Dealing with Content Theft
Joe M posted in Musing, opinion on August 6th, 2008
Some months back, I examined my website logs and found a suspicious amount of traffic from a particular website.
My knee-jerk reaction? I was thrilled. I mistakenly thought I had gained another audience member.
I did, but not exactly the kind that you want, as a blogger.
Upon further examination, I found that my posts were being ‘borrowed’ and displayed with Google Ads.
Without getting into a discussion of what is borrowing, copying or copyright infringement; the display of my content and my words on another website were upsetting.
I don’t mind someone making a reference to my article or post. I encourage it. I would like to think that someone is offering a response to my opinion or adding value for the resulting read and post.
There is a certain point at which the display can be misleading. The post reproduced in full, same title, and exactly the same words; what do you call it?
Splogging is a term that I hear most often.
Whatever you decide on, I decided I did not like it. The website also had my blog listed as a ‘contributor.’
Looking around I started searching for options. I found a posting on MaxPower.
The article talks about Digital Fingerprint. DF is a Wordpress plug-in, that allows you to digitally mark your posts, much like a watermark. This gets fed through RSS to anyone that uses anything automated to pull your content.
Normal users won’t care or usually even notice the fingerprint. People using scripts and automation — won’t be too pleased.
Then, I altered my website Terms of Use.
I kept watching the other website, every day. The fingerprint was working, but did not stop the activity.
I would make a post, then within 10 minutes, the post would show up in completion on the other website.
Then I found Antileech.
Antileech works by feeding a bogus feed, which you can define and alter in the script.
After I installed and activated it, I took a snapshot of the feed that the other website was receiving.
Please notice that I removed / smudged the website and blog name.
The last thing I want to do is drive more traffic to this site.
I also contacted another blogger, and alerted him to the fact that his content was being ‘borrowed’ as well.
I told him about Antileech, and he installed it as well.
I watched the other website for about a month. After getting daily sour feeds from my fellow blogger and me, the website operator finally took our content off.
It took a MONTH. Looks like someone did not pay attention to their automated processes.
We also were removed from the ‘list of contributors.’
Interestingly enough… the website no longer displayed Google Ads.
Makes me wonder what happened?
And YES, that was my cynical and original alteration to the script about the chimpanzees!