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Subject:Copyright and TECHWR-L Postings From:Michael Andrew Uhl <uhl -at- VISLAB -dot- EPA -dot- GOV> Date:Thu, 7 Mar 1996 08:21:56 -0800
If I were stealing text from TECHWR-L for use in
a Web page or book I was writing, I certainly wouldn't
advertise it on TECHWR-L. Knowing human nature:
the power of greed and laziness, I am certain that
sooner or later, if not already, someone will copy
text, verbatim, without permission from the authors
and publish it in a book or Web page.
This kind of behavior is wrong and should be discouraged.
Resorting to defensive rhetoric about TECHWR-L being
"private club" diverts attention away from the real issue.
If you want to use the posting of a TECHWR-L author,
ask them first. Every time I've asked to reprint a
TECHWR-L author's text, they've agreed. I clearly list them
as the author and site the source and date of their
writing.
Guy McDonald (guym -at- daka -dot- com) wrote:
>Fascinating.... Having followed the old copyright
>thread a while back, this note rather disturbed me.
>The opinion was asked for, so here's my thoughts
>on the matter.
>Is anyone making money submitting "opinions" and ideas
>to TECHWR-L on such topics like: "Using Font Types",
>"HTML vs. Acrobat", "Doing your own art", etc. ???
>Isn't this list a resource available to the on-line
>Technical Communicator? Or is it some private club that
>threatens litigation everytime someone quotes one of
>our "esteemed" messages?
>Frankly, I would be very interested to know who receives
>royalties from any messages that are posted to TECHWR-L.
>Please, let's not banter back and forth "my copyright is
>bigger than your copyright" in this forum.
>Thank you.
--
Michael Andrew Uhl, Lead Technical Writer (uhl -at- vislab -dot- epa -dot- gov)
Lockheed Martin, Primary Support Contractor to US EPA
Scientific Visualization Center
National Environmental Supercomputing Center (NESC)
U.S. EPA Environmental Research Center
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
