Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!otter!gjh
From: gjh@otter.hpl.hp.com (Graham Higgins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Contribution copyright query
Message-ID: <570023@otter.hpl.hp.com>
Date: 2 Aug 89 17:38:16 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.
Lines: 33

I'd appreciate some guidance/instruction on the position of copyright on usenet
contributions. I am doing a bit of spare-time writing for one of the U.K. ST
mags (STWorld). Between us we have been considering doing a monthly "Best of ST
usenet" feature. 

Apart from a complete rewriting of the contribution (at best plagiarism --- but
the contributor *would* be acknowledged), how far can I go towards direct
quotes/inclusion of text?

I would also appreciate contributors' views on the ethics of this. I don't want
to put people's noses out of joint, nor get anyone into bother with employers,
hence this enquiry. 

I am approaching the feature as an information-propagation feature. For
eaxmple, in the UK, we generally don't get to see the U.S. Atari Corp staff's
contributions (except those priviledged few with internet access). Some of the
info (such as Ken's warning to ACC creators) is definitely worth propagating
--- actually, so are most of the contributions, I think it's a very high
standard of discussion.

Comments welcome.

Cheers,

Graham
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Graham Higgins @ HP Labs      	|  Phone: (0272) 799910 x 24060
Information Systems Centre    	|  gray@hpl.hp.co.uk
Bristol                       	|  gray%hplb.uucp@ukc.ac.uk
U.K.                          	|  gray@hplb.hpl.hp.com