Can a gal like me get in trouble for soliciting?

About This Message Board
1

… Soliciting information, that is. :cool:

I’m writing an article for an online magazine that would be greatly helped by some input by knowledgable and fun people. It’s a last-minute sort of thing, natch, and while racking my brain for ideas to jumpstart the project today, I suddenly realized: “Waitasec, I’m looking for knowledgable and fun people? Why, the SDMB is the destination for p. who are both k. and f.!” Thus I formed the plan to start a thread explaining the article, and asking for Dopers’ opinions on the subject; ideally, some quotes could be pulled for publication (with the posters’ permission, of course).

Unsure if this idea is against the rules, I did a quick lookup to see if this question had come up before – I figured it would have, since I’m sure there are skillions of writers on here who’d love to utilize the Dope for research – and found this thread on publishing the results of a survey. In the discussion, TubaDiva stated quite firmly that even with permission from the posters themselves, the writer must get approval from the Reader.

Fair enough, says I! So, could one of the admins or mods let me know the name, title, etc. of the Reader staffer with whom I should get in touch, please? (Also, do you guys think this person will be easy or difficult to reach? 'Cause as I mentioned above, the deadline approacheth!)

Finally, if the Reader turns me down, would you allow me to start a thread that a) seeks only basic info on the subject rather than quotes, and b) asks any interested posters to email me if they’d like to offer more detail off-board?

Many thanks in advance for any advice/help y’all can throw my way. I just want to keep everything all nice and kosherlike!

2

Might also help if you send an email to the admins (TubaDiva and Dex, for example) as well. In case they don’t read this thread.

3

Thank you, Ice Wolf! I followed your advice to write the bigwigs and point 'em to the thread. Of course, they’re probably out enjoying the weekend, so it’s not as if I expect an immediate response. But your recommendation seems solid, so I went for it. :slight_smile:

Now I just hope they don’t think I’m a nag.

4

Let me clarify what the rules are:

  1. You need to get prior permission from us to post a survey on the SDMB whose results you intend to use elsewhere. This is not a copyright issue; we simply want to preserve the SDMB as a medium for public discussion rather than a research tool for users.

  2. By posting on the SDMB, you grant the Reader a nonexclusive right to use your posts as we see fit. You retain all other rights. You do not need our permission to exploit your own work.

  3. If you wish to make use of another user’s posts, you must get written permission from (a) said user, OR (b) the Reader. You are not required to get permission from both (although see 4 below). That said, we strongly urge that you notify us if you get permission from the OP - from time to time we complain to other parties about unauthorized use of SDMB postings and do not wish to do so needlessly.

  4. We reserve the right to impose conditions in return for allowing you to post a survey. For example, notwithstanding 3, we may require you to obtain our permission AND the OP’s permission to publish the results elsewhere.

  5. The phrase “Straight Dope” is trademarked by the Reader. You must get our written permission to exploit this phrase. For example, you cannot publish a work entitled “Great Postings from the Straight Dope Message Board” without our permission.

5

Zotti: I understand that the name “Straight Dope” is a registered trademark (hence the illegible ® in the image) and that she can’t use it without prior permission. However, what if she wants to put the SDMB’s URL in her article? That is, as you’ll recall, http://boards.straightdope.com , which indubitably contains the phrase “Straight Dope”, albeit in (slightly) modified form.

I’m thinking this won’t be an issue. It would be pretty damned petty of our legal system if it were. But it’s better to ask now than risk suit tomorrow.

6

Links are fine. The key word is “exploit.” There’s a lot of gray area here, but in general, if you derive commercial advantage from use of a trademark, you need to get permission. If you merely wish to say the Straight Dope is the coolest or use it to impress the ladies (gents, whatever), be our guest.

7

Oh, and choie, if you can figure out how to get that to work, please let us know. :dubious:

8

Thanks so much, Ed! I really appreciate your taking the time to respond and help clarify the guidelines.

Of course, as is often the case, clarification leads to more curiosity and then a search for greater enlightenment. Please help me determine the correct steps I need to take on my journey!

Here, I’ll try to make a little tip sheet to make sure I have things straight. Please fill in the blanks, Ed or anyone who has the power!

Choie’s Extremely Unofficial Guide to Using SDMB Posts in an Article

STEP 1: If you wish to quote from posts in an already existing thread, you must first get permission from the original poster (OP) by either a) posting in the thread (if it’s a current/recent topic) or b) contacting the poster directly. You can skip to STEP 4.

STEP 2: If you need to post a new topic related to the subject of your article, you must seek permission from ____________ (an admin? a mod?) by emailing them, including the subject of your query and the forum in which you wish to post.

STEP 3: Once you receive permission, start the new thread in the appropriate forum, explaining the purpose of the question and assuring posters that unless they express explicit permission to use their comments in an article, they won’t be quoted. In other words, you’ll use quotes only if they grant this permission in advance, in writing.

STEP 4: When finished compiling info, bring pie. Erm, I mean, it’s strongly recommended that you now contact ____________ (Reader staff member) at the Reader, asking for permission to use the content from the SDMB. Explain that you have the received approval from the poster(s), and include the nature of your article and where it will be published (if known).

This staffer can be reached by ____________ (email address? contact form link? carrier pigeon? semaphore?).

Important! If you wish to use the trademarked phrase The Straight Dope in the article for commercial purposes (i.e., marketing your article as “Wacky Zany Antics at the Straight Dope!”), you must receive prior permission.

I hope I have the steps outlined correctly. Thanks again for all your help!

Oh, and Ethilrist, as a lady myself, I’ll just say that the Straight Dope impresses the hell outta me! :wink:

9

Yeah, but you know about it. The trick is to describe it to somebody who’s never heard of it before and have them get all dewey and round-eyed just because they know you.

10

So … can anyone help me fill in the blanks? Anyone? Bueller?

Since time’s running out for the multi-step process, I guess I’ll go for my original backup plan – start a thread and in addition to the ensuing discussion if any, ask responders to write via email if they want to share further thoughts for the article. I hope that’s okay! It’s really a very harmless sorta topic, honest. :slight_smile: