case studies

Tancorix · Post by **Tancorix** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:04 pm

Jimbobby:
Fact: Eplaya TOS Section 7e expressly forbids the use of copyrighted content on this board.
Fact: The quote that you posted was clearly stolen from a copyrighted site and was used without permission.
Fact: Said copyright is posted at the top of every page on that blog. This makes you beyond any doubt, a thief.

Here's the part of 7e that's relevant:

The following is a partial list of the kind of Content that is illegal or prohibited on the Eplaya. Burning Man reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in its sole discretion against anyone who violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending post from the Service and terminating the membership of such violators, in connection with all available civil, criminal, and injunctive remedies. You agree not to use the Service to:

upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party, including, but not limited to, providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, and providing pirated music or links to pirated music files;

Having given this some thought, I don't want the admins to act at this time and I ask that the post stay up as an example of what not to do. But I wanted to acknowledge the theft so if it continues I have something actionable to work with. Besides, if one looks at the blog and the copyright notice on the top of every page, then sees the quote..well it's clear what he did was swipe material without permission. It is what it is, the work of someone with no respect for the content of others regardless of how they feel about it. Case closed.

jimbobby · Post by **jimbobby** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:21 pm

see 'fair use'

then, blow me

jimbobby · Post by **jimbobby** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:24 pm

I know your just getting over a cold so let me help you out with that one.

Fair use is a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. For example, if you wish to criticize a novelist, you should have the freedom to quote a portion of the novelist's work without asking permission. Absent this freedom, copyright owners could stifle any negative comments about their work.

jimbobby · Post by **jimbobby** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:26 pm

I would like Tancorix's account disabled because he called me a thief. As I have shown, that statement is libelous.

rodent · Post by **rodent** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:33 pm

**sigh**

we return you now to your regularly sceduled bickering...

---
rodent (putting the eek in geek)

III · Post by **III** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:50 pm

please take further accusations of misbehavior here.

this thread is for discussion of how admin policy might be properly implemented, not as an airing of foundationless accusations against others.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:17 pm

Tancorix:

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

Copyright protects the particular way an author has expressed himself; it does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in the work.

Simply copywriting something does not mean that you are immune from comment or criticism or from having excerpts of your work reprinted to be held up as examples for said comment or criticism. If you are going to live by the sword, you should be prepared to die by the sword and what I mean by that is that you should be prepared to live within the same set of rules you attempt to use against other people when it is convenient for you to do so. Just as they may be used by you, so may they be used by others for their benefit as well.

You go on to say:

Having given this some thought, I don't want the admins to act at this time and I ask that the post stay up as an example of what not to do.

Which would be in theme for Burning Man in 2003 but is outmoded these days. I think you ment to say "I think that the post should stay up since it is a perfectly legitimate example of fair use".

But here is where you make your worst mistake:

But I wanted to acknowledge the theft so if it continues I have something actionable to work with.

Here you accuse someone of theft. That is a pretty strong accusation and just because you would WISH that to be the case, it doesn't make it so. I think you owe someone an apology or you could possibly find yourself in hot water if the other party decided to press the issue. Publically calling someone a thief is often actionable.

Finally you say:

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:22 pm

Finally you say:

It is what it is, the work of someone with no respect for the content of others regardless of how they feel about it.

And the important lesson to draw here is that it doesn't matter how you feel about it. Yanking a sentance or two from pages and pages and pages upon pages of blogging in order to provide an example of your thoughts is not against any rule and you may not hide behind the US Copyright laws to say nasty things about people without being held accountable.

Nice try, though.

Oh, the quote about fair use in the preceeding article (because I accidently hit submit rather than preview) is from the US Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:31 pm

CRAP, sorry admins, can you please move the above two posts to "the other thread" and then delete this one? I ment to post in the other one.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:05 am

Still not sure of the interface buat am wondering if this thread shouldn't be marked as a 'sticky' topic:

ePlaya Forum Index -> ePlaya :: Burning Man for the other 51 weeks -> Preparation -> Q & A, Tips and Tricks -> Geodesic Dome Construction (Tips and Tricks)

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 10:28 pm

Badger wrote:Still not sure of the interface buat am wondering if this thread shouldn't be marked as a 'sticky' topic:

ePlaya Forum Index -> ePlaya :: Burning Man for the other 51 weeks -> Preparation -> Q & A, Tips and Tricks -> Geodesic Dome Construction (Tips and Tricks)

Noticed that.

There is some topic cleaning up to do, so much that I would not know where to start.

Making some notes, looking things over...

blueniteowl · Post by **blueniteowl** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 11:07 pm

If you haven't added it to your list already, I'm thinking that the three sticky threads in ePlaya Forum Index -> ePlaya :: Burning Man for the other 51 weeks -> Preparation -> Q & A, Tips and Tricks could be moved to the greeters station. You know, the introduce yourself one and the frequently asked questions. Thanks much!

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:12 am

blueniteowl wrote:If you haven't added it to your list already, I'm thinking that the three sticky threads in ePlaya Forum Index -> ePlaya :: Burning Man for the other 51 weeks -> Preparation -> Q & A, Tips and Tricks could be moved to the greeters station. You know, the introduce yourself one and the frequently asked questions. Thanks much!

"Hello and Welcome... What's your name? Tell me about You..." looks like an obvious wrong placement, thanks for noting that, I appreciate it.

One of the things that was discussed in creating the new Layout/Structure was the idea of a Sticky Intro or FAQ thread for each major area that would outline what that category was about. So I am not sure about the other one, but one of those could be merged or moved.

Please tell me if I am getting you wrong, but do you mean something more general for the Greeters' Station? Like a sticky FAQ for the entire site?

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:42 am

*shock*

spectabillis, you seem to be one that may work out well.

Hats off.

blueniteowl · Post by **blueniteowl** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:25 pm

spectabillis wrote: "Hello and Welcome... What's your name? Tell me about You..." looks like an obvious wrong placement, thanks for noting that, I appreciate it.

One of the things that was discussed in creating the new Layout/Structure was the idea of a Sticky Intro or FAQ thread for each major area that would outline what that category was about. So I am not sure about the other one, but one of those could be merged or moved.

Please tell me if I am getting you wrong, but do you mean something more general for the Greeters' Station? Like a sticky FAQ for the entire site?

I don't think it's necessary to have a sticky thread for each major area. But an announcement thread that has simple board ettiquette would be nice. Or a locked thread that just has some basic info for new people. That way it could be kept short and simple. As opposed to everyone being able to throw their 2 cents in, and the thread becoming twenty pages long and too overwhelming for a new person. You know, something simple that says "please don't cross post" "try to post in the appropriate topics" "blah, blah, blah".

Tancorix · Post by **Tancorix** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:46 am

Clearcut, indisputable commercial spam post:

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... ad4#151946

Sample text: Reality Millions is no longer a questionable online business... it is now a proven success that continues to grow each passing moment of the day.
I am fortunate to have watched as Reality Millions went from zero to over $100K in deposits in exactly 40 days from launch!

Are there any admins / moderators around that can clean it up?

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:56 am

Tancorix wrote:Clearcut, indisputable commercial spam post:

Yes, that was a clear violation and thank you for bringing it to attention.

blueniteowl · Post by **blueniteowl** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:25 pm

Is it possible to delete this thread:

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... 358#152358

considering it's a cross post and probably in the wrong forum (open discussion). It's the Pay pal south africa thread. Thanks!

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:54 pm

blueniteowl wrote:Is it possible to delete this thread:

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... 358#152358

considering it's a cross post and probably in the wrong forum (open discussion). It's the Pay pal south africa thread. Thanks!

Yeah, I PM'd them on that, told them about crossposting but I would not delete it unless someone said something. Guess I will now.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:47 pm

Yeah, I PM'd them on that, told them about crossposting but I would not delete it unless someone said something. Guess I will now.

As a moderator I think there are some things that are implicitly related to the role. Deleting multi posts is one of them.

If there's a cross-posting to one of more threads I believe the mod should take it upon themselves to delete all but one. Where that one should be left is left to the mod. I don't think there should have to be a cackling of community complaints before it is acted upon.

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:50 pm

Badger wrote:I don't think there should have to be a cackling of community complaints before it is acted upon.

Point taken, thanks Badger.

emily sparkle · Post by **emily sparkle** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:52 pm

did you get the thread deleted? let me know.

in the past, i have deleted duplicate posts without hesitation. i usually try to choose the one without any responses... or move all responses to one that seems to be in the right place.

emily

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:56 pm

emily sparkle wrote:did you get the thread deleted? let me know. emily

Nope, can you? And please dont let my comments keep you from deleting and moving things.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:58 pm

i usually try to choose the one without any responses...

Which is often a strong indication of where such posts probably don't belong. Seems a good rule of thumb to consider if you're not sure of which multi posts to delete.

emily sparkle · Post by **emily sparkle** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:04 pm

deleted!

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:08 pm

emily sparkle wrote:deleted!

Coolness, thanks. One was in an area I dont have admin access to, not sure I want it.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 12:08 pm

cross post
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=8373
)the other is in share)

Post by **actiongrl** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 6:57 pm

The "Ben and Jerry's" contest thread has been removed by the moderators due to its violation of TOS: commercial content related to contests for commercial organizations.

emily sparkle · Post by **emily sparkle** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:24 pm

The eplaya account "praetorium1435" has been suspended for repeated PM spam to community members.

Thanks to everyone who alerted me to this.

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:17 pm

No, not me I'm not saying anything about Emily cross posting,...

case studies

now, in the right forum!