Last week in Google Analytics I noticed a link to my site that wasn't from the SBI forums or Website Babble
It came from a camping forum, and I got sort of excited that I was mentioned!
I followed the link and came upon this camping website. The forum had copied question that had been asked in Yahoo Answers and <i>copied my answer verbatin</i> with a new name and locations etc. (the poster was named JuicyFruit, an upholsterer from Guinea!)
As I started to look around, I pulled up my answer from Yahoo Answers and saw that all of the answers were verbatim and taken from other answers. Then I recognized a bunch of questions had been asked (also verbatim...no originality here!) on Yahoo answers...and all of the answers were just copied and pasted in. (I searched some of the questions and answers to make sure)
There were people from China and Sri Lanka and Malaysia and all over (no one from US though) who were asking and answering all sorts of questions about the best places to camp for Memorial Day in Florida, California...what to pack for a Memorial Day campout...you get the idea! What to pack for a summer trip to a prestigious Boy Scout camp in New Mexico.
So I emailed Yahoo about this site, giving them the name of the site and basically telling them what I told you guys, figuring they would want to know about it and figuring it must be violating something!
Last night I finally received a reply from them...a long, legalese, drawn-out, difficult to just scan kind of answer with a whole list of things I need to do to properly inform them....including:
HTML Code:
3. A statement by you using the exact words that you have a **good faith
belief that the reported use is not authorized by the copyright or
intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law**;
4. Your address, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail address;
5. A statement by you using the exact words, **made under penalty of
perjury, that the above information is accurate and that you are the
copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the
copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf**; and
Well, even though I have an answer in there that is being copied, it seems to me that it is mainly Yahoo that is being infringed upon! I am irritated they can't just read the email I sent and take care of it. I am not going to bother writing an essay for them. All I wanted to do was inform them! For them! While I am not thrilled about it, I am not all that concerned about my answer being copied at this moment (should I be?).
Just had to vent!!!!
Yahoo is cutting off their nose to spite their face!
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