Excelsior the book

The trucker hat/couch thread contained a post where I talked about a rather embarassing sexual encounter I had in the past. It is true that I posted it on the Internet for every potential googler to see; I'm not particularly sensitive about the these issues, and I would've probably allowed Mark to print it, had he asked beforehand. I don't care a shit about legal or copyright issues (I'm mostly anti-copyright, especially if it's for non-profit reasons), but there is the issue of trust. I don't expect a friend to tape a conversation we had and play it on the radio without my permission; similarly, I don't expect a fellow regular ILX-poster to put in a book what I've written without asking me first. Whether the book would've sold any copies or not, or whether Mark would've made any profit out of it is irrelevant; it's a matter of principle. I trust most of you folks to be sensible around such issues, and I hope that I won't lose that trust in the future. Also, I'd be similarly irritated if I'd find out some ILXor regular would have posted some personal things I said here to another Internet page without asking me first. The googlers and the lurkers are a whole different thing, that's the risk we all have to take, and that's why many of us post anonymously.

However, I do agree that this thing has caused perhaps too much fuss. Mark made a stupid mistake, but it's not like he did something irredeemably evil. He has apologized and reversed his actions, and I am willing to trust him in the future. The good thing about all this, that it does set a precedent: ILX regulars know now what reactions such an action might cause, so none of us won't hopefully make the same mistake in the future.

Mark, you've been very stupid indeed. Sorry for the lack of subtlety here but come on, MANY of us have what I'd basically call careers in belles lettres and would have felt massively compromised in intent if this went ahead. Also bear in mind that many writers are very much control freaks about how their work appears; if they hit 'submit' they agree to their work appearing *here* and that's fine. We take great pains to delist threads from Google and through the use of handles to also obscure certain identity issues to minimise any potential aggro we might get off perfectly allowable references to what we post in the media wherein 'poster x on internet messageboard talking about online craze y'-type quotes are used in news features.

Also the last time I appeared in a chapbook, I was like FIVE. What may be good enough for you...

[ps Nabiscothingy, mail me asap at suzy(lastname)@yahoo.co.uk - interesting news for you ;-)]

that was not what I was saying at all. I was saying fuck using cafepress, just print it up from your desk and hope your boss doesn't notice.

And maybe Suzy's right: maybe it's just a writerly habit to be very concerned about copyright, well before it officially "matters."

Just for the official record, here’s how I’d personally want the ILX copyright issue to be explained and observed. ILX is a collective publication with many contributors --- not unlike a fiction anthology or a magical magazine that lets its writers maintain ownership of their copy. By posting to this collective publication, we give permission to the entity as a whole to publish our posts here and here only, in perpetuity. It’d also be nice if we could agree to something like this: we give ILX, this "collective publication," the authority to take action on any infringement of the rights to large chunks of its material --- meaning that if someone swipes whole threads, and posters object, Andrew or any other representative of the group could demand action on their behalf.

"jel is a great person, and it's a shame he doesn't feature much in this here book"

"I like slayer"

Also, I love the idea that the random googlers who come on here ("Kanye I LUV YU I know you been thru hardtimes, me too I would do anything 4 u sexually or even as a frend") hold a copyright on their messages.

Also, I must confess that my first thought when I saw the thread originally was "Man, I hope I posted some funny shit in those threads!"