indyld Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hi all A company has come to my attention in Ireland @ www.stagelightingcentre.com. Website seems reputable enough but I discover that their blog (blogspot) is republishing some of my content without permission. I have contacted them and await a repsonse. In the meantime, does anyone on here know the company. Seems a bit rum to me but it could be that they have farmed out their article writing and do not realise that the work is nicked. Thanks in advance. edit: Whoops, Spelled centre wrong - working with HTML too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamon Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hi I do know the company very well. They are the biggest theatrical lighting supplier in ireland. The website (eventually!!) was set up by a freelance lighting designer/theatre technician. The best thing to do is to contact them and ask to speak to Pat Walsh. He is the MD. Very decent approachable man. They are honest people and probably have no idea the articles were used from other sources. I sure they will rectify the situation as soon as possible hope that helps eamon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfrog Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Yes, Stage Lighting centre is a very reputable company, They have been in the business for a long time. I also know the Lighting Designer who setup the website quite well, I hire stuff off him occasionally!!!, he's a decent guy who probably just used it as filler until SLC got the content together or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 If the material has been quoted in context, then why not just ask for a credit and link back to your own site or e-mail? Play it right and you might even get some work out of it - opportunities come in all shapes and sizes and I'd say this is definitely one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Which article is the one that they've reprinted? All I can see is the usual "technician bible" and lightbulb jokes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyld Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Which article is the one that they've reprinted? All I can see is the usual "technician bible" and lightbulb jokes.... Aha, After seeing your post this morning I want back to the blog. All of my articles have disappeared, leaving the lightbulb jokes etc. There had previously been at least 6 word for word, cut and pastes. Not heard back from the company yet though, not even to say "Which ones do you hold the rights to?". Someone close to the blog knows exactly where they are from and I am not sure with the whole "it was just a temporary filler" excuse. Take this as a warning about the possiblity of loose website practices having the potential to damage your brand. With regard to reprinting with credits/ links etc - yes, that is a possibility but there are Search Engine issues with duplicating content and other reasons for keeping your stuff close to you. I write articles specifically for other sites if they ask, rather than reproducing things that I have already published. But yes, I find opportunites in all kinds of places. Thanks to all for taking an interest. I will post again if the company does get in touch or the webmaster slopes off into a corner and hopes it all goes away. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I have had a look at the website itself and noticed that alot of the pages (about consoles) are almost directly copied from the manufacturers website, E.G. the Congo page is identical to the ETC page about it.... Is this allowed, do ETC know about it?? joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I would imagine its allowed, if you are selling or hiring their products... Mostly, people, like AC have spec sheets you can download. Does anyone know if its allowed to call yourself an ETC or GrandMA specialist without consulting the manufacturers? I would of thought that to you need to at least be in first name terms with manufactures to call yourself a specialist - especially as it gives the impression that you are a little more than a 'standard programmer'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyld Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Contact received and resolved. Full apology from rep of the company who explained that the problem was due to a lack of proper supervision of the content collection. So, Stage Lighting Centre are true to the opinions of people here and are pretty stand up guys. That can't be said from a few other sites that I have also had to contact with similar issues. As JDP mentioned, when you become a partner of a manufacturer you get an agreement to reproduce their promotional material. Of course, if you want to put a user manual on your website the safe way to do it is to hot link to the "real" one at the manufacturer (no one minds a good link in the world of search engines). But the manual PDFs usually attribute the creators anyway. It's not as if you are passing it off as your own work. I think that the word specialist could apply to anyone with a particular knowledge of a product. Maybe I could say that I was a Pearl specialist, even though pretty much every lampie in the world can use one and I have never been on the Avo course (instead learning through years of standing behind the thing). If you think about specialists in other industries, they don't always have an affiliation with the manufacturer. But I do understand where JDP is coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi Rob, my point was regarding specialism is that if you are a specialist, you should be able to not only program, operate and fault find, blindfolded as you know the desk so well, but also be able to strip it down, take it to bits and put it all back together, preferably blindfolded, and literally know every inch and all desk menus. If you can do that, to me you are a desk specialist, otherwise, doing a few days desk course, to me is just another 'programmer'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 There is a web tool called "Copyscape" which for a subscription will seek out chunks of your text in other websites. Not sure if or how it works for pictures though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyld Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi Rob, my point was regarding specialism is that if you are a specialist, you should be able to not only program, operate and fault find, blindfolded as you know the desk so well, but also be able to strip it down, take it to bits and put it all back together, preferably blindfolded, and literally know every inch and all desk menus. If you can do that, to me you are a desk specialist, otherwise, doing a few days desk course, to me is just another 'programmer'. Great, I am an official specialist - although Niclights has it over us all. There is a web tool called "Copyscape" which for a subscription will seek out chunks of your text in other websites. Not sure if or how it works for pictures though. I actually found this one out using a good ol' search but I do use Copyscape. It does only work on the text elements of html and might possibly parse PDF text too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve h Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 you dont have to be any good at it to specialise in it, you just have to do it more than you do the other things similar to it. In the same way that a builder can specialise in conservatories, and painter in windowsills, a carpenter in doors and a lighting firm on avo desks (not saying the company in question are not good at what they claim, just making a point. I always wonder when I see a van saying "specialist in..." what they have to prove it, or do they say it to get you to phone them when you need it doing!) Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.