Is Wordpress a service? It seems to be software that is apparently runs on other people’s property. So this is what I’m confused about. I write a blog that is served by a non-profit org and the software is apparently Wordpress. I don’t understand how the copyright on my work in this context would exempt Wordpress in any way.

(edit) This article clears it up → https://lifehacker.com/tech/the-difference-between-wordpress-and-wordpresscom

Say the line Bart!

If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.

Also applies: no such thing as a free lunch.

This is such a flawed argument though, many of us remember when these services started coming out and the general Zeitgeist was “wow! What an amazing and interesting way to connect to each other!” There wasn’t too much public concern that our works would be sold to companies because these were just “platforms” places where you could shout out to the world about your passion.

The idea that this was a mistake the end user should have known better about is wrong because there was no preconception that your creative ideas were at any sort of risk, AI didn’t exist and it was commonly accepted that “of course you owned this, you made it”.

If you apply such a modern lens to the very early stages of the internet, of course it’s going to look stupid. But remember that most people at the time thought they’d be safe and wouldn’t willingly subject themselves to this kind of treatment