Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
wjhon...@aol.com wrote in message news:8cbeab907c57f0c-390-2...@webmail-dz04.sysops.aol.com... You said: The publisher seems to observe the copyright (even includes full edit history) so legal action seems impossible. How can a book copy the full edit history without it being obvious that it's copied from Wikipedia? We do not require someone to say copied from Wikipedia on the title page by the way. But I'm unclear why you think there is no possible legal action? We have a license, and the license states that you must state certain things. Either they obey it, or they don't. Am I right? Yup. That is why I am guessing this is a non-issue. If they did not run their editorial concept past someone at Wikimedia, then they had one of their own lawyers check it against our license. Renata St does not like their price. Neither do I, and I do not see anything I can do about it other than buy something else. She does not like the lack of prominence of wikipedia's name on the face of the books. It was not a wikimedia-spawned initiative. Forces are against printing wikipedia, and I am with them, mainly because I would not know where to start with rules for selecting articles, and I do not know anybody who does. So, she is an incidental and frequent contributor to wikipedia's unofficial print edition. Maybe she should turn that around and look at what she could do for the articles that she did not write in the books, then personally ask if they will pay her for doing it. ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
Kind of cool, really. Dunno about you, but when I write articles on Wikipedia, I do it so that lots of people can read them and the knowledge can be spread. I really don't care if someone is making a quick buck. Has anyone made a definitive list of them? It looks like I'm probably published here: http://www.amazon.com/Snowboard-Snowboarding-Freestyle-Terrain-Boardercross/dp/6130008767/ref=sr_1_79?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1250614429sr=1-79 But I wonder what others... Steve On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 8:10 AM, Renata Strenataw...@gmail.com wrote: Alphascript Publishing has published over 1900 (and counting) books, all available on Amazon. Prices range from $31 to $179. All of these books are simple computer-generated copies from Wikipedia and (at least according to one Amazon reviewer) couple other public domain websites. Trouble is, from ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 11:10 PM, Renata Strenataw...@gmail.com wrote: It was raised before on the Village Pump, but I think this is so disturbing that we ought to do something. As others have said, I don't find this disturbing at all. It would be good if a Wikipedian bought one of the books to ensure compliance with our license but even if it doesn't I would still be unmoved. I don't think it requires a concerted effort by Wikipedia to attack the publisher by trying to post a review of all 2,000 books. Purchasers of the books who feel they were conned can post their own reviews if they buy them and are alarmed to discover how they were produced. I wouldn't be against Wikipedia having its own range of print works provided they were profitable and all funds were ploughed back into the Foundation. But I certainly don't think it would be a good idea if it were purely motivated by trying to compete someone out of the market. ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 10:02 AM, Bod Notbodbodnot...@gmail.com wrote: I wouldn't be against Wikipedia having its own range of print works provided they were profitable and all funds were ploughed back into the Foundation. But I certainly don't think it would be a good idea if it were purely motivated by trying to compete someone out of the market. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex/Wikipedia:Books/ Steve ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
[WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
It was raised before on the Village Pump, but I think this is so disturbing that we ought to do something. Alphascript Publishing has published over 1900 (and counting) books, all available on Amazon. Prices range from $31 to $179. All of these books are simple computer-generated copies from Wikipedia and (at least according to one Amazon reviewer) couple other public domain websites. Trouble is, from book description page there is absolutely no way of knowing that the book is a Wikipedia mirror on paper. At least several Amazon buyers have been fooled. What really gets my blood boiling is that Amazon user VDM Verlag Dr.Müller (I think someone exposed him as 100% shareholder of the publishing co) goes on rating these products as five star The publisher seems to observe the copyright (even includes full edit history) so legal action seems impossible. Someone already contacted Amazon, but they are not responsible for the quality of books sold. In the meantime the number of such books grew from 900 in June to almost 2000 as of today... I think we should do something. At the very least publishing product reviews warning that what this is See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:PrimeHunter/Alphascript_Publishing_sells_free_articles_as_expensive_books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(miscellaneous)/Archive_20#The_Alphascript-Amazon-Wikipedia_book_hoax http://rufftoon.livejournal.com/59337.html Thanks, Renata P.S. on a happier note: half of Wikipedia editors now can claim to be published authors. ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
-Original Message- From: Renata St renataw...@gmail.com To: English Wikipedia wikien-l@lists.wikimedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List foundatio...@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thu, Aug 13, 2009 3:10 pm Subject: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia It was raised before on the Village Pump, but I think this is so disturbing that we ought to do something. Alphascript Publishing has published over 1900 (and counting) books, all available on Amazon. Prices range from $31 to $179. All of these books are simple computer-generated copies from Wikipedia and (at least according to one Amazon reviewer) couple other public domain websites. Trouble is, from book description page there is absolutely no way of knowing that the book is a Wikipedia mirror on paper. At least several Amazon buyers have been fooled. What really gets my blood boiling is that Amazon user VDM Verlag Dr.Müller (I think someone exposed him as 100% shareholder of the publishing co) goes on rating these products as five star The publisher seems to observe the copyright (even includes full edit history) so legal action seems impossible. Someone already contacted Amazon, but they are not responsible for the quality of books sold. In the meantime the number of such books grew from 900 in June to almost 2000 as of today... I think we should do something. At the very least publishing product reviews wa rning that what this is See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:PrimeHunter/Alphascript_Publishing_sells_free_articles_as_expensive_books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(miscellaneous)/Archive_20#The_Alphascript-Amazon-Wikipedia_book_hoax http://rufftoon.livejournal.com/59337.html Thanks, Renata P.S. on a happier note: half of Wikipedia editors now can claim to be published authors. ___ Renata I'm not sure to what you're objecting. Our contents are republishable. The author is certainly free to rate his own work five stars. What's the issue here? Will Johnson ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
The main issue is *deception*. There is no disclaimer anywhere (except inside the book) that this is a copy from Wikipedia or somewhere else. People are tricked into believing that this is original content by the three listed editors. It almost got tricked myself... and it came out that I wrote 13 articles out of 48 included in that book. I figured something is fishy only because I recognized the titles. I would espect average Joe, not intimately familiar with Wikipedia, to fall for that. Especially when you see another happy customer rating it five stars for great collection of information... I am not objecting to publishing Wikipedia. If someone wants to put an honest effort into producing Wikipedia CDs/DVDs/books -- more power to them. But please label in big clear letters copied from Wikipedia on the cover for everyone to see. I know German Wikipedia was published on a DVD -- I have zero objections to that. I also know that the book extension to mediawiki was added exactly for this purpose. But in this particular case I think it's rather abusive. Renata On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 6:22 PM, wjhon...@aol.com wrote: -Original Message- From: Renata St renataw...@gmail.com To: English Wikipedia wikien-l@lists.wikimedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List foundatio...@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thu, Aug 13, 2009 3:10 pm Subject: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia It was raised before on the Village Pump, but I think this is so disturbing that we ought to do something. Alphascript Publishing has published over 1900 (and counting) books, all available on Amazon. Prices range from $31 to $179. All of these books are simple computer-generated copies from Wikipedia and (at least according to one Amazon reviewer) couple other public domain websites. Trouble is, from book description page there is absolutely no way of knowing that the book is a Wikipedia mirror on paper. At least several Amazon buyers have been fooled. What really gets my blood boiling is that Amazon user VDM Verlag Dr.Müller (I think someone exposed him as 100% shareholder of the publishing co) goes on rating these products as five star The publisher seems to observe the copyright (even includes full edit history) so legal action seems impossible. Someone already contacted Amazon, but they are not responsible for the quality of books sold. In the meantime the number of such books grew from 900 in June to almost 2000 as of today... I think we should do something. At the very least publishing product reviews wa rning that what this is See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:PrimeHunter/Alphascript_Publishing_sells_free_articles_as_expensive_books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(miscellaneous)/Archive_20#The_Alphascript-Amazon-Wikipedia_book_hoaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_%28miscellaneous%29/Archive_20#The_Alphascript-Amazon-Wikipedia_book_hoax http://rufftoon.livejournal.com/59337.html Thanks, Renata P.S. on a happier note: half of Wikipedia editors now can claim to be published authors. ___ Renata I'm not sure to what you're objecting. Our contents are republishable. The author is certainly free to rate his own work five stars. What's the issue here? Will Johnson ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
I suppose we should be thankful that according to the Alphascript publishing site all the work is done ...at no cost to our authors. otherwise they might be sending us all bills to cover their costs. Alan ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l __ Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo! Answers and share what you know at http://ca.answers.yahoo.com ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
Re: [WikiEN-l] Alphascript Publishing: 1900+ copypasted books from Wikipedia
You said: The publisher seems to observe the copyright (even includes full edit history) so legal action seems impossible. How can a book copy the full edit history without it being obvious that it's copied from Wikipedia? We do not require someone to say copied from Wikipedia on the title page by the way. But I'm unclear why you think there is no possible legal action? We have a license, and the license states that you must state certain things. Either they obey it, or they don't. Am I right? ___ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
