Matthew White's Website

Contact and Copyright Information

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Copyright Notice:

All material on this website is copyrighted by Matthew White, unless otherwise noted.

Personally, I'm all in favor of loosening up the copyright law. The easier it is to exchange information and expand ideas, the better we'll all be. Certainly anyone who use the copyright law to stifle opinions, criticism or creativity should be beaten with sticks. Unfortunately, the newer copyright laws are being written by those who contribute vast sums to political parties, rather than by the common citizen.

But I digress.

I'll only get fanatical about enforcing my copyright in five ways:

  1. If anyone is going to profit from my maps and essays, it should be me.
  2. Please don't steal credit from me.
  3. Please don't get me in trouble.
  4. Please don't create more work for me.
  5. If you're a huge, heartless, faceless organization that collects hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax-free donations, draw your own damn maps. (Yes, I'm talking to you, Wikipedia.)

With that in mind, I'm changing some of my rules. (Although I'm sure I'll regret this.) Obviously, it's perfectly OK for you to print out single copies of my maps and essays for personal or school use. I'll also let teachers print out several copies to pass out in class if they want. I'll leave the definition of "several" vague, but please don't go past Fair Use on this.

I've also loosened up my rule about reposting maps on web sites. Instead of one simple rule ("No!"), I now have lots and lots of complicated rules:

  1. I do not release my work into the public domain. I do not allow my work to be distributed under GNU Free Documentation License. (This means you, Wikipedia.)
  2. I want to keep the newer maps under my exclusive control for awhile, but if the copyright date on the map is four years old or more, you can borrow it. This being 2005, I'll hold onto 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002, but you can repost 2001, 2000 and earlier. When 2006 arrives, you can start borrowing 2002 maps.
  3. Access to my maps should be free of charge. (You don't have to pay me anything to use them, either.)
  4. You can only repost up to 3 images. No more. (3 per site, not 3 per page. Why should I knock myself out to provide filler for your site? (This means you too, Wikipedia. You reached your limit several years ago.))
  5. I want to avoid imposing any content-based restrictions, so if you're using my maps to illustrate a controversial point (like, say, the "The Hitler Fun-Time Fan Site"), it would be nice if you would point out that I don't necessarily approve of anything you say.
  6. Please don't post my e-mail address as a contact for the map. People might assume that I'm the contact for the entire web site, and then they'll start asking me questions way outside my field of expertise. Instead, try hyperlinking to the web page where I originally posted the map, or to the front page of my atlas, so that people can see the map in its original context.
  7. I won't make changes to my map in order to fit your web site, or your color scheme, or your ideas. If you want to make changes, go ahead, but please point out on your web page that you've altered the map.
  8. If you make a lot of changes, then it's not my work anymore, so you don't have to give me credit.
  9. You're only borrowing the maps, so if I want to withdraw permission to post, I can.

If these rules don't answer your question about whether you can use my map, use your best judgement. I suppose you can e-mail me and ask for official permission, but technically, that falls into the category of "making more work for me." It's like beggars asking for money on the street. I like to help out, but it's still an interruption.

E-Mail Address:

You may send comments, corrections and complaints to the address listed below, but please read all the fine print first.

The Fine Print:

  1. It's just me here, so sometimes I get overwhelmed.
  2. To be honest, I tend to avoid my e-mail. It often makes more work for me, and I don't check it very often, so please don't attach a deadline to your message. Don't tell me things like "I need this for a homework assignment Monday morning" or "If you don't respond within five (5) days, I will be forced to take legal action". By the time I read the e-mail, the deadline will have passed.
  3. I really can't answer every email I get.
  4. Really.
  5. If I don't answer your email, please don't take it as an insult. Maybe I'm in the hospital or in jail. Maybe I'm doing something nice for an elderly retive, or feeding the homeless. More likely, I'm hungover. Really, it's no reflection on the quality of your email if I don't answer it.
  6. It takes me a long time to do anything. About half the e-mails I start to answer are still in the draft stage.
  7. If you claim to be a woman who finds my writing totally fascinating and could we please meet, I don't believe you. Plus that would just be more work.
  8. I don't work or play well with others. I really do appreciate all the offers of help, but whatever I do with my website, I want it to be purely my own. If I were to collaborate with coauthors, I'd lose that. You're free to take anything I've done and reinterpret it on your own. You can take my ideas in your own direction if you'd like. Please don't plagiarize, but I have no problem with fair use.
  9. I've started posting some of my messages on a Letters to the Editor page -- usually the ones that disagree with me on some point. I don't post names.
  10. Have you checked the FAQs?

E-mail address: