Apropos of nothing in particular, I'd like to relate a story that may be helpful to others in regards to sharing information on/from message boards such as this.

About 20 years ago when I began my entry into this simultaneously valuable and highly frustrating experience (message boards), I unknowingly made a lot of mistakes in regards to copyright laws and also simple etiquette as regards relaying information. Foretunately, a couple of knowledgable and tolerant persons set me straight with links to supporting information, which I have since lost.

If anyone cares, where's some of what I recall.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, fully copying any message to post someplace else is almost always inappropriate, if not illegal. If in a message of your own, you wish to refer to information posted somewhere else, write a few descriptive words, and/or make a short extract, and then post the link to the source.

If you do otherwise, you unintentionally may be stealing income and/or "good will" from the source of the information - think in terms of message count "hits". Here I am refering to the Web site, not the poster.

Next, if you borrow a thought or concept, give credit to the source (with or without a link). No one can object to that. I certainly don't.

A lot more on this subject can be found in your own Web searches, but here's one link you may want to check.

http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

On a somewhat related subject, here's a special warning for those who lie and distort facts in their postings. This, of course, in not directed at anyone on this forum, but it certainly can be used elsewhere if you wish.

http://frankpetaluma.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/your-internet-posts-can-get-you-sued-for-defamation/

VP