# Copyright Question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [June 2, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503 "2005-06-02T04:48:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/1 "2005-06-02T04:48:34Z")
Ok I was reading a Cecil article and apon further research found an identical artical with a different signature at the bottom.
It may be allowed but caused some confusion.
Here are the two links.
[Dr Fun E. Bones](http://www.geocities.com/drfunebonez/aq.html)
[Original Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_356.html)
Notice there are several subtle changes.
Windy S., Chicago wrote the letter in the offending article.
The other problem with that is that the letter also started with “A patient of mine wanted to know”
And this line was added as well:
“So once again I did some research”
there are a couple other changes and well.
This site is one of the best on the net and to have some loser steal material, change it for the worse, and not even give credit to this site is blasphemy.
Well I just wanted to find out a little more about this and point it out.
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### Author:  [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/2 "2005-06-02T06:03:50Z")
The whole [“Dear Dr. Fun E. Bones”](http://www.geocities.com/drfunebonez/dear.html) section is made up of plagiarised Cecil columns. :mad:
The entire webpage appears to be stuff copied off the Internet, though most of it is lame jokes, chain letters, and lists, which can’t be attributed. What a truly useless page.
Amusingly, this guy, who’s trying to pass himself off as a skeptical researcher, has been taken in by the [kidney theft](http://www.geocities.com/drfunebonez/dp.html) urban legend.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/3 "2005-06-02T11:32:48Z")
> [@Loopus](#):
>
> Amusingly, this guy, who’s trying to pass himself off as a skeptical researcher, has been taken in by the [kidney theft](http://www.geocities.com/drfunebonez/dp.html) urban legend.
Urban legend? Ha! Tell that to my cousin’s hairdresser’s sister’s landscaper’s friend.
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/4 "2005-06-02T11:45:22Z")
> [@Loopus](#):
>
> The whole [“Dear Dr. Fun E. Bones”](http://www.geocities.com/drfunebonez/dear.html) section is made up of plagiarised Cecil columns. :mad:
>
> The entire webpage appears to be stuff copied off the Internet, though most of it is lame jokes, chain letters, and lists, which can’t be attributed. What a truly useless page.
>
> Amusingly, this guy, who’s trying to pass himself off as a skeptical researcher, has been taken in by the [kidney theft](http://www.geocities.com/drfunebonez/dp.html) urban legend.
Jesus, he has copied at least four Cecil columns that I can find.
Sadly this isn’t the first time nor the last. Even a few of my Staff Reports have been fairly widely copied and/or misattributed. I find some of mine copied verbatum, minus my name, in blogs and on message boards all over the net. The site owners are typically indignant about their “right” to copy my works; often they’re the typical internet shithead that’s picked up their morals exclusively from their Playstation.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/5 "2005-06-02T12:23:28Z")
Well, that’s why God created lawyers…to deal with the shitheads among us.
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/6 "2005-06-02T13:22:39Z")
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate it, lots.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/7 "2005-06-02T13:32:15Z")
> [@Una Persson](#):
>
> Sadly this isn’t the first time nor the last. Even a few of my Staff Reports have been fairly widely copied and/or misattributed.
Finding them with Google is like shooting fish in a barrel - just take a phrase from the original column, and search it. Here’s two other unattributed regurgitations:
[http://www.thisishull.com/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=136242&command=displayContent&sourceNode=136759&contentPK=9387807](http://www.thisishull.com/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=136242&command=displayContent&sourceNode=136759&contentPK=9387807)
[http://home.unilang.org/bb/index.php?n=15&t=12](http://home.unilang.org/bb/index.php?n=15&t=12)
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/8 "2005-06-02T16:33:03Z")
I see that, GorillaMan. Dear God, even the Hull Daily Mail is pirating articles?
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/9 "2005-06-02T16:41:15Z")
> [@Una Persson](#):
>
> Dear God, even the Hull Daily Mail is pirating articles?
Was that _supposed_ to sound ironic? 😛
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/10 "2005-06-02T16:49:08Z")
The type font in Dr. Bonez’s hit counter is nigh unreadable, but it appears that either 39 or 59 have gone to his home page. The click through just from this thread is going to double that, easy.
He’ll think he’s the Internet’s newest It success until the Reader’s lawyers call!
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/11 "2005-06-02T17:00:32Z")
I know this isn’t the first time the _Reader_’s lawyers have been let out of their cages. They’re very good at what they do.
Remember the one with a chicken-themed site? I think that one’s gone too.
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### Author:  [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/306503/12 "2005-06-02T20:39:35Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#):
>
> The type font in Dr. Bonez’s hit counter is nigh unreadable, but it appears that either 39 or 59 have gone to his home page. The click through just from this thread is going to double that, easy.
It has already. The counter on his page was at 22 when I checked it out about 12 hours ago…
To the PTB, all I can say is _sic 'em!_ :mad:
Dani