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- Thread starter MorpheusDeus
- Start date
MorpheusDeus
Mapping the paht back to the Source
@Yahya ibn Yahya, thanks for the suggestion, I will take a look at the material you have suggested when I get into Islam. There are many religions to explore, and the best is to focus on one line of thought or a single subject at a time. Right now I have been exploring some New Age spiritual concepts and their origins from Hinduism and Buddhism. But I plan to explore other religions as well later on.
MorpheusDeus
Mapping the paht back to the Source
@lewisnotmiller, thanks for the guidance. Of course I intend to be respectful, but you surely know that such things are fairly relative, depending on with whom you are debating about what. For example name-calling and despising or belittling others is an obvious disrespect.
But some people of certain strongly dogmatic religions (extremists, radicalists, fanatics) may feel offended even if one dares to question the validity of some teachings of their religion. Without questioning the validity of teachings, claims, concepts, it is not possible to discern right from wrong, and separate the truth and value from the false and useless. So this will be a little tricky, but right now I don’t see a better way to do this.
But some people of certain strongly dogmatic religions (extremists, radicalists, fanatics) may feel offended even if one dares to question the validity of some teachings of their religion. Without questioning the validity of teachings, claims, concepts, it is not possible to discern right from wrong, and separate the truth and value from the false and useless. So this will be a little tricky, but right now I don’t see a better way to do this.
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Hey Morpheus,
I figure if you're playing the ball and not the man (figuratively speaking) you'll generally be okay. In simple terms, attack the idea, and not the person.
MorpheusDeus
Mapping the paht back to the Source
One more thing came to mind that needs to be clarified. The issue of potential copyright infringement. For most people this is not a problem, but in my case it is better to clarify it in advance.
I plan to use some of the relevant content of our discussions on my website and perhaps in books as well, so it is needs to be clear whether that is permitted or not. In most cases I will rephrase the content, but sometimes verbatim quotes may be more appropriate.
According to your Terms of Service the person who posted the content is the copyright owner of that content. Does this mean that if I want to explain in my own words on my site what that person said, I would have to ask his/her permission? Do I have to ask for permission if I use verbatim quotes from such posts?
According to my present understanding about fair use policy of quotations (especially in critiques) such quotes are allowed by law without the need to ask for permission. Otherwise it would be impossible to publish such critiques, since nobody in his right mind is willing to grant permission to use his writings for the purpose of criticism.
I would appreciate if a responsible staff member could clarify this dilemma.
I plan to use some of the relevant content of our discussions on my website and perhaps in books as well, so it is needs to be clear whether that is permitted or not. In most cases I will rephrase the content, but sometimes verbatim quotes may be more appropriate.
According to your Terms of Service the person who posted the content is the copyright owner of that content. Does this mean that if I want to explain in my own words on my site what that person said, I would have to ask his/her permission? Do I have to ask for permission if I use verbatim quotes from such posts?
According to my present understanding about fair use policy of quotations (especially in critiques) such quotes are allowed by law without the need to ask for permission. Otherwise it would be impossible to publish such critiques, since nobody in his right mind is willing to grant permission to use his writings for the purpose of criticism.
I would appreciate if a responsible staff member could clarify this dilemma.
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MorpheusDeus
Mapping the paht back to the Source
Knight of Albion
Well-Known Member
A very warm welcome to the forum, dear Morpheus.
MorpheusDeus
Mapping the paht back to the Source
@Knight of Albion, thank you for the welcome.
Hi Morpheus,
Appreciate you asking about this rather than just going ahead and using content without clarification.
I suspect I know the answer, but would prefer to make sure I'm correct before responding, so have reported this through to the rest of staff/admin so we can get a confirmed response.
Cheers
Hi Morpheus, welcome to RF.
As for your question, I think your best bet would be to contact the owner directly: Rex | ReligiousForums.com My own best guess is that it would be OK as long as you link back to the source. But like I say, I'm just guessing.
Thanks for asking first, btw.
MorpheusDeus
Mapping the paht back to the Source
Thank you all for the welcome.
@Start a Conversation, good advice, perhaps I should have contacted Rex right away about this. I just thought that there has been already a precedent to somebody using the forum content on other websites and literature. As @lewisnotmiller has reported this to staff/admin, I suppose it has already reached Rex and the answer will come forward. There is no hurry about it.
My approach to copyright infringement is that a mechanical, dogmatic prohibition of unauthorized quotation is not a righteous rule. I do agree that in some cases such unauthorized quotation is malicious, but it should not be very difficult to see the intent behind the usage of such quoted content.
For example, if I write a bunch of articles on my website and somebody prints a book (or creates a website) in which that person copies my content and poses as the author of that content, thus stealing the authorship, and sells the book not sharing the profits with me, then that is condemnable.
But if somebody replicates the content on my website while giving credit to me for the content and providing link to the source without my authorization, then I have nothing against such copying, in fact I encourage it (it is free advertising).
Also, if somebody wants to criticize what I have claimed on my website, I don’t expect him to ask my permission for that. He is not trying to steal my content and create profit (or any benefit) by claiming authorship for the copied text. He is doing the opposite, by quoting the content and criticizing it he is trying to distance himself from that content. So it can not be judged as theft of content or violation of copyright.
In case of using somebody’s content in a positive manner as source of agreeable information (while not trying to steal the content and the associated benefits), it makes sense to ask the permission of the author. I don’t see much reason why such permission would be denied as long as proper credit is given.
But of course this is only my commonsense opinion about how it would be just to treat this issue. The real laws that govern the countries quite often have nothing to do with justice, but they serve corporate interests, and serve to fatten the valets of the judicial system. This is the reason that it is worth checking this issue properly once, and be clear about what to expect in case of conflicts.
I have asked an experienced free lance journalist about this a while ago, who publishes alternative news on his website. He assured me that the fair use policy allows liberal quoting of content from others in case of polemical articles. No permission is needed from the author. Naturally credit for the copied content is given to the original author, and link provided to the source.
@Start a Conversation, good advice, perhaps I should have contacted Rex right away about this. I just thought that there has been already a precedent to somebody using the forum content on other websites and literature. As @lewisnotmiller has reported this to staff/admin, I suppose it has already reached Rex and the answer will come forward. There is no hurry about it.
My approach to copyright infringement is that a mechanical, dogmatic prohibition of unauthorized quotation is not a righteous rule. I do agree that in some cases such unauthorized quotation is malicious, but it should not be very difficult to see the intent behind the usage of such quoted content.
For example, if I write a bunch of articles on my website and somebody prints a book (or creates a website) in which that person copies my content and poses as the author of that content, thus stealing the authorship, and sells the book not sharing the profits with me, then that is condemnable.
But if somebody replicates the content on my website while giving credit to me for the content and providing link to the source without my authorization, then I have nothing against such copying, in fact I encourage it (it is free advertising).
Also, if somebody wants to criticize what I have claimed on my website, I don’t expect him to ask my permission for that. He is not trying to steal my content and create profit (or any benefit) by claiming authorship for the copied text. He is doing the opposite, by quoting the content and criticizing it he is trying to distance himself from that content. So it can not be judged as theft of content or violation of copyright.
In case of using somebody’s content in a positive manner as source of agreeable information (while not trying to steal the content and the associated benefits), it makes sense to ask the permission of the author. I don’t see much reason why such permission would be denied as long as proper credit is given.
But of course this is only my commonsense opinion about how it would be just to treat this issue. The real laws that govern the countries quite often have nothing to do with justice, but they serve corporate interests, and serve to fatten the valets of the judicial system. This is the reason that it is worth checking this issue properly once, and be clear about what to expect in case of conflicts.
I have asked an experienced free lance journalist about this a while ago, who publishes alternative news on his website. He assured me that the fair use policy allows liberal quoting of content from others in case of polemical articles. No permission is needed from the author. Naturally credit for the copied content is given to the original author, and link provided to the source.