I have a question about Rogue's current disclaimer. In it he states that '... This message may not be reproduced in any form without [my] permission...'. Can this be legally enforced? I mean, any site making a snapshot of a page with that text on it is already in breach of that disclaimer. My loading the page in to my browser's cache is already problematic. Looking at the text in A.org's archives is iffy. Heck, even quoting Rogue in the same thread is not allowed!
Mind, before people tumble over me, eager for a big flamefest, I understand why he puts it there. He wants to contribute to the discussion, yet his working for Hyperion puts him in a very awkward position. Fanboys will happily rip out parts of what he writes and use it to their own ends, distorting whatever they like. All that Rogue can do is damage control, and that must be exceedingly frustrating. So he warns everyone not to copy or cite what he writes before he gives his approval. All very understandable. But is it legal?
I guess the question boils down to who owns the copyright of the texts posted on these and in fact any public forum. If it rests with Wayne, being the provider of the forums, then Rogue's disclaimer can only be there with his approval. (With the two of them sorting it out who goes after offenders of the disclaimer.) If it rests with the persons who write the messages, well, I then suppose that I can start charging y'all for illegal reproduction of my personal work :-D. On a more serious note, it means that all the issues I mentioned above must be cleared, because otherwise the usefulneess of the entire forum is blown to smithereens.
I hope that the people who become involved in answering this thread realise that I am not asking this out of hate or personal gain. My question is simply: am I required to comply with Rogue's disclaimer, or any other disclaimer people put in their sigs over here; and if yes, to what extent, and if no, well...?
