So, when Shaun ends up tinkering with that great server in the sky...

[ColinJ]

The main difference there, Colin, is that any book or music which you write is yours, whereas anything written to a forum database belongs to the forum's owner.

I am talking about the forum owner - Shaun, in this case!

I'm saying that the forum is probably one of the biggest things he will do in his life, so it would be a shame for it to die with him. It is effectively his 'book' or his 'piece of music'.

On the subject of copyright - I haven't actually seen anything on the site which talks about the copyright issue. I don't consider my posts to be Shaun's property. I am giving permission for him to publish them, that is a different matter.

As far as I know, copyright is automatically granted to the author of any written work, even a forum post, but obviously anybody posting to a public forum is giving permission for their posts to be published and quoted. I would actually be quite annoyed if somebody took one of my longer posts and published it somewhere else without acknowledging that I had written it.

I found one of the cycle routes which I'd put on Bikely on a different bike routes site, complete with a verbatim copy of my description of it. I was about to get very indignant when I noticed that the person who did that had appended a link to my original route on Bikely and mentioned that I was the author. That was fine by me.

It would be an unreasonable burden to expect a forum owner to remove posts from a forum when asked to do so later by a member. It would be easy to do so if they hadn't been quoted, but you imagine what a nightmare it would be to find any snippets of any posts by Arch, for example, if she suddenly decided that she wanted all trace of her removed from CycleChat! So, even though I assert the copyright on my posts, I don't think I can actually remove them from CycleChat even if I wanted to!

 

[661-Pete]

I can't currently work out how to embed a pic from Flickr....

Go to your Flickr piccie. Click on Share this. Click on Grab the HTML/BBCode. Select BBCode. You will see a popup window with text in it. You only need to copy and paste the bit between, and including, the [img] ... [/img] tags. Like this (one of yours from the Rat & Cat thread):

 

[661-Pete]

I would actually be quite annoyed if somebody took one of my longer posts and published it somewhere else without acknowledging that I had written it.

In a sense this happened to me. But on the first occasion, I wasn't annoyed - quite the contrary! Way back in the very early days of the CTC forum, when that was the only forum I'd heard of (I hadn't even discovered C+ in those days), I put up a longish post about bells on that forum. It was lifted verbatim, and published in Cycling magazine, attributed just to one "Pete". Instant fame!

There's my boast of the day.

But on another occasion, more recently, when a certain forummer copied one of my posts verbatim into a petrolhead forum, without attributing it (luckily!), I was just a wee bit annoyed. But he apologised.

I honestly don't know who really owns the intellectual rights to text etc. posted on a forum. Similarly, who is really liable when somebody posts something a bit - naughty - on a forum. Both of these issues haven't really been properly tested in Law. Or have they?

 

[ColinJ]

In a sense this happened to me. But on the first occasion, I wasn't annoyed - quite the contrary! Way back in the very early days of the CTC forum, when that was the only forum I'd heard of (I hadn't even discovered C+ in those days), I put up a longish post about bells on that forum. It was lifted verbatim, and published in Cycling magazine, attributed just to one "Pete". Instant fame!

There's my boast of the day.

Well, at least you were acknowledged, even if it wasn't totally clear that it was you!

One of the reasons I chose the user name ColinJ is that there aren't too many of us online using that. The owner of ColinJ.co.uk isn't me, by the way, even though I also like puzzles and have written a few puzzle games in my time.

I have found some of my photographs on various sites, but I don't mind that so much because I have watermarked them with my blog name and they aren't pro quality anyway.

But on another occasion, more recently, when a certain forummer copied one of my posts verbatim into a petrolhead forum, without attributing it (luckily!), I was just a wee bit annoyed. But he apologised.

You got your apology. I'd be irate if somebody copied me and refused to apologise and I'd insist that the site owner removed the post in that situation.

I honestly don't know who really owns the intellectual rights to text etc. posted on a forum. Similarly, who is really liable when somebody posts something a bit - naughty - on a forum. Both of these issues haven't really been properly tested in Law. Or have they?

I think in the second case, the forum owner has a responsibility to remove offensive or illegal posts if they are brought to their attention. I'm not sure that they have to be vigilant 24/7 to find the posts before anybody actually complains.

 

[Norm]

I am talking about the forum owner - Shaun, in this case!

Apologies, I hadn't picked that up.

 

[Arch]

Go to your Flickr piccie. Click on Share this. Click on Grab the HTML/BBCode. Select BBCode. You will see a popup window with text in it. You only need to copy and paste the bit between, and including, the

tags. Like this (one of yours from the Rat & Cat thread):

Cheers for that. I had it all sorted with Photobucket, but I've somehow forgotten my login for that...

 

[TVC]

Trying to keep it light hearted honestly- sorry Shaun.

We all know that in the beginning Shaun financed this whole venture from his business, but as it grew he had to move to voluntary subscription. Now here is the question for the business lawyers (and Shaun). As the forum now generates income does it then become part of Shaun's estate to be dealt with by his executors should the worst happen, and is there any intellectual property value in the branding of Cycle Chat?

 

[Wigsie]

Cheers for that. I had it all sorted with Photobucket, but I've somehow forgotten my login for that...

Lets hope Shaun never utters these words!

 

[ColinJ]

We all know that in the beginning Shaun financed this whole venture from his business, but as it grew he had to move to voluntary subscription. Now here is the question for the business lawyers (and Shaun). As the forum now generates income does it then become part of Shaun's estate to be dealt with by his executors should the worst happen, and is there any intellectual property value in the branding of Cycle Chat?

Well, quite clearly CycleChat is Shaun's even if we individually own the copyright to our own posts.

Even if we make voluntary donations or pay subscriptions, that must still be the case. We don't own the forum even though the forum doesn't have any value without our collective contributions!

It is also obvious that Shaun's family should be able to benefit from all the hard work he has put in to CycleChat, should something happen to him, but that is something for him to sort out in his will. I just think it would be nice if the forum eventually outlived him, just as mainstream companies outlive their original founders.

 

[Adasta]

I currently post at another forum - one that has been abandoned. I'm not sure how/why it still exists; I think that perhaps the host doesn't actually know it's still there. In any case, hardly anyone posts there, other than when they have a burst of nostalgia for the early 2000s and hunts the place down.

I suppose that, if the host doesn't get round to deleting the "forgotten forum" - if CycleChat were ever to be such a thing - it would carry on indefinitely...

 

[ColinJ]

I suppose that, if the host doesn't get round to deleting the "forgotten forum" - if CycleChat were ever to be such a thing - it would carry on indefinitely...

Even if the host 'forgot' that a server or part of a server was being used to host the forum, the domain name registrar wouldn't forget that the name needing renewing!

Eventually, the CycleChat.net domain (and any aliases) would lapse and some smart arse would nab them. I saw a case a couple of weeks ago where a site owner went on a long holiday and when he came back he discovered that his domain had been grabbed by someone after he failed to respond to the warning emails!

 

[TVC]

Well, quite clearly CycleChat is Shaun's even if we individually own the copyright to our own posts.

Even if we make voluntary donations or pay subscriptions, that must still be the case. We don't own the forum even though the forum doesn't have any value without our collective contributions!

It is also obvious that Shaun's family should be able to benefit from all the hard work he has put in to CycleChat, should something happen to him, but that is something for him to sort out in his will. I just think it would be nice if the forum eventually outlived him, just as mainstream companies outlive their original founders.

Agree entirely, I was just wondering what the true legal status, is it classed as a business so comes under company law or is assessed as a private possession, or indeed something else entirely.

 

[Brains]

The internet is still relatively young so there probably haven't been too many cases yet of forum owners shuffling off this mortal coil leaving their digital babies to fend for themselves. But what happens in such a situation?

Sheldon Brown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_(bicycle_mechanic)



And just in case you have never delved into his expansive website on all things cycling, it's still running here
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

 

[Wigsie]

I would love to be a fly on the wall when Shaun reads this thread!

All talking about him dying and how he must get his affairs in order and sort a will out so we still have somewhere to talk shoot when he dies...

We love you really Shaun!

 

[snorri]

I would love to be a fly on the wall when Shaun reads this thread!

All talking about him dying and how he must get his affairs in order and sort a will out so we still have somewhere to talk shoot when he dies...

I found the talk of death a bit distasteful too, perhaps instead we should consider the affect on CC if Shaun decides to "direct his energies elsewhere" at some future date.