Cool Features (private message, signatures, UBB Code)

As you gain more experience on the Internet and with the Forum itself, I am sure that you will want to use some of the "cooler" functions that are available. It really doesn't take much to learn how to send private messages, add a signature, or include hyperlinks to your posts.

Follow the instructions provided in the Frequently Asked Questions files for more information.

Protecting Copyrights

The Internet has changed the way that people view "content." What used to be printed on paper is now transmitted instantaneously via e-mail and web pages. It is so much easier today to copy someone's work and share it with another person.

Even though the technology has changed, the underlying laws have not. We must always respect the rights of individuals who have created original works. ElderCare Online and ALZwell are acutely aware of this since we had to chase down a large company that was illegally posting our articles onto their website. Yes, believe it or not, they thought that they could get by without paying us and didn't bother to return our phone calls. It took the threat of legal action (and hundreds of dollars in fees on our part) to get them to finally remove the stolen articles from their website.

While we generously allow many websites to republish our articles (often for free), we always require the other party to specifically ask for permission. This is not only polite, but it is the law. If necessary, we will enforce the law and pursue legal action if someone breaches our rights maliciously.

If you see an article on this website that you want a friend to read, us the "Recommend to a Friend" button to send it along, or the "E-mail to a Friend" feature in the message board rather than copying it into a mail message. You can copy the links and send it as well. We're not looking to prevent the sharing of our articles, just to prevent some of the money-hungry websites from stealing what isn't theirs. If we don't enforce our rights, then they can walk all over us.

Having said that, it is very important that we respect other writers's copyrights. If you are posting an article, poem or news story to this website that is not yours, please include the original author's copyright and a link back to the website where you found it. It will be difficult for us to police every posting on this message board because it is so active, so we ask that you use good judgment and make sure all references are clear.

The best approach is to provide a brief snippet from the article and then link back to the whole piece. That way people can sample it and then have it all if they want it. For an example, see any of the news updates that are posted to this Forum. If you want to post the entire text of an article or poem, please ask advance permission from the author. If you see some material that you think would complement this site, contact me and I will contact the author about reprinting it.

Being good netizens means respecting each other's rights, and copyrights are among the most important to us publishers.

[This message was edited by Casey on February 07, 2003 at 11:01 AM.]