Sometimes Snopes is Not the Answer

[puppetmaker]

There has been a link to an article about a bill that has died twice in committee about art that is considered orphaned. The creator of the article is coming off as frothing at the mouth without checking all of his facts and a great disliker of Bill Gates and the big Microsoft evil corporation which is trying to steal all intellectual property and make it their own.

Now I do so understand the need to protect one's creative rights. I also understand that the copyright office has the dubious task of dealing with who owns what in terms of intellectual property. It is a tightrope. I am also a firm believer in artist's rights considering how they have been not treated well in the past.

However, this one article with its misinformation has been spreading through the various art communities like wildfire. In one case the poster, who kept linking to the same article any time anyone asked a question, was asked whether they had checked other sources. Their response was that they had checked Snopes and hadn't seen that it was there as either true or false so it must be true because Snopes hadn't said that it wasn't.

I hate to break the Internet's rose color glasses, but Snopes is not the be all and end all of information on the Internet. In fact the Wikipedia is not the best source of information on the 'net either. A little additional research wouldn't hurt anyone before they cry that the sky is falling. This also goes for other things that Snopes hasn't done articles on yet which are racing around the Internet like a chicken with its head cut off.

I am grateful for people who do take the time to find out what is really going on rather than just pointing to the same piece of misinformation over and over again.

Comments

[budgie-uk.livejournal.com]

For stuff like this, my usual advice is "Snopes should be your first port of call... but not your last."

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

Well said.

[popfiend.livejournal.com]

Amen.

If I don't find details on Snopes I assume it hasn't been on their radar, not that it's true.

That's when you behold the power of GOOGLE or YAHOO or LIVE.

:)

[budgie-uk.livejournal.com]

And as so often, I feel moved to comment on such things that "I don't know enough to comment..."

[auroraceleste.livejournal.com]

Has it died? The latest I can find on it is this:

http://oncopyright.copyright.com/2008/03/17/orphan-works-are-back-on-congress%E2%80%99s-radar-screen/

March 13 doesn't seem like so long ago to declare it officially *dead*, IMO, especially since I can't find the results of that Committee meeting.

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

It's not on the vote docket as of yesterday.

Also what people are saying that this bill does is not at all what it does. There is a report by the copyright office about the problem of orphan works that it up nicely. I'll see if I can find the link again. I downloaded the report and read it.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Snopes doesn't have that rumor about you on their site. I'll assume it's true.

Oh wait, *I* started that one, nevermind!*G*

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

Oh you would be amazed at some of the stuff Peter and I are asked either about us or about our friends due to rumor.

I am waiting for the next one about Harlan to come out.

[readinggeek451]

You mean the one about the ten thousand rubber duckies and the sheep? ;)

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

OK We SAID we would NEVER speak of it again. *grin*

[readinggeek451]

Sorry. It just slipped out.