Your Article is Being Used Without a Resource Box - What Can You Do?

Your Article is Being Used Without a Resource Box - What can
you do?

Sooner or later, no matter how much you hate it, some
Webmaster is going to use your article and won't include
your resource box. Another common practice is that of
replacing your HTML link with a text link. Funny thing,
when you submitted the article, it had a HTML link!

Before jumping the gun and coming down hard on the offending
Webmaster, take time to think. There are many reasons for
somebody to do that. It could be lack of experience or
ignorance; the feeling the Web is so big they'll never get
caught. Maybe there was something in your resource box they
didn't like.

Some Webmasters might feel that your resource box is more of
an advertisement than an "About the Author" box. It still
doesn't make it right and they should contact you to make
modifications. I know most Authors would find a way to
accommodate such a request; all you got to do is ask!
Thanks to Janet Attard of www.businessknowhow.com for
pointing that out.

Of course, there are plenty of slick reasons experienced
Webmasters won't post your resource box or include a real
HTML link. Some feel that giving you a real HTML link will
"dilute" their Google Page Rank.

The irony is that most articles are usually placed on a web
page with zero ranking! Like the song says: "Nothing from
nothing leaves nothing." I wish one of those Webmasters
would explain the steps taken to arrive at such obviously
faulty logic ...it sure does escape me!

All the same, how should you deal with it? Anybody can make
a mistake. Is there a sensible course of action that will
get the best results? At what point should the varied
responses escalate to the next level; what is the criteria?

The considerations to resolve your next step are these:

(a) How much damage has the unauthorized use of your content
done to you? For example, if a Webmaster took the content of
your index page, that could be considered an action of great
damage and require swift and unequivocal action on your
part.

Should they take non-essential content, such as your privacy
and contact statement, don't sweat it! The content and
language used is so generic and commonplace that it will
never dilute your Page Ranking on account of duplicate
content.

Another thing to consider is the amount of time wasted in
dealing with the matter. Some article writers expect a
certain amount of their work pilfered and misused. They
consider it a cost of doing business.

(b) Are the offending Webmasters willing to fix the problem?
Are they easy to contact or are they hiding and ignoring
you? What degree of communication have you received since
your initial contact? Are they blatantly stonewalling you?

A sure sign of their strong-arm attitude is the lack of a
privacy and contact statement. It leaves you no choice but
to use Whois and do a domain search. Of course, they may
never read your email. When was the last time you looked for
any email coming from your domain contact info?

Another contact option would be to join their Forum and send
them a private message about your concerns. Your initial
contact with them should be businesslike and presented in a
respectful way. Very important since you don't want to
inflame any passions; remember, this is business.

All the above should be taken into account before you decide
the level of response. A lawsuit should be your absolute
last consideration. The obvious damage should be great and
all other avenues exhausted before you take such action.

Please consider these better options:

(a) If it's not a big deal, ignore it. Why waste your time?

(b) A strong and resolute email will do wonders. Contact
their hosting provider and have them enforce your DMCA
rights. It's best to deal with stonewalling Webmasters
through a third party.
Thanks to Armando B. Silva of http://profits.cc and
Philip Liu of www.web-marketing-blog.com for that one.

(c) Publish all your articles in an eBook format and give
reprint rights with free registration. Sell the branding
rights to Webmasters and let them place their affiliate
links. Viral marketing at its best and folks pay you to
become your affiliate. I love it! It's win/win/win/win ...
Steve Yakim of www.ezasmagic.com gave me that
creative tip.Thank you, Steve! Great tip!

(d) Publish your article as a Javascript (.js) file and only
give Webmasters a line of code that links to it. In that
way, you have control and your resource box info will be
available. I want to thank Sherice Jacob of www.ielectrify.com
for that great tip.

(e) Call your article "Sticky Shareware" and let folks know
they can give it away for free but only with the included
resource box. It's a way of demonstrating how strongly you
feel about your article usage; meaning: don't you dare
remove my resource box! Thanks to Claire Koch of
www.lazyliving.com for that tip.

(f) My personal favorite: Ridicule! Have writers come
together and create a website dedicated to showing those
individuals as they really are: Unethical drones utterly
lacking any creative ability. Create and present awards to
the most blatant offenders.
In a few words: Laugh them out of town!

The options to deal with unauthorized content use are many.
I hope this helps you find your favorite way of dealing with
that dreadful problem.

by Francisco Aloy

(C)Francisco Aloy
===============================================
Agreement reminder, not part of the article:
Please include my working hyperlink in the
resource box. Remove paragraph before posting.