Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Clarification

Author:Jeremy Bowers
Posted:8/31/1999; 8:30:39 PM
Topic:130 RSS newsfeeds from Moreover.com
Msg #:10368 (In response to 10366)
Prev/Next:10367 / 10369

The primary difference between automatic and manual "scraping" is scope. Just as it may be "fair use" to use a short portion of a copyrighted work in a review without permission, using the whole thing is not fair use. The difference is scope.

Without expressing an opinion on the subject at hand, I'd submit that automatic and manual "scraping" is so night-and-day different, that one should not use the same term for them.

(Isn't there a better metaphor/word then "scrape"? Sounds violent, even when allowed. "Sure, you can scrape my site." is kinda wierd.)

(Also, note that if you hire 20 people to do the same work that one computer would do automatically, you still don't "get away with it". The scope difference occurs as a result of amount of stuff scraped, not the originating source (human vs. machine). No loopholes there.)

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