mdbruffy opened this issue on May 26, 2008 · 50 posts
XENOPHONZ posted Tue, 27 May 2008 at 3:37 AM
Quote - I once got banned from a writers' list because I correctly explained a copyright issue to a bunch of newbie writers. The explanation was not in agreement with the very mistaken theory of one of the influential members (that mailing your manuscript via the post office to yourself was the 100% guaranteed way to protect your copyright). He made a stink to the administrator. The administrator banned me.
The idea of mailing something to yourself in order to establish copyright -- or to prove that you were the person who originally came up with the idea for an invention, etc. -- the 'mail it to yourself' scheme is a very old one. Some time ago, one of my engineering professors told a class of us young fools to mail the plans for any item that we intended to submit to the patent office to ourselves.....he gave us that sage advice several decades ago. I've also had a professional writer, who'd written screenplays for television: advise me to do the same thing with any stories that I might write.
Whether or not that's actually a good way to establish legitimate copyright I dunno -- I've never had a reason to try it. Perhaps Poser character texture makers should start burning their newly-minted textures onto a CD or DVD; put the disk into a sealed envelope: and then mail it to themselves........
Or perhaps they should modernize the method and e-mail the textures to themselves as file attachments. But of course: that would run the risk of hackers or of others snitching the textures from the e-mail........an then claiming them as their own work.......perhaps even sue the original creator for stealing 'their' work........
........but that's all chasing down a trail that I don't have any interest in following. The main thing that gets my attention about your story is that while I can believe that merely arguing such a point might be enough to get you banned from some boards -- it's still a surprising action in its underlying pettiness. Good thing that the mods around here aren't petty that way.