I recently had the surprise to find one of my posts integrally replicated on another blog. On one hand, this is flattering – only good content is copied. There was also a link back to my blog which is always appreciated, but it does not compensate for, and is no excuse for unauthorized content copy. After a brief e-mail discussion with the blogger who re-published my work, the situation became clear. I’m generally open to sharing content, but I like to know about it, and maintain some control. If you want to re-use some of my posts, feel free to contact me so that we can find a way to work together.

One point in the discussion was the absence of copyright mention, which I now added in the page footer, and the presence of the sentence “If you enjoyed this post, don’t keep it secret !”. Sharing is good, and indeed contributes to the growth of this blog. I strongly encourage you to share, but sharing does not mean that anyone can simply copy my post without even asking. By moving your mouse over the “SHARE” button below each post, you’ll see a window poping-up, from which you can easily add the page to your favorites, or submit it to various social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, digg, Facebook, MySpace, and many others. If you’re a stumbleupon user, be sure that I appreciate all reviews and thumb-ups.

All actions you take, as reader, to promote (some say evangelize) this blog help me to keep going and to continue developing it. Even if you don’t know about social bookmarking, you can participate. Simple things like a link from your blog or website, or e-mailing a link to a friend of yours contributes to it. Even talking about PlasticPilot.net to someone else contributes to grow the community.

Spread the word, but do not copy without authorisation, and everything will be fine. I hope that things are now clear, and that I look forward to write about aviation again.

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