# Fuck Chicago Reader for having the right to steal any idea we post here **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 8, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752 "2005-12-08T21:11:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/101 "2005-12-09T08:03:50Z")
Hey, **andrew** - to save you the trouble of composing all these posts, I’ve taken the liberty of composing something which seems to sum up your ideas on most subjects: feel free to link to it whenever you feel the need to express absolutely anything on any subject whatsoever. Wubwubwubwubwubwubwubwub! toothbrush letterbox marmalade jellyfish! WOOT WOOT WOOT! I’m a teapot! oogle oogle oogle blurp! FUCK YOU! ning ning ning ning. I think’ll you’ll agree that as well as saving you a lot of typing, this has the advantage of being both more pithy and lucid than your usual posts. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/102 "2005-12-09T08:54:17Z")
> [@The Big Cheese](#): > > Pepper works great, it’s back I never even noticed it had gone away. ---
**Author:** ![Schuyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Schuyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schuyler)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/103 "2005-12-09T09:17:42Z")
> [@Happy Lendervedder](#): > > **Can the Chicago Reader _really_ use whatever we post here for their own use?** > > Ya know, it doesn’t really seem fair that if I post something here in the SDMB, the Chicago Reader can use my idea however and whenever they feel like it without my consent. > > I’m a little bit leary about posting some stuff, on the off chance someone at the Reader takes a liking to it and decides to use it to make a profit. Is there any foundation to my fear, or has anyone else run into this situation before? I gotta say, this is one lame sounding post - who’s going to stick around for 3 pages of this stuff?? Inject some venom into your OP. 😃😃 I kid, I kid. I thought your post was brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/104 "2005-12-09T12:28:44Z")
What **Steve Wright** said – per the UA, what the Chicago Reader acquires is the rights _to use your post_: to compile it in a book, reformat it as haiku, archive it, quote from it, edit it, put it on a T-shirt, mock it, praise it, etc., as part of the deal in order to _publish_ it. Just as when I write a letter to the editor of the _NY Times_, it’s theirs to print, reprint, collect in a book of “Best Letters”, edit for format and length, or wipe themselves with it. It says nothing of acquiring rights to “ideas”. So **andrewt85** , you’re going off half-cocked. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/105 "2005-12-09T13:26:58Z")
Are you _absolutely sure_ it doesn’t mean they have the right to forcibly enter your house and scoop out your brain (complete with the ideas inside it) with a rusty spoon? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/106 "2005-12-09T13:39:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I never even noticed it had gone away. Someone obviously stole my letter ‘l’. _Chicago Reader_, I’m looking at you… ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/107 "2005-12-09T14:16:33Z")
> [@Happy Lendervedder](#): > > It may be an old game, but you throw in Donkey Kong, Soda Popinski, and some Koopa Troopas, and I think we may be on to something. I might just call my friend at Nintendo in the morning. Now that is a post worth stealing my friend. ---
**Author:** ![DogMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@DogMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogMom)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/108 "2005-12-09T14:24:49Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Wubwubwubwubwubwubwubwub! toothbrush letterbox marmalade jellyfish! WOOT WOOT WOOT! I’m a teapot! oogle oogle oogle blurp! FUCK YOU! ning ning ning ning. **Case** , I especially liked the bit in here about the teapot. Very sensitive and classy of you, I think. Really brings out the _inner_ **andrew85** , dontchathink? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/109 "2005-12-09T14:50:11Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Hey, **andrew** - to save you the trouble of composing all these posts, I’ve taken the liberty of composing something which seems to sum up your ideas on most subjects: feel free to link to it whenever you feel the need to express absolutely anything on any subject whatsoever. > > Wubwubwubwubwubwubwubwub! toothbrush letterbox marmalade jellyfish! WOOT WOOT WOOT! I’m a teapot! oogle oogle oogle blurp! FUCK YOU! ning ning ning ning. > > I think’ll you’ll agree that as well as saving you a lot of typing, this has the advantage of being both more pithy and lucid than your usual posts. Damn you **Case Sensitive** , I actually choke on a saltine when I read your post. That was awesome. **andrew85** I thought you were going to be more careful in your posting and think them through. This is yet another foolish OP that makes you look incredibly dimwitted. Please stay out of the PIT for a while. Please asks questions politely and if the answers still infuriate you then consider a careful and thought out pitting. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/110 "2005-12-09T15:11:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Someone obviousy stoe my etter ‘’. _Chicago Reader_, I’m ooking at you… This post has been de-L’d by the L thief, who incidentally has the FUCKING RIGHT to steal your letter L’s. So there. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/111 "2005-12-09T15:14:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This post has been de-L’d by the L thief, who incidentally has the FUCKING RIGHT to steal your letter L’s. So there. Bloody “L”!! ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/112 "2005-12-09T15:18:43Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > I think the fuckhead is people who post to OPs in the Pit with nothing to say but empty insults with no substance. > > How about something constructive, or how about contributing to the conversation by offering an anecdote, examples, facts, etc. Offer what? There is only one way to keep a secret in a forum funded and managed by a corporate entity that is accessible by the world at large from now till the archives are burned in a tragic fire 50 years from now. And that is keeping it a secret. You were the one spouting the pointless venom. You want an anecdote. A co-worker and I are quite possibly sitting on an idea that could make us relatively wealthy. We will know by the fall of 2006 if our idea holds any water. When we discuss it, we do it in whispers. We don’t use the company email to send ideas to each other, we also try to discuss it out of the building and even there we talk in hushed tones. A message board is no different and wanting it to be is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/113 "2005-12-09T15:33:00Z")
Just to shift gears for a moment, **andrewdt85** , regardless of the merits of this pitting, has absorbed a hell of a lot of kidding (basically, 30 of us crawling over each other to tell the same half-dozen jokes) and a fair amount of downright venomous personal attacks (also tending toward the repetitive more than the brilliantly clever), along with a modicum of good information and advice. He has largely declined to respond in kind to the worst of the attacks, and seems to have internalized some of the well-intentioned advice. Without characterizing this thread or any other he may have started or continued, I’d like to make the point that, wrong or right, he is largely treating others better than he is being treated, if only by declining to respond (an option that was open to all of us as well). **andrewdt85** , I hope you now understand the Reader’s position a little better so you don’t feel as hostile toward the SDMB. I still think your OP was ill-considered, but I regret any unkind remarks I made at your expense. I was merely showing off for other posters, and looking at the whole thread shows me how unnecessary an indulgence it was, and I’m sorry I gave in to it. Your perspective seems a little off-center to me, but in this thread at least there’s nothing wrong with your guts or your manners. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/114 "2005-12-09T15:35:34Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > Just to shift gears for a moment, **andrewdt85** , regardless of the merits of this pitting, has absorbed a hell of a lot of kidding (basically, 30 of us crawling over each other to tell the same half-dozen jokes) and a fair amount of downright venomous personal attacks (also tending toward the repetitive more than the brilliantly clever), along with a modicum of good information and advice. He has largely declined to respond in kind to the worst of the attacks, and seems to have internalized some of the well-intentioned advice. Without characterizing this thread or any other he may have started or continued, I’d like to make the point that, wrong or right, he is largely treating others better than he is being treated, if only by declining to respond (an option that was open to all of us as well). > \ Well said. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/115 "2005-12-09T15:38:15Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > Okay, but anyways, to clarify- yes, I realized that anyone who read my ideas on this site could theoretically steal them. > > But the way I saw it is- if Chicago Reader steals my ideas, there’s nothing I can do about it because they are protected legally. But if I see my idea produced somewhere, and I track down the inventor and prove in court that he is a member here (credit card payment), and even that he participated in the thread in which I posted that idea, then I thought maybe I could sue that person. But of course I realize several things are wrong with this scenario: > > 1.) What if the guy wasn’t a member? Just a lurker, guest, someone linking in from somewhere else, etc. > 2.) What if he didn’t post in that thread? Even so, I’d still have a case, but still… > 3.) I don’t know if stealing an idea you hear or read is against the law > > Please let me know about number 3 above. Dude…what part of “You’re giving your ideas to the world” part of WORLD WIDE WEB don’t you understand? Oh…and if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about anyone clamoring to use any of your ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/116 "2005-12-09T15:52:38Z")
> [@Menocchio](#): > > I could make a movie about “quite some time in the past in a nebula quite a distance away”, where a farmboy fights an evil empire, led by a man in black armor with a breathing problem who turns out to be a relative of the farmboy, and they fight with energy weapons and magic powers. And Lucas couldn’t do shit about it, as long as I didn’t actually use the names (which are trademarked), script, and footage from Star Wars. This is a bit too general. Substantial similarity doctrine is pretty complicated. [Chapter 7](http://www.edwardsamuels.com/illustratedstory/isc7.htm) Copyright would not even begin to protect your inventions though. It only protects works of authorship. And if you were only posting ideas for stories, you’d be out of luck there too. Copyright only protects expressions–not ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/117 "2005-12-09T15:52:49Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > Only if you have an actual copyright on it. I don’t know what you mean by this. You have a copyright in creative expression as soon as it’s in a fixed form. I know of know difference between an “actual” copyright and a non-actual copyright. > [@Tengu](#): > > Nitpick: Trademarked. Characters can be protected under both trademark and copyright law. There just has to be more to it to be copyrightable. > [@Good Egg](#): > > That was really clever. Is it copyswritten? “Copy **righted**.” And, as has been said already, something is protected under copyright law as soon as it is fixed in a perceivable form. > [@Scylla](#): > > You sir, are a fucking Genius! > Wow! > > I am so on this idea. > > Why stop there, though? We could color all kinds of foods. In fact, we could invent all these different colorings that could be added to all different kinds of food, market them and make millions! > > We’ll call it FOOD COLORING. > wait a minute. Oh shit. > > Nevermind. Just because food colouring already exists doesn’t mean you can’t get rich selling people coloured salt. There are plenty of companies that make money selling things that you could easily make yourself. Smucker’s Goober Peanut Butter and Jelly, for example. > [@andrewdt85](#): > > But the way I saw it is- if Chicago Reader steals my ideas, there’s nothing I can do about it because they are protected legally. First of all, the license _doesn’t_ say the Chicago Reader can steal anything. Read the quote you posted. It gives them the right to use your post. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to run this message board. Second, it’s not some legal trick. Why would you post something here if you didn’t want the Chicago Reader to make it available to other people to read? That’s what this message board is for and that’s what the agreement is for. > [@](#): > > 1.) What if the guy wasn’t a member? Just a lurker, guest, someone linking in from somewhere else, etc. > 2.) What if he didn’t post in that thread? Even so, I’d still have a case, but still… These are pretty technical questions of evidence and I don’t know that it really matters with regard to your general complaint. There are all kinds of ways to prove copying. You could, for example, seize the guy’s computer and see whether he ever visited the SDMB. That might be sufficient to prove access. Copyright law allows you to infer copying by proving _access_ and _substantial similarity_. > [@](#): > > 3.) I don’t know if stealing an idea you hear or read is against the law Generally, under the law, there is no such thing as “stealing” an idea. Some kinds of ideas are protected under patent law, but those ideas have to be novel, useful, and non-obvious, and unlike in copyright law, you have to actually apply for patent protection; you don’t get it automatically. Ideas for stories or plots are not protectable. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/118 "2005-12-09T15:54:53Z")
> [@Menocchio](#): > > It’s not. You cannot copyright an idea. For example, I could make a movie about “quite some time in the past in a nebula quite a distance away”, where a farmboy fights an evil empire, led by a man in black armor with a breathing problem who turns out to be a relative of the farmboy, and they fight with energy weapons and magic powers. And Lucas couldn’t do shit about it, as long as I didn’t actually use the names (which are trademarked), script, and footage from Star Wars. It’s not quite this simple. You _can_ copy too many details from _Star Wars_ and fall into copyright infringement. It’s not just a matter of trademarked names. People sue over copying of movie scripts all the time and changing a few superficial details isn’t necessarily enough to save you. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/119 "2005-12-09T15:56:29Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > So I suppose every time someone argues about the police or the court systems in this country, I should just fall back on the old ‘Go to Russia, then’? That’s what your doing- any time someone complains about the way things are in an environment, a detractor points out that that person either agreed to those terms when he entered that environment, or that he has the ability to leave that environment. You are failing to grasp that the Chicago Reader is not doing anything oppressive to you through this agreement. Without it, they could not run this board. You can’t run a board like this without obtaining some kind of right to reproduce (copy) other people’s work. They’re not stealing anything. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752/120 "2005-12-09T15:58:39Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > But here’s the thing- if Chicago Reader or somebody were to say, steal my idea for the next great American novel, and print that novel, then yes, I can still print my version of it, assuming that it’s different enough not to infringe their copyright of their ripped-off version. This scenario makes no sense. Your “ideas” for novels are not protectable. Only the actual _expression_ in a novel is protectable. And why would you post the entire text to your novel on this board? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-chicago-reader-for-having-the-right-to-steal-any-idea-we-post-here/334752.md?page=7)