Why must we only post 4 paragraphs when posting news articles?

[gatorboy]

This was explained to me before when I first became a member, but the brain isn't what it use to be...

[hobbit709]

1. Copyright issues

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. I'm pretty sure it has to do with copyright issues. nt

[rasputin1952]

3. The previous posts are correct, it has to do with copyright issues...

it is also easier for a person to read a couple paragraphs, than to read an entire article, which is why
DU allows a "snip" for the important parts and meat of the article.

We also require a link to the source under copyright as well as for verification of the source.

On edit: another reason and one of the most important, it allows members to access the entire article if they want more info.


:)

[Robbien]

4. The snip is the best part of the rule

Often the first four paragraphs are not the most descriptive. Snipping to include four better paragraphs helps the DUer reader understand what the whole article is about.

Yay for snipping.

[ldf]

5. i'm certainly glad

I wasn't snipped.!.!.!

:-)

but for du, it is definitely a good rule.

:thumbsup:

[rasputin1952]

6. Many years ago, riding on the Subway, I found it best to read the

first an last paragraphs of a NYT's story. You got almost all you needed w/the Intro and the Summary.

If I needed more, I could access the rest of the story. But I should add, the NYT's wasn't Subway user-friendly...that rag The Daily News was though. Lots of interesting times trying to get the Times into a readable form w/all of the people on the car...:D

Works on the net too...but I'd have one hell of time folding my monitor!...:P

[Uncle Roy]

7. DU can get in trouble if they let us violate the "Fair Use" provision

Here's the relevant portion of the US copyright law

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107