Disclaimer: January 2009

Happy New Year, everybody.

I'd post something more substantial with regards to the transition from one year to the next, but I don't feel like doing that at the moment. The last couple of days have brought about a few... surprises... for me, so to speak, and I'm still going through the adjustment phases. Maybe after I finally manage to get a picture of that cow bank I got for Christmas...

For anyone who's just recently joined us, I post a little disclaimer at the start of every month. While it's somewhat unnecessary due to the Note of Ownership and the Creative Commons License noted on the sidebar of my main site, I feel that it's best to have a constant reminder that's accessible through the front page. Over the years, it's evolved into a little creative exercise — each month, I try to present my legal terms without crossing the line into near-incomprehensibility. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it does work more often than not.

Regardless of the month, however, there are some primary elements that are common to all of these posts:

1. Establishment of a base statement of possession: "I am the originator of each and every post on this weblog. I therefore own each such post as an original work."

2. Note of exception and acknowledgment of external sources: "Some items in these posts reference the works of other creators. In these cases, acknowledgment is duly given to these creators."

3. Active monitoring of acknowledgment: "In the event that proper acknowledgment is not sufficiently provided, I will remedy this situation upon notification in a non-hostile manner."

4. Guidelines for fair use and treatment: "If you want to use anything from this blog, you only have to ask me. I reserve the right to ask for compensation, although this is likely to be trivial (such as a link or a byline of sorts). You must not quote any such material out of context, or use it specifically for harmful purposes."

5. Mention of Creative Commons License: "This blog is an adherent of the Creative Commons License, a link to which may be found on the bottom sidebar of the main site."

6. Formal statement against plagiaristic threats: "Do not plagiarise any content from me, or I will print out multiple copies of the work in question and feed it to you bit by stolen bit. It will amuse me greatly to do so, and that's not even considering the legal options."

And with that, another year is now upon us. Stay safe, everyone, and don't forget that you can make a masterpiece of your own as long as you set your mind to it.