Note to Outside Searchers

A Disclaimer of Sorts, or at Least a Caution

One of the unexpected results of putting my class notes on line is that I have gotten requests from outsiders who hit my site while searching for all sorts of stuff. For example, I got a request for information on caliche (mentioned in the soils lecture in my Physical Geology course) and the Mongols (which I mention in a history of science and technology class).

I will be happy to respond to requests for information (except as noted below) within the limits of my other tasks and expertise. I research my facts as carefully, conscientiously and thoroughly as I can, but please be aware that no professor is an expert on every subject he touches upon in his classes. By virtue of temperament and the sort of university I teach at, I cover an unusually broad range of topics. However, my degree is in geology, and I should not be regarded or cited as an expert in areas far removed from that field. Neither I nor the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay accept liability for the use of this site.

One lesson learned from this experience is that many searchers are just looking for a toehold to get started. In many cases I have added bibliographies to my pages. Also, my University Survival Guide has a page on references that might prove useful. Finally, if you spot any errors or have some more modern information than I do, please let me know. Thanks for visiting.

Note to Students: the Internet is not a substitute for library research and I will not assist searchers who try to use it that way. Sorry to sound unfriendly, but I am seeing a lot of requests for information that can easily be found in textbooks or libraries. When I get such a request, I will respond with advice to visit your local public or university library, with a few suggestions for where to begin searching. Failure to gat a timely start your assigned paper on your part does not make an emergency on my part.

Note to Everyone Else: The above note does not apply to public inquiries, questions about something on my page, clarifications, etc. I consider answering those questions part of my job, although sometimes I can't for lack of time, or because you get caught in my spam® filter.

Using My Material

Almost all the material on this site is my own; that way I don't need to worry about copyrights.

• Linking to my site is the equivalent of citing my work in a paper, and in my view does not require permission. That may become an issue if it generates so much traffic it bogs a server down, but that's unlikely to apply here. However, it's nice to be able to show my site is being used, so notification is always appreciated.
• I'm almost always happy to grant permission to use material for educational purposes. If a major movie or book deal comes out of it, we will need to talk further. The photos on my site are in 320x240 format to conserve server space and download time, and can almost always be supplied in high-resolution form as well, but with drawings and figures, what you see is what I have. If you want to use an image, please send me the file name.

Return to Professor Dutch's Home Page

Created 11 December 1997, Last Update 29 August 2007

Not an official UW Green Bay site