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Guidelines when posting links to blog posts or articles

Started by Vekseid, December 05, 2011, 08:47:26 PM

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Vekseid

1) Always link back to or cite the original source. Always. If for some reason you can't dignify the source with a link, at least post a non-working url.
1a) It is preferable, if referencing a news article, to find the original press release if applicable. Try to get as close to the source as you can, rather reading someone's commentary about another person's blog post about some public press release that anyone in this forum should be able to comprehend without middlemen trying to color our perceptions.

2) Cite a small portion of the article in your post. Never the whole thing, never even a majority (the standard is 'replacing the need to visit the original source', which, while vague, should be kept in mind), but try to only reference those pieces which you wish to comment on.

3) If you see something that either forgets to include a link or cites too much of an article, even if it's by myself or a staff member, even if it's on different parts of the forum, please report the post so it can be fixed. This isn't a matter of punishment, just ensuring that we are on the good side of copyright law in the United States, and your help is appreciated.

4) Try to add at least some commentary of your own in your post. Especially if you are citing a great deal of the article in question.




The reason for these are twofold.

On the "I'm just going to leave this here" or "Posted without comment" (I see the latter more on other debating forums) with nothing more than a link, it is rude to the reader without giving them, at the very least, more of an exposition to consider going to the linked article.

Doing the same thing while posting the entirety - or even a majority - of the article in question, or without providing a link, is literally not something we can afford to tolerate. No, SOPA/PROTECT IP won't shut down Elliquiy, but if there ever is some jack random case brought against us, I want to have as few legs for their case to stand on as possible. Namely
1) Does the posting on Elliquiy deprive the target of revenue? I.e. remove the need to visit the originating site? If not, then we are that much safer. Likewise
2) Is the posting on Elliquiy transformative? That is, is the commentary on the citing post something that provides some meaningful addition or transformation (additional insight, another perspective, whatever)

A third condition that gets brought up in court cases is whether revenue is earned from such, though that isn't a concern for Elliquiy and I'd love if it never was.

Thank you all for your cooperation : )