Copyrights and Copywrongs: A Disclaimer

This has been brewing in my mind for a while, and is something I should really address before I go much farther with my blog.

This blog is, for me, an online journal of my research into the creative proces of manga. Nothing more, nothing less. My favorite tangible journals are the ones that I make from sketchbooks, where I can have a mix of sketches, writings, and so forth. Just a I would scribble in a sketchbook journal or staple an article to its pages, this online journal is a place for me to do quick scribbles and staples of thoughts I have or articles and books that interest me. Nothing more, nothing less.

I know the debate over copyright is always raging, and that it is something everyone should take seriously. I understand the need there is for artists and writers to be properly credited for their work, and believe everyone should be properly credited as such. That being said, I hope that when (if?) people read this blog, they will understand that when I post text word-for-word here it is meant to simply be an archive for myself and others of things that have shaped my thinking. It is often hard to help others fully understand the importance of someone's writing unless they have the writing before them, to read and understand it for themselves.

I am absolutely adamant that i I post someone else's writings here, they will be credited for it, and that it is clear where their writing stops and my own musings begin. If anything I post here from a magazine or book resonates with someone, I would hope their first instinct would be to buy that magazine or book for themselves and have a glossy copy of their own to keep. I am trying to encourage this good habit by linking to whatever books or sources my material comes from as best I can.

If any writer (and this is less plausible than my getting a reader base for my blog) stumbles across my posts and is enraged I have compiled their writings here, please let me know right away and I will try to find a way to remedy the problem, even if it is to simply paraphrase the article or passage in my own words. There is no malicious intent in me to harm anyone. I am not trying to rip off the thoughts of others, instead I want to record them for my scattered and often erroneous memory and share them with others, so they too can discover writings of great meaning and intelligence. That is all. I am making no profit from this blog and do not plan to in the future. Please respect my blog's purpose and vision as I so lovingly respect your incredible work.

Again, blogging is such a new medium that the rules for it are being rewritten every day. I don't know who is writing those rules or how copyrights will be affected by them, but I do hope the rules will side with those people (and I include myself in this group) who wish to use blogging as a valuable tool for preserving thoughts and encouraging communication. May prudent justice prevail.