New TOS

[VS Admin]

When you license something to someone, it does not remove your right to it. Just as when you use the Windows OS from Microsoft, there is a license agreement. They license you to use their software, but does that mean you own the software? No.

You still retain ownership, you can still license the content to other third parties as well and do with your content as you please.

[Leafs_Pam]

I can't understand why so many new members are so upset by the new TOS. I have had a forum on Proboards since the beginning of February 2002. Even though the forums are free, as they grow they (the Owners, in this case Patrick Clinger) have to protect themselves. I've been on forums for 15 years and I've seen some pretty bad stuff on other free forums. That's why I'm here and not there. Everyone should just relax. Patrick and his staff aren't going to steal anything from you and sell it. I actually met Patrick and a few of his staff at one of the ProBoards get togethers (June 2004?). He's a regular guy but this is his business, so he has to protect himself. It's free to us but it's still a business and all businesses need to protect themselves.

[hogsmacker]

The difference is that we don´t have the right to sublicense software from M$, nor make a derivative of their work (new ownership) and repackage it under a different license. This is what you´re creating here. It would be very easy to remove ownership of a work on one of these forums under your new ToS. You can take a piece of work, edit it, repackage it under a new license, and forbid its distribution. That is the power you´re giving yourselves now and I find it entirely unnecessary and unacceptable from a few different standpoints.

[hogsmacker]

May 3, 2010 9:52:34 GMT -8 Leafs_Pam said:

I can't understand why so many new members are so upset by the new TOS. I have had a forum on Proboards since the beginning of February 2002. Even though the forums are free, as they grow they (the Owners, in this case Patrick Clinger) have to protect themselves. I've been on forums for 15 years and I've seen some pretty bad stuff on other free forums. That's why I'm here and not there. Everyone should just relax. Patrick and his staff aren't going to steal anything from you and sell it. I actually met Patrick and a few of his staff at one of the ProBoards get togethers (June 2004?). He's a regular guy but this is his business, so he has to protect himself. It's free to us but it's still a business and all businesses need to protect themselves.

You are an enormous tool.

[Leafs_Pam]

Not sure what you mean. I've been on ProBoards for 8+ years and rarely come to the support forum because all goes well 99.9999999999% of the time. Patrick didn't know I was going to say what I did. I have no contact with him other than right here in the support forum. I didn't even know I was going to say it until I read all 5 pages of the thread.

[CheatAreZee]

May 3, 2010 9:54:56 GMT -8 hogsmacker said:

May 3, 2010 9:52:34 GMT -8 Leafs_Pam said:

I can't understand why so many new members are so upset by the new TOS. I have had a forum on Proboards since the beginning of February 2002. Even though the forums are free, as they grow they (the Owners, in this case Patrick Clinger) have to protect themselves. I've been on forums for 15 years and I've seen some pretty bad stuff on other free forums. That's why I'm here and not there. Everyone should just relax. Patrick and his staff aren't going to steal anything from you and sell it. I actually met Patrick and a few of his staff at one of the ProBoards get togethers (June 2004?). He's a regular guy but this is his business, so he has to protect himself. It's free to us but it's still a business and all businesses need to protect themselves.

You are an enormous tool.

Please refrain from comments like this, they're not needed.

[VS Admin]

hogsmacker, that type of language is not tolerated on this forum. You are entitled to your opinion and everyone else is entitled to theirs.

You can either choose to agree to the new TOS and keep using our service, or if you do not want to agree you can move on. That is completely your choice and no one is stopping you, but let's keep the name calling off this forum.

[hogsmacker]

Oh, so that´s it? It´s agree to let you do what you want with our content or bog off?

[VS Admin]

No one is forcing you to use ProBoards. If you want to use our service, it is subject to our Terms of Service.

[hogsmacker]

No one is forcing you to add section 15 to your ToS either.

[Phaelyn]

No, but they're just doing it to protect themselves. I don't think proboards would have any reason to claim something you, me, or the next guy wrote as their own. It's still yours, but because you're using their forum as a medium to write whatever, then it is also under their license.

Sorry if I'm butting in.

[hogsmacker]

There´s no issue of protection here, and I already addressed the issue of ownership under the repackaging under a different license, which Patrick quickly sidestepped and chose to not address.

[VS Admin]

May 3, 2010 10:21:33 GMT -8 hogsmacker said:

There´s no issue of protection here, and I already addressed the issue of ownership under the repackaging under a different license, which Patrick quickly sidestepped and chose to not address.

As I have said many times, you still own your work, you can choose to do with it as you please.

[hogsmacker]

Not if it can be repackaged under a different license.

[Phaelyn]

hogsmacker, I don't think you're gonna be able to make them change their ToS