I love Snopes.com. It is an incredible and useful resource that I refer to on a weekly basis. The information curated there has helped me quell worries about computer viruses, divert friends from scams, and generally debunk the ugly rumors that are too frequently passed around on the Internet.

However, there is JavaScript on the site that disables mouse selection and prevents text from being copy/pasted. While I understand the desire to protect content and original writing, this feature actually works against Snopes' utility as an information source. By preventing users from easily copy/pasting excerpts, we can't tease our audience with a relevant quote or provide context for a link. I believe this actually lowers Snopes' distribution, virality, and (therefore) revenue.

As a specific example: Making it difficult for journalists to include an excerpt makes them less likely to do so and then attribute it via link.

This petition asks the operators of Snopes.com to remove this archaic pseudo-protection from the site's pages. It doesn't actually defer any sufficiantly motivated thief from getting the content. It is confusing, frustrating, and works against the Snopes mission.