Website content:

All of it is my original work unless...

• It is otherwise noted, or
• It is an image classifiable in sections 2 through 4 below

My original work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Hacks

This website runs on Grav, my favorite CMS.

For this instance of Grav, I built a few plugins for it and wrote some javascripts. The plugins are my original work and the javascripts (contact us, signup, "Go to Top," etc) are either my original work, or modifications of freely available example scripts.

I have written every word on this site, for better or for worse.

The original theme, TwentyX, was designed by HTML5 UP. I hacked the stylesheets, as one does. I don't know why one would want to, but you're more than welcome to download the minified theme stylesheet main.min.css and my custom.css (also minified).

Writing

I have written every word on this site, for better or for worse. If I use someone else's words, I will give credit and, if necessary, I will have obtained permission.

Images

The images on this website fall under six classifications:

1. They are taken with my camera, and the image is my design or original concept; I own the copyright.
2. They are taken with my camera, and the image is not my design or original concept, but the image is of such a common and public nature that no one could reasonably claim copyright to it; no exclusive intellectual property rights apply.
3. Copyright is owned by a third party, but I claim fair use of the work.
4. Copyright is owned by a third party, but they have licensed the file under a Creative Commons or similar license that allows me to copy, distribute, and transmit the work, provided I give appropriate credit and provide a link to the license.
5. The images are in the public domain.
6. The images' copyright is impossible to determine.

Image Examples

Classification 1

Images are taken with my camera, and the image is my design or original concept.

Son of a drummer. Oct 2018 (image classification #1)

Also: son of a drummer. Oct 2018 (image classification #1)

I took these two pictures with my camera, in my home, in October of 2018. My design, my original concept, my copyright.

Classification 2

Images are taken with my camera, and the image is arguably not my design or original concept, however the image is of such a common and public nature that no one could reasonably claim copyright to it.

Decoration of Charles X's Coronation Carriage (image classification #2)

Standing in front of this display, to the side, is certainly not my "design or original concept."

Furthermore, the exhibit at the Palais du Tau in Reims, where the picture above was taken, allowed photographs and was open to the public. No one could reasonably claim copyright to this image. (An image search shows there are several exactly like it online—but I took the one above.)

Classification 3

Copyright is owned by a third party, but I claim fair use of the work.

The Fair Use Doctrine allows use of copyrighted work for certain purposes. When claiming fair use, one must consider the following factors:

• Purpose and Character of Use
• Nature of the Copyrighted Work
• Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Used
• The Effect of Use Upon the Potential Market for the Copyrighted Work

In all cases where I would claim fair use, I will use one or a maximum of two images for purposes of review and commentary. This blog is for non-commercial education and entertainment (in theory), and the use of copyrighted images should not affect the potential market for those works.

Classification 4

Copyright is owned by a third party, but they have licensed the file under a Creative Commons or similar license that allows me to copy, distribute, and transmit the work, provided I give appropriate credit and provide a link to the license.

I have given credit to the copyright holders and have linked to the appropriate licenses.

For example, from my page on the Bourbon Restoration:

Jean IV, pretender to the French throne; photo by Lys-Jaune CC BY-SA 4.0

Louis XX, pretender to the French throne; photo by Maclauren CC BY-SA 3.0

Unsplash grants the following longform license to its images:

"Unsplash grants you an irrevocable, nonexclusive, worldwide copyright license to download, copy, modify, distribute, perform, and use photos from Unsplash for free, including for commercial purposes, without permission from or attributing the photographer or Unsplash. This license does not include the right to compile photos from Unsplash to replicate a similar or competing service."

Modifying licensed images

Unless noted here, the only modifications I have made to images under the Creative Commons or Unsplash licenses is scaling and/or cropping. I have adjusted both landscape and portrait images to fit within fairly strict dimensional ranges.

According to the terms of the Creative Commons "ShareAlike" clause, I hereby distribute any works cropped and/or scaled under the same license as the original work.

Classification 5

The images are in the public domain.

Cozette's portrait of Henri IV is in the public domain (classification #5)

This painting by Louis Ducis is also in the public domain (classification #5)

Whether full shots or details/crops, all paintings reproduced on this website are in the public domain. See also Material in the public domain.

Classification 6

Copyright is impossible to determine.

If the internet could find who made this (it almost certainly can), did that person copyright it? (They almost certainly did not.)

Who made this? Is it copyrighted? It doesn't appear to be. (classification #6)

You can copyright memes. Very few have been, however.

It's not just memes. Other images can slip through the cracks of the internet and circulate without being claimed or credited. Plenty exist online where copyright is simply impossible to determine.

Mistakes do happen

I have no intention to violate anyone's copyright, and have taken care not to do so. If you believe I am, however, please contact me.

Wikipedia

Most of my external links go to Wikipedia because the content is basic and introductory, they have a decent set of guidelines and standards, and the site is responsive.

Also, I just like Wikipedia. I give them a modest amount of money every year. Would you consider a donation?