RANT! The following is a late night rant. I have not spell checked it, I haven't proof read it. (ie, I haven't re-read it) I was chasing an old habit of "Search engine searching for your words/material" I'm tired of pre-pubescent dorks sending me email challenging my use of "Silverelf" or "Middle Earth Realms". I've used both since the early 80's. (Yeah, "No sh*t, there I was") Silverelf? Purely originaly since the 70's. Variations on and spelling of are .. hell.. I have witnesses. Tell that to Gygax's wife. "Middle Earth Realms? Again.. verifiable. Witnesses. I can cough them up. Unique each. Over the years Dorks have "claimed" them. Have sent me emails telling me they (at the ripe age of "You could have been my CHILD when I was using and folks remember when") Sigh.. the rant says most of it. I pulled what I posted from tales told to me personally by "old farm wives". I've had a standing challenge for YEARS (about 1996)... If you see your work (someone might have sent it to me.. no one did or I missed it because of SPAM bots...) I WILL give credit wher it's due. My point has always been the preservation of Folk tales/history. Why have I not given credit to anyone? SPAM!!!!! I MISSED YOUR EMAIL!!! GO SPAM-BOTS!!! Want to get my attention? Guestbook! Or hey.. (call me silly) don't send me things claiming to be THE source/original when your 14 YEARS FREAKING OLD! (I still get those) This goes MUCH further to just an internet Nic... My words.. someone else.. Ooooo! (insert rant, rave.. foam at the mouth) Start Rant!: I'm an old DOS geek. The advent of Windows 3.x was new to me. I started with Windows 3.0, Apple IIe. The Commador 64 was a MASSIVE improvement. Remember the TRS 80? (Trash 80) It was a new way of saving things to a MUCh easier format than sitting a writing things down manually. Given that I've had arthritis since I was 14 (I was born in '62) (in my hands and progressed since) this was a God send to me. Now.. take me in 95.. typing thing up that had been passed to you through word of mouth from farmwife/grandma to.... Now imagine yourself posting it in a year ((95-96) to get the knowledge out to the (at the time) unknmowing world. You take it on faith (at least we did at the time) that it's going out to the world as a common benifit.. Imagine stumbeling on years later while someone else is driving the keyboard that your words have been quoted (in some cases word for word) What is this called. Yes I typed a period. years later my work, thoughts, knowledge, and the words of the elders that I was seeking to pass on have been claimed by others. Now.. I did it on the poor man's budget at a time whe folks where sharing common knowledge. They claim the title of "Encyclepidia". Mine was posted on old BBS's and then on the internet's Geocities. I' can't afford to and couldn't at the time to get anyonme's attention on my work. Years later it's a shock to see your work, modified in some cases, word for word in other) posted as someone elses. Now imagine my suprise when someone else points out YOUR work on someone elses site. Lets see... Geocities site... Private domain site. Can I afford a lawyer? NOT! If I could I would have published in a more traditional way. Who posted what first. I have folks that read things as I typed them and when I posted them on the "internet"/BBSs. Who took who's work. (hey, there's that period again) I make no accusations. I simply have lower income people/aquantences that read it way back then and have to try to get them to remember. Now face off with a site that been around since the Gods know when, claiming to be an encyclipedia, that have my words. It was an acepted fact then that "Posted work" was given credit to the author. Things were still being quoted and no one cared. Why bother.. the few that found it were sharing a common knowledge as far as we were concerned. Seeing aticals you wrote a long time ago being given as "Posted", "Been around since" kinda offends me. Christ lets face it, I posted it on BBSs to start to get feedback from folks. I am NOT financially able to contest *MY* work against others when it came from a time period that folks borrowed from one another. (insert heavy sigh here) I posted something a long time ago in a format that catered to having that material taken by others. It was doen on faith. My site has been around in one form or another (the material a lot longer). Now.. you go looking for something. You find someone who's had a site up for several years and claims the title of "(fill in the blank"). They have your words. (in one form or another, but damnit, you recognize them years later. Ask any author, they do) There are NO disclaimers... no chance given that YOUR work may have been "borrowed". Oh.. Gee.. you have a Geocities site. You posted most of the original work on BBSs. Now.. imagine folks stumbling across your words/work and then seeing it on a "End all/Be all" kinda site. Never mind that they came along AFTER you originaly put the words of the grandmothers out with your own phrasing... Translation? I look like I'm taking someone elses work. This has bee going on for a LONG time apparently. Hell, at the time you couldn't claim ANYTHING posted on the "Internet" (see references to the, and actual perception of at the time) because it was "Public domian". That's come a long way since then. It has a LONG way to go now. Why? It's the WWW. World. Wide. Web. Someone sitting in a town one place can't depend that someone in another contry isn't going to copy/paste your work. This has been fought from a graphic artist stand point and still contiues to be defied. I don't like that my words have been out there for years in a poor man's "get it out there for the sake of the comman man/ general knowledge" format and search engine techknowledgy has found my words on someone else's site. Gee.. they claim to have, I wrote... I have NOT taken anyone's work. I was shocked to see my words somewhere else. I am the "Little man". I'm screwed. I can't afford to fight a legal battle, but damnit... Sit and spin, rant, rave, foam at the mouth... My words, others site. Did I? *NO*. Did they? I can't afford to fight that fight. Will they read this and "try me"? Ther's that chance. Short of a court order... My words stay where they are. These included. I started posting these things in the mid-80's. I can't begin to tell you about the folks that have taken my words (singular or in fluid form) and "Posted" them. I *WILL* not have folks thinking that *I* took from..... I didn't. I don't. I won't. Have I ranted? OH F'ing YES! I don't "rant". My words, other post... China, California, my own home freaking town and personal aquatences... It's happened before, may happen again. but damnit... Claim you posted something on X-date.. It's the freaking internet/FIDO Net... "Oops! You put it out there, it's been enough years..." How LONG they've been doing it.. who knows. PROVE it. Hey lets see if I can find witnesses if it's pushed to that point. They ARE out there. I didn't. It's *MY* F'ing words that are being called into question. `Nuff said. ARRGHHH!