Rules Regarding Copyright: ***ALL MEMBERS MUST READ***

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

Folks,

RULES FOR POSTING EXCERPTS FROM MAINSTREAM MEDIA ARTICLES SUCH AS THE NY TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, ETC:

When you are referencing a mainstream news source in your posts, post ONLY the headline and the link. Do not post any quotes or excerpts or photos. No copyrighted material, not even a sentence or two. Yes I understand the concept of fair use. But the MSM is in panic mode over their financial situation and is targeting bloggers and forums as the scapegoats for their problems. It has gotten to the point where I will get a takedown notice or phone call over things you would think are totally innocuous.

RULES FOR POSTING EXCERPTS FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS:

I, unfortunately, have to ban any and all AP articles as their attorneys have said that their interest is in protecting the AP headlines. So, until/when different guidelines are issued I cannot allow even AP headlines with links to the original sources to be posted to the LATOC Forum. Here is a NY Times article regarding the AP on this matter if you need further reference:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/the-ap-asserts-tough-and-still-secret-view-of-copyright-on-blogs/

Note that I am NOT doing this to spite the AP for protecting their rights. It is simply a matter of efficiency. The forum is large and the moderators are all volunteers. Nobody can be expected to monitor every post to the forum so in cases like this, just out and out banning the source is the easiest and safest thing for me to do unless guidelines are issued. If posting the headlines is not within the guidelines, then for all intents and purposes there is no way for anybody on the forum to link to those articles without falling outside the boundaries of their guidelines

RULES FOR POSTING EXCERPTS FROM OTHER BLOGGERS AND AUTHORS LIKE CHARLES HUGH SMITH, GEORGE URE, CATHERINE AUSTIN FITTS, JOE BAGEANET ETC:

When it comes to posting excerpts from other bloggers and alt-news sites, the rules are a bit different as these folks are unlikely to get upset so long as you adhere to reasonable etiquette. That means keeping your excerpt to a paragraph or two (less is better), making sure to provide attribution and a link to the original, etc. Basically, the usual stuff

THE ONE EXCEPTION IS FOR THE OWNER OF THE FORUM:

I'm making an exception to these rules for myself. So I may post brief excerpts from MSM articles on occasion. The reason I'm making an exception for myself is if I get a notice or phone call from somebody saying "you need to go through your archives and remove all references to such and such" then I only have to go through my own posts as opposed to hundreds of thousands. So if you see me violated my own rules and think it unfair that I've carved out an exception for myself like I'm some third world dictator, understand it's only to save myself the hassle of having to go through hundreds of thousands of posts when the MSM panics over people linking to and excerpting their articles.

[kats]

OK, I've gone and deleted all MSM possible infringements from my 7 million posts. Not as many of them as I feared.

[forager]

Maybe we should just link the foreign press and try to become our own journalists. It will probably further increase the accuracy of the LATOC reality barometer. Let the AP turn to dust. This is an opportunity for the LATOC Forum to intellectually expand. Put your logic hats on and break out the calculators.

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

\

This is an opportunity for the LATOC Forum to intellectually expand.

Exactly!

[Broil]

Maybe we should just link the foreign press....

Oh, that's a good idea! I guess they're not going to do an international lawsuit over something so small, would they?

But on the other hand, they probably mostly have a foot in this country also.

[cindy]

Maybe we should just link the foreign press....

Oh, that's a good idea! I guess they're not going to do an international lawsuit over something so small, would they?

But on the other hand, they probably mostly have a foot in this country also.

You have to be careful quoting foreign press.  I know that I have seen AP and Reuters bylines (for example) on stories published in our newspapers in Canada.  So, even when I post a link to the Toronto Star or Globe and Mail, as I did this past week, I still don't quote anything.

[forager]

Well, I guess we'll just have to paraphrase "idea xxx in the MSM" and then beat the hell out of it for the POS it probably is.

[Broil]

There ought to be a World AP Quote Day, where any objecting sites quote AP headlines and first paragraphs all day long.

[StrangeFire]

Well, what a pain in the ass, and totally unenforceable long-term for the AP. But whatever it takes to make life easier and less litigious for Matt and our excellent and dedicated volunteer firemen mods.

[Chesyre]

what about song lyrics  ? aren't those copyrighted too ?

[Katie]

At one time, I very rarely read anything from the U.S. news, but relied primarily on foreign news online to find out what was going on.  Then I started to look at it more, mainly through sites like this one.  In a way, that was not to get the news so much as to see what the MSM was putting out there, a cultural barometer.  It used to be that foreign news sites had many stories that did not surface in the U.S. (often about the U.S.) until much later, if at all.  It was during this time that I realized that even PBS and NPR were not all that great, either.   It's gardening season, so my time spend online is going to decrease even more.

I'm hoping this is not just another way to crack down on internet communications.

Appreciation to all those who moderate this site!   

[apwall21]

Swedish Press. No intellectual copyright, right?

[Barter4Booze]

I wonder if AP realizes that their name has changed even if they themselves do not realize it?  Associated Press is now Dissociated Press.  "DP" for short.   

[doctor zaius]

I understand why the MSM is doing this. They are losing a lot of revenue and need to protect their business model.

[elliemae36]

I understand why the MSM is doing this. They are losing a lot of revenue and need to protect their business model.

The Doctor Is In. 

Doc nailed the sole reason. 

Local media are considering axing their AP news wires.  The new thinking at stations/papers/websites is hyper-local only, since you can instant updates online, on your cell, etc.  No need to pay for a service that is readily available to the masses.  Find your niche.  Local, local, local.  And actually, that is a great thing.  If you are an actual journalist, and a concerned citizen who really 'cares' and wants to know 'xyz'.

Ever news-google a term or name or date for info and read the same sentences on different sites?  And then cannot get any other 'news' verification?

Yes, the AP business model is outdated.  Oh, and did you know, that the AP 'board' is comprised of CEOs of major media companies? 

Let the lawyers who haven't been laid off yet haggle over this and that on sites like this.  It'll rack up MSM legal fees, and push them further down into the money pit.