Board Thread:General Wiki Discussion/@comment-4099220-20130819213205/@comment-6761334-20130905055028

Tracking down authors who have posted stories on forgotten blogs, 4chan boards, etc. is not the major issue. Publishing works from actual authors, who have actaul books on their resume, is the primary concern from a legal standpoint.

Besides, I don't think you can convincingly make the argument that you didn't know who wrote, "The Shining".

I think the primary difference between pasta writing and professional writing is that each has a different goal. A pasta is meant to be viral and tranmitted between different storytellers. The creative commons liscence on this wiki means that anything posted with the OC tag can be read, posted elsewhere, etc. provided that you give attribution. A pasta writer is more interested in being known as a decent story teller. You are compensating the pasta writer with respect and recognition. It is rude to not make an attempt to give credit, and intellectually dishonest to claim it as your own.

When writing in a professional capacity, someone is asking to be compensated, at least in part, with money. Ignoring that request has greater legal implications. Beyond being rude, or dishonest, the professional can make a case for damages.

There are plenty of other legal nuances, but it boils down to trying to be respectful. Some of the stories up here are only here because of the author's very generous permissions. Slimebeast posts on his own site, and if he does not make it clear that he is posting under creative commons he has the right to ask us to take it down. Same thing goes for the person who wrote Candle Cove. As their work is not monetized I don't they they could sue for damages, but they could legally ask for it to be taken down at any point for any reason. they are being nice, so we should always give them credit whenever the story is spread (and this wiki does give them credit).

A professoinally published  author, if offended, can ask for money. they have the legal power to ruin lives and get websites shut down. We should be respectful to them, because if we give their works a wide berth we are safe and can post our own stuff without legal worry.