Are usenet posting/ bbs postings illegal to use?
 

Say someone on this BBS makes a useful point with some useful info , is it illegal to reproduce this info?

any input on this?

Yes. If someone produces a tutorial or guide, then the copyright for that belongs to the author. Its just the same as a book. If I wrote a set of paragraphs on how to travel back in time, and you reproduced that writing without my permission, then you'd be guilty of copyright infringement. Not only is that illegal, but its fucking lame as well - I'd classify it as a rip off balls, shovel in face, hands in the furnace offence. To summarise, if you're caught copying other people's work without their permission (usually in writing and signed by them), then you're fucked bigtime - ESPECIALLY if you're charging people $$$ for that information.

If you're speaking in a general sense as in.. someone explains how to do something, and you wish to share it with others, there's nothing wrong with that. That's how people learn.

absolutely illegal. You'd better be asking permission.

No im not doing that, i just wondered whether using someones post to help others on a site is illegal

obviously it is.

Repeating the message verbatim would be a copyright infringement, but, if you read something, understand it and then share the information in your own words, that's probably ok.

But feel free to reproduce anything I say, as long as you provide me with the proper credit....:winkwink:

lol cheers wizzo :)

I'm not an attorney, but I think I know this much: It is the specific expression which is copyrighted. If you run across useful ideas, paraphrase them (and out of politeness attribute them to the original author and refer the reader to where the original source can be found). As long as it is your words and not theirs, you are safe. However, it would be very difficult to pursue a case against you based on a small quote, unless the original source is so brief that a small quote would constitute a large portion of the original.

The small quote exception was designed to allow, for example, a book reviewer to cite a passage from a book for discussion purposes without fear of suit.

Also, the absence of a profit motive and the lack of any substantial damage to the original author's capacity to earn income from the original work would not only make suing you unworthwhile but unattractive and unlikely to succeed as well.