How to Hide the Copyright Notice in the Most Obscure Way Possible

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   janderson99posted 10 years ago

   The new site upgrades (see blog) include a HP copyright notice for authors.
   Where is it placed?
   In the far bottom left corner,  right at the end of the article.
   It is in tiny gray lettering that you will need a microscope to see.
   An example is displayed below.
   How could this possible act as any deterrent to stop copying? Why there, and so tiny? Its very important for authors who have the rights.
   Like the tiny author name, shoved right over to the top right hand side of the hub, this seems to be part of a deliberate HP policy to hide recognition of authors.  Why?
   Can you see it? - far bottom left corner. below the ads, below related search. Someone could copy the entire text of the article and never see the notice.
   

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      moonlakeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I thought this was very strange too. It sure doesn't look right.

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         janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Despite having subdomains, despite the push for 'authority' and author identity, HP is so determined to give zilch prominence to authors that it buries the notice in the ooze. This was done deliberately. How can it be an error. What chance would any author have for a copyright claim when the notice is hidden!

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            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I came to this conclusion some time ago.  I think HubPages felt that the move to sub-domains gave Hubbers too strong a sense of their own importance, and they've been trying to reduce the emphasis on individuality ever since.  Here are the measures which support your theory:
            
            1.  Large 'author box' removed from all Hubs and replaced with tiny photo and unobtrusive link.
            
            2.  List of Hubs added to the end of each Hub, strongly competing with the "next" and "previous" Hub Group links because they appear directly under them - it's not obvious the "previous" and "next" Hubs are by the same author.
            
            3.  Search box on profiles removed - visitors can no longer search within] an individual Hubber's account.
            
            4.  Option to browse an individual Hubber's Hubs by category made unobtrusive on our profile - several Hubbers couldn't find it, so readers are unlikely to spot it.
            
            5.  Contacting a Hubber made more difficult - email option is hidden inside Fan Mail, which external readers would have no hope of finding.
            
            6.  Signing up for a Hubber's RSS feed made more difficult - there used to be a link on our profile, now gone.
            
            7.  Copyright notice made unobtrusive and too distant from content.

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               Victoria Lynnposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Interesting, Marisa. I never liked any of those changes.

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               Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               +1  Good points!

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                  janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Everything changes now - Editors Choice - Read the blog!

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                     Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     What changed about  Marisa's seven points?

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                        janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        nothing => just a head's up on bouncing back to pages listed on main url again!

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                           Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           They are temporarily moving the URL and then they are going to move it back to the subdomain URL.  I just opted out of that.  That just makes no sense.

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      Millionaire Tipsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you.  The copyright notice should be above the ads - it should be right below the article, since we didn't write the ads. It should also be the same font size and color as the hub itself.
      
      I also agree with Mark.  When I first saw that part of my hubs - the entire screen is filled up of "related" searches which are just links to pages of ads, I was sickened.  There is no question that that is way too much advertising when you get a whole screen of nothing but ads.

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         psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         +1, the notice should be immediately after the text it relates to.

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2. 82

   Mark Ewbieposted 10 years ago

   Jeez.  Is that really a screen shot?  Spam, spam, spam.
   
   Quality content... sort of... surrounded by so much advertising that one visit will be enough for most people.
   
   You know those sites that you hit once on search and decide never to go back again?  Because whatever useful or interesting /entertaining stuff is buried so deep in garbage it is not a pleasure.
   
   That's how that page looks to me.

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      janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yep - screen shot - Its the bottom of every page, below the last line of text. Maybe it signifies the copyright for all the ads. Perhaps Nero is fiddling.

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         Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         To be honest I am not sure I'd want my fake name anywhere near that page.  It's awful.  It looks rubbish.

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   Writer Foxposted 10 years ago

   First of all, that's not even a proper copyright notice.  (Since when is a name like 'john anderson' not capitalized?)  How does HubPages have any clue when the article was first written and copyrighted?  Where is the 'All Rights Reserved' notice?  And how does anyone at HubPages know under which name the actual copyright is held?  Did anyone ask you for the correct information? Who authorized HubPages to post a notice with legal implications and consequences on your behalf? Did you give them Power of Attorney or Agency for that specific purpose?
   
   I don't understand why the staff is messing with things that aren't broken, while alienating the authors willing to post content here, instead of focusing on how to drive traffic to the site.  HubPages' views are now down to the level of exactly four years ago.  There is still no one on the staff who has a clue about search engine optimized content strategies and editing, as Paul Edmondson has so many times disclosed, let alone how to teach it to writers.

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      Glenn Stokposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Writer Fox -
      
      There is a field where one can enter their real name in case the username they chose is not their name.  I assume HP takes it from there.  The reason why 'john anderson' is all lower case is because he entered his name that way.
      
      The copyright HP uses is the minimal legal and correct format.  There is really no need for saying 'all rights reserved.'   See http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ03.pdf
      
      Authorization is not an issue. As stated in HP's blog and email notice, this is a feature that the Hubber himself or herself can turn on or off to display the copyright or not.
      
      As for the date of the copyright, I already started using this feature myself and I found that HP automatically uses the correct year that I originally published the hub. Now that's really cool.

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4. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 10 years ago

   janderson99 -
   
   I started using it today, removing my own copyright notice.  I understand the need for a common format as I see many Hubbers using incorrect copyright lingo. But I have to agree with you 100% about the grey text and about the silly placement.
   
   I was thinking that both the copyright  line and the thumbs up/down line should be moved up just under the last capsule of the  hub.

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   Writer Foxposted 10 years ago

   The year a Hub was first published may not be the year the article was created and first published elsewhere.  "All Rights Reserved" is the addition most attorneys advise, and take note that is how HubPages displays its own copyright notice on the bottom of every webpage on the site.   
   
   If you want to use the automated notice that visitors can barely discern, it is certainly your decision. It is not now nor ever will be mine. It's just a shame that it is now part of the QAP and a Hub score is lowered if you use a more effective copyright notice.
   
   Again, the staff is wasting time when it should be working on bringing more traffic to Hubs. I can't imagine that investors are pleased that traffic to the site has fallen to 2009 levels.

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   Will Apseposted 10 years ago

   Using a copyright notice at all makes you look like an anal-retentive amateur. I'm not surprised HP want to hide it away, lol.

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   Victoria Lynnposted 10 years ago

   All our articles are copyrighted, anyway. And an 8 1/2 x 11 notice wouldn't matter anyway for the sites that scrape. They just copy word for word, copyright and all.

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8. 86

   Will Apseposted 10 years ago

   I have been swayed by the sheer size of the egos on display and have completely changed my mind.
   
   This is the notice that I would now suggest:
   
   This very special and important article was written by the very special and important writer called 'NAME OF HUBBER (all capitals)' and you are incredibly lucky to read it. If you copy this elsewhere you will be chained to a rock and your liver will be gnawed for all eternity, by Marty Cutts, brother of no one important.
   
   3 iterations of this should be enough. But don't stint yourself...

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      Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      lol

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      psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You seem especially annoyed with people having opinions on the internet recently.  You could just disagree without getting all nasty about it.

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         Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I thought this line was pretty funny. lol
         
         "If you copy this elsewhere you will be chained to a rock and your liver will be gnawed for all eternity, by Marty Cutts, brother of no one important."

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         Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It's not the opinions that annoy me.

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