Writing Discussion

[Yoite]

They didn't know about them. The zombie "breakout" initially took place during Nazi Germany in a secret research facility. When they broke out, they attacked a couple nearby facilities but they were all already abandoned. The only humans that had contact with the zombies were a half dozen marines who got stranded there for plot purposes.
Then they popped up in Japan...after the bombs dropped, so nobody was there to see them.

Then they all time traveled to the 1970s in an abandoned Berlin movie theater, again with no real public appearances.


They didn't actually get into the public eye until the Soviets unleashed millions of them upon the Pentagon, which led to mass outbreaks around the world (and eventually on the moon), which in turn led to a global apocalypse in the mid 1990s.

So, not much like the current Ebola situation at all, then.

I was imagining an outbreak big enough to cause some panic in developed nations, but controllable enough that we're not dealing with an overdone "every man for himself" or "society quickly collapsing into chaos" scenario.

Such a setting would still be conducive to zombie survival stories, but potentially with a bit more purpose to them.

I never liked those scenarios, it doesn't seem practical that every nation would fall or that a disease would destroy the entire world, etc.

[The New World Oceania]

How do you guys copyright a work in progress...?

I want my story to be out there, as I write it, but I don't want the risk of someone just taking it... Should I even share it, for that reason?

Writer's answer: don't bother. No one will take it and unless it's a billion-dollar franchise there'd be no reason to pursue people who do.

Lawyer's answer: intellectual property rights affirm your possession of any intangible assets, within reason. If, somehow, someone manages to infringe on your IP rights, you can request a court grant estoppel by deed.

But all of that is innocuous. No one is going to try to steal your work and it won't matter if anyone does because ideas mean nothing, and for every dime I have if you're writing a novel right now that novel isn't getting published, I promise.
If you've opted for the logical path of someone serious about writing, you'd be working on a story or poem that you're going to submit to a magazine, in which case they will copyright it for you.

[Bezombia]

How do you guys copyright a work in progress...?

I want my story to be out there, as I write it, but I don't want the risk of someone just taking it... Should I even share it, for that reason?

Just put "Copyright 2015" at the bottom. I don't think it has any legal standing but people will think it does.

[Zeinbrad]

How do you guys copyright a work in progress...?

I want my story to be out there, as I write it, but I don't want the risk of someone just taking it... Should I even share it, for that reason?

Just put "Copyright 2015" at the bottom. I don't think it has any legal standing but people will think it does.

While your at it, make up a random company.

Through "Mybigdicks Co." will probably not end well.

[Yoite]

Just put "Copyright 2015" at the bottom. I don't think it has any legal standing but people will think it does.

While your at it, make up a random company.

Through "Mybigdicks Co." will probably not end well.

©2015 [Insert User/Real Name] would work fine.

[Brickistan]

So, not much like the current Ebola situation at all, then.

I was imagining an outbreak big enough to cause some panic in developed nations, but controllable enough that we're not dealing with an overdone "every man for himself" or "society quickly collapsing into chaos" scenario.

Such a setting would still be conducive to zombie survival stories, but potentially with a bit more purpose to them.

I never liked those scenarios, it doesn't seem practical that every nation would fall or that a disease would destroy the entire world, etc.

Unfortunately, I find it all too likely.

Imagine something like Ebola going airborne. Considering the panicked response we've seen in the west to the normal Ebola, just imagine the response if it goes airborne.


A young doctor is returning to London after doing volunteer work in Africa. He's felling a bit hot and tired, but after what he's just gone through, that's not surprising, is it? Arriving in London, he's feeling worse and reports to the authorities who immediately insulate him.

Unfortunately, being caught completely by surprise by the fact that Ebola has now mutated and become airborne, the young doctor infects several among the hospital staff. The government tries to put a lid on it, hoping to avoid a panic. But as more staff falls ill, one of the nurses blows the whistle. As the staff and their families are isolated, others, who encountered the doctor on his way home, also falls ill.

The WHO declares an emergency, shortly followed by the US and Canada closing their borders. Simultaneously, the US deploys the army along the Mexican border, threatening to shoot anyone trying to get into the country on sight. But it's too late. A tourist passing through London on his way home falls ill. Forewarned by events in Europe, the US government moves quickly to isolate the outbreak. But even so, several others also falls ill, and soon all major cities have confirmed cases.

Europe isn't doing must better. Soon cases show up in France and Spain, from where it spreads throughout Europe. Soon, the population is in panic, all transportation is shut down and borders are shut as authorities struggle to keep up with the outbreak.

As the number of infected grows, the hospitals can no longer treat them all in isolation. The number of infected rices quickly and people try to flee the big cities, unfortunately taking the infection with them.

At first, the Middle East and Asia are mostly spared. But even so, a few infected travelers got through before planes were grounded. And soon they're struggling as much as the rest of the world...


In short, something like Ebola is a bit of a nightmare. Long incubation and high lethality makes it rather dangerous. So far we have managed to contain it because it doesn't spread easily, but just a single mutation, allowing it to be spread through the air, and we have huge issues.


If that seems to far fetched, look at something like SARS or the Spanish Flu. And then consider how many people travels back and fourth in the world today - it's almost impossible to contain something like that, especially if, like Ebola, it has a long incubation.


Why, you don't actually need an outbreak at all. Just think of the panic that followed Ebola this time. Heck, we even had US politician calling for a total closure of the borders - and that's over something that's incredibly hard to spread! Imagine what would happen if it spread easier...


Add to this the rise of multi-resistant nasties, brought on by a massive over-use of penicillin. That's a very real issue these days, and might become a serious problem some day in the not-to-far future.

[Bezombia]

I never liked those scenarios, it doesn't seem practical that every nation would fall or that a disease would destroy the entire world, etc.

Unfortunately, I find it all too likely.

Imagine something like Ebola going airborne. Considering the panicked response we've seen in the west to the normal Ebola, just imagine the response if it goes airborne.

I just want to point out there there is in fact an airborne version of Ebola that was in fact in the United States in rather large numbers a few decades ago.

[Brickistan]

Unfortunately, I find it all too likely.

Imagine something like Ebola going airborne. Considering the panicked response we've seen in the west to the normal Ebola, just imagine the response if it goes airborne.

I just want to point out there there is in fact an airborne version of Ebola that was in fact in the United States in rather large numbers a few decades ago.

Got a source for that? A quick look at Wikipedia confirms that Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with a sick person.

[Zeinbrad]

I just want to point out there there is in fact an airborne version of Ebola that was in fact in the United States in rather large numbers a few decades ago.

Got a source for that? A quick look at Wikipedia confirms that Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with a sick person.

Alex Jones, a scholar among men.

[Bezombia]

I just want to point out there there is in fact an airborne version of Ebola that was in fact in the United States in rather large numbers a few decades ago.

Got a source for that? A quick look at Wikipedia confirms that Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with a sick person.

There are many different versions of Ebola.

Ebola Reston, for example. Airborne. Army proved that it was airborne by locking an infected monkey and an uninfected monkey in the same room in separate cages. First monkey got it, died, then the second monkey got it and died.
The year after that 400+ monkeys caught it southeast of Washington D.C. Most of them had no direct contact with each other's body fluids or even with each other. Every single monkey was either killed by Ebola or by the army once they realized what was going on.
Granted Reston doesn't cause EHF in humans, but there's reasonable suspicion to believe that Marburg (imagine Ebola on steroids) is also airborne. And people get that every year.

[Respubliko de Libereco]

While your at it, make up a random company.

Through "Mybigdicks Co." will probably not end well.

©2015 [Insert User/Real Name] would work fine.

You don't even need that - in most places, works are assumed to be copyrighted unless stated otherwise.

Keep in mind, though, that some sites/forums require all work posted on them to be posted under a specific license, as part of the terms of service. In those cases, even sticking a copyright notice at the bottom won't work.

[Bezombia]

^Also true. For example, nothing you post on Nationstates is copyrighted by you, Nationstates owns it all.

[Respubliko de Libereco]

^Also true. For example, nothing you post on Nationstates is copyrighted by you, Nationstates owns it all.

Not quite:

When you submit content to NationStates.net, you grant the site and its administrator(s) a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to reproduce, distribute, transmit, and publicly display such content.

In other words, NationStates can do more-or-less whatever it wants with your work, but you're still the copyright holder.

EDIT: Also, I love how the terms and conditions ends with "You may also enjoy: Our Privacy Policy"

[The New World Oceania]

^Also true. For example, nothing you post on Nationstates is copyrighted by you, Nationstates owns it all.

Not quite:

When you submit content to NationStates.net, you grant the site and its administrator(s) a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to reproduce, distribute, transmit, and publicly display such content.

In other words, NationStates can do more-or-less whatever it wants with your work, but you're still the copyright holder.

EDIT: Also, I love how the terms and conditions ends with "You may also enjoy: Our Privacy Policy"

The site's ownership of it, as far as a writer should practically be concerned, extends as far as technical "publication" of that work; that is, if a publisher or magazine wants FNASR or first print rights, something posted on NS is out of the question.

[Bontavation]

The point of sharing an outline is to get feedback on an idea at an early stage. It's nothing like posting a (mostly) completed story/poem, but it's not supposed to be.

People don't have closets full of those weird concept drawings that clothing designers make, but it would still make sense to post those sorts of sketches on a clothing design discussion thread.

Bont's probably just tired of all the people who post outlines and then never actually write the stories.

You hit the nail on the head.

[Nazi Flower Power]

How do you guys copyright a work in progress...?

I want my story to be out there, as I write it, but I don't want the risk of someone just taking it... Should I even share it, for that reason?

It's illegal for someone to take it without your permission, even if you didn't register the copyright.

[Respubliko de Libereco]

Not quite:


In other words, NationStates can do more-or-less whatever it wants with your work, but you're still the copyright holder.

EDIT: Also, I love how the terms and conditions ends with "You may also enjoy: Our Privacy Policy"

The site's ownership of it, as far as a writer should practically be concerned, extends as far as technical "publication" of that work; that is, if a publisher or magazine wants FNASR or first print rights, something posted on NS is out of the question.

I don't really see that as an issue of copyright ownership. Obviously, if a work has already been published/made public, then you won't be able to sell first print rights, since the first printing has already occurred. So, while it's true that no publisher will want to buy something published on NationStates, the idea that this is due to the site "owning" the material seems to paint NationStates as greedier/less reasonable than they really are.

[The High Lords]

I have read and understood all the stances presented - but I meant if I were to upload it on wattpad or creative circle, would that be a risk?

And to the person who said stick a copyright at the bottom - wouldn't that be impersonation?

[The High Lords]

Unfortunately, I find it all too likely.

Imagine something like Ebola going airborne. Considering the panicked response we've seen in the west to the normal Ebola, just imagine the response if it goes airborne.

I just want to point out there there is in fact an airborne version of Ebola that was in fact in the United States in rather large numbers a few decades ago.

Sounds like that came out of a Tom Clancy Novel... Bonus points to anyone who knows it is!

[Bezombia]

I just want to point out there there is in fact an airborne version of Ebola that was in fact in the United States in rather large numbers a few decades ago.

Sounds like that came out of a Tom Clancy Novel... Bonus points to anyone who knows it is!

No, it came out of real life. As in it actually happened.

[Laerod]

I have read and understood all the stances presented - but I meant if I were to upload it on wattpad or creative circle, would that be a risk?

And to the person who said stick a copyright at the bottom - wouldn't that be impersonation?

Impersonation of whom?

[-Ebola-]

if I were to upload it on wattpad or creative circle, would that be a risk?

Check the terms of service for those sites.

And to the person who said stick a copyright at the bottom - wouldn't that be impersonation?

Not if you use your own name.

[Respubliko de Libereco]

if I were to upload it on wattpad or creative circle, would that be a risk?

Check the terms of service for those sites.

And to the person who said stick a copyright at the bottom - wouldn't that be impersonation?

Not if you use your own name.

Ebola, care to confirm whether any of your relatives are airborne?

[The New World Oceania]

The site's ownership of it, as far as a writer should practically be concerned, extends as far as technical "publication" of that work; that is, if a publisher or magazine wants FNASR or first print rights, something posted on NS is out of the question.

I don't really see that as an issue of copyright ownership. Obviously, if a work has already been published/made public, then you won't be able to sell first print rights, since the first printing has already occurred. So, while it's true that no publisher will want to buy something published on NationStates, the idea that this is due to the site "owning" the material seems to paint NationStates as greedier/less reasonable than they really are.

"Ownership," I agree, was poor word choice on my part. But they can distribute it, and you have used the first print rights (though I wonder if you'd have technically used the FNASR rights?). Even then, I'm sure you could change a sentence and publishers will take it.

I have read and understood all the stances presented - but I meant if I were to upload it on wattpad or creative circle, would that be a risk?

In the sense that you could no longer publish that draft elsewhere, yes. Concerning the work being stolen and published by your admirers, no.

And to the person who said stick a copyright at the bottom - wouldn't that be impersonation?

No.

If you are actually concerned someone is going to steal your work, file a claim with the Library of Congress and go into hiding for eight months while they process it.

[Zeinbrad]

Check the terms of service for those sites.



Not if you use your own name.

Ebola, care to confirm whether any of your relatives are airborne?

Libereco, were did you get your sense of humor?