I just think it was an attorney CYA kinda thing. I don't think Brad and Jeff sat down and planned it out. I think it is a result of Forces Beyond Their Total Control.
See, I understand that if Dave Z does a piece about some posters and puts it up on SI and gets paid for it, and excerpts some posts, then he has to be allowed to do that without some bonehead screaming, "Hey, that's my post, that's copyrighted by me, you owe me money!"
On the other hand, telling me that material that is copyrighted by me that I excerpt and put on this site is now under a non-exclusive contract with the site and they can do whatever the f*** they want with it, get paid for doing it, and not even tell me they did it, is a stretch.
Now, I don't mean to imply that SI has done that to me personally. They have not, and I can't imagine that they would.
BUT! I read contracts. You may have noticed the clause in the new Terms of Use that says by using the site, you automatically agree to any future changes in the Terms of Use.
Uh...no. No, I don't, actually.
The alternative is to give up one's membership.
So I walk the line in-between.
I don't post anything that I don't assume that SI will sell to somebody else without me knowing it. |
