

Now, this person could convey your ideas with no problem. She'd just have to do it in her own words to be within the likely bounds of the law. She could also quote brief portions within such a post and fall under 'Fair Use'. It's just like writing an essay for 7th-grade English class. You can ask your parents for an idea of what to write about, and you can attribute a quote to your parents, but you can't just have them write it for you, even if you attribute it properly.

None of which matters unless you really plan to hire legal counsel and sue for the right to remove the post and possibly attorney's fees.

The salient issue is that taking someone's work and reproducing it without their consent (especially to people who would otherwise have no way to access it) makes you a jerkface. Probably a well-meaning Jerkface of No Forethought rather than your more garden-variety General Jerkface, but nonetheless, of the genus jerkfacius.