Bill Ryan's Other Blog

Apparently some people are too st00pid to understand what copyrights are.  So let me explain them for you.  If something is copyrighted, that means you are very limited in what you can do with it without the owner’s permission.  I own the content here even if I don’t write it all.  So if you’re some jackass that copies other people’s posts, screw off.  I’m generally very cool about letting people use my content.  But if you don’t ask me up front, the answer is categorically NO – YOU CAN’T USE IT.

The funny thing is, in my 7 years of blogging, by far the most egregious violators of copyright are law enforcement folks and lawyers.  Spammers run a close second. I’ve been through this drill more than you have and know all about Fair Use exemptions and have no problem with them.  But don’t think you can simply hide behind fair use b/c you can’t get my permission directly. It won’t fly.  Generally I have better things to do with my time and money than file litigation against people, but at this point in my life, I’m more than willing to do it if you become a big enough pain in my a55.

Keep pestering me. Keep trying to make problems for me.  At some point, I’m going to have enough and all sorts of emails you never thought I had will be published.  And you’re going to cry a river b/c once they go up, they are staying up.  If your friends and coworkers disliked you enough to give me private emails, I have every right to publish them.  So far I’ve hesitated to do that b/c I’m not nearly the jerk you believe I am – but I warn you one last time. I’m very close to a tipping point and you’re not going to like what happens if you push me past that point.