Quoting articles vs. wholesale cut'n'pasting

[Dave B]

Could we have a clarification on the forum's policy regarding quoting articles please?

[Declaration of interest: I used to run a motorsport website and depended on advertising revenue to make it viable.]

I've always been careful to only quote the opening paragraph or two from a story, or lift a quote which is directly relevant to the point; accompanying my post with a direct link to the original source.

I've recently noticed a trend (from one member in particular if I'm honest) to cut and paste entire articles, thereby removing any incentive for an interested reader to ever visit the website of the publisher.

I know that some countries have a "fair use" defence (the UK certainly doesn't), but I would suggest that the wholesale lifting of articles is copyright theft - even if one is careful to credit the author - and deprives websites of a potential audience.

I'd be interested to know the forum's official policy on this. I've cross-posted in F1 becuase that's where I witness this activity the most.

[Mark]

The official policy is of course to stay within copyright law!

This allows you to take a short excerpt from a particular article, such as the opening paragraph for 'critical purposes'. You may also take selected parts from an article in order to comment upon them. The total taken must not exceed 10% of the work.

In all cases a source reference must be given, a link is sufficient.

Copying entire articles is against the law and I would ask members not to do so, and if you see any which have been then to report this to the forum moderators who can take action.