A certain front-page on Daily Kos has been using this forum to repeatedly post stories with original content linked, not to the original creator, but to his own website, which is grossly over-laden with advertising and which is a study in copyright abuse. Professional videos from news media are posted on his website, in total, with his own logo imprinted over them. Sometimes, he claims it is “compressed video,” other times, he doesn’t even give an excuse.
When asked about it, the writer argued that he made a sacrifice in being “a full time independent activist” and therefore it was okay to make money that way.
The links never say, “it goes to my website, please support me.” The links, if you just read the content, instead seem to go to where they should go, the actual copyright holder.
It’s not fair use, because (a) the whole thing is used, and (b) it is for personal profit. It includes pop-up ads and well over a dozen banner and sidebar ads.
So here is my question — is this an appropriate use for Daily Kos and the status of a front-pager, to use it to lead readers to content stolen from others, for personal profit?
If so, okay, got it. But if not, and I hope not, it makes the website, and those who have invested days, weeks, or even years, in it, look awful. I also wonder if the links themselves, which lead to copyright violations, are within our terms of service. Personally, I’d like to see it stop, for I believe it is wrong.
