# Using the Straight Dope in college **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 18, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374 "2005-01-18T15:02:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/1 "2005-01-18T15:02:12Z")
Sometimes, I raise various subjects, usually from “Great Debates” or “Cafe Society,” for my freshman composition classes to discuss, and occasionally to write about. It would be great if they could read some of the threads (so I don’t have to summarize everyone’s positions, often ineptly) but I’m thinking vaguely that there would be some problems if I actually had them log on to the SDMB. (These classes are held in online-connected computer classrooms). What would be the problems I’m NOT thinking of? The ones I am considering include 1)that I don’t want them to figure out which poster is ME, on account of I’ve posted some personal stuff here that my students don’t need to know about (and I’ve participated in some of the threads I’d be pointing them to) and 2) that I’d like them to reach their own conclusions and not be too heavily influenced by the preexisting formal arguments they’d have all this access to. But sometimes, I’d like to direct them to the threads in question, so I’m asking if this would violate anyone’s notions of the SDMB agreement, or common sense, or any other principle that comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![ShadiRoxan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ShadiRoxan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadiRoxan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/2 "2005-01-18T19:06:53Z")
Well, one major problem could be that you’d never get them to do any work. They’d all be busy surfing the fora all day. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/3 "2005-01-18T19:46:18Z")
Who’s going to pony up for all those memberships? Seriously, though, I suppose you could just print off the threads you’re interested in, unless there’s some copyright reason the Reader wouldn’t want you to do that. I’m not aware of any, but I’m no expert. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/4 "2005-01-18T20:14:30Z")
**Invasion of the Freshman Lit Students** sounds like a good title for a B grade horror movie. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/5 "2005-01-18T22:27:36Z")
This also gets into some fuzzy areas re use of copyrighted material. I’m going to ask you to send me an email stating what you really want to do here; give us some information about your class, including the number of students, etc., exactly how you want to use this material, how much material you want to use, if this is a one-off kind of thing or if you are using this all the time. We need the whole story, please. I’ll run this through with management and see how they feel about it. That’s [TubaDiva@aol.com](mailto:TubaDiva@aol.com), please, and thanks. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/6 "2005-01-19T14:47:00Z")
Check your inbox for a message headed “Pseudotriton Ruber Ruber here.” Since I suspect that **TubaDiva** will be (rightly) concerned with the SD’s interests here, anyone who’d care to continue this discussion about any other potential problems (for me, for my students, for anyone else using the SD so directly at work, etc.) may certainly keep this discussion open. I’d certainly much rather hear about problems before I’ll be dealing with them IRL. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/7 "2005-01-19T15:12:41Z")
I submitted my SDSAB article as an assignment for a course I took last semester. The assignment was to turn in an article about an issue in broadcast programming. As part of the article, I also turned in a printed copy of the CSR thread discussing the article because there was further information in that. That said, I know the issues here aren’t the same. I was the solo author of the initial article and since I turned in a printed copy of the thread, there was no identifying information for anyone save me. Speaking as a regular poster, I would have no problems with any threads in which I participate being used in an academic setting. Although I have given identifying information in the past, and many Dopers know me IRL, I generally don’t post anything that could cause me or my family embarrassment. Robin ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/8 "2005-01-19T15:43:12Z")
IMHO, since the board is available on a read-only basis to anyone with an internet connection, a classroom of students should not require any particular permission or authorization to browse threads that have been assigned to them. I guess the fun starts with **pseudotriton ruber ruber** ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/9 "2005-01-19T15:48:13Z")
… :mad: stupid bloody invisible control characters! (I think it’s Control-space that does it) ::goes back to previous screen to snag what was originally written, thank you Shiira, good browser:: … **pseudotriton** not wanting the kids to roam the board at will and perhaps eventually realize who this **pseudotriton** character is in real life, as well as learning lots of things about their teacher that weren’t written with a student audience in mind. And it seems to me that reproducing threads to hand out in class would require the permission of the _Chicago Reader_. But seriously, isn’t it more than moderately likely that someone in the class is going to Google and follow some links and discover the original source material anyway? Frankly, I’d just go ahead and assign the material as URLs and not worry about them figuring out who you are. Or at least I would have advised that if you hadn’t started this thread 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-straight-dope-in-college/285374/10 "2005-01-19T21:35:05Z")
Well, now you posted this, it’s almost certain they’re going to find out who you are.