# The web is public domain? Thanks for the info, Cooks Source magazine! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 4, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487 "2010-11-04T17:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/121 "2010-11-08T09:21:20Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I sincerely doubt any of the new pages are legit. Yeah, there’s no way Ms Griggs is setting up these pages… she’ll be hunkered down somewhere really, really hoping this will go away soon. I imagine any lawyers she’s been in contact with will have strongly suggested she doesn’t go anywhere near the interwebs for the time being. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/122 "2010-11-08T09:37:31Z")
This assumes the ignorance and hubris she showed in the first letter wasn’t genuine. If she wasn’t smart enough to stay away from the internet then, what makes you think she is now? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/123 "2010-11-08T09:40:06Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I sincerely doubt any of the new pages are legit. Yeah, they all seem pretty obviously fake. Or if they had been legit at any point, that point is long gone. Have we even determined whether the “apology” on the original Facebook page was real? I even have doubts on the legitimacy of that one. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/124 "2010-11-08T09:44:15Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > This assumes the ignorance and hubris she showed in the first letter wasn’t genuine. If she wasn’t smart enough to stay away from the internet then, what makes you think she is now? Come on…9/11 Truthing, pictures of schnoodles, links to “God Bless the USA”? The photos section has a picture entitled “Ethnic Cleansing: A Pile of Dead Jews” with the caption: “In this photo: Judith Griggs, various plagiarized content creators, Cooks Source Magazine.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/125 "2010-11-08T09:47:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, they all seem pretty obviously fake. Or if they had been legit at any point, that point is long gone. Have we even determined whether the “apology” on the original Facebook page was real? I even have doubts on the legitimacy of that one. Missed the edit: I just saw **Smeghead** ’s post that says the consensus seems to be the apology was a fake. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/126 "2010-11-08T10:47:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Come on…9/11 Truthing, pictures of schnoodles, links to “God Bless the USA”? The photos section has a picture entitled “Ethnic Cleansing: A Pile of Dead Jews” with the caption: “In this photo: Judith Griggs, various plagiarized content creators, Cooks Source Magazine.” I meant for my post to address this remark: “_I imagine any lawyers she’s been in contact with will have strongly suggested she doesn’t go anywhere near the interwebs for the time being._” Sorry for the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/127 "2010-11-08T16:25:52Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > it sounds as if the editor was thinking pretty much along the same lines as some SDMB posters, but with her own enhancements to the “stealing copyrighted material is not theft” arguments. Oh please. I’m not going to bother to read the threads, since I’m sure I can figure out what they say, but there’s a huge leap from “I am going to pirate media for my own personal enjoyment that I wouldn’t have bought, thus gaining myself the unearned benefit of enjoying it but not depriving the copyright holders of any income” to “I am going to pirate media for use in something that generates ad revenue, thus gaining myself and my organization concrete monetary benefits that should be going to the copyright holder.” You may as well be arguing that someone who goes 10 mph over the speed limit could easily perform a drunken hit-and-run killing. > [@Frylock](#): > > If what this magazine did isn’t okay, then anyone who makes copyrighted music available in any venue which also contains ads, without the copyright holder’s permission, is also in the wrong. Certainly, posting copyrighted materials somewhere that someone is making ad revenue off of it is a step “wronger” than pirating that material simply for your own personal use. However, I’d say there’s a further step when the one doing the pirating is also the one getting the ad revenue. > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Well, if she honestly believed that copyright law… > > never mind. I see what you did there. 😃 > [@Una\_Persson](#): > > What is it with all those idiotic posts over there saying things like “Cooks Source gave AIDS to Africa” and “Cooks Source takes single socks out of your dryer. Now you know.” It’s called “humor.” I realize this may be a foreign and difficult concept. If you find yourself getting confused, try lying down and watching some public access educational television until the room stops spinning. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/128 "2010-11-08T19:09:41Z")
I’ve been waiting for this – a [Cooks Source Hitler rant](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC-tVHLM99w&feature=player_embedded#!), with der Fuhrer playing the role of Judith Griggs. “…I have been the Fuhrer for 3 different magazines…” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/129 "2010-11-08T21:07:39Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’ve been waiting for this – a [Cooks Source Hitler rant](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC-tVHLM99w&feature=player_embedded#!), with der Fuhrer playing the role of Judith Griggs. “Don’t cry, Ceiling Cat doesn’t judge.” made me lol. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/130 "2010-11-08T21:13:09Z")
Neil Gaiman’s inclusion here must represent some kind of pop culture points. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/131 "2010-11-08T21:17:17Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Neil Gaiman’s inclusion here must represent some kind of pop culture points. No. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/132 "2010-11-08T21:19:28Z")
Wil Wheaton weighed in as well. > [@](#): > > PROPOSAL: Mendacity will now be measured on the Cook’s Source scale, with individual units known as Cheneys. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/133 "2010-11-08T22:16:10Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’ve been waiting for this – a [Cooks Source Hitler rant](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC-tVHLM99w&feature=player_embedded#!), with der Fuhrer playing the role of Judith Griggs. > > “…I have been the Fuhrer for 3 different magazines…” Thank you for this link. That’s fabulous. ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/134 "2010-11-08T23:47:11Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > My favorite is “Cooks Source cooks horse!” Needs to say Cooks own a$$! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/135 "2010-11-08T23:56:08Z")
I would be pretty suspicious if I was invited to Judith Griggs for one of her own home cooked meals. Chances are she got it from Boston Market. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/136 "2010-11-09T01:41:52Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’ve been waiting for this – a [Cooks Source Hitler rant](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC-tVHLM99w&feature=player_embedded#!), with der Fuhrer playing the role of Judith Griggs. > > “…I have been the Fuhrer for 3 different magazines…” I stood up and cheered at “and all those rip-offs of ‘Louie Louie’”! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/137 "2010-11-09T04:35:58Z")
I was delighted and annoyed to see this – annoyed that the good work they do at Gode Cookery was tampered with, delighted to see them in so much spotlight. I think I might make those apple pies for our local SCA Yule event. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/138 "2010-11-09T20:18:38Z")
[Cooks Source has apologized.](http://www.cookssource.com/) Kind of: > [@](#): > > Last month an article, “American as Apple Pie – Isn’t,” was placed in error in Cooks Source, without the approval of the writer, Monica Gaudio. No, it wasn’t an error. It was deliberate. I think those infamous emails prove that well enough. > [@](#): > > We sincerely wish to apologize to her for this error, it was an oversight of a small, overworked staff. Fuck. Off. Really, fuck off with that ‘poor, impoverished, overworked me’ bullshit. It isn’t an excuse. > [@](#): > > We have made a donation at her request, to her chosen institution, the Columbia School of Journalism. In addition, a donation to the Western New England Food Bank, is being made in her name. Congratulations: You’ve just bought off the _least_ threatening of your adversaries. None of this will make the rest of your copyright problems go away. You know, those pieces you grabbed from Paula Deen and that magazine Disney owns? The people who own them aren’t going to let you get off with a little charity work. They’ll want blood. > [@](#): > > It should be noted that Monica was given a clear credit for using her article within the publication, and has been paid in the way that she has requested to be paid. First, having credited her isn’t actually a defense; in fact, it might make things worse if you try to claim you didn’t know the article was owned by anyone. Second, again, none of your actions relative to her will make any of your other problems less painful. > [@](#): > > However: Cooks Source can not vouch for all the writers we have used in the past, and in the future can only check to a certain extent. I doubt this is actually a defense. In fact, this might be one of those things where you really regret admitting to it of your own free will when your cases start coming to trial. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/139 "2010-11-09T20:24:51Z")
So they might steal stuff in the future too. No guarantees. Really, the internet should pay them. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487/140 "2010-11-09T20:42:07Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > [Cooks Source has apologized.](http://www.cookssource.com/) … That is an extraordinarily poorly thought out “apology”. They have abandoned their Facebook page and left it under the control of “hackers”, yet they suggest people _use_ the abandoned Facebook page to “Report Abuse” – presumably abuse of Cooks Source or their sponsors. Hmmm… they request people stop harassing them. Good idea! They apparently believe that some of the people harassing them are infringing on copyrighted material, and they request our assistance in catching them, by directing us to the Facebook page _How to Report Claims of Intellectual Property Infringement_. And then they throw in this: > [@](#): > > Therefore, we will no longer accept unrequested articles, nor will we work with writers or illustrators **unless they can prove they are reputable people** , provide their sources, and who, in our estimation, we feel our readers and advertisers can trust and rely on for accuracy and originality. Clearly, their contributors have betrayed them and caused them no end of grief. Wow! is a real understatement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-web-is-public-domain-thanks-for-the-info-cooks-source-magazine/559487.md?page=8)