Quotes
Adding quotes to your content — notably the hook — is great.
You must verify that the quote is exact and was said by the person you attribute it to.
Goodreads is a reputable source, but it is not infallible. Quote Investigator can help confirm sayings we take for granted as accurate. (Einstein did not make that insanity quote.)
If in doubt, do not include it.
Consider requesting a graphic be created to showcase the quote in your content. Follow these Images and Graphics guidelines.
Direct Passages
You cannot include excerpts you found online within your content unless it is allowable by copyright law.
Just because you found it online does not mean it is in the public domain. Check. And check again using our Copyright and Plagiarism guide.
The following sites offer public-domain content.
Project Gutenberg
Google Books Search Prior to 1927
GOVInfo: U.S. Government Documents
Not all material on the following sites is commercially available.
Internet Archive Ebooks and Texts
Hathi Trust Digital Library
The material within your content must match the original text exactly. (If you need corrections, consult Grammarly’s What Does Sic Mean?) You must also include the hyperlink to where you found the material.
If the material is verifiably in the public domain, you may use other sources to cite it.
You may also find material online, like on CommonLit, where the source is in the public domain, but the added content is copyright-protected. Here, you can use the source material only and must include the hyperlink for reference.
NOTE: Although educational, Elephango is for-profit, which limits what the law allows.
Creative Commons
Material licensed under the following can be legally used in your content.
Somewhat surprisingly, this can include entire online textbooks. For example, many OpenStax texts are licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license and can be used — exactly as written — on other sites with the proper citation. This may prove helpful when writing content on intricate concepts, such as Calculus; however, your contract can be terminated if most of your content is repeatedly from another source.
When you use this material, it must match exactly, and you must include the hyperlink.
Using CC licenses is especially valuable for complex simulations like those created by PhET.
When in doubt, scroll to the bottom of a source and click through to discover its LICENSING or TERMS. If you have questions, contact your Elephango Admin at any point.
Fair Use
Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law allows for instances of fair use.
Because Elephango is a commercial entity, not a school, this may only be used sparingly and for tiny amounts of material.
