Who Owns What?

For us, it's quite simple for the things we use:

If it's a commercial product, pay for it.
If it's shareware, register it for the fee.
If it's freeware, include the link and toss the owner a few bucks.

We realize everyone may not adhere to this.  That's OK, we're not responsible for every one's ethical behavior, only our own.

But what about articles that exist on the web?  Simple again.

Acknowledge everything, include links and references. 
Adhere to any conditions or restrictions the owner may set forth.

It's their work, after all.  We like to believe we're marginally entertaining and don't need to lift content we don't own from other sites.

But what about articles members of our community may have published elsewhere?  Simple once again.

Where you under contract?  Abide by it.
Is it your work you allowed people to publish?  Do whatever the hell you want with it.

But what if the site you let publish it originally whines at you and threatens you?

Tell them to pound sand because they can't buy a leg to stand on.

Remember folks, publication magazines buy what's know as "Right of First Publication" which may include the right to include it, for an additional payment, into an anthology or collection of works at a later time.  Unless you are under contract at some place where you are getting paid to perform a job function, anything you write belongs to you, no matter how loudly people may whine and threaten.

So, you want to contribute something to SPEWGILIST.com?  Great, we want to publish it.  But rest assured we know and acknowledge that the work is yours and we publish it with your permission. 

Think we're full of crap?  Well, we often are, but you are welcome to review what the US government has to say:

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/intelprp/