Jack the Ripper Suspects with author Paul Williams

[jmenges]

Rippercast is pleased to welcome to the show Paul Williams, the author of the book 'Jack the Ripper Suspects: The Definitive Guide and Encyclopedia'. Joining us for this round table discussion is also authors Paul Begg and Neil R.A. Bell.



Available to stream or download now from the following link:
http://www.casebook.org/podcast/listen.html?id=192
Also available for FREE in the podcast app of your choice.

Thank you to Paul, Neil and Paul for joining me on the show today.

And thank you for listening!


JM

[Debra A]

Thanks for another interesting podcast, Jonathon and to everyone involved.
I was particularly interested in the discussion about whether it was right or not to take research shared on a message board and use it in a book.

Jonathon used the example of Grande's marriage certificate that I posted a couple of years back that Paul Williams had mentioned in his suspect book. I just wanted to say that I didn't mind Paul using research I'd posted and I think the main reason for that is because he referenced and credited the research he took from in most cases.

[jmenges]

Thanks Debs.
Yes for the record the examples I used of parts of the book based on message board research are ones I thought of on my own. I've not personally heard or read of anyone complaining and I don't want to give the impression that I have.
Casebook.org has, I believe, in the past been approached by authors who wished to quote verbatim, full posts and articles, from this website and- as long as the author of said post has given permission- then Casebook.org would normally give their permission. I admit not knowing exactly how the Terms of Service for Casebook and other message boards come into play when under usual circumstances it is appropriate and allowed for message board research to appear in a book properly cited.

JM

[Debra A]

Originally Posted by jmenges

Thanks Debs.
Yes for the record the examples I used of parts of the book based on message board research are ones I thought of on my own. I've not personally heard or read of anyone complaining and I don't want to give the impression that I have.
Casebook.org has, I believe, in the past been approached by authors who wished to quote verbatim, full posts and articles, from this website and- as long as the author of said post has given permission- then Casebook.org would normally give their permission. I admit not knowing exactly how the Terms of Service for Casebook and other message boards come into play when under usual circumstances it is appropriate and allowed for message board research to appear in a book properly cited.

JM

It was a very interesting subject you broached, Jonathon and I'm very glad you asked the question because I have often wondered about how other researchers feel about authors using the research they have freely posted to the boards.
It's slightly different when an author gets in touch and you give them permission to use your research but Paul Williams referenced message board finds and posts individually, which not only allows readers to check a source but gives that researcher due credit.
Do researchers regard a general mention in the acknowledgements as good as a direct reference for a specific piece of research I wonder?

[PaulWilliams]

It was an interesting question and discussion. When someone finds a source of information and shares it on the forums, anyone else can then locate that source and cite it directly. However they would not know that it existed, without the post so some acknowledgment is surely due.

[jmenges]

One of the unavoidable drawbacks of using message board posts is when the poster is using an alias. The book cites posts by AP Wolf (author of 'Jack the Myth') and in other places cites posts by 'Captain Jack'. 'Captain Jack' is also AP Wolf, but one wouldn't know that without knowing the boards. Stewart P. Evans was using the message board name 'Gideon Fell' for awhile. A reader might recognize the name of Stewart P. Evans and consider it a pretty reliable source while having no idea who 'Gideon Fell' is. Nothing can be done to change this reality, I just found it interesting.

JM