Contributing Quotations
1. I contributed a quotation. Why isn’t it in the database?
2. I have a large number of quotations to contribute. Is there a better way?
3. Why should I log in before contributing a quotation?
Searching for Quotations
1 I can’t find the quotation I’m looking for. Where else can I go?
2. I searched for my favorite quotation and you don’t have it. What’s wrong with this stupid site?
3. Why don’t you have any quotations from my favorite author?
Copyright Issues
1. Can I use quotations from this site in my Web page, book, product, etc.?
2. If I use a quotation in a book or product, do I need permission from the person quoted?
3. Once a person dies, their quotations go into the public domain. Right?
4. Once something is on the internet, it’s considered public domain. Right?
5. Can I trust your answers on copyright issues instead of asking a lawyer?
General Questions
1. Why do you idiots use the word “quotes”? The correct word is “quotations”.
Contributing Quotations
1. If you just submitted the quotation, be patient – we manually review the contributions for inclusion once a week or so, and it won’t be available until then.
If it’s been longer than a week, here are some reasons your contribution may not have been included:
We already have the quotation in our collection.
You’ve submitted an “anonymous” or “unknown” quotation. We reject most of these because, most of the time, they’re incorrectly attributed.
The quotation had a typographical error. If you leave out punctuation or capital letters or include spelling errors, we don’t have time to fix it.
We’re concerned that the quotation may violate someone’s copyright. Song lyrics are an area where this happens frequently.
We reject 80% of contributed quotations for one or more of these reasons.
2. I have a large number of quotations to contribute. Is there a better way?
Yes, send them to us by email in any format. As always, we can’t guarantee we’ll include them.
3. Why should I log in before contributing a quotation?
Our contribution system now recognizes registered users of the forum. If you register and log in before contributing, we will give priority to your contributions. We may also credit users who contribute large numbers of quotations. Also, if you are logged in, you don’t need to enter your name and email address with each contribution.
Searching for Quotations
1. I can’t find the quotation I’m looking for. Where else can I go?
There are other sites where you can search. You can also post a question in our Forum – some of our frequent visitors are very good at answering these questions.
2. I searched for my favorite quotation and you don’t have it. What’s wrong with this stupid site?
We don’t claim to have every quotation. Nobody does. Even the big quotation books are incomplete. If you notice any glaring omissions, why not contribute them to our site?
3. Why don’t you have any quotations from my favorite author?
Like every web site and every book, our site is perpetually incomplete. If you’d like us to include some quotes–or more quotes–from your favorite author, the best bet is to send us some. You probably know your favorite author’s words better than we do.
Copyright Issues
1. Can I use quotations from this site in my Web page, book, product, etc.?
The short answer: you’re free to use a small number of quotations for any purpose, but you can’t copy large portions of the site.
2. If I use a quotation in a book or product, do I need permission from the person quoted ?
Sometimes. Many quotations qualify as “fair use” under copyright law, but your particular use may not. Further, some uses, such as advertising, may require permission even more since you might make it appear that the person is endorsing or approving of your product. We strongly suggest that you consult a good copyright lawyer before any commercial venture involving quotations.
3. Once a person dies, their quotations go into the public domain. Right?
Wrong, very wrong. Death has almost nothing to do with copyright. The copyright on many published works expires 75 years after death, but some issues continue long after that.
4. Once something is on the internet, it’s considered public domain. Right?
Wrong again. Publishing a quotation, or a Web page for that matter, does not relinquish any rights.
5. Can I trust your answers on copyright issues instead of asking a lawyer?
No. This isn’t legal advice, I am not a lawyer, and I don’t necessarily know what I’m talking about.
General Questions
1. Why do you idiots use the word “quotes”? The correct word is “quotations”.
We get this question about once a month, and the amusing thing is that the email asking the question almost always includes numerous errors itself.
Nonetheless, it’s a valid question and we have an answer.
“Quotes” is a generally accepted colloquialism for “quotations” and is, as much as you may object, in wide use. We use it for four reasons:
Tradition. The Quotes of the Day page has had the same title since the beginning.
Convenience. “Quotations” doesn’t always fit or make a catchy title.
Convention. People use the word “quotes” to search for our site twice as often as “quotations”. If we abandoned the colloquialism we’d lose traffic.
Just to annoy the grammatically pedantic.
