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>I don't think you should quote anyone publicly unless you have their
>permission; I think whether you attribute the quote is up to the
>originator; e.g., it is polite to name the source, but the source may
>not want to be named.
We're all familiar with the practice of posting a question with a commitment
to post a summary of responses to the list.
When I do this, I do not identify the responders, and I really do summarize.
Nonetheless, I reproduce many of the responders' words verbatim.
At the other extreme, some people simply concatenate the replies and post
the aggregate to the list without editing it.
I think that either of these approaches is legally and ethically acceptable.
The responder understands that one of these things, or something in between,
will happen to their posting. They implicitly authorize this treatment.
I have some incomplete opinions about where the copyrights lie in these cases.
Does anyone disagree with my analysis or wish to enlighten us about
copyright? ...RM
Richard Mateosian Technical Writer in Berkeley CA srm -at- c2 -dot- org
