This has been covered time and again, but some members - especially newbies - don't understand it, so I'll have a try and see if I can get the message across in a simple and effective manner.
I once argued that when someone notices a copyright breach on Minti, 
that it might be better to just contact the author of the advice and tell them to site their source correctly, rather than report it immediately. Then it was explained to me that it doesn't work. The reason is simple: Legalities. Breaching copyright is illegal.
Copyright is a legality that is taken extremely seriously and ruthlessly by the corporate and legal world, and one little violation - even an unintentional one - could cause the permanent shut down of Minti for the slightest breach, even if it was only publically viewable for a few minutes. It only takes a small section of writing to be copied - sometimes just one sentence is enough - and all hell can break lose. That is why there are so many cautions about it in the Terms and Conditions, Code of Honour, and in the blurb above the text box every time you click on "Write Advice", as well as having been written about in various advice, etc. That is why advice, comments, etc; that has been reported vanishes into a non-publically viewable void.
Reported advice doesn't get automatically deleted never to return. It goes to a place that is out of view of the public eye, where it can be viewed and voted on by those with the authority to do so. Given time, one of two things will happen: it will be released for public view, or it won't. If a piece of advice you wrote is reported for any reason, it doesn't take much to get in contact with the Admin and ask them what is going on.
It is important that such breaches in an advice be reported immediately and have the advice vanish from public view until the issue is resolved. Taking the time to contact the author privately instead, allows time for someone outside of Minti to see it, someone who will sue for breach of copyright and have the site shut down. By the time the member has logged on again, received the message and gotten a chance to do something about it, it could very well be too late. They might log on to find that Minti is inaccessible and in a legal battle with some money-hungry uptight and unforgiving person or corporation.
This may seem unlikely, but internet sites are getting shut down for legal reasons everyday. Sure, these legal battles can take years to be resolved, but often a site must be shut down while that legal process goes on - whether the court finds the site guilty or not in the end doesn't matter until after that verdict has been passed.
Some people may argue that the authors of advice on Minti are not getting paid, so what does it matter? It does matter, because Minti is a business. Us mmebers might not be making money out of it, but someone is. It cost millions of dollars to set up this site and it costs a lot to keep it up and running. Where do you think that money comees from? Where do you think it will go if a legal battle over copyright started?
Yes, there is some protection for Minti if someone was to post something that breached copyright, however, bare in mind that Minti is "powered by parents" which means that it is up to us - the members - to maintain the integrity of the site, just as much as the Admin. If someone reports a copyright breach and the membership votes that it is acceptable and brings it back to public view, then any legal protection that Minti might have had may be blown out of the water because a copyright breach was reported and accepted. In other words, we said that we don't care for international law and ignored it.
No member takes any pleasure what so ever in reporting advice for any reason - if they did, it wouldn't take long for someone to take on the unpleasant task of reporting the member doing this and behaving in such a spiteful disruptive manner. Many members do understand the need for the reporting system and will use it when necessary. That doesn't mean they enjoy doing it. So will I, and I hate doing it - but my emotions won't stop me. So yes, no matter how good a friend you are to me, no matter how certain I am that your breach was unintentional, I will still report it - and so will most other members that pay attention and support Minti in this way. If a member reports your advice for a copyright breach, or any other reason, do not take it personally. It is nothing personal. It's not an attack on you in any way. They are only doing it to protect the site, which thousands of people are benefitting from, including you.
If someone reported an advice I wrote for breaching copyright, I would be greatful that someone noticed that I made a mistake and did something about it. I can always fix it up and re-post it later on if their report was correct and it did indeed breach copyright. If you are reporting a suspected copyright breach, it helps a lot if you send a polite message to the author explaining why you have reported their advice. It also helps resolve the issue faster if you can provide a link as to where the information you suspect was copied can be found.
I'm sure that many cases of copyright breach that happen on Minti are just pure forgetfullness and that the author would be willing to fix the problem as soon as it is pointed out to them. Most other members are very aware of this as well. But as I stated, we can't afford to wait for someone to fix this problem if we want Minti to continue to exist. I wish we could, I really do, but until the outside world can be as reasonable as most of the members on Minti are, then I'm sorry, the choices will remain limited and the rules will be adhered to.
This is why I will stress that it is extremely important to, when writing advice, save it as a draft first. Come back to it later with a fresh mind, have a look at it and see if there is anything that you missed - particularly with regards to siting other sources. Read the blurb at the top of the page. It may trigger a memory of something you had forgotten about, or inspire you to fix up something you neglected or didn't notice. Draft everything! Drafts are good. Drafts are your friend and they can keep you out of a lot of trouble - and keep your advice out of the void.
I hope this clears up any personal issues that people have about the whole purpose of the reporting system and why copyright seems like such an issue for some people. Happy writing, have patience, and don't forget to DRAFT IT - the more you do it the better it gets!
(August 2007) (
