Sorry, I know this may be vague and confusing. I'm trying.... :rolleyes:

I'm looking for the disclaimer-thingy(is that the right word) that I read when I registered as a member. I know I clicked "I Agree", now I am wondering what I agreed to.... :eek:

Is there a copy of that-thingy (sorry so vague - I hate losing words!) posted as a "sticky note" or something?

I've tried searching and FAQ. It's a bit hard though, when you don't know what the name of the thing you are searching for ... :confused:

Specifically, I am looking for the bit about how what I write and post here, belongs to ADDF once it's posted. I think that means that if I post an original essay here, it's not mine anymore? I can't remember what it said and I don't know how this applies to original creative endeavors (i.e., essays, short stories, poems) that get posted here. I think I'd like to post an essay here on ADDForums, but, I don't want to lose intellectual control over *my* writing.

If I post an essay here, and later I want to submit it for publication, do I need ADDF permission to have it published???

If yes, does this include text I send in a PM?

Thanks for the clarification (which I'm sure will be forthcoming). :D

--wheezie

http://www.addforums.com/forums/announcement.php?f=75&announcementid=38

Is this what you were looking for?

What you agreed to was to follow tha ADD Forums Guidelines http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75

Thanks Tara and Ian, for attempting to make sense out of my earlier post. Sometimes making sense out of my posts is *not* an easy job!

I don't know why *the* word that I need is not readily available sometimes. It's *so* annoying to *know* that I know the word, but, for some reason, my brain can't find the correct file where *that* bit of knowledge is stored....

Anyway, the word finally came to me and I was able to execute a search on "copyright" issues. I found this post:
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=39909#post39909 with the following pertinent information, ...
To address your questions about content and copyright, ADDForums is a public site which most everyone can use as long as they don't intentionally violate policies here, most of which are common sense and common courtesy to others.
The content however is owned by ADDForums.com and reprinting anything that has been created in these forums will require permission. That being said, we usually don't have a problem with that as long as credit is given (a link usually suffices) and it is not an exceedingly large amount of content.
If for example, someone from another forum decided to start cutting and pasting content from here that would be a problem.. So would writing a book with large amounts of information.

David

So, now I understand that the content of the content of the posts written here are owned by addforums.com (at least that is how I understand what I've read). From some of what I've read, I'm guessing that this is because addforums.com is, in essence, the publisher. I suppose there is the whole problem with identity too, after all, "wheezie" isn't my given name ;) . I thought there might be some information about copyright-protected material somewhere on addforums.com, perhaps associated with the "Creative Writing" Sub-Forum or in FAQ.

My main question remains, if I post an original essay, and later would like to submit it for publication in a magazine, would I have that right (as the author) or would I need permission from addforums.com (the publisher)? My best guess at the answer is, "Yes, I would need permission."

If the answer is that I *do* need permission, is there a way to maintain copyright power over some of what I write and post here?

I think that an "addforum.com Copyright Policy" posted somewhere on the site would be a helpful addition.

I was asked about a privacy policy earlier but never found anything. Thanks for pointing out this thread.
ian

I think that makes perfect sense that nobody can use other people's writing but we should all retain rights to our own writing. I'm sure that wasn't the intent of the guidelines but when you think about it, it's pretty harsh for an artist to lose the right to use their own work and it sounds like that's the way it's set up. As a (sometimes) professional photographer, I've seen this arrangement suggested casually by non-profit clients and they really don't realize how severe such a policy is. It may come from standard wording and is not really understood, so I end up having to clarify & set my own terms for some of those assignments.

Sorry I am late here.

The intent of this policy is primarily to prevent others from copying content and using it elsewhere without approval. There are a lot of unknowns with regards to the actual laws on this point, and I am sure it could (and will be soon) be contested directly regarding copyrights and online forums. IF work was CREATED originally in these forums, then there is a joint copyright of the work between the author and the publisher (ADDF). Technically, it is my understanding that permission should be given before either parties use it someplace else unless there are other stipulations in affect.

I have never had a problem if an author creates or posts their work here and then did it elsewhere. We're not trying to compile a mass amount of information to write a book or anything else, but again, I have seen in the past where people go to forums and basically use all the content they can dig up to fill sites, publications and more.

So, here is the answer I think you are looking for... ADDF is not going to be going after anyone over copyright issues unless they are "stealing" the content off this site.

"joint copyright"

Yes, that's fair. The work was inspired by this forum so this forum may re-publish it. But, the artists should not be asked to give up "full rights" meaning they aren't allowed to use their own work. This is common sense but often not clear or understood in the disclaimers. As it's written, I'd be extremely hesitant to post any poems or such. I realize that's not the intent though. A more careful reading by an artist would discover the desire to have limited rights for the forum to reproduce the joint copywrite material only in web format under this domain name. For convenience, it's simpler to ask for complete rights so that if a summary page is compiled, there will be no need to ask permission from each poster (a big bother) but ideally there would be some explicit limit so that for instance, the forum owners could not publish a bestselling book that contained substantial contributions by paritcular members and so that if that happened, the contributors could earn their fair share. I know this sounds picky but imagine the extreme scenario where the forum is sold to a private for-profit vendor and they stole all of Draga's poems and made money off them while she struggled to pay bills. I know, I know, that's not going to happen... but really, that's what these terms come down to when the lawyers write them. There is no sensible reason for an artist to agree to such terms and that is cause for amending the wording.

Again, I'm not worried in the least bit about being ripped off here but strictly speaking the agreement is wrong as I understand it and should be corrected.

(My judgemental nature showing through)