At 12:37 PM 7/12/05 -0400, Andrew Stiller wrote: >>> Dennis Bathory-Kitsz: >>> I'm looking for consensus from the group before I send a formal >>> takedown notice to their web hosts. > >You'll get no such agreement from me. If copyright subsists in these >postings, then it should not. Have you all gone nuts?
Not at all. Sometimes issues discussed here get into great depth, at significant effort from the authors of the posts. I for one would *not* be happy to find my material harvested into a book or term paper or thesis under someone else's byline. There are other public forums and blogs for material intended for public release. This is not one of them. The point of a private list is precisely that -- we speak to each other with a certain level of understanding and respect and especially mutual trust. On a private list, even a large one, we can also be honest and direct without fearing trolls and hate-mongers and (I hope) thieves. But harvesting/redistribution robots do not contribute to the group, have no judgment, take everything, and place it all (including substantial commentary) in what *appears to be* the public domain -- but is not. For example, in January, we engaged in an important discussion about nonpop, during which I made significant commentary and revelations to colleagues here, eliciting rich responses. I have collected and edited that material, and at some point will request permission from the individual posters to permit inclusion of their comments in a public essay. That's the ethical and legal route. Irrespective of how large this group might be, and irrespective of the legalities involved, it is still identified as a private list. No effort on my part should be required to keep my postings -- and my intellectual property -- distributed exactly as promised, i.e., only to the audience for which they were intended. Look, there are two issues here: Whether we object to our material being read by a wider public, and whether harvesting and redistribution without permission is legal and ethical. The latter is clear, but the former depends on the list member. We have no consensus, so it goes on. But the list owner should at least identify that the list is no longer a private one so future members will know their efforts are being taken and distributed for others' gain. Dennis _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
