Unethical or worse? Question regarding previous content on dropped domains

[poker_bears]

A month or so ago I caught a dropped domain that was previously a small niche hobby site. It appears that the original owner simply lost interest and failed to renew.

I purchased it solely because I enjoy writing about the topic and owning the site sounded fun (not a profitable niche by ANY stretch of the imagination). When researching the site history, I discovered that most of the previous content was cached. I was VERY tempted to save some of the better articles to republish on the new incarnation of the site.

I did not do so however, fearing I would receive a nasty email or worse from the previous owner. I re-did the entire site from the ground up. More than a few times since then I've wished that I'd saved some of the original content (it had some good stuff). Seems like such a waste to just let it all disappear.

It's too late now but my question is, what are the possible ramifications if I had done so? Personally, if I had a small site like that and dropped it, I would be flattered if someone took my work and saved it. I'd feel like the time spent wasn't a waste. But then again the previous owner might be some crazy person...

Have any of you guys ever done anything like that before? Would appreciate any thoughts on the matter.

 

[Peter]

Using someone elses articles is essentially copyright theft and you could be sued for damages. To be honest it is unlikely that this case would result in this.

You may be able to get the original content from the wayback machine if you still want it but you should contact the original owner first and ask permission to republish it.

 

[Alex P]

Yeah I would contact the original owner, if he says no then no harm done and if he says yes then full steam ahead

 

[NetOctave]

Maybe the previous owner plan to use the content on another site or he could even have sold the contents.
It is always better to contact the previous owner / content owner from both ethical and legal angles.

 

[FanCube]

Your first step should be to contact the original owner if possible and ask for permission to use the content. If this is not possible you should not just republish the content but use the original content for inspiration and write new articles in your own words. This way you should be good both legally and ethically.

 

[glaxxon]

Contacting the original owner would be your best bet.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

Why are you assuming that his text content went into the garbage can when the domain expired?

 

[poker_bears]

Why are you assuming that his text content went into the garbage can when the domain expired?

He's going to drop his dmoz/botw listed site and place the content elsewhere? Considering he had zero ads on the site, I doubt it... Some people actually create quality sites just for the pleasure of it.

Regardless, can't find his current contact info anyway. Oh well.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Peter]

poker_bears it could be worth checking the whois history on the domain and contact the registrant whois. Domain Tools might show a result for it.

 

[the_poet]

Contact the old owner and find an agreement with them.