Comments on: RationalWiki copyright infringement

By: Trent

Trent — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:32:07 +0000

Hi Bill,

I am the “owner” of RationalWiki, though it not ownership in the traditional sense.

Anyway, fair use is a complex issue, and more than a few cases have up held the full copying of a work, though other cases have found infringement with just a few sentences.

Issues to consider, we are a non-profit, educational resource. The copied portioned are copied for the purposes of criticism. Much like the use of “Imagine” in “Expelled.” Also IEEE is the primary copy right holder I believe. And the fact that this is an “academic” publication should all be weighed in your decision about how you want to pursue this.

I am curious why this is a battle you are so eager to fight?

Anyway, the best contact for me is to e-mail me at:

ttoulouse@gmail.com

touloutm@mcmater.ca

For the record, the site is hosted on a private server that I own and operate.

By: osteonectin

osteonectin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:56:11 +0000

In all fairness: UD's and your personal handling of copyright is not really consistent. Copying of complete articles is not really uncommon. E.g., your post on ID in NATURE

By: William Dembski

William Dembski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:30:59 +0000

johnnyb: Where are you getting that adding commentary somehow absolves people from copying vast portions of text? If I tried that with C. S. Lewis’s writings, his estate would be on me in a heartbeat. Do you have a reference to copyright law?

By: johnnyb

johnnyb — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:13:28 +0000

Although they have reproduced large portions of it, it seems to all be intermixed with commentary. This, I thought, put it in the bounds of fair use. The only exception to this is section 1, which is copied but no commentary is made.

By: Mung

Mung — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:00:38 +0000

Hi Bill,

You can enter a domain name in at the following address:

http://www.whois.com/

Then follow the WhoIs link that is provided.

You get different contact addresses (one in Canada, the other in New Mexico) for the .com and the .net, but they are under the same name, same phone number, same email address and same domain name provider. The phone number is a New Mexico exchange.

You can probably contact the provider if you need more information.

Registration Service Provided By: ServInt Domains (servint.com).

By: Nakashima

Nakashima — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:47:30 +0000

Dr Dembski,

Try this contact:

RationalWiki
Trent Toulouse (rationalwiki(at)gmail.com)

By: bFast

bFast — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:47:06 +0000

Dr Dembski,

I followed the money, clicked the “donate” button. I get the following web address: http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/R.....te_support

Which states their mailing address to be:

Trent Toulouse
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour
McMaster University
1280 Main St. W
Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S 4K1

Even though you are now dealing with an international boundary, I don’t think McMaster University will be too interested in being named in a copyright infringement charge.

By: DaveW

DaveW — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:18:06 +0000

Domain registration information is public and may be of help. There are various “whois” services such as the following: http://www.whois.net/whois/rationalwiki.com

RationalWiki
Trent Toulouse (rationalwiki@gmail.com)
+1.5052502814
Fax: -
9 Ward Av
Hamilton, Ontario L8S2E4
CA