Why I stand on copyright

Lately I had an argument (for sake of a better word) with a woman who owns a group on Yahoo, and in the files section of this group she had posted a raw version of an article that I wrote for my weblog. Since a) this lady did not have the good manners to consult me about it, and b) the layout of the article was terrible ruined up to the point that it was very hard to read and c) she did not have the good manner to mention the source, I asked her to remove the file from her Yahoo group. The first time I asked this she did not agree, saying that she wrote similar content on her own website. I asked her to show me where I could find that but she didn't reply. The second time I asked her to remove the file, stating that if she didn't comply I would address the matter to Yahoo, she started to call me names like 'Mr. Feathers' and talked about 'copyright whining'. She finally removed the file, but found it necessary to send my messages with the requests for removal to the members of her group, without giving her replies, of course.

You may wonder why I don't want to see my texts & articles copied elsewhere without me knowing about it. It has nothing to do with the need for recognition as some will think. I want to be responsible for what I write, and if articles from my hand start to spread around the internet without my name under it it becomes very hard to track the source of the ideas that are presented in it. And that is something which I find very important: you have to be able to name and track your sources. It does not sound very convincing if you have to confess that what you say is based on a file you found in a vague Yijing group somewhere on the internet. Ideas easily start their own life, and when you have a certain reputation (I am told that I have one) people very easy accept what you say. But if I make a mistake I want to be able to correct it. When articles are spread around the internet without my knowledge it becomes very hard to correct misconceptions and wrong ideas that are presented in the text.

Some time ago I wrote that the traditional view of the etymology of the character yi 易 was not correct - instead of the traditional sun/moon or chameleon image I said that the original form was that of two pots which are exchanging liquid. Although I am not the first to say that, the fact that I posted it on my website with my name under it made people believe that it is actually true. But a more thorough study I did the last view days made me change my mind. It seems that the 'pouring pots' version is a different character, even though some dictionaries say otherwise (more about that later). Now, the idea that the original form of 易 is that of two pouring pots is already gaining recognition, and I am not saying that I am solely responsible for that, but I do know that my article about it has had some influence. If that article would have spread anonymously around the internet it would very easy become an urban legend. Now it is only on my website and I can correct myself, saving me from what could have become a lifetime of embarrassment.

If you want to copy a text or article from my website just ask me. It is polite, and it is only a small effort.