Comments on: More on Aggregate Content… PR 101?

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 03:58:17 +0000

I definitely think that you should write him and just let him know what you are thinking. He may not choose to take what you say in consideration, but at least you will have gotten it off your chest. I think what he is doing is wrong, but it is evidently legal. That doesn’t make what he is doing right or fair though. It is your personal work and you rightfully “own” it. I think he should at least know what you are thinking, whether he cares or not.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 15:12:14 +0000

If he is within his legal rights and he is profiting off of other people’s work with little effort on his own part, I doubt an email will make it stop. Although, a letter to him discussing your objection to his actions would be the proper and necessary first step, it is probably a waste of time and might give him more to post about in his blog. I believe that the original author is definately the owner of the work and anyone who basically steals it should in some way be punished or at least forced to share the profits.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 18:14:00 +0000

I think it’s funny how we’ve been discussing recently how advertising on blogs reduces their credibility… and then this guy starts taking other peoples’ thoughts, basically plagiarizing their work and THEN advertises within their posts on top of everything else! Isn’t this, like, everything we’ve been talking about NOT to do, all rolled into one neat little blog?
Are you sure he’s not an example you talked into doing this just to show us what not to do? : )

By: ElizabethWood Rodgers

ElizabethWood Rodgers — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 16:27:47 +0000

I think you definitley need to confront him, write to him, at least say how you feel. It would make me angry and bother me a lot so I would probably say something to him. Just explain your point of view and what you think of the situation. I hope it goes well…Seee you in class!

By: Mallory

Mallory — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 16:15:51 +0000

I definitely think you should write to him telling him exactly how it makes you feel. It’s not fair for him to take your posts without permission and put them on his website with ads and not give you credit. I don’t know if it would necessarily help to change your liscense to “non-commercial”. People who finagle their way into your blogs will find a way to do so no matter what…as long as they don’t get caught. I think you should write to him and tell him what he’s doing is wrong.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 15:46:09 +0000

Well, though what I think he’s doing is kind of sketchy, he probably doesn’t see it that way. And technically, over the Internet, people are free to do what they want. You ask if he SHOULD have written you first. Well, yes, he should have. But, he didn’t, and probably doesn’t see why he should have. I think changing your copyright rules is the most you can do, but other than that, he pretty much is going to do what he wants, regardless of what you want. Then again, this guy might not be the jerk I’m picturing him as, so writing to him might help. Overall, my opinion is: writing him will not change what he is doing.

By: Lindsay_J

Lindsay_J — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 05:52:49 +0000

Hi Robert. What a predicament. I say write to him and just explain your point of view. I have learned it is always best to go straight to the horse’s mouth, and while we have been to the horse’s blog e-mailing him might allow you to reason him into changing his site or at least taking your stuff down (if that’s what you want). I think each person who is individually bothered by their content being on his site needs to approach him on his/her own and handle it individually.

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 16 Apr 2005 20:22:10 +0000

Honestly, I think that taking someone else’s blogs and placing advertisements on them seems to be crossing some imaginary legal line. I understand that when a person blogs on the internet it is there for anyone in the world to read, but I do not think that anyone in the world should be able to take your blog and post it on their website alongside with advertisements. If your blog contains no ads then obviously that was not the intention of posting it. I think he should have asked permission to post other people’s blogs without providing a link to the original website. It seems a little unethical to me, especially if he is not giving credit to the author’s of the blogs, but that’s just my opinion.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sat, 16 Apr 2005 14:07:42 +0000

Here are my two cents: I think you should definitely write to him. Why one earth should he be profiting off of something you (and others) wrote and not even ask for your permisssion? I would not make an aggregator blog with advertisements on it just knowing that it would tick some people off. If I were in your position, I would change the license to be ‘non-commercial’ and make a place where they can request permission to link your blog to sites that have advertisements on them!

By: Jami

Jami — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 16:40:38 +0000

OK – I just now read this right before class so I didn’t have time to thoroughly look over it. From what I did read, I think you should definitely right to Crowther. You should also change your Creative Commons so that people like him cannot weasle around them. Crowther obviously has not read the Blogging Code of Ethics.