# Website stealing content from Cecil's Columns and SDSAB Reports **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 27, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610 "2005-09-27T02:17:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/1 "2005-09-27T02:17:45Z")
TBTB may wish to look into [this site](http://www.beersforengineers.com/BfE-FAQ.html), which appears to have reprinted complete articles from the Straight Dope archives, including a Staff Report from yours truly. Bastards! Sic 'em, Ed. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/2 "2005-09-27T02:31:42Z")
Apparently they think that jauntily saying “Shamelessly copied” makes it okay. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/3 "2005-09-27T02:43:57Z")
They could have copied my article if they’d just asked me in advance. It wasn’t a stellar one anyhow. Since they didn’t ask, it’s now a copyright violation on their part. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/4 "2005-09-27T03:15:10Z")
I’ll round up the villagers, you get some torches (the burning kind, not the battery powered one our UK friends might have). ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/5 "2005-09-27T04:53:56Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Apparently they think that jauntily saying “Shamelessly copied” makes it okay. Shit. There goes _my_ epic fantasy trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/6 "2005-09-27T07:02:02Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Shit. There goes _my_ epic fantasy trilogy. Terry? Is that you? ---
**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:** [September 27, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/7 "2005-09-27T12:14:46Z")
Noted. We’ll get the right folks on it. TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/8 "2005-09-27T12:20:46Z")
Send the goats! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/9 "2005-09-27T16:20:08Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Noted. We’ll get the right folks on it. What? It’s still there? Man, you guys are slow. 😉 Just teasin’. I know these things take time. Seriously, thanks for getting right on it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/10 "2005-09-27T16:50:50Z")
How did you find this, **QED**? **Mr. Blue Sky** , don’t forget the horny, rabid, hungry Rottweilers.\* \*Not a slam on all Rotties. I could have said Pit Bulls and pissed off Pit Bull owners, so it wouldn’t have mattered what dog I named. Void where prohibited, not all prizes available in all areas, blah blah blah ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/11 "2005-09-27T17:02:06Z")
If we’re looking for people to beat over the head with lawyers, here’s a couple more shamelessly copied Cecil columns. Several of 'em even have Slug’s artwork attached to 'em. [http://www.macrobiotic.org/SaltSubDanger.htm](http://www.macrobiotic.org/SaltSubDanger.htm) [http://commonsensewonder.com/mtarchives/007567.shtml](http://commonsensewonder.com/mtarchives/007567.shtml) [http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US8/PC/squaw.html](http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US8/PC/squaw.html) [http://ezra.cornell.edu/posting.php?timestamp=1114491600](http://ezra.cornell.edu/posting.php?timestamp=1114491600) [http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/heidegger\_nazijerk.htm](http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/heidegger_nazijerk.htm) [http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/whatJwas.htm](http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/whatJwas.htm) [http://www.ringleader.com/quest/menu/resources/ask\_cecil.html](http://www.ringleader.com/quest/menu/resources/ask_cecil.html) [http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.com/test4~id~1367.php](http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.com/test4~id~1367.php) [http://www.mscd.edu/~infotech/helpdesk/popups.pdf](http://www.mscd.edu/~infotech/helpdesk/popups.pdf) (I really like this one; a Denver based IT college has taken the webpage, turned it into a pdf and are providing it to their users thru an online helpdesk) [http://www.fools-errand.com/02-at-the-carnival/mummy.htm](http://www.fools-errand.com/02-at-the-carnival/mummy.htm) [https://www.totse.com/en/politics/us\_military/haarptsd.html](https://www.totse.com/en/politics/us_military/haarptsd.html) [http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/MCH/M/documents/steril3705.doc](http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/MCH/M/documents/steril3705.doc) (A federal gov’t site redistributing Cecil’s work as a Microsoft Word document) [http://www.sensationdesigns.com/scriptdemo/kbase\_express/article.php?action=view&id=5](http://www.sensationdesigns.com/scriptdemo/kbase_express/article.php?action=view&id=5) [http://www.eliteskills.com/u/\_n3pt](http://www.eliteskills.com/u/_n3pt) [http://www.movingon.org/article.asp?sID=2&Cat=17&ID=1025](http://www.movingon.org/article.asp?sID=2&Cat=17&ID=1025) [http://www.heart-disease-bypass-surgery.com/data/articles/68.htm](http://www.heart-disease-bypass-surgery.com/data/articles/68.htm) (This website is quite curious) [http://www.horsedoctor.homestead.com/breedinfo.html](http://www.horsedoctor.homestead.com/breedinfo.html) [http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/animals/monkey\_business.htm](http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/animals/monkey_business.htm) [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/15/1252/63148](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/15/1252/63148) [http://www.coconutstudio.com/Coco%20LocoXYZ.htm](http://www.coconutstudio.com/Coco%20LocoXYZ.htm) [http://www.conqueroo.com/themeaningofconqueroo.html](http://www.conqueroo.com/themeaningofconqueroo.html) [http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstry0a43.html?recid=2244](http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstry0a43.html?recid=2244) [http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/family\_farm\_wind\_power.cfm](http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/family_farm_wind_power.cfm) I’ve tried to concentrate my listing to sites which appear to be commercial ventures (more or less) which have republished Cecil columns thru the knowledge/efforts of the site owners. Sites I’ve not included here are several which claim to have permission from Zotti/Chicago Reader to republish an article. I have also ignored the many verbatim postings of Cecil’s work I have found on various message boards. It’s amazing how many of these ripoff artists attach a copyright note at the bottom of a webpage they’ve stolen from eslewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/12 "2005-09-27T17:36:23Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > How did you find this, **QED**? Well, I was reading the Pit thread about Google now spidering the Boards and allowing our posts to be searchable via their engine. Out of curiosity (and probably a sense of vanity), I sought to see what posts of _mine_ had been thus cached. Turns out “Q.E.D.” is FAR too common on the internet, so I narrowed it down by including “Straight Dope” in the search terms. And this was one of the results. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/13 "2005-09-27T19:15:22Z")
Man, Lynn’s cousin Vinnie is going to be working overtime! Or maybe Lynn has a very large family… ---
**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:** [September 27, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/14 "2005-09-27T20:23:12Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > I’ve tried to concentrate my listing to sites which appear to be commercial ventures (more or less) which have republished Cecil columns thru the knowledge/efforts of the site owners. Sites I’ve not included here are several which claim to have permission from Zotti/Chicago Reader to republish an article. I have also ignored the many verbatim postings of Cecil’s work I have found on various message boards. It’s amazing how many of these ripoff artists attach a copyright note at the bottom of a webpage they’ve stolen from eslewhere. See, it’s like I always said . . . you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave! Once a staffer, always in service. 🙂 Thanks, Bob. If you do have that list of message boards handy, I’d love to see a copy of it. You can send me email, please. Might as well drop some hammers all the way around here. TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/15 "2005-09-27T21:00:37Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > See, it’s like I always said . . . you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave! > > Once a staffer, always in service. 🙂 > > Thanks, Bob. If you do have that list of message boards handy, I’d love to see a copy of it. You can send me email, please. Might as well drop some hammers all the way around here. > > TubaDiva Uhh, I didn’t save all those URL’s. But a Google search on: “Cecil Adams” + “Dear Cecil” returns at least 12 pages of results - most of which are links to copyright violations of one sort or another. Surprisingly few of them are links to [www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com) pages. I chose those search terms because “Dear Cecil” is the salutary on all of his columns, and “Cecil Adams” is the signature. Since there are so many results, I thought perhaps it would be best to go after the guys who appear to be trying to make a buck off their sites. That type of violation seems to me to be more egregious. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/16 "2005-09-27T21:13:32Z")
The worst infringer I remember was that website that actually copied posts word for word from this message board (with only the names of the posters changed slightly) in order to make their messageboard look more active than it actually was. :rolleyes: Pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/17 "2005-09-27T21:50:56Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > The worst infringer I remember was that website that actually copied posts word for word from this message board (with only the names of the posters changed slightly) in order to make their messageboard look more active than it actually was. :rolleyes: Pathetic. That actually has happened a few times. Seems to be standard practice among some of the shadier internet types out there. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/18 "2005-09-28T01:46:06Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > The worst infringer I remember was that website that actually copied posts word for word from this message board (with only the names of the posters changed slightly) in order to make their messageboard look more active than it actually was. :rolleyes: Pathetic. Wasn’t that the bizarre “chicken board”? I was always disappointed that I couldn’t find any threads with my posts in them over there. I wanted to know what type of chicken they’d turn me into. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/19 "2005-09-28T05:01:54Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > How did you find this, **QED**? > > **Mr. Blue Sky** , don’t forget the horny, rabid, hungry Rottweilers.\* OMG, look what you did to Google Ads! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610/20 "2005-09-28T06:22:07Z")
> [@1920s Style "Death Ray"](#): > > OMG, look what you did to Google Ads! 😃 Wrong kind of dog, though. I wonder if they’ll ever have ads for Death Rays. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-stealing-content-from-cecils-columns-and-sdsab-reports/323610.md?page=2)