First And Foremost
Morning Erection is the private intellectual property of Tom Baker and is solely for entertainment purposes. By using this website you agree that nothing on this site should be taken to constitute or replace professional advice.
No part of this site may be distributed or copied for financial gain or commercial use. Copyright of all images, poems, visitor comments and guest blog posts remain the property of said person at all times. Uncredited images such as wallpaper is believed to be public domain.
Age Appropriate
Morning Erection is a site where the majority of its content is created for everyone age 13 and above. Some material on this site is admittedly for those 18 and above, including images, and should be approached with caution. Most such material is clearly marked.
Comments
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Feel free to comment on posts and pages with the foreknowledge that any comment containing profanity or otherwise unacceptable language will be edited or deleted. All comments left on Morning Erection becomes the sole copyright of Tom Baker and Morning Erection.
Guest Bloggers
Morning Erection invites guest bloggers to post on topics of their choosing. Although the author gives Morning Erection exclusive rights to the post for thirty days, ownership remains with the guest blogger. Guest posts are the sole responsibility of the authors. Tom Baker and Morning Erection are not responsible for, nor liable for the opinions expressed by guest bloggers.
Morning Erection 
#1 by happyhippierose on April 3, 2012 - 8:51 AM
Oh oops, forgot these links! Here are the blog posts I did for work on scammers who lie, lie, lie –
Part 1: http://snoo.ws/2012/03/21/part-one-technical-foul-lying-online/
Part 2: http://snoo.ws/2012/03/22/part-two-technical-foul-lying-online/
#2 by Tom Baker on April 3, 2012 - 9:29 AM
I will read both of these posts and thank you. The other comment is a bit long and will require more time than I have now to reply. I look forward to you taking part in the 30 day challenge and will add your name to the participant list!
#3 by happyhippierose on April 3, 2012 - 8:49 AM
Hi Tom! I’m a new reader, and I’m about to make a woeful first impression with a doozy of a comment here. I actually linked up to you and discovered your blog via 30 Days of Blogging Honestly. In just a short amount of time spent over here at ME, I’m loving the variety of content and the quality of your writing; I’m excited to “get to know you” better and spend some more time reading. I’m also really jazzed on the 30 Days motif, I’m jumping in a couple days late and just going for it!
After reading this section on legalities, I’m curious to get your take on something, though: I read here that, “No part of this site may be distributed or copied for financial gain or commercial use,” – does this include using the 30 Days of Blogging Honestly on a for-profit blog?
It’s genuinely a theoretical question without specific or direct urgency at this time. My personal blog (www.happyhippierose.com) doesn’t include any advertising at this time; I don’t make any money from my personal blog. Once in a blue moon I sell a tie dye shirt, a separate business of mine that I do link to on my blog.
As I’m writing this out, my question is evolving into more parts: do blogging events that you’ve created (like the 30 Days of Honestly) count under your request of distribution or copying? What is the participation in something like that considered? It’s still going to be original content for everyone who writes their own daily posts, but the prompts do belong to you, so I’m not sure if this is distribution, copying, or something different. You probably have specific disclaimers on those posts saying that it’s okay to use the prompts (I know I should double check before posting, but I’m lazy/annoying like that).
And then… what is the parameter of financial gain or commercial use?
I ask because this is a big blob of blogging issues that I’ve been studying, sorting out, and researching lately. I promise I’m not a weirdo uptight nerd lawyer with an itchy trigger finger on the tort gun. I’m a writer, actually – and this plays in. For my day job I help write my company’s blog (http://snoo.ws/) and I recently did this two-part series on these kind of blogging intellectual property issues, plagiarism, and so forth.
So now, I’m all uber-curious about things like this.
What is my commercial gain from my personal blog? Because I also write a professional blog for my job, and my personal blogging is just for fun… is there a tie? Are they related because my name is my brand? (I wonder if readers who know me from my work blog also check out my personal blog? Doubtful! And based on my WP analytics – I haven’t seen any proof of such. But, I don’t directly link from the work blog to my personal blog though).
If I had a totally profitless blog or social media outlet without any commercial gain for myself, would you mind if I copied your content and re-posted it? If my blog does make money, do you mind if I mention your content as long as it’s properly cited?
I was an English major back in school and so I’m a stickler for citing, or at least trying to. I’ll admit that I’m not perfect and the more vocal/curious I get about these things the more I know I should go back through my archives with a fine toothed comb making sure things are all squared away on my end. But I take intellectual property, copyright, and plagiarism VERY seriously. I recently interviewed a blogger who’s been ousted for copying content and I was pretty tough on her, I don’t think there’s any excuse for stealing someone’s ideas, words, or work.
But, there’s also a lot of gray area. There are oodles of bloggers with great intentions that don’t carry things out with 100% by-the-bookness. So the more I delve into this kinda junk, the more I like to hear what others think. And since you have such a lovely legal section and your blog in general seems to be the product of a very capable and sound mind – I’d love to bounce the ideas off of you and see what you make of it all.
If I’m being TOTALLY lazy and you have this all neatly explained already, just link me and I’ll apologize profusely. And also, I really am a nice, perky, silly reader who promises to be more fun and less stuffy going forward. I just totally like to get my geek on, and stuff like this is important to me. Like woah!
Thanks SO MUCH for even reading this, and I so appreciate any time you feel like giving me on this.
#4 by Tom Baker on April 3, 2012 - 7:21 PM
Rose, I stared at your comment for about twenty minutes before I started writing a reply. I did not know where to start. I admit to being poor at citing where I get facts. Unfortunately sometimes I get an idea for a post and it sits in the draft stage for months and some for at least a year or more. When I go to complete it, the original idea or even my source is no longer available. For instance the Vagina Dialogue post I recently did, stated some facts from Google. I could not find the source when I finally finished the post, but I posted anyway.
As far as Morning Erection is concerned no part of anything that I write can be used to profit from. You are free to reblog and repost on a non-profit, for profit or personal blog as long as permission is asked and given and the credit goes to me or the Morning Erection blog. Any idea that any of my friends or I come up with like 30 Days of Blogging Honesty can also be used as long as no one tries to claim the idea was theirs. I’m basically a simple guy with simple ideas.
I don’t know if this short answer is satisfactory to you. If not feel free to email me. I am looking forward to your first post of 30 days.
#5 by happyhippierose on April 3, 2012 - 8:22 PM
Makes total sense!
I’m totally a believer in just knowing the basic differences between right and wrong and then simply trying to do one’s best.
I know it sounds like I’m either worried or super passionate about this topic, it’s mostly an intellectual curiosity that seems to grabbing my attention all the time lately. A professional for-profit blogger just caught a lot of attention when she was busted for copying content off other writers; so now I have that weird thing where every time I see a new take on intellectual property protection as it pertains to blogging, I’m super curious to know the writer’s POV and take on it all.
You seemed to have a thoughtful legal section here, so I wanted to ask you about it.
While I surely do think that outright copying, plagiarizing, or stealing is bad and needs to be addressed and dealt with, I also count on myself to do an honest job, cite where I should and play by the rules. Thus, I’m not worried about my own personal use of your stuff at all – it’s just more about knowing one more person’s level of grayscale on a murky issue.
Blogging is the wild west in so many ways, and so seeing how people create and follow rules in an essentially lawless climate is just super fascinating to me. And also helpful as I come to understand my own boundaries (or at least fair standards to hold others to).
Thanks for answering! And please don’t be annoyed or bothered. I appreciate your time, and your reply here was more than sufficient. I have no plans to jack your content or anything. Promise!
#6 by Tom Baker on April 3, 2012 - 8:28 PM
I did not think that you would nor was I annoyed! I love long comments but I’ve never seen anything like that! (smile)
#7 by happyhippierose on April 3, 2012 - 8:52 PM
oy…
yeah, i’m pretty verbose at times! heh!
#8 by Sultry Soliloquy on June 14, 2011 - 7:38 AM
“By using this website you agree that nothing on this site should be taken to constitute or replace professional advice.”
Classic!!