When you submit a link to a PDF you implicitly submit it to scribd who then purloin the content and make it available through their interface.
They claim to honor take-down requests, but I've been caught out by this. Before I knew if their distasteful practices I submitted a link, they took a copy, and now they won't take it down because I'm not the copyright holder. The person who is the copyright holder doesn't know, and I've been unable to get in touch, despite trying.
I'm pretty sure they'd be unhappy about it if they knew.
So now I never submit a link to a PDF, I always create a place-holder and submit that, or find some other reference. The existence of these auto-links to scribd is one aspect of HN that's makes me feel genuinely grubby, and you should only ever submit a PDF if you're happy to have it copied without permission.
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When you submit a link to a PDF you implicitly submit it to scribd who then purloin the content and make it available through their interface.
They claim to honor take-down requests, but I've been caught out by this. Before I knew if their distasteful practices I submitted a link, they took a copy, and now they won't take it down because I'm not the copyright holder. The person who is the copyright holder doesn't know, and I've been unable to get in touch, despite trying.
I'm pretty sure they'd be unhappy about it if they knew.
So now I never submit a link to a PDF, I always create a place-holder and submit that, or find some other reference. The existence of these auto-links to scribd is one aspect of HN that's makes me feel genuinely grubby, and you should only ever submit a PDF if you're happy to have it copied without permission.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=836544