Re: I am still a bit confused (fwd)

[Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com>]

Here is my reply to a message from Robert.  I think the AGA policy
statement should be changed to say "no electronic redistribution", if it
doesn't already, just so we don't have to draft responses like this.

  - Erik

-- 
Erik Olson
erik at thekrib dot com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 12:13:02 -0800 (PST)
From: Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com>
To: Robert_ Hudson <RHudson@espritsys.com>
Subject: Re: I am still a bit confused

Robert,

First off you should know that I'm the webmaster, not the rulemaker; I am
just relaying the policy and on issues of policy you need to go elsewhere.

Neil Frank engaged me in a conversation about this several years ago when
another web site wanted to reprint articles under the exchange policy. We
were able to hammer out the following observations:

1. Electronic redistribution is not the same as a printed magazine.  A
printed magazine is distributed only once.  A web site is persistent,
stays up indefinitely.  

2. Authors who submit an article to TAG have a certain expectation about
the article.  They expect that it may get reprinted for a club bulletin
(and they will know about it via the copy of the club bulletin that is to
be sent to them as per the exchange policy).  They don't expect it to be
put on the web.

3. Let us say theoretically that a web site did count as a magazine. How
exactly do you comply with the exchange policy, and send "one copy of the
publication to the AGA"?  Do you print out every page on the site and
snail-mail it?  What happens when you alter the site, by adding a new
page? This would seem to be "another publication" and you'd have to repeat
the process.

4. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the SPIRIT of this is
wrong.  Blanket redistribution on the net ends up circumventing the
authors, who were kind enough to let the AGA publish their work without
payment, and it ends up circumventing the AGA, which presents that work as
a service to its members via TAG.  This is why we say "go ask the
authors".  It's their work and they should have final say over this.  
(You'll notice that no articles have been archived on the AGA site without
permission from their authors).

Hope this clears things up, on both the "legal" level and on a rational
level.

  - Erik

On Wed, 3 Feb 1999, Robert_ Hudson wrote:

> Hi Erik,
> 
> I am a bit confused over what you told me when I requested to post past
> articles from TAG on my WEB site. You said that could not be done
> because it went against  a rule of AGA, yet the TAG WEB site states
> 
> Original articles appear in The Aquatic Gardener (TAG) may be reprinted
> by non-commercial organizations (unless specifically stated otherwise)
> provided that the proper credit is given to the author and to The
> Aquatic Gardener, and that at least one copy of the publication
> containing the reprinted material is sent to TAG's editor at the time of
> publication. Credit to TAG as the original source must appear at the end
> of the article, as follows, 
>       "Reprinted from The Aquatic Gardener, the Journal of the Aquatic
> Gardeners Association. Any person interested in the Aquatic Gardeners
> Association is invited to apply to Dorothy Reimer, 83 Cathcart St.,
> London, Ontario CANADA N6C 3L9"
> 
>       My WEB site is not a commercial business,  but an on line
> magazine. Am I missing something?
> 
> 
> 
> Bob Hudson
> Regional Sales Manager
> Esprit Systems
> rhudson@espritsys.com
> http://www.espritsys.com
> 800-937-7748 ext 114
> 408-954-9900
> fax 408-232-9757
> 

-- 
Erik Olson
erik at thekrib dot com