Does it bother you when people profit from your questions and answers?

Yes, bendrew wrote a blog about some of the issues they’ve been dealing with.

@asmonet I remember seeing that. I was thinking more along the lines where they take ideas from the answers we give. Yahoo, for instance, uses direct quotes from their Q & A site to entice people to use their service.

Yes.
It bothers me when other non-flutherers use our answers and knowledge for their own good.
I don’t care about the money, i’m not here to get paid. If that was the case I’d leave. The answers I give here are for this Collective, no one elses business.

Not really.. anything you put onto the web without the proper legal protections is fair game to the world in a way.

@YARNLADY: I see, so you’re asking me if it bothers me knowing that Andrew or Ben or an intermediary like an advert company might be making a buck off me?

To be honest, it doesn’t bother me in the least. As I see it, they provide me with a service, and if a few of my words are all I have to give to ensure the continuation of that service, I’m happy to give them.

Here is an item with my objection.

@pdworkin: There’s a lot of good information in that question, and while the OP had a personal reason for asking – one to do with her employment – it also addressed a situation people clearly were willing to discuss. I see no issue with that post. She may have mentioned her company, but there was no real self promotion at play. And she defended herself rather well.

I’ve mentioned my work, and I don’t think mentioning my job to give context to why I would be asking a question personally is against the rules.

Sometimes I see a similar thing on the so-called news, when they use up five or ten minutes of their show reading comments that people have e-mailed them, sort of like the editorial forum in the newspaper. They make money off other people’s comments. It doesn’t bother me, I just wondered if it bothers anyone else.

Nah, I know what’s up. I expect nothing.
I think if there had been some misunderstanding regarding privacy or compensation I might be peeved. But Fluther doesn’t give off the money hungry bastard vibes you get over on some other sites. I know the deal. We’re cool, Fluther baby.

@asmonet She was soliciting answers for publication. I don’t care to cast pearls before swine. You and others perhaps don’t mind. I spent 60 years learning the reservoir of knowledge from which I answer questions on Fluther. I feel good about sharing my knowledge with people who are asking for help with a problem, or want to discuss a general issue, not with someone who intends to take my answer, publish it, and get a paycheck. I could use the money myself.

I don’t really care. Fluther isn’t a gated community, it’s the internet.

if it’s in a news article or reporting piece, that’s one thing. Fluther is a source of information, the same as Wikipedia or Google are. Typically, these usages are acknowledged, and serve to promote the site.

Mooching it, as was mentioned in the blog entry, is another story.

To me it is no different than the polls that are always calling for my opinion. They don’t pay me for it, but they profit from selling the results of the poll.

@pdworkin ; she was honest about her intent, If you don’t want to answer it no one is forcing you. If she had misled you it may be worth getting in a huff about.

I’m in no huff.

These two answers, seem at odds in tone.

You still sound argumentative and unyielding.

If I asked Fluther a question for a school paper, and used the anecdotes provided as a basis for continuing research, and possibly quoted a few with their permission, which I then turned in and received a grade for – which in school is essentially a currency – you would object?

I like the site and I like the people.

If Bendrew makes anything from anything I do more power to them.

They run a great site with incredible guidelines, mods and mod policies I might add. :-)

I agree with @hug_of_war

if anyone thinks whatever drivel falls out of my mouth as being actually helpful in any way I’d be quite flattered to be honest.

I see these questions and answers as property of the human collective, and I am glad to share and participate. I feel that we are here to help
each other, spark one another’s creative interests and ideas, and help build on them. However someone chooses to use that information/inspiration, is basically fine with me as long as we aren’t discussing new ways to build bombs or something of the like.

Make sure you don’t post anything that you don’t want to see elsewhere.
That’s good form for internet usage anyway.

Life’s too short to care about such things.

My real, concise, all-in-one-place knowledge will be presented in a book, probably for cheap or free. But beyond that, I simply like sharing knowledge because that’s how I gain a lot of it, through careless sharing.

The_Compassionate_Heretic: Exactly! That’s what I advise college students and grads all the time—goes for comments, blog posts, photos, you name it. Anything embarassing or anything that shows an unappealing quality like arrogance, combativeness, etc. will end up being found by a potential future employer and can dash your hopes of your dream job. If your parents are tech savvy, you’re in double-trouble!

@asmonet Go look at the state of the other thread, and you will find that she and I have reached a detente.

It does not bother me someone may benefit from my good idea or advice.

It bothers me that people steal content.

@realsolutions
I have found that potential employers never have the time to do such things, in my experience
and I’ve been all kinds of ‘crazy ‘on the internerds and don’t believe it’s hurt me in any way
if an employer doesn’t like how outspoken I am, let it be so

@Simone_De_Beauvoir There are some companies that do search all the information they can regarding their potential employees, such as a recent opening here for a Director of Education. I have read of in depth searches for other high profile positions as well. You really never know, so why take chances – unless you like to live dangerously, or couldn’t care less.

@YARNLADY I’ll take the latter, I guess – my life will not revolve around work

Just sort of curious if anyone can provide actual examples of instances where stuff that first appears on fluther is used in other places to make money.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir In my work with recruiters and hiring managers, they may or may not do in-depth online digging, but they usually do at least some poking around online before making a job offer. But they all have their own definitions of what’s tolerable and acceptable to them. Depending on what kind of work someone is pursuing, maybe being ‘outspoken’ like you would be considered a big plus!

Meh. If I only wanted my posts to be seen by a select few people, I’d sign up for some members-only site.

@daloon The worst example I have seen does not come from specifically from Fluther, but uses questions and answers from other sites in order to entice visitors and therefore please their advertisers. There are many of them on the net, and they come and go regularly. Yahoo uses Q & A’s on their front page to get users to visit their site, but that can be considered all ‘in house’.

I have seen random examples when I do a search for answers to questions, since I participate on several Q & A sites, and I find them on forums like “Mom’s Online” and the occasional entry on Wiki.how or e.how, sometime with and usually without credit.

not terribly. i know when i’m here that this is a public forum, and that if i’ve got the secret formula to the krabby patty recipe and don’t want people having it, i better not post it!

wait what. i hope you guys all watch spongebob…

I hope people profit from my answers and questions. Knowledge is for all, sharing is the future.

@pdworkin: I stated everything I have to say in the other thread, my points still stand, and I could care less who you get along with.

If they make money from what we post , shouldn’t WE get a cut ???

I didn’t thought of that before. Going through questions and trying to answer them was a learning experience for myself. Even reading through some of the questions was a learning and a wonderful experience. And, about questions I asked, I definitely got benefited, even though they were not monetary/financial benefits, I’m happy with it.

I have no problem as long as a source is cited and recognition is given.