Stole what from the hub pages?

The hub pages is a very magical, and wondrous place full of great stories here on the world wide web for all to see and read. Not only does the hub pages not charge anybody a single solitary cent to write stories here, but they'll even pay you, if you choose that option. I for one have a good paying job, and as many others I'm here solely for fun. I decided to write this hub to try to point something out to everyone that they may have forgotten over the short time that the internet has been around. This is the world wide web, and the key word here is that the internet is everywhere in this WORLD, not just on your own personal computer screen. Once you type something and enter it onto a web site it's out there forever, and it's always going to be out there. Just like when a small child pee's in a swimming pool, it's always going to be apart of that water, and you can never ever get it out. The internet was designed for people to share their ideas, and information with others out there in the world.

I've noticed that on some of the forums here at the hub pages, people complaining about article stealing sites, copied hubs, hub page copyright violations, and also copied content. I've seen folks ask the staff to please read this forum and update us on stolen sites, and to please stop our work from being scraped and stolen from hub pages. I've seen people ask for measures to help hubbers detect and report copied Hubs. I've seen multiple questions asked like - how do you find out if someone has stolen your hubs?, one of my hubs was stolen. what should I do?, are articles published on hub pages considered copyrightable?, do original works ever get stolen?, what are your best and easiest suggestions for protecting your hubs from being stolen?, and when our work is stolen, do we need to contact Hub Pages? I've seen hubs about - "My hub was stolen", "Stolen Hubs, Plagiarism and Spammers", and I even saw a poll on a hub asking - Have you had any of your hubs stolen? Out of the nine people who responded, 89% said yes, and 11% said no. If those poll statistics are correct then just about everyone out there should be aware of the fact that if you don't want anything that you post copied by another person, then you shouldn't be posting it at all. If it's that valuable to you then you shouldn't be putting it out there on the internet in the first place. Most people lock their valuable stuff up in safes. You wouldn't leave a wallet full of money laying around, would you? So if it's so valuable to you then why would you post something on the internet, instead of having it published in a book?

Now I like to introduce you to a unique word - "Sharing". That's actually what we all are doing here on the internet. We are either sharing information and ideas with others, or we are receiving information and ideas from others. Getting feedback is why so many people love to see comments on their hubs. You really have to question a hub, where the comment section has been deleted. The hub pages are actually a rather new phenomenon. They won't be around forever. Before you get upset with that last sentence, let me continue. The Roman empire didn't last forever. The hub pages is a company, and 100 years from now, they may no longer be around. There were powerful railroads, and strong automobile companies that were around 100 years ago that are no longer in existence today. The hub pages are no different, and 100 years from now they may gone also, but our entries onto the internet won't. We certainly won't be around 100 years or so from now, but our ideas and the things that we've put on the internet via the hub pages will last for eternity. That really means something to me. A lot of us have children and grandchildren to carry on as our legacy when we are gone, but now thanks to the internet and the hub pages we all have another way of leaving apart of us behind for others in the future.

Now I would like to explain the reason that I wrote this hub in the first place. I have had a hub copied in it's entirety and put on another web site, which was really no big deal to me, and I was told that I should be flattered by other people. All you have to do is contact the site in question, lodge your complaint, and PUFF - it's gone. That's exactly what I did in this one particular case, and if it bothers you then that's all you have to do. Now back to the reason that I wrote this hub. I Goggled some photographs the other night, and when they appeared I was shocked to find a couple photos of mine. It was totally unrelated to my search, and right at the beginning of all of the search photos. I didn't give permission, but then again you don't have to for Google. That photo which I took myself, with my camera, and posted on the hub pages is there for everyone in the world to see and use as they desire. I couldn't do this again if I tried, and the feeling I had when I saw that photo was better than any accolade, which I could have received. I can almost guarantee now that it has been copied a thousand times over. I never had a clue, and I was totally thrilled. Now that was a good day for me. The item that I took the photo of may be gone someday, the camera may get old and thrown away someday, and I will be gone someday, but that photo will last forever. I am totally thrilled and honored, and I want to thank the hub pages for this opportunity! You'll never hear from me that someone stole something of mine from off of the hub pages. Welcome to the Web!