Tuesday 10 January 2012

Blogging etiquette!!! Or Warhammer 40k Blog Hub are thieves!!!

A simple message to those responsible!!!

Final Edit: I have had an apology now off of the individual responsible and they assure me that no harm was intended. I'm willing to believe them as they've taken the articles down and actually seen things from my perspective. So I thank them for that, just please let this be a cautionary tale to others. We're a small community us game bloggers and word gets around eventually. Thanks.


I've not been blogging very long, and I'm coming up to completing my eighth month now. In that time I've often wandered about 'blogging etiquette'. I mean you sign up to Blogger, Word Press or whatever platform that you use and away you go. You're pretty much allowed to get on with straight away. Sure there are guides as to how to make your blog look pretty or how publish posts etc... but there are no guides really as to what you should or shouldn't do. While that's great and liberating and I'm all for it, I do think there are etiquette issues that crop up. I've often wandered whether or not I've breached any imaginary blogging etiquette rules. Simple answer is I don't know.

I've tended to conduct myself in the 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you approach' to not stepping on any toes. I think it's served me fairly well so far as hopefully I haven't done anything that rubs people up the wrong way. However, recently I was having a chat with a fellow blogger who pointed something out to me that I had been totally unaware of. And that is that some scum bag has been reproducing all of my articles in their entirety on their blog. They've even had the brass balls to list me as a contributor to their blog. All without actually asking for my permission. I can't even contact the thief because they haven't left any contact details.

The site is hosted on the Blood of Kittens site and I have contacted them to ask that they get the site to remove all of my content and all mention of me as a contributor. Some of you might want to check that all your hard work and effort isn't being stolen:

http://bloodofkittens.com/40kblogs/

I'm sorry but I think there is no excuse for just simply being a traffic squatter. I have no problem with saying 'hey I've just seen this article over here that I think you might like to read. Here's a link and what I think about it'. But to simply copy and paste somebody else's hard work and to claim that they even contributed to your shitty little blog theft site is beyond the pale.

I would never dream of stealing or plagiarising somebody's work. Never! I have posted links in articles I've written to other people's blogs so people can go and see the original articles for themselves. I will continue to do this for articles that I feel are worthy of being highlighted and read by others, because it's the right thing to do. If the individual responsible for stealing my work is reading this blog post of mine then can I ask you to please remove all of the content you have stolen off of my blog and remove any mention of me as a contributor to your crimes. I have no wish to be associated with such a horrid sordid little endeavour. My only hope is that the individuals who are responsible for the Blood of Kittens blogging network, who I have asked to contact those responsible do so, and you the person responsible do the decent thing and take my stolen work down off of your site.

If you didn't mean to cause offense, then that's fair enough, but you have and I'm not happy that my permission for reproducing all of my work wasn't requested. The really, really galling thing is that I'm not a bad guy, and if someone had asked permission I might even have granted it. Other people have emailed me and asked if they could use some of the pictures of products that I've reviewed on my blog, pictures I've taken myself. I've never once said no. I'm not an unreasonable individual and I wouldn't normally go off the deep end like this, but the most irritating thing is that my blog which pretty much has fuck all to do with 40k is on 40k blog hub. Sorry WTF!!! Peace out!

EDIT: The individual responsible for it has contacted me to say that they will take down my articles off of their site. I thank them for that. They claim they were only trying to highlight other peoples blogs, and that may be true. However, in my case checking where my traffic has come from I have NEVER seen their blog appear in my 'Traffic Sources' list. So on that count they're failing. If they wish to see how it should be done Can I please direct them to Colonel Shofer's Mild OCD Model Blog who has appeared on a regular basis in my weekly 'traffic sources' list and has been a great help in promoting my blog. I'd like to take the time to say thank you to Colonel Schofer for his work.

27 comments:

  1. Send them a DMCA notice. They will be forced to take down the content.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act

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  2. Looks to me like they are just grabbing RSS feeds from all the Wargaming blogs and archiving them. Seems to be a purely automated process.

    I can understand not wanting to be affiliated with BoK though.

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  3. The front page part is fine as just a long form of the blog roll but the click to read more is definately going beyond what is proper and probably legal. I bet you can turn it in the blogger settings so they cannot do that based on how much of a feed you produce. I read most blogs through google reader but some only show like the first paragraph.

    Go to Blogger: Settings: Site Feed: and select short or jump break.

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  4. That change does not appear to be retro active is the feed is generated when you first publish the post.

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  5. @CTF, thanks, I managed to get an email address and I've contacted him. I won't reproduce any of the content of his emails because I'm a gentlemen. They are not.

    @RayJ, I gathered it was an RSS feed. Others have contacted me in the past to see if I mended them having an RSS feed on their sites. I've always said no. I have my own reasons for doing so, I've never minded people taking pics or posting links to my blog, but the idea off an RSS feed, even reproducing articles in part, isn't my thing.

    @Eriochrome, that has been done. I just didn't think somebody would have the temerity to just reproduce work like that without asking. In effect anyone who came across my articles on his blog had zero need to track back to my original articles. I could well do without that sort of publicity.

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  6. certainly puts my User Content Wednesdays into a new light.

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  7. @Lauby, when you do it you ask permission, give a brief intro and actually promote said users Blog. I'm grateful of that and the work everyone over at HoP does. But this just isn't right, and then to be insulted when asking to take my work down sorry, but that isn't on. He has no idea of the hassle he has caused me.

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  8. I was gonna comment, but I wasn't sure if you wanted the first comment to be "Those f***ers." so I waited to see how calmly everyone else took it. Never liked those places ever, kind of full of the wrong kind of self-entitled people.

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  9. @GoldenKaos, thanks. At least people now know I'm not a liar and I had no idea this was going on. Has caused me so much trouble today, like you wouldn't believe.

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  10. FLG- I have some super secret stuff that might help your cause. Watch for an email.

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  11. Typical dirty trick used to boost a sites traffic figures, usually so that they can justify paid advertising to their advertisers. I can't comment in this case, however the fact that they listed you as a "contributor" without your knowledge or permissioin hints heavily in that direction...

    Either way, yeah it's a complete etiquette no-no, and it was clearly intentional. Bips!

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  12. Oh dear, I thought I was in trouble until I read on !!!

    I do all I can to keep 'legal', but, more than that, I try to make sure every post shunts folk onto another blog/site etc, the one I am metablogging, if possible ... in that way, the love moves around.

    Many thanks for the heads-up and support :) !!!

    CS

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  13. You will never got an in link from that Blood of Kittens site since all of their links are not html enabled. You have to manually copy and paste the link address in your browser which will generate an unknown source for the site meters not to mention just discourage people from actually making the effort if the whole post (minus the comments which is often a good part) is there. Does not look like I have published enough recently to draw their thieving eyes.

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    1. I know none of the links are HTML enabled. Totally blows out of the water the argument that his intention was to promote my blog and others doesn't it?

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  14. @Lo, thanks.

    @Rich_B, I'm not too sure that is the case on this one as I don't think there are any adverts. But listing me as a contributor caused 'issues' for me. Plus doing it without my permission or informing me is sly.

    @Colonel Shofer, you sir are gentleman and a scholar. I genuinely thank you for the help you've offered and for highlighting some of my articles, it is appreciated.

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  15. This is balls, but a sign your doing somethign right. People don't rip off those who suck

    Also If i had traffic i would send it your way......

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  16. Theiving scum.
    Ripping my stuff off too, and I've never had a single click through from them either.

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  17. Looks like some of my stuff is showing up over there as well. Not a big fan of that at all.

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  18. I found it a while ago through my blogger stats, has a ton of my posts up. I sent a message asking to be removed but got no reply.

    Could you send me the email address you used, to the email in my blogger profile?

    thanks!

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  19. Right, I really don't wish to publish somebodies email on the Internet because I think that's not the right way to go about it. If people wish to email me at TheFrontlineGamerBlog@gmail.com and I'll let you know there email. However, I believe they'll be posting an article soon about how to contact them and get content removed.

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  20. That's very peculiar! I wasn't aware of that place at all. I see my blog's on there, too. I wonder why they don't ask about these things. It is certainly a bit off!

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  21. BoK is basically a shithole. The fucker who runs the show is worse than Stelek and that is saying something.

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  22. Good to hear it was sorted but this goes on a lot but I never heard of whole posts before.....

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  23. Sheesh...
    If I wuz gonna steal stuffs....I'd steal stuffs worth stealing....
    :D

    I kid, of course.
    What a reprehensible wretch.

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  24. I'm almost glad my blog's far too small to merit their attention.

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  25. @Pete, really sorry I didn't know you had a blog. I did check your profile like I always do when I have a new commenter, just to see what they get up to and be nosey. But blogger didn't list your blog. I've rectified my mistake and you're on my blog roll now. That goes for other peeps, if you don't see your blog on my blog roll and you're a follower drop me a comment and I'll sort it out. Cheers.

    @mDZ, I've actually had zero dealings with the guys at Blood of Kittens and as such I really can't comment. But it's clear somebody has pissed you off! Hope it wasn't anything too serious.

    @The Angry Lurker, I honestly didn't think I was getting enough hits for people to even bother. Plus I just figured it's such a small community why take the risk. I accept that no malice was intended on behalf of the individual involved now, but eve so...

    @SinSynn, I now right! That's what I thought, I mean my blogs shit! lol. Wasn't necessary the reproduction of my posts that upset me the most actually but the problems it led to.

    @GoldenKaos, OMG I'm soooo sorry. You're another one like PAul I did honestly check but I didn't see a blog listed. Now rectified!

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    Replies
    1. Nary a need for apology, dear boy! Think no more of it, I beg ye! :-)

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