Enhanced enforcement of copyrighted materials posting
 

The Webmaster has requested that we post this thread to inform members that we will be enforcing our cardinal rule about not posting any copyrighted materials here on the forum.

Clarifications of what is copyrighted material:

It is safe to assume that anything published in the news media, for example, is copyrighted. Reuters, Associated Press, New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, countless online magazines, etc. Most books are copyrighted. Mercedes WIS, Mercedes EPC, AllData.

It is also pretty easy to spot when someone copies a large volume of text from one of the above sources and simply pastes it into a post. You will notice that it doesn't sound like the poster actually composed these words.

It's ok to link to the source of the copyrighted material but, you can't just copy and paste it...especially if you don't include the source information. It's also ok to include a small segment of an article as long as you list the source. "I read in the Wall Street Journal that speculators are driving up the prices for crude oil even though supplies of crude are near an all time high". Something like that or even more detailed than that is ok. Cutting and pasting the entire article is not ok.

This emphasis will result in automatic banning on the third offense,

Recently deleted threads with such material will be treated with a warning but in the future there will be points applied.

I am going to lock this thread but it may be modified as the subject is further clarified.

Thanks very much!