|
Kathrynpagecamp -> RE: Is sharing your work ever dangerous? (7/29/2008 1:24:25 PM)
|
mvic is right about not always being able to defend your copyright. That is why I said you are probably better off not posting it unless you want a critique from people on the forum. (Also, I should have added that although it is copyrighted in the U.S. the minute you put it in tangible form, that may not be the case in other countries.)
My point is that you have to decide whether what you want from the forum is worth the risk that someone will steal your material. If you decide that it is, then printing a copy provides some evidence of ownership if it becomes an issue. SOME evidence of ownership. There are never any guarantees, but some is better than none.
By the way, there are some countries that don't recognize copyrights at all, and people from those countries can access Internet forums, too. But the countries that don't recognize copyrights aren't usually countries where a theft would damage an author much, at least not financially, since most people don't end up selling their work to people in small, third-world countries. On the other hand, your pride of authorship may suffer.
So what is the purpose of sharing your work? If it is to get feedback or to minister to others, you may want to take a calculated risk. After all, you can't do either of those things without sharing your work, although a local critique group may limit your exposure if you are just looking for feedback. They could steal it, too, but the chances are much less.
Only you can decide whether it is a risk you are willing to take.
|
|
|
|