The Pinecam Terms of Service (TOS) has these rules:


Pinecam Moderators strictly enforce the 4 sentence limitation on quoted material and the source reference requirement in all forums. Continued violations of the TOS rule may result in a member being suspended. Pinecam must consider how much volunteer time is used to warn a member when in violation of these rules and how to best protect the integrity of the Pinecam forums.

Doesn't this 4 sentence limitation make it difficult to get the gist of an idea from a source? Does Pinecam do this to intimidate members? Is the 4 sentence limit arbitrary?

Yes, no, and yes somewhat

Merriam-Webster has a good, short definition of Fair Use:


The United States Copyright Office published an online article titled "More Information on Fair Use". These are their final thoughts on Fair Use:


Not very useful in deciding just how much material may be quoted and be considered Fair Use. A search for the limitations of Fair Use quoting ends up showing the same ambiguity.

In the past, Pinecam volunteers struggled to find a way members could quote copyrighted material and remain within the doctrine of Fair Use. They considered not allowing any direct quoting of copyrighted material, instead requiring members to paraphrase the material. Paraphrasing is difficult to do and does not convey the actual wording or phrase of an idea that a member found compelling and wishes to share.

The Pinecam volunteers, after more research, came up with the 4 sentence limit and the requirement to identify the source, with a link if possible. Four sentences are enough to convey an idea but would usually not be a large percentage of most articles. This is an explicit rule, one that is easy to understand, easy to follow, and removes any chance of arbitrariness when Pinecam volunteers decide if the TOS rules were followed for quoted material.

If you find 4 sentences are not enough for you to entice members to read an article you found interesting, than add a synopsis to your post summarizing what the article goes on to say.

All members are expected to read and abide by the rules in the Pinecam Terms of Service (TOS) and, if in The Study forum, the Pinecam STUDY FORUM Additional Terms Of Service (SToS).