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Well damn if you aren't right -- that's what I get for skimming legalese. But I did find a definitive statement from iParadigm on the issue in which they basically assert that fair use protects them even more so than more ordinary uses like parody. I'm not sure I buy it -- they'd be in better shape legally if their user agreement explicitly granted them a license. Then students would have no case against iParadigm, though they might have one against a third party who submitted their work without their consent.

A student at a college which subscribes to Turnitin.com put a copyright statement on his essay, saying that his work couldn't be uploaded to any WWW site and archived. This meant that it couldn't be submitted to Turnitin.com (or a service such as Plagiserve.com, a free alternative to Turnitin.com that also archives submitted papers), which archives papers and adds them to the database that submissions are checked against.

The college checked with their lawyers, and with Turnitin.com on what to do if a student puts a copyright on their own work expressly forbidding their paper to be co-opted by a for profit service such as Turnitin.com. Below is Turnitin.com's reply to the matter of student copyright (They don't think much of it.).

See link for full text of turnitin response:

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/technotes/workshop s/fullcopyright.htm

I told her that I was sure it couldn't be cited because the information there is simply too fluid and couldn't be counted on to remain unchanged over time... He [the professor] looked into the matter and told her that it was perfectly acceptable as long as the citations were up to MLA standards.

That's why MLA citations include the date on which you accessed the cited information from the web. They change.

Of course, one may raise the question: what if I edit wikipedia to support my thesis all the way and cite it?

The facts are: US law does not universally apply, and Copyright is not some sort of divine right. If you will look around a bit you will see some of the countries with the least restrictive copyright laws have very outstanding artistic histories.

Once again you lot confuse commerce with art. Artists have traditionally sought benefactors and relied on individual sales and performance contracts to generate income. The people who benefit from US copyright law.. blah blah blah blah... we've heard it before

So I'll say it again: look around. Russia has a very loose copyright system and yet they are far from being devoid of artists - nor of plastic pop has-beens. And, in fact, some of the brightest artistic moments from that part of the world came when artists were most persecuted - nor have their very liberal policies cost them their share of post-modern innovation.

I'm not saying we should abuse artists (well, except mimes) but the simple fact is these russian (and Ukrainian - another FSU state that is slated to join the EU) websites are simply exploiting the weakness of the oppression existent in our own economy - no different than when we exploit the labors of those kids who work for a buck a day rolling beedies, assembling hundred dollar sneakers, or putting overpriced plastic dolls in boxes.

So... how does it feel to be exploited by the foibles of your own beliefs?

I think we all need to remember that our federal government is on the brink of war with possibly some other nations (Afganistan et al). In times of war, our liberties sometimes go away for a time. But they always return. I don't think there's anyone who can say "boy, America was a lot more free before Hitler". Relax, folks. America will return to the "free" society we all love and admire once we've overcome terrorism at its worst.

This is the exact same argument that the U.S. Supreme gave when it handed down its decision in Korematsu vs United States. I'm afraid its always easy to talk about sacrificing rights for the sake of security, as long as it's someone else's rights.

Not only was decision upheld, the legal precident is still on the books. This precident states that the government may bypass the 5th and 14th amendments out of military necessity. Once those are bypassed, freedom of speech doesn't matter because no one will hear you.

You're right. It's very unlikely that the US government will order the evacuation of Arab or Muslim Americans. However, the only thing acutally preventing it is the court of public opinion. IANAL, but the US government has this legal precident with which it can justify any future exclusion orders. And if you think only people who look "different" are subject to this kind of thing, think again. This is some scary shit.

Even more common is the mistake of saying no less than four when you mean no fewer than four.

Proper grammar really matters in the job world. You may have perfect syntax in C++, Java and XML, but misusing words like it's, their/they're, to/too and than/then can quickly make you look like an idiot.

I think that everyone should get a copy of the Bedford Handbook or at least bookmark the online version. Also, put any writing awards and recognitions you've received on your resume.

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