Hilarious threads
 

I have found this Forum recently and I am almost getting addicted to it. The question is: Why doesn’t someone take the most hilarious threads and place them in a book ?<BR>I would definitely have more time during the summer holidays (relaxed on the beach) for reading them as sitting in front of the PC…<BR><BR>No editors around? <BR>

Are you talking about the theft of... and profiteering from... the intellectual property of others?<BR><BR>Ownership belongs somewhere in the murkey land between the individual writers, and Fodors itself.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

The Fodors Message Board FAQ says the following:<BR><BR>"Can Fodors.com use the material I post? <BR>We do reserve the right to use the contents of the messages posted on the boards. Does that mean that your message could end up in a Fodor's guide? Not likely, since our writers personally check out everything that appears in our guidebooks. They may follow up on your recommendations, though."<BR><BR>So I guess it's not that murky afer all!

I only said it was murky because there is nothing about Fodors reserving these rights - - that means that the writer relinquishes the rights naturally conveyed by writing.<BR><BR>I don't think that either could get injunctive relief from the other in trying to re-publish what they have the rights to.<BR><BR>but as a corollary, no visitor here would have the rights to use material written here by someone else.<BR>

Rex, what part of the Fodor quote "We reserve the right to use the contents of the messages" did you not understand? Fodor owns the stuff you send them, you DO relinquish your rights when you submit.

Sheesh,ellen, you can make an argument out of anything!<BR>Was this the purpose of sergios post?<BR>

I totally disagree, Ellen. I agree that I allow them the rights to "USE" what I write when I post here. It's just like software, and like they are granted an unlimited license. A software author can give a "purchaser" unlimited license to software, but that doesn't mean that the author no longer has rights. Posting here could never be construed as relinquishing ANY of my rights to my own writing.<BR>

Oh please----like the stuff on this thread is "writing". Some of you take yourselves way too seriously.

Rex,don't worry I don't think anything you have ever commented on would fall into the hilarious category!<BR>

I'll sue your a$$ if you dare to publish any of my witticisms in a coffee table book!!!

Ellen:<BR><BR>I've posted things on this board that are excerpts from things I've already published. Fodor's doesn't own the rights to those things - the rights have already been purchased by travel magazines and newspapers. Fodor's has the right to USE them, period. If they ever published them in print, they'd have a potential problem on their hands. I say it's VERY murky, and if I ever want to come back to Fodor's to grab a few sentences I've already posted here to include in another article or book I'm writing, I'll do so without a second thought. It's very doubtful this would happen, though, as who would bother to follow every Fodor's publication to see if a few sentences of their had been stolen. I don't even read Fodor's publications.

But StCirq, the FAQ quoted above says outright that it's "unlikely" that they'd use material posted here. Meaning that there IS some small likelihood. By posting your stuff here, you are giving them permission to use your work. <BR><BR> Most publishing contracts are quite specific about what rights are being purchased from the author. If the exclusive US publication rights have been purchased by other publishers, YOU don't have the right to re-use the material!

But Ellen, I don't sell EXCLUSIVE rights - that's not something most smart writers do. Then you never get to retain any rights over your material - duh!<BR>I have the right to post anything, or any piece of anything, I've ever sold regarding most topics related to European travel anywhere on the net, and Fodor's can't just snap 'em up and publish them again without permission, no matter what they say. <BR>I don't think you understand intellectual property law, Ellen. I'll admit it's a complicated and murky field and I wouldn't say I understand it completely myself, but the basic premise is that if I create something, I own it, until I sell it to someone else, and when you post on Fodor's you don't sell it to Fodor's unless they pay you for it. When I get paid for my posts, I might consider relinquishing the rights. In the meantime, the stuff is mine, and I'll use it as I see fit, which isn't very often.<BR>By the way, I don't see Fodor's abusing whatever outrageous plans it has unveiled in the way of using posters' material. I figure they mostly ignore it and keep it separate from their print projects.

Well, from now on,I want to see the money before I post one more thing!

xxx, I'm going to sue you for using my name in your post without my permission.

No, Rex is usually the lampooned subject of the funny threads....like the hilariously classic Hanky parody of Rex's nonstop posting from Italy. Brilliantly conceived comedy! And as always where Rex is concerned, totally deserved.

St Cirq: I'm curious. What have you published?

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THIS IS HILARIOUS.

Subscriber shall not upload, post or otherwise make available on the Web site any material protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner of the copyright, . . . . Subscriber shall be solely liable for any damages resulting from any infringement of copyrights . . . Subscriber hereby grants the Online Service Provider the right to edit, copy, publish and distribute any material made available on the Online Services by Subscriber, including but not limited to any material posted by Subscriber on the Web site's bulletin boards and forums, and any email queries submitted by Subscriber to the Online Service Provider.

Whoops, hit the send button a little too fast there. The quote above is from Fodor's Subscriber Agreement, which we agree to when we access this site. It looks ironclad to me, and I'd guess that it covers copyrighted material which the copyright holder submits voluntarily.

I think "ironclad" is a little strong - - but I think that it does protect THEM from any injunctive action if they try to assert rights to material here.<BR><BR>I don't read anything there about submitters relinquishing any rights to their own writing.<BR>

Rex, I think you're right. In the Subscriber's Agreement, Fodors claims full rights to publish anything submitted here. But the subscribers (us) don't give up their other rights in what they have written.

And one last angle on this - - I believe that this disclaimer establishes that if anyone tried to publish COMPILED material from here (i.e., including posts from others, other than their own), this would give Fodors a basis for damages or injunctive relief.<BR>

Okay, I'll nitpick a little more. I don't think it's the disclaimer that provides a basis for legal action. The Web site as a whole is copyrighted by Fodors, and anyone who publishes compilations from it would violate Fodors' copyright.

Okay, we've found our agreement ground. That little line at the very bottom of the page might be all they need, legally:<BR><BR>&lt;!-- BEGIN COPYRIGHT NAVBAR IMAGE MARKER --&gt;<BR>&lt;IMG SRC="/images/copyright_2001_navbar.gif" ALT="FODOR'S NAVIGATION" BORDER="0" USEMAP="#aboutnav"&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&g t;<BR>&lt;!-- END COPYRIGHT NAVBAR IMAGE MARKER --&gt;<BR><BR>The disclaimer just spells out THEIR claim to the copy rights of anything placed here.<BR>

Fran: I've published articles in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Writer's Digest, International Living Magazine, FibreArts Magazine, Parent Magazine, Wine Tidings Magazine, and loads of others. It's not as though I crib from these articles when I post on Fodor's, but, for example, if someone asks about Bordeaux I may cut and paste a few sentences from a Bordeaux article I've published rather than retype, or rethink it, from a previously published article - all of which I have obviously filed on my computer. And I never fail to retain some rights to my work - no thinking writer does so. And no, I don't think of what I post generally as "my writing" and hence worthy of copyright, but for the sake of argument, when I do post a portion of something I've previously sold for, say, first North American Rights, I assume I can do so without Fodor's being able to touch it. And frankly, if Fodor's wants to get into it with my publisher over something like this, snore.......it's not as though I profit from any of this. But Fodor's, despite whatever it says, can't just take my writing and use it, especially if someone else has already paid for it. I don't think Fodor's even took that into account when it devised its "rules" about posting. At any rate, I retain the right to use anything I ever post here in anything I may publish in the future - not that I can imagine I would, frankly. I don't write for Fodor's the way I write for publication.It's a very different genre.

Geez, I looked at this thread expecting to see something about all the funny threads that have been posted here. Instead I get law school? Enjoin this.

Gee, I never thought that a "innocent" suggestion would end up on "copyright" discussions...<BR><BR>And BTW, I was reffering to hilarious/fun threads, not really suggestions on Bordeaux...<BR><BR>I would see no harm having some of these printed. I respect those concerned about their rights, though.<BR>

StCirq, you might be on top of magazine copyright stuff, but I think you underestimate the internet: When you click on that box that says that you accept Fodors' Subscriber Agreement, you are indeed giving them rights to use what you post here.

when do we click on that agreement? is it part of the registration process that doesn't exist?<BR>

This entire thread is so funny considering the level of "writing" going on -LOL!!!

Topping for Sergio.

Never mind the 'Hilarious Threads', what happened to all those boring copywrite/legal rights threads that used to cure my insomnia ???? Ooops !<BR>they're all here in... th..issss thr.....ZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ

To bring this back to the original post, I think some of the past threads would be informative and very funny. I would sit on a beach and read a paperback pamphlet of the Fodor's witticisms and even some of the cranky ones, as well as the ones with actual travel information.

topping for sergio