QentiC Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Hello, I've been wondering some time now, what is legal and what is not. Example, I've made some css templates and used images found from internet. Am I actually allowed to use any image I want? Do I have to give credit in some way to make it ok? Another thing I've been thinking is, that if I am running a site where you can read news about games and such and I publish them after I've found the news from some other site, is it legal? Do I have to add a link to the source or what? Also, if you know any sites where I could find information about things like this, I would appreciate it a lot if you could give me a link. I'd like to know more about this before I do something illegal, or not illegal, but just disrespectful. Regards, QentiC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newseed Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I've been wondering some time now, what is legal and what is not. Example, I've made some css templates and used images found from internet. Am I actually allowed to use any image I want? Do I have to give credit in some way to make it ok? You cannot just use any image freely without giving credit. It's common sense. There are some images you can use freely such as icons or background images, etc. However, you must check the fine print of any site that you get your images from. Another thing I've been thinking is, that if I am running a site where you can read news about games and such and I publish them after I've found the news from some other site, is it legal? Do I have to add a link to the source or what? You can add RSS newsfeed to your site which will allow you to get certain articles from the publisher. However, if you plan on extracting and posting the content on your site yourself (not using RSS feed) then you will need to add a link back to wherever you got the article from. Most authors don't mind having their content posted elsewhere but it would ideal to respect their writings by asking them if it's okay to use their materials. Again, it's common sense. Also, if you know any sites where I could find information about things like this, I would appreciate it a lot if you could give me a link. I'd like to know more about this before I do something illegal, or not illegal, but just disrespectful. I know of no sites in this regard but one way to best determine if it's morally okay to use someone elses work, put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself how you would feel if someone took your work and claimed it as their own? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSW Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 As usual, agree with the above. Here is the rule of thumb prioritized: When in doubt, ask. When in doubt, give credit and link. When in doubt, don't. This may include RSS feeds as well, but what you want is called "syndication". Do a search for something like "Video Game syndicated reviews", There are web sites out there that deal with nothing but syndicated articles. They will supply you with a link that will insert syndicated articles into your web site. The game companies may offer this as well as they7 want to get the word our about new releases, so check their public affairs pages. Just remember that these will display their code and not yours, chances are their articles will shoot the hell out of any validation you have on that page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanbv Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Here is another legal question for you guys: My company has software that provides a newsletter distribution, kind of like constant contact, that stores email addresses in a separate list once someone opts to select the "unsubscribe" link in the bottom portion of the newsletter. I know we are required to have the "unsubscribe" link in the body of a newsletter, but can we keep the email addresses of people that have selected to be unsubscribed? It's a separate list that we might reach out to at a later date. Thanks for all your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falkencreative Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I'm pretty sure hanging on to lists of people who have unsubscribed and still sending them email despite their explicit request not to is at the very least morally questionable. If I ask not to be emailed again, I expect not to be emailed again, not sent additional email targeted at those who opted out (even if it is far in the future). Reputable email services (Constant Contact, MailChimp, etc.) usually ask where your email lists come from and do their best to ensure that you are only emailing people that have opted in. These may be useful: http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business http://kb.mailchimp.com/article/what-is-required-to-meet-your-terms-of-use-and-the-can-spam-act/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSW Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 If I unsubscribe, you better not send me mail later regardless of your definition of "Reach out to later." We are not lawyers and legality on the web is rather a specialized and very grey area. The first one we can "unofficially" answer, the second is definitely one for a lawyer. Best we can do is give you moral rather than legal answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QentiC Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Thanks for replies to my qestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSW Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Any time... give me a chance to use those cute little emoticons... OK, that was a lie but your welcome on the answers, just the legal stuff is always a grey area. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grabenair Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 When you copy someone else's work it is called plagiarism. Can hold some serious consequences. To avoid this do not do it. But if you do. What I learned in collage comp class is give credit by giving the authors name, when it was wrote and where you can find the article. You can find out how to do this at properly at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/ Now as far as the e-mail thing goes if I unsubscribe I unsubscribe do not send me another e-mail even 5 years down the road. You will get a nasty one back from me and I will just send you into my spam filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSW Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 ...give credit by giving the authors name, when it was wrote and where you can find the article. A Side Note to this comment: This is what the HTML "Address" tag is for. It is not meant to be used for a physical address. It is in fact an address on the web where the info can be found, the authors web site/Bio for instance. So as I recall you link to the text as you usually would to the article, but in the address tag you give a link to say, the authors Bio online, this is a "Hidden" link in a way, but it allows a person to look up the person's Bio to check if they even know what they are talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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