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Content Update
As some of you may or may not have noticed, DogsPlayingPoker.org has been unavailable for several months. This page will try to explain some of why this is. Let me start off by saying that it isn't because I am no longer interested in Cassius Coolidge or sharing his work with the world. It is because of copyright.
It Begins
Over the summer, I did not have high speed internet access, so I moved my server to the model railroad club room at my school. All went well untill less than a week later, I received this email:
Mr. Richey:
The Institute has received a communication from an external source indicating that your web site may be violating both RHIT policies regarding the use of Institute facilities for personal profit and U.S. Copyright Laws related to the material on the site. The site in question is:
www.dogsplayingpoker.org
As a student employee of IAIT I'm asking that you consider this notification and review the appropriateness of the site and its contents. I request that you advise me of your actions so I can determine the next step for the Institution.
Thanks,
Louis Turcotte, VP IAIT
I think "oh crap" and quickly take down my entire website. The person who sent the email is my boss (although a couple of levels up) for my job at school. Also I really don't want to cause any trouble, especially with my school which I only have a year left in. I reply saying that I took down my website and am looking into the problem.
Now one thing you may noticed about this email is the distinct lack of details. I have no idea who this "external source" is or what material it believes is infringing on copyright laws. For the personal profit part though, I was pretty sure it was my referer links. Anyway, I don't really receive any clarification on these points, so I think about it on my own for a while. I guess it is probably my Simpsons Page which had a couple 30 second Simpsons clips. Fox lawyers can be pretty protective of their brand, so I decided to remove that page and video clips and put my site back up. I wrote this rant during it if you want to know more about it.
The Server gods are Against Me
All is well in the world until about a week later when my server quits responding. I'm 9 hours away from it so there isn't much I can do to check on it. I figure that my school turned off my port, the power went out, or someone stole my server. Not much I can do though, so I just create a static version of my website and stick it in my personal webspace at my school.
People are Stupid
Once again all is going fairly well until I receive another email. The one I receive though, is a forwarded message from an employee at my school. The person sent another email to my school (not me) and this time I was forwarded a copy of what this guy wrote. He complained about my use of Marcella Coolidge's biography, some of the images posted on my website, and my referer links. It is an individual, not a company, that sent this email and although he gives his name, no where does he identify who he is. Also, it is sent from a 'yahoo' email account, which makes it appear really professional. I assume this is the same person who contacted my school in the beginning of the summer. I once again I take down my website and fire off an email to my school saying I will look into the matter. At this point I am really pissed at this person, but I don't want say anything I will regret and at least I have some details now.
Also note that I did have the exact email he sent me here before, but I guess this guy didn't like that either. So he wrote another email to my school (again not me) complaining about that. Although I am almost certain that I am under no legal or even really moral responsibility to remove that email, I did anyway and just left my paraphrase because it is easier than trying to deal with a person who won't talk with me. A couple of weeks later I write this to this mysterious person.
Dear Mr. xxxx,
I must first apologize for my delay in replying, as I have been extremely busy.
I take copyright seriously and do not want to post material that I am not entitled to. You make several strong claims, but I wonder how you are so certain that I may have "stolen" that content. You seem to simultaneously represent Rose-Hulman, an auction house, eBay members, and Marcella Coolidge. I recognize that I may not have had permission to post some of that content, but it seems unlikely to me that either you contacted these people yourself, or everyone contacted you. It is, however, entirely possible that I am mistaken and you do represent these people. I would not know this, however, since you never attempted to contact me, despite the clear contact information that was posted on my website. Why would go through the trouble of looking up hosts and IP ranges, rather than using a posted email address is beyond me. Also, I am curious as to who exactly you are and your interest in my website. Perhaps in previous emails that did not involve me you identified yourself, but I am curious as to who you are.
As for the actual content, nothing is currently available and I am currently reevaluating what information that I am sure I am allowed or not allowed to post, and I will make changes accordingly. I must question your accusation of stealing Marcella Coolidge's memoirs though. No where do I claim that work as my own, nor try to take credit away from her. The copy of the memoir that I poses has no copyright or year associated with it either. As far as I know it is not a published work.
As I said, as a fan I wish to distribute information about this artist, but it is not my intent to distribute works that I am not allowed to. If you have any other questions, please contact me. I am willing to me most cooperative, but it is hard for me to do such when you tell others about your claims but not myself.
Sincerely,
Joey Richey
www.dogplayingpoker.org
As you can tell, it is quite sarcastic and scathing. I have never really heard anything back from this guy, so I still have no real idea who it is. After thinking about it more though, I probably did have some content that I wasn't allowed to post. As I result I went through my website page by page and made sure I could post everything I had. Unfortunately, some of the information that was posted I had to take down, hopefully temporarily. I will continue to do my best though to deliver all of the Coolidge information I can. That's the basic reason why my website was down for so long. I have been reviewing all the pages, which takes a lot of time. True, it doesn't take 3 months, but I was a little lazy at the beginning and then when I returned to school I became really busy. But all is back now, and hopefully it will stay that way.
Questtions/Comments? Feel free to ask me.
