Yesterday I got informed that the “Wordlwide SQL SERVER USERGROUP” has again added content from my blog to their site.
This is the second time already that this strange organization steals my posts and demands money from their “MEMBERS” to look at it. I had them remove my posts already in 2006.
This so call usergroup does not have any publications of its own and there are no meetings of the members (if they had any, a lot of people would show up there and yell at their chairman I think). Their members seem to be just people who are not able to search the web by themselves and pay for a compilation of links to stolen content they could have for free in the web.
It seems to be basically just one person behind this organization:
I think that the expression usergroup should be a protected expression by law and that it should be possible to screw such crooks for making money with the intellectual property of other people.
February 28, 2008 at 3:38 pm |
It is unfortunate … you could complain to the ISP as well.
February 28, 2008 at 5:44 pm |
Lutz,
I keep tripping over ‘experts exchange’. They also want money for their info. Do you know if they are the same type of thing as Wordlwide SQL SERVER USERGROUP? I wonder who their experts are since so much excellent expert information is available for free on these blogs.
-Claudia
February 28, 2008 at 10:38 pm |
Expert’s Exchange used to be a pretty good forum, with a very wide range of subjects and good input. You could earn points by answering questions, and would pay points to ask questions (or at least pay when you got an acceptable answer). If you wanted to ask a question, but didn’t have points, you could buy them with cash.
Later on, once that repository of knowledge had been built up, they took the revenue raising approach and look for dollars to be allowed to see old answers.
I haven’t responded to questions there for several years. I’d suspect that a lot of that archive is out-of-date now.
As far as I know, they’ve never stolen material. Merely put a price on material that was freely given to them. But they’ve got costs to cover, so if it was a choice between charging for the material and losing it entirely, I haven’t got a problem with that.
February 29, 2008 at 8:35 pm |
Happened to me too now
How did you get them to remove your posts?
February 29, 2008 at 8:48 pm |
Hi Chen,
I forgot what I wrote two years ago.
This is what I sne them in an email the other day and I hope it helps again:
Dear Mr. Wynkoop,
I have already contacted you about a year ago about his issue.
You are demanding money form users to look at my content.
STOP THIS or I will crack down on you!!!
REMOVE my content from your link list:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=de&q=site%3Awww.sswug.org+lutz+hartmann&lr=
IMMEDIATELY!!!
Best regards,
Lutz Hartmann
Don Burlson says that he called them on the phone and this helped.
http://www.dba-oracle.com/oracle_news/old_2004_11_26.htm
Maybe a lot of peopel should call them!
Or maybe we should found an ANTI SSWURG and launch a law screw against them us victims all together!!
April 1, 2008 at 4:15 am |
Er….not just you….I have received mails from this site for few years now, and everytime I saw an article they have, just search the internet, and immediately there exists a free copy version. Many others got affected as well. I really find this site no-value add, and right from the early beginning has abandoned looking at the site.