Well? If, for example, you thought that this topic would make for a good discussion on, say, Utne Cafe, would it be ok for you to take my thread idea and post it over there as your own? Is doing so detrimental to the SD, in that people who wanted to talk about threadhiking wouldn’t have to come here to do so (therefore costing the SD hits, etc)?
If you don’t want to debate the ethics you can just give us the juicy confessionals and reveal those threads that you’ve “stolen” (?) from (or posted to) the SD.
I’m pretty sure the way it works is, I can’t reproduce your thread, but you can if you want to. This is all soul property of the Straight Dope, the Reader, and the author (which is why you can reproduce your own threads).
That being said, questions like these belong in ATMB, for future reference.
I’m not talking about copying the entire thread, just the idea behind it. If I see a conversation about Steven King, would I be wrong to start a conversation about Steven King in another forum? Or if I wanted to ask people somewhere else if they brush their tongue?
It happens all the time, nothing gauche about it. Best way to handle it is to link to the inspiring thread in question in the OP, and state the tangent as to why you’re moving over here. F’r’instance:
(Assuming an inspired Gread Debate)
“I was reading over in Cafe Society [link]this thread[/link] about King and other horror writers, and it got me thinking. I think the very genre is dangerous, inspiring copycat killings. Remember how King voluntarily pulled his story, originally written as Bachman, “Rage” out of publishing because of all the school shootings? Discuss!”
Or:
(Assuming you’ve been moved to BBQ Pit land)
“I was reading about [link]brushing your tongue[/link], and I’m disgusted! What kind of sick perverted excuses for human skin actually do this? It’s called a TOOTHbrush, not a TONGUEbrush, you <token clever obscenity construction>! As a matter of fact, since it is a TOOTHbrush and not a TEETHbrush, you <second token clobscon>s had better just choose a single tooth. I’m in favor of the lower right bicuspid, and to perdition with the rest!”
Hmm… I guess that would be okay, as long as the OP is original. I don’t see why it would be a bad thing, anyway. ::shrugs:: If you want to start a thread “Do you brush your tongue” on another message board, I don’t see why that would be a problem.
It’s not tacky at all. As a matter of fact it’s common practice.
See, topics spread, i.e. different facets crop up during the give-and-take. If a discussion in one forum starts a spinoff that really fits better somewhere else, go for it!
It helps to cite the “genesis” thread if you refer back to it. (It can fill in the back-history and context so you don’t have to go around re-inventing wheels.)
Read the forum descriptions and try to plug it in where appropriate. Just make sure it’s an aspect of the original thread that justifies its own discussion, not just rephrasing the original.
I do it fairly often. I also post at somethingawful.com (as well as quite a few other Dopers) and there is a lot of memetic radiation going back and forth between the two boards.
I just went through the trouble of obtaining the copyright to every single idea ever published in this forum!
I can’t wait for the money to come rolling in.
Better be ready for a copyright battle!
The Reader has fine print on every page saying “What’s ours is ours and what’s yours is also ours. Plus we can charge you to read your own words when they appear in paperback. And we have your mother tied up in our attic just for luck.”
T Bill, I have the perfect response for that, and I’ll get to it right after I answer the front door. Some guy named “Guido” says he has something for me from my Uncle Cecil. I’m touched-my birthday isn’t until next Friday!
