Attention Geocities Users:
If you have GenWeb data on Geocities (I don't) you need to read the
following on Geocities new Terms of Service. What it means in a
nutshell that Geocities, recently bought out by Yahoo Inc. can do
anything with your data that they feel like doing.
The following was extracted by me on Geocities Terms of Service
Contract:
CONTENT SUBMITTED TO YAHOO
By submitting Content to any Yahoo property, you automatically grant, or
warrant that the owner of such Content has expressly granted, Yahoo the
royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully
sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt,
publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform
and display such Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to
incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now
known or later developed. You acknowledge that Yahoo does not pre-screen
Content, but that Yahoo and its designees shall have the right (but not
the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse, edit, move or remove
any Content that is publicly available via the Service. Without limiting
the foregoing, Yahoo and its designees shall have the right to remove
any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable. You
agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the
use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy,
completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you
acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by Yahoo or
submitted to Yahoo, including without limitation information in Yahoo!
Message Boards, Yahoo! Clubs, and in all other parts of the Service.
Don't take just my word for it, to confirm this report, read the online
news article by Wired Com at URL:
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/20472.html
No, I'm not making this up and its for real ! Like I said before, if
USGW does not take steps to protect its data in "written" legal language
(and not some arbitrary statement on a web page) and it must be agreed
to by the Host or Provider of such GenWeb sites, then the data is not
safe from redistribution or outright claim to ownership. Don't believe
me? The above is an example of what can be done by Web Hosts.
Additionally, if you do have a Geocities account, do not, I repeat do
not get a new password. Your old password does not work and in order to
modify or do anything with your web site on Geocities you must agree to
the Terms of Service as stated above. In other words, you have given
all your data to Yahoo Inc. if you get a new password and subsequently
by default agree to their Terms of Service.
Jim McCluer