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From SCIFIPEDIA
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The following guidelines are designed to help you create SCIFIPEDIA entries that are consistent with SCIFIPEDIA’s mission. These guidelines are a supplement to the SCIFIPEDIA and SCIFI.COM terms of use, which govern the use of SCIFIPEDIA and SCIFI.COM.
The Basics
Submissions to SCIFIPEDIA should be original to you, written in English, be factual in nature, present a neutral point of view and should relate to the topic at hand.
Originality
The material that you submit to SCIFIPEDIA should be original and should not infringe the copyright rights of others (see below for more information on copyright). This means that the work should not be copied from anywhere else, including books, other sites, other wikis, movies, television shows or even press releases, unless you have obtained permission from the owner of those works or unless the use is a “fair use.” Sometimes websites or other published works will contain terms of use that permit others to quote or use their contents. If you are submitting material from such sites, you need to check the terms of use of the site to see if it permits the copying and use of the work on another site, and provide attribution or credit to the site, if required. If you cannot copy a work from a site, you might be able to link to that work, which also requires checking the site’s terms of use.
Copyright and SCIFIPEDIA
Works submitted by you to SCIFIPEDIA must not violate the copyright rights of others. Copyright is the right of the author or owner of a work to prevent others from copying, distributing or otherwise exploiting original and creative works without their consent. The copyright laws of each country vary. The full text of the United States statute can be found at [www.copyright.gov/title17]. In the United States, copyright protects any work that contains original expression as soon as it is created. Works protected by copyright include books, letters and other text-based works; motion pictures, television programs, video games and other audiovisual works; paintings, photographs, sculptures and other works of visual art; compositions and sound recordings; and software and architectural works. While works can be registered with the Copyright Office, registration is not required for copyright protection. There is no requirement that works have a copyright notice on them in order to be protected, so you cannot assume that a work you find without a notice, for example a video or picture on an Internet site, is not protected by copyright. There are certain limitations and exceptions, but in general it is a good idea to assume that any creative work created by someone else may be protected by copyright. This means you will not be able to use it unless you obtain a license, the work is in the public domain or your use is a fair use.
Copyright and Public Domain Works
When a work is in the “Public Domain,” it means it is not protected by copyright law and may be freely copied or otherwise used by anyone. You should still provide SCIFIPEDIA with the source of your work if it consists of a copy, in whole or in part, of public domain material. A work can enter the public domain because the copyright has expired. For example, the books Alice in Wonderland or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are both now in the public domain. However, just because the original book is in the public domain does not mean that works based on those works (which are known as “derivative works”) are also in the public domain, so that the MGM movie The Wizard of Oz is still protected by copyright, as is the Disney animated movie Alice in Wonderland. Works can also enter the public domain because the authors or owners choose not to have the work protected by copyright law.
Copyright protection has a limited term. In the United States, copyright for works written after 1978 now lasts for the life of the author, plus 70 years. So, if an author wrote a book in 1989, and died in 1990, the copyright would expire in the year 2060. The rules for older works are complex, and depend on when the work was written, and a number of other factors. If you are interested in some general guidelines regarding when works enter the public domain, there is a useful chart at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm.
“Fair Use" and Copyright
“Fair use” is a legal doctrine that limits the rights of a copyright holder to prevent the use of their works for certain types of uses, for example, criticism, research or commentary. The scope of “fair use” (known outside the United States as “fair dealing”) varies country by country. In the United States, the factors that determine whether the use of a work is a “fair use” are set out in [Section 107 of the Copyright Act (Fair Use section of U.S. Copyright Law)]. It is not possible to provide any bright line rules about fair use, as each circumstance requires a separate analysis and weighing of the different fair-use factors. SCIFIPEDIA is looking for original content, so we encourage you to limit your use of other people’s materials for that reason.
Accuracy of Submissions
SCIFIPEDIA is only interested in truthful and accurate submissions. Your submissions should not contain misrepresentations or falsehoods (whether or not they are libelous or defamatory) about any individual or entity (including corporations and governmental entities). You should also not provide personal information about individuals that is not publicly available. If you wish to present information about conspiracies, rumors or hoaxes, they should be clearly labeled as opinion or theory.
Other Content Guidelines
SCIFIPEDIA is designed to be factual in nature and is not a place to advocate views of the merit of works, nor to rate those works. Commentary on the expressed views or opinions of others should only be expressed in a civil manner within an article's Talk page (Discussion), on an associated Portal or on your own User Talk page. SCIFIPEDIA is also not a place to promote any product or service, or offer materials for sale, or propose or engage in any commercial transaction. Please do not discuss or criticize other SCIFIPEDIA entries in your entry. The standards set forth in the [SCIFI terms of use] still apply to SCIFIPEDIA. Your SCIFIPEDIA entries or edits also should not contain material that contains profanity, or is obscene, pornographic, threatening, harassing, or racially or ethnically offensive. It should not encourage or advocate conduct that would be considered a criminal offense.
Special Guidelines Regarding Photographs and Other Visual Content
Besides copyright law, photographs and other visual content may also infringe other laws. For example, photographs of people taken without their consent, or photographs of people taken in private places, may infringe their rights of privacy. You may also not have the right to take photographs in non-public places. Altering or digitizing photographs of people may also violate their rights if they are presented as doing things that they did not do. Photographs should be an accurate representation of their subject matter. As with other forms of copyrighted material, they should not be posted without the consent of the author or owner of the photograph.
Violation of Submisson Guidelines
Should you violate these guidelines, or the other rules provided in the SCIFI.COM terms of use, SCIFIPEDIA may remove your entries or edits from SCIFIPEDIA. SCIFIPEDIA may also bar you from making further entries or edits, or participating in the SCIFIPEDIA. This is in addition to any remedies that we may have under SCIFI.COM’s terms of use.
If you have questions about these guidelines, please contact us.
2008, SCI FI. All rights reserved.
