A Quick Note

awilliams

I removed an earlier post which appeared to be a reprint of a commentary on carbohydrates by a syndicated columnist. While it is fine to describe an article that you have read or heard of, we try to refrain from printing large parts of published work in order to respect the author's copyright. It's a fine line and we appreciate your cooperation.

Anne Williams
Attorney Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers, LLC

Leslie

Anne,

This happened several months back when Sonny, I think, posted something about hurricanes that everyone thought sounded like Dave Barry. I found out it was by going to his web site and they asked me to see that it was removed.

If we know who the author is does it help if we attribute it to them?

rad

From time to time I and others have posted links to other sites and sources...am I right that this is OK?

Jaded

Anne: I posted the above referenced post without any knowledge it was from a syndicated columnist. It was sent to me by a co-worker without any reference to the published work. It was very funny and I would have given credit to the author had I known.

LarryC

This is similar to what is known as "astro-turfing". In the confines of this forum, I think we do it innocently and with good intentions.

Not so with "astro-turfing". This is when a political group will create a text or a body of a letter and then ask its supporters to sign their name to it and send it to their local newspaper and/or their elected repesentatives; thereby creating a false or fake grass roots movement. Thus it is recognized as "astro-turfing".

Our local newspaper refuses to print astro-turf letters, calling it plagerism.

awilliams

In the FAQ section of the Forum you can view our various policies on what is appropriate to post on the Forum. Our policy on postings from other sources is:

"Please don't post articles from magazines, other websites, etc. because we need to respect the author's copyright. After all, we wouldn't want someone posting our articles on another website. It's OK to quote a couple of paragraphs, or give a link to the other website.

It's OK to post those anonymous jokes and lists, like resume bloopers, that make the rounds from time to time."

We understand that it is sometimes difficult to know whether an e-mail item you received is an "original" work or whether it needs to have attribution. A good rule of thumb would be to summarize what you have read, and give your comments, rather than posting it wholesale on the Forum. I hope this is helpful.

As always, we appreciate your comments.

Anne Williams
Attorney Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers, LLC