PSA -- Soylent Green

[jack]

By the way, this came up on monday, and it is as I thought, and in case it wasn't clear at the time: the film for which what Soylent Green is is a spoiler is "Soylent Green".

PS. And please don't say what it is in a comment to be funny. I know the meme is more popular than the movie now, and everyone knows what happens (the last person who didn't was told on monday today) but just humour me, the irony would be too painful otherwise.

Edit: PPS. Other spoilers are as ok as normal though. Elim Garak, I am your father!

PPPS. I think this being the first time I've made explicit a comment policy. I know some people explain, but I've always left it implicit, assuming that the default amongst people I know is clear, even if it annoys some people, being approximately the rules of the living room:

* I reserve the right to enforce my will on my place, but in actual fact everything will be controlled by social etiquette.
* Except people I don't know trying to sell stuff to people indiscriminantly. They will be ejected.
* People breaking the law in a major way, ditto.
* Be polite, no gratuitous hate, no gratuitously work unsafe stuff, be careful with legally dodgy stuff. Or I'll ask you nicely not to :)
* Never edit something without making it clear, if it changes the meaning.
* Everything I write copyright me. Everything you write, I'm not sure.
* If I ask you to abide by an etiquette, please do.

Comments

[ewx.livejournal.com]

The basic position is that people own copyright in whatever they create by default. There are some exceptions but I don't believe LJ comments are among them l-)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Duly stipulated, but there are potential wrinkles I'm not competant to have a legal opinion on, eg.:

* What if we're in different countries with different laws?
* I think some corporate message boards assert ownership of content. Does that work?
* I may potentially make a post unprivate: is that permitted?
* May I back up my journal including comments?
* May I quote comments in their entirety, with attribution, elsewhere?
* Do I have an obligation to remove legally obscene comments?

And it seems right, if I'm going to talk about copyright of some things, to let people know what areas I haven't thought about and the default and/or common sense approach may prevail.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Ask a lawyer l-)

I'd try to keep to things that a reasonable person ough to expect, which I think ought to include backups but I don't think would include deliberately tricking people by changing the restrictions on a posting after they've commented.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

(Does the |-) smily have a particular meaning? Or "Geordi La Forge"?) But lol. I do have a habit of ringing up lawyers of my acquaintance and leading with leading and complex legal hypothetical questions :) But I don't know any any more, and this is a bit prosaic :) So, since I'm actually not going to bother doing anything about it, there's a choice between "not caring and not saying anything" and "not caring and saying so" :)

I'd try to keep to things that a reasonable person ough to expect,

Certainly.

I don't think would include deliberately tricking people by changing the restrictions on a posting after they've commented.

Hm? Where did that come from?

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Hm? Where did that come from?

'Making a post unprivate'. If you post with a restrictive setting by accident you ought to be allowed to fix it. If someone's already posted you should be allowed to use your judgement; if someone posts in the gap between you noticing and you fixing it you ought not to be considered evil.

The smiley started out as laziness but I kept it for the wrap-around shades look.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Doh! Sorry -- I read "restrictions" as refering to requests, not the tech. Now it makes sense.

I agree with your sense: I would want to be *able* to, but wouldn't if I thought there might be any problem. I think I can normally tell if anyone would mind.

I don't know if they would have any hope or not of arguing that you published their writing without permission, though :)

The smiley started out as laziness but I kept it for the wrap-around shades look.

Thanks. It is cool. But I thought I'd best check, in case it was a reply I didn't quite follow -- the trouble with smilies as tone of voice is they're not totally consistent :)