I used to think imitation was the sincerest form of flattery until I started finding my content on other blogs on a regular basis. It’s not just the feed scrapers either, it’s people who knowingly cut and paste my content without permission. They feel that since they provide attribution it’s ok to repost my content. It’s not.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but this is the most obnoxious part about blogging. Heck, about the Internet in general. Actually, I’m more than a little pissed. I spent several hours compiling a couple of lists for Simply Thrifty. 100 Things You Can Make Yourself and 100 More Things You Can Make Yourself. I really threw myself into this project and gave it my all. A little while ago, I’m checking all the backlinks and what do I find? This person took my hard work and posted it to his blog. Somehow it minimized everything I put into it. There’s another of my lists there too, though it’s not properly titled or attributed.
The blogger isn’t really a stranger. He’s someone who visits Simply Thrifty once in a while and even comments, so I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding. I wish people would realize that when they steal another writer’s content, they’re stealing their words, something very important to them. Sure, I can make an easy living scraping or stealing someone’s content, but there’s no fun in that. When I spend so much time on something and someone steals my word without so much as asking permission, it’s truly a violation.
Since I have so many blogs I come across this situation once or twice a week. It’s becoming standard procedure for me to send a DMCA notice to bloggers and even their hosts after finding my content stolen. Somehow, this time it stung more – I guess because I really put my heart and soul into these lists.
I hear from a lot of writers who find their content stolen. Many think there’s nothing they can do, but that’s not true. If this happens to you, you have several courses of action:
- Send a cease and desist to the blogger – Let him know your material is printed without permission and politely ask for it either be removed, or for the blogger/webmaster to provide only a quote with attribution.
- Send a DMCA to the host – If the blogger doesn’t respond to a polite cease and desist, contact the host. Last week, I had a blog shut down because the blogger refused to stop republishing all my posts from FWJ. I don’t want to do it, but I don’t give away my words.
- Send a DMCA to Google or other advertisers – If you get no response from the blogger or his host, hit him where it really hurts – contact the advertisers. No one wants to be associated with a content thief and they’ll pull their ads.
Performancing has a section of their forum dedicated to the legalities behind blogging. There’s also a great post listing lots of sample DMCA letters. I use them often.
Most content theft is a simple misunderstanding. Many bloggers think it’s ok to cut and paste and will remove your content after a polite C&D. Other more unsavory bloggers feel you won’t or can’t afford to pursue the matter past the first cease and desist. Put them in their place. The more bloggers fight content thieves, the more they’ll get the message. Don’t just let it happen.
Update:
Since posting this yesterday I found my list stolen and posted here and here. What is wrong with people?
Hope you have a nice weekend!
Deb
Vote for Celebrity Cowboy in the Dirt 100!
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August 17th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
It’s nervy enough that the blogger took your content. I think it’s even more nervy the blogger thanked you!
I am always concerned that someone will take my stuff. Sometimes that stops me from even posting my writing out there. Even if I am not making money on it, it’s still not right that someone else takes it.
I hope you get things taken care of properly and this blogger learns from this mistake.
August 17th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
As far as I know, that has not happened to me yet. I didn’t know the legal issues of stopping someone so glad to know that now. Some people, I agree, just don’t understand, and others are just plain thieves. It does need to be stopped.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Aye, there . . . pirates abound in the blogosphere. Make ‘em walk the plank! Just funnin’ - the internet should be about originality. People like you (and me) put in much time and effort. It is too bad folks don’t understand that this is stealing, if not stealing, cheating. It would be good if people understood the difference between copywrite and a creative commons license.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
I don’t believe that’s happened to me yet, either, but I’m keeping an eye peeled for it.
Now, I’m going to seem to go off-topic, but it’ll meld in at the end:
Right now, my most painful writing-based misunderstandings come from my family. My mother found some notes I jotted for a novel while making dinner tonight. She glanced at it, muttering, “Elves, humans, dwarves, fairies… Write something meaningful.”
That sums up what my parents believe on the ‘value’ of fiction. It doesn’t often pop up, though I live with them. It’s more often that they or my brother question when I’ll be getting “a real job”. But sometimes, someone comments on fiction being worthless, and it bites, but none of them have ever been so direct.
The connection? Both content theft and such criticism cheapen your hard work.
With paintings or five-course meals, people know it took a lot of work to make them and respect that. No matter that the painting can only hang for decoration on a wall, or that the ephemeral meal is gobbled in a few hours. They are appreciated for the work put into them.
Why can’t people extend that respect to writing, which can last far longer, be shared more easily, and be more useful?
Sorry, I just realized I’m ranting. Stopping.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Deborah,
I wish I could say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. Writing is gift, and to share it with others the way you do is such a blessing. (Not trying to get too mushy here, but it’s true)
And for someone to copy it and use it as their own is like stealing someone elses gift that someone brought to a party, crossing out the name and putting their own. It’s tacky!
I hope this won’t jade you and stop you from blogging or even sharing. We need writer’s like you who give and are not afraid to share their secrets.
Appreciate you!
August 18th, 2007 at 4:53 am
Misti,
I understand about family telling you to get a real job. My family does not understand either. They look at my writing as a hobby. It is far from it. I just recently was able to write some articles for a magazine about to get published, and hopefully will have more work on the way. This is my dream. To make it as a writer. When people do get it, it will be that much more of a blessing! Kind Regards.
August 18th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Deb, I’m sorry this happened to you (again). The one blogger even thanked you, heh, but that other one didn’t even do that (I left a comment at his blog, but since it goes through moderation, I doubt he’ll publish it–cojones enough to steal content, but not to post the truth, I bet). It’s sad that you have to take time out of your busy day to deal with this sort of garbage.
August 18th, 2007 at 6:35 am
Misti, my mother wanted to get a “real” job because he was too scared I wouldn’t make it as a writer. She didn’t personally know any writers, and those she read about were either struggling or very rich, and the odds for me seemed bad. A real job would ensure I’m secure even if not wildly successful.Understanding that helped me quite a lot, because I knew it wasnt that she didn’t value my work.
Interestingly,I’ve been earning a living with words for about 15 years now, and she never did say she was proud of me or anything. The only way I know she is, is that she no longer asks if I need help with the morgage/living expenses. I heard she was bragging to neigbours about some of the books I brought out, but she didn’t say anything to me. Maybe she’s afraid I’ll say I told you so:-)
August 18th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Deborah,
I’m sure you know–at least I hope you know–that your precious list is not copyrightable. The paragraph before the list is, but the list itself is not. You’re sending DMCA notices for material that you cannot copyright any more than anyone else can. That puts you on shaky ground, because there may be penalties for sending out a DMCA notice for it (luckily, I doubt the blogger in question will know that any more than you did).
Copyright is NOT a personal issue, no matter how personally violated you may feel. It’s business and when you forget that, you run the risk of sounding like Daffy Duck screaming “mine mine mine” when it’s not. You cannot copyright simple lists, never could. You can request removal of the opening paragraph, but not the list itself.
August 18th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Not sure if it matters, and you probably saw it anyway, but this is at the top of the list.
Thanks Deborah Ng - this is a terrific list!
clipped from http://www.simplythrifty.com
He prolly put that there after the fact.
Speaking of pilfering, I really like your buy me a coffee thing. A lot. And I kind of pilfered the idea, but changed it to say drink instead. If that bugs you, let me know I’ll try something different.
August 18th, 2007 at 10:03 am
BTW, a couple weeks ago I started finding my (and others from a network I blog for) articles posted all over article content sites.
I checked with the network, no response, so I started getting the articles pulled and flooding google with the pilferer’s name.
After they were banned from several article content sites, I got a notice from the network, they were posting the articles.
LoL! Thanks for telling me…
Guess they’re starting over now, eh?
August 18th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Good for you Deb! Last week I also ended up having a content thief’s blog shut down (in that case, they ripped an entire copy of my online business blog, including the theme changes, and then left my name there while associating my work with pornographic ads… not fun). Just the other day I found another blogger who swiped one of my articles from my PR blog. If it’s not removed by 5pm today, I have to start going through the whole DMCA complaint process again… also not fun, but worth it to see them put in their place.
August 18th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Thanks for the encouragement Damaria and Micah.
I appreciate it. Being told to “write something meaningful” when that’s a large part of my reason for writing fiction still smarts, though.
Deb:
I’d still say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but imitation isn’t outright theft.
Matt:
Oh my, now that’s amusing! I guess that’s part of where the term “overhelpful” comes from.
August 18th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Deb,
I responded to your comment on Performancing. You might want to take a quick look at it as I dug up some new information you’ll probably be interested in.
Hope that I’m able to help!
August 18th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
dejah Says:
Deborah,
I’m sure you know–at least I hope you know–that your precious list is not copyrightable. The paragraph before the list is, but the list itself is not. You’re sending DMCA notices for material that you cannot copyright any more than anyone else can. That puts you on shaky ground, because there may be penalties for sending out a DMCA notice for it (luckily, I doubt the blogger in question will know that any more than you did).
Copyright is NOT a personal issue, no matter how personally violated you may feel. It’s business and when you forget that, you run the risk of sounding like Daffy Duck screaming “mine mine mine” when it’s not. You cannot copyright simple lists, never could. You can request removal of the opening paragraph, but not the list itself.
Actually, dejah, you’re mistaken. As Deborah’s legal expert can attest (and already did at Performancing) certain lists are indeed copyrightable. Deborah’s “precious” list is one of them. (Really, how insulting of you!)
You can reprint a telephone book until the cows come home, but something more creative such as this is copyright protected.
I do recommend you check your facts before leaving snide comment’s on another’s blog.
August 18th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I’m happy to report that so far two of the three posts have been removed. Their hosts agreed with me that the lists were copyright protected and republished without permission.
I’m still waiting to hear from the third guy. I did send a notice to Vox - we’ll see what happens.
August 18th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Katya,
I wasn’t being snide or insulting. The list WAS precious to Deb, obviously, since she was so upset about it being reprinted. I don’t see copyright infringement as a personal issue nor do I really understand why people feel so darned violated. It’s business, not sex. You read what you wish into my words, it does not change what I meant.
And as far as Performancing, until today, I had never heard of it nor can I find the post you are referencing.
August 18th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
For those interested, the relevant caselaw is Feist vs Rural:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case=/data/us/499/340.html
It’s a very readable case and very interesting. I vaguely recall a more recent case, within the last few years, that impacts this, but darned if I can pull a reference out of my head.
Deb made a list of facts: phrases and URLs. By themselves, those facts are not copyrightable. An argument can be made that the way she selected or organized them is a creative endeavor. But an argument can also be made that she organized them in no particular way and that the mere idea “things you can make yourself” is, in itself, not copyrightable. Additionally, since a simple Google search could yield the how-to information, she might have a steep climb up a sweat-of-her-brow argument. No, this is not the alphabetical phone directory, but this is also not a super-specialized organization of the same information. We could argue it in court.
However, case law says that only a modicum of creativity is necessary to make the leap from uncopyrightable facts to a copyrightable factual compilation. The decision above makes it clear, “Facts, whether alone or as part of a compilation, are not original, and therefore may not be copyrighted. A factual compilation is eligible for copyright if it features an original selection or arrangement of facts, but the copyright is limited to [499 U.S. 340, 351] the particular selection or arrangement. In no event may copyright extend to the facts themselves.”
The text Deb added before the article was definitely copyrightable. The list itself was probably not. Had the infringer taken the list alone, wrote his own opening paragraph and moved the factual elements (re-sorted the list), he probably would have been safe. As it stands, he was not. He copied the whole article, not just the list. Deb had a right to ask for its removal.
I still maintain, however, that this is not an emotional issue. I don’t really understand why people get so upset and take it personally. It’s not like being raped or having someone rummage through your kitchen and steal the steak from your freezer and the Cheerios from your cupboard. Someone selected some text, copied and pasted it. Getting it taken down is business as usual. While I do not intend this to invalidate how Deb feels, it is how I feel. I have better things to do with my life than take copyright infringement personally.
August 18th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
“I have better things to do with my life than take copyright infringement personally.”
But you have all the time in the world to try and prove Deb wrong?
August 18th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Any writer who’s worked long & hard over prose, a poem, a list or whatever has the right to feel angry if someone steals that work. Period. And copying a list word for word & tacking it onto a blog is stealing content, whether or not the original author is thanked.
A writer who doesn’t care if his words are stolen, misused, posted without his permission, etc. doesn’t care about his writing. There’s enough of that all over the internet as it is. But there are still writers whose work is very precious to us.
August 18th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Dejah are you a writer? Your words are so crass and insensitive, I have to believe you’re not a writer. If you were, you’d understand exactly how Deb feels. This isn’t business, someone stole her writing.
August 18th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Dejah said: “I don’t really understand why people get so upset and take it personally. It’s not like being raped or having someone rummage through your kitchen and steal the steak from your freezer and the Cheerios from your cupboard. Someone selected some text, copied and pasted it. Getting it taken down is business as usual. While I do not intend this to invalidate how Deb feels, it is how I feel. I have better things to do with my life than take copyright infringement personally.”
I DO take it personally. Maybe I have nothing better to do with my life than chase down content thieves but I can live with that. Not only because I worked very hard on my precious list, but also because passing someone else’s work off as one’s own is ethically wrong. Moreover, it’s a serious breach of blog etiquette to cut and paste another person’s work without permission. (Performancing, by the way, is a trusted resource for bloggers.)
I don’t expect everyone out there to care about MY work, that’s my job. I do feel that as writers we have to take copyright issues seriously. As a writer it would never occur to me to take your work and put my name on it, but that’s what some of these people did. I do take that personally.
August 18th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Quoted from dejah:
I don’t see copyright infringement as a personal issue nor do I really understand why people feel so darned violated. It’s business, not sex.
I’m not sure where you got the idea that “personal” means it has to be sexual. Perhaps you need to double check your translation.
Copyright infringement is a very personal issue for someone who takes their work seriously. If someone went to your employer, took your paycheck, and spent it, that affects you personally because it robs you of the money to pay your bills and devalues the work you put into earning that check. Copyright infringement is no different, because it devalues the work that is being copied and makes it harder (if not impossible) to resell the rights to that work.
August 18th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I liken it to coming up with a great idea at work and someone else taking credit, getting all the accolades, etc. Who wouldn’t take that as a personal violation?
August 18th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Ooooh, that’s an even better analogy, Jessie. Thanks.
Honestly, I think the problem is probably a mistranslation of the word “personal”…
August 18th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Melissa, actually if you read what I wrote, I went to all that length to prove MYSELF wrong. You’re all so busy being angry with me that you forgot to notice that I said Deb was justified, in direct contradiction of what I had written earlier. Sometimes, even copyright nuts–which I am, and which explains why I went to that length–do things like that because they are interested more in learning the ins and outs of copyright than of being right. Reading the actual case law was instructive. I had never read it before.
del, I thank you not to decide if I care about my writing or not. It is completely possible that I care in a thoroughly different way than you do.
Kelly Malloy, I am neither crass nor insensitive, what I am is dispassionate. I have never felt emotional about copyright infringement of my own work (though I have felt emotional about the horrible law that is the DMCA). Yes, I am a writer. I have written a half million word serial, six novels, two technical books, five blogs (in various stages of decay) and enough journalistic articles (print and online) that I have lost count.
Deb, I agree that passing your work off as his was ethically wrong. And I agree it’s a breach of etiquette (I had to copy that word from your post, it IS okay, right?). But even if someone did what that guy did, I still wouldn’t take it personally. Yes, I’d write the C&D. Yes, I’d send the host a DMCA takedown notice. I would do what the law allows me, but I would do it just as dispassionately as I’ve discussed the issues here. I wouldn’t feel personally violated because it happened. I just wouldn’t. I can understand that you do. You’re allowed to feel that way even if I think it’s a waste of time and energy.
And last but not least, intellectual property is not real property. It cannot be stolen, only infringed. Perhaps this is why I don’t get upset. When someone steals something from me, they have rummaged around in my life, invaded my privacy, taken something from me so that I no longer have it. It’s a violation. But when someone infringes a blog post, or even an article, I still have it. I was still paid for it. It’s still posted under my name where it was published. Nothing’s been taken from me. My privacy has not been invaded, no one has physically threatened me of my safety. I get it taken down. No biggie. Business as usual. This is just how I see it.
I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Deb. I respect you and your work and I enjoy your blog. My deepest apologies if you felt hurt.
August 18th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Something is absolutely taken from a blogger when their posts are stolen… their livelihood in many cases. The moment someone else publishes your article, your original is devalued. You can lose traffic, and therefore income, while someone else monetizes the work you sunk your time and effort into. Something doesn’t have to be physical to be taken away from you. Aside from that, you run the risk of having your professional reputation damaged (using the example from my previous comment of work being stolen and published with pornographic advertising). You can lose quite a lot. Any writer that respects themselves will understand that.
August 18th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
dejah, at what point did I specifically accuse you of not caring about your work??
August 18th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I hate dealing with copyright infringement. I don’t want people copying my work, I don’t want them monetizing it, and I don’t want readers giving credit to someone else when it should be given to me.
It’s devauling and can easily raise credibility questions when readers see both pieces of content. Readers will wonder who copied from whom and whether either source can be trusted.
I send out far too many cease and desist letters and reDMCA notices. The time I spend chasing down copyright infringers could very well be spent writing content I can monetize.
This discussion has just given me a business idea.
August 18th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I have a question. How to you find stolen content? What ways do each of you use to check if your content has been stolen?
Thanks!
August 18th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
This is obviously a very emotional issue. I haven’t personally been through this, so I can’t say how I would feel. I do know that stealing is stealing. Just because someone doesn’t come into your home doesn’t mean they haven’t stolen from you. Your credit identity can be stolen without a thief entering your home, so can your writing.
I understand how anyone can take it personally. It may be better to not take it personally and just do what the law allows, but it may not. It’s also very easy to tell someone to not take it personally. I still have a hard time calling myself a writer, but I would still be offended and hurt if someone took what I wrote and posted it elsewhere without my permission. I hope the offenders are stopped. I appreciate reading what Deb writes, and I wish I had her abilities. Maybe that is the real problem - she’s just too good!
August 18th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Dani, a lot of writers use programs like Copyscape.
August 18th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Thank you del!
August 18th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
I make most of my money telling other people’s stories. I’d like to make more off of my own musings, especially my blog (link with my name).
I have about 100 people a day reading me, which may not be enough to make anything from it. I was wondering if people could give me a few pointers on making a living from this. Thanks!
Without that, I don’t have a strong opinion on having my stuff ripped off. It’s never happened wholesale, but I suppose I don’t look all that hard.
August 18th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Thankfully I haven’t had this happen yet and if it has, I haven’t found it. If I ever should find my work has been stolen or copied, you can bet your sweet Aun’t Aggie’s rear I will be chasing it down and putting a stop to it. It’s not just personal and emotional but it’s downright cheap. The mere fact that someone can’t come up with something original on their own lowers the value of my work for me. Even though the stolen work is still yours, do you not have to jump through some hoops to prove that if you ever intend of selling it somewhere else or using it for a clip or sample? It seems to me stolen content could hurt your chances of working for a client if they find the exact work published under 1, 2 or 5 different names and identities. You would have to go about the task of proving it to be your work if those who stole it don’t remove it from their sites. I see that as very personal.
August 19th, 2007 at 4:58 am
Well I will add my two cents about this also. It has not happened to me that I’m aware of so far, but I would take it personal. I have been in writing contests on a certain website and have went to great lengths to report people who plagiarize. It is astounding to me that people just take it, copy and paste it, and put their own name on it. I’m new to being a freelancer but I know for sure that would be a sure fire way to lose any credibility I’m trying to accomplish.
I go through great pains that I cite my sources correctly and wish everyone else would do the same.
Okay, maybe that’s my four cents.
August 19th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Great topic and discussion, Deb.
Coming from the academe, I have a couple of basic questions:
in academic writing, we are allowed to cite and quote parts of copyright-protected books and articles as long as we have the appropriate attribution (list of references, bibliographic entries). We don’t need to ask permission from the authors and publishers. Apparently, I gather from this discussion that this isn’t the case in blogospere. Is this true for all online publications? What about if you are writing/blogging about say, health or science, and you need to cite medical/scientific articles published in print and/or online? Is there a list of rules that tells what is considered appropriate and inappropriate in blogsphere/online publishing?
August 19th, 2007 at 7:05 am
@argee -
Argee, bloggers don’t mind if others provide a quote with attribution at all. In fact, it’s encouraged! Bloggers love to share link love. What upsets us is seeing our posts cut and pasted in their entirety to other bogs.
August 19th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Deb, I just looked at the Simply Thrifty site and I don’t see a copyright notice anywhere on the page. You might want to talk to the B5 media owners to see if you can get a good ownership statement put up on the page. It can’t hurt.
I’ve read the arguments above about copyrighting lists, but I’ve spent a lot of time working for directory publishers who depend on the protection that their gathering of content provides them. For example, a company’s SEC filings are not copyrighted, but a database containing 100s of SEC filings is.
My work’s been stolen numerous times. It’s both personal and business, and I wish you luck resolving the issues.
August 19th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Although I haven’t had this happen to me, I can only imagine how angry it would make me. Glad to hear that you are making some progress with the stolen content. I know I would surely put up as much of a fight as you have.
Good Luck!
August 20th, 2007 at 9:46 am
It’s a rash of instances caused by non-journalistic types thinking everything on the Internet is free or worse, not caring. However, I’ve seen journalists act the same way. Lack of ethical standards is rampant. In short, if it’s someone else’s article, link to it and attribute it to that person. If you want to print it verbatim, ASK.
August 20th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Deb, I blogged this over at my site.
August 20th, 2007 at 11:46 am
It is very kind to say that most content theft is a misunderstanding. When someone fails to comprehend that taking something (that means anything) that does not belong to you is stealing that is a deficit or moral character, not a misunderstanding. We, as a society, give intellectual property thieves far too much leeway. When has ignorance *ever* been an acceptable defense of any crime?
Having said that, the comments already posted to this discussion should be required reading for anyone creating content. Some freelancers delude themselves into thinking that *everything* they type is copyrightable when the truth about what defines copyrightable material often lies somewhere in the synthesis of law and common decency. We can’t claim every good idea as exclusively ours, like a spoiled 7 year-old touching every toy in their sibling’s toy chest. Nor can we be too specific in what aualifies as unique content. In the digital age, where it is far too easy to cut, edit, and paste, it is up to each of us to come together to find some code of conduct that protects writers so that we can feel free to create.
August 20th, 2007 at 11:54 am
After reading a few more comments I am provoked to add that theft of intellectual property IS the same as theft of physical property. Put in economic terms, a writer is a laborer who adds value to facts to make a final product of intellectual property. In this way, facts are no different than raw lumber that a carpenter might fashion into a well-formed and fashionable chair. If a carpenter finished a chair and someone grabbed it from his workshop–without paying for it–painted it, and sold it in their own shop, would we consider that to be theft? Absolutely. Would we demand that the thief compensate the carpenter and be punished? Absolutely. Why do some of the posters to this discussion see that a writer’s labor is so worthless? I could not possibly offer an answer to that question: I simply do not understand the viewpoint.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
I don’t get it. The entire content of your thrifty list consists of OTHER PEOPLE’S WORK. There’s one crappy little intro sentence for each “article”, and then you provide a bunch of links to other websites neither written, researched, nor maintained by you.
It’s ironic to me, then, how you can feel so self-righteously angered about your content being used on another blogger’s site.
August 21st, 2007 at 10:19 am
“A,” you’re really funny. It’s so amusing to me how some people operating in the blogosphere in any way can really understand so little about blogging.
If Deb had written the 100 articles herself, there would be very little problem with someone republishing the list as-is, simply because they would be giving her 100 free deep links to her content. As it stands, that’s not the case.
Whether a list links to others’ work is irrelevant. If anything, Deb compiled a list of personal recommendations after sinking a lot of time into finding what she considered some of the best resources on a creative topic. The people being linked to in Deb’s post should feel honored that they’re receiving a free link in any kind of authority blog… something people often pay quite a bit of money for.
Do you write every post that you like to? Of course not. Does that mean it’s ok for someone to steal your work, your research time, and your creative endeavor? Again, of course not.
Think before you bitch and insult others.
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:49 am
A> Lists are commonly used for blog posts. If you’ve been blogging for a long time, you’d know it’s one of the most popular types of posts.
The blogs Deb had linked should actually thank her for the free promotion.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Academically speaking I’d call “content theft” plagiarism. After all in writing we often cite (key point here) and give credit to others ideas/work/papers. The blogger clearly did that in her creating a list that took people to the orginal work, thus citing it.
Stealing is stealing, plagiarism is plagiarism, unauthorized use is unauthorized use and there is no need to argue beyond that. Ignorance is not an excuse either-which is something a few unfortunate people in the classes I TA’d for found out the hard way.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:27 pm
In this case, it’s not only plagiarism but also copyright infringement. There’s a pretty big difference. The Little Book of Plagiarism does a pretty good job of explaining it.