Signs that the content is PD?

[e.calabio]

Newbie here,

When looking at the PD sites, How do you know they are Public Domain?
What are the tell tale signs that the content is PD?

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by e.calabio

Newbie here,

When looking at the PD sites, How do you know they are Public Domain?
What are the tell tale signs that the content is PD?

The best thing is to have an actual book in your hand that you can confirm. Otherwise, stick with reputable sites, such as Project Gutenberg (and others I'm sure people will mention).

With a lot of sites, you really can't trust that what they claim as public domain is really public domain. Too many people believed (and still do) that anything they found on the Internet was "public domain." And so you have countless sites where these materials get bounced around and heaven knows where any of the content really came from.

The clincher is that, when you put up a website online, you become a publisher and, as a publisher, you are responsible for what you put up. So, you need to be very, very careful.

That's why it's really best to stick with reputable sites or obtain original public domain materials when possible.