# Wikihistory - an alt history story, kinda **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993 "2008-03-19T21:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/1 "2008-03-19T21:54:23Z")
[This](http://www.abyssandapex.com/200710-wikihistory.html) is simply brilliant. As it’s publicly posted on the web there doesn’t seem to be any copyright issues posting it here. It’s one short page titled **International Association of Time Travelers: Members’ Forum Subforum: Europe – Twentieth Century – Second World War Page 263** and well worth your time! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/2 "2008-03-19T22:11:02Z")
I have to admit, that is pretty funny. Reading the thread title, I was also reminded of [this _Onion_ article](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/50902). ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/3 "2008-03-19T22:56:16Z")
Well, as long as the topic is Wikipedia, might as well toss [this](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/12/16) in. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/4 "2008-03-19T23:20:23Z")
Oh, that was beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/5 "2008-03-19T23:22:30Z")
I love that one. I even got my husband to read it, and he loved it. It’s perfect for anyone who’s been on the Internet for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/6 "2008-03-19T23:25:06Z")
Oh man…awesome. This link gets sent around. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/7 "2008-03-20T02:24:00Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] [This](http://www.abyssandapex.com/200710-wikihistory.html) is simply brilliant. As it’s publicly posted on the web there doesn’t seem to be any copyright issues posting it here. [/QUOTE] The story is a very fun little story. I just don’t understand what that sentence is supposed to mean. You can always post a link to anything on the net. That has nothing to do with copyright. You certainly can’t copy something just because it’s been posted on the net. That’s usually a copyright violation. Especially when the something is a signed story on a magazine site. You haven’t “posted it here” unless some mod removed it, and there’s no sign of that. I’m hoping this is just an awkward bit of phrasing, and you didn’t mean what the words you wrote imply. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/8 "2008-03-20T12:48:55Z")
Oh, that was hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/9 "2008-03-20T21:36:47Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] The story is a very fun little story. I just don’t understand what that sentence is supposed to mean. You can always post a link to anything on the net. That has nothing to do with copyright. You certainly can’t copy something just because it’s been posted on the net. That’s usually a copyright violation. Especially when the something is a signed story on a magazine site. You haven’t “posted it here” unless some mod removed it, and there’s no sign of that. I’m hoping this is just an awkward bit of phrasing, and you didn’t mean what the words you wrote imply. [/QUOTE] I did. I don’t like posting links to copyrighted material that shouldn’t be publicly on the web, as well as the actual material. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/10 "2008-03-20T22:25:44Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] I did. I don’t like posting links to copyrighted material that shouldn’t be publicly on the web, as well as the actual material. [/QUOTE] I see. I didn’t interpret your words in that way, obviously, but I heartily agree with and approve of what you’re saying now. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/11 "2008-03-21T01:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] I did. I don’t like posting links to copyrighted material that shouldn’t be publicly on the web, as well as the actual material. [/QUOTE] What makes you think this story “shouldn’t publicly be on the web” in this manner? The link is from an online journal of originally-written science fiction, so the author obviously wrote it with the intention of having it be published online. And I’m glad he did. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/12 "2008-03-21T04:52:35Z")
That is an awesome story. Thank you for posting that. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/13 "2008-03-22T17:58:48Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] What makes you think this story “shouldn’t publicly be on the web” in this manner? The link is from an online journal of originally-written science fiction, so the author obviously wrote it with the intention of having it be published online. And I’m glad he did. [/QUOTE] I _don’t_ think that, which is why I _did_ post it here. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/14 "2008-03-22T18:02:03Z")
My mistake. When you said “I don’t like posting links to copyrighted material that shouldn’t be publicly on the web,” I thought you were saying that this was used without the author’s permission. I’m going to go back in time now to tell myself that isn’t what you thought. And then I’m going to kill Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wikihistory-an-alt-history-story-kinda/441993/15 "2008-03-22T21:19:18Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] I _don’t_ think that, which is why I _did_ post it here. [/QUOTE] Just to clarify why both \*\*mobo85 \*\* and I thought otherwise, imagine if you posted a link to an article on [cnn.com](http://cnn.com) and then added that it was publicly posted so no copyright issues were involved. Virtually everyone who read that would go WTF? Abyss and Apex is a long-standing, well-regarded professional science fiction publication on the net. Posting a link to a story there shouldn’t need any explanation. If anyone thought otherwise, all they needed to do was go up a level or two to the main page and it would be obvious the site was legitimate. You’re putting in the qualifier seemed so weird in context that the only realistic explanation I could come up with is one you refuted. But it was still a weird thing to read. Your real rationale literally would never have occurred to me.