Michael Martinez Articles & Essays
Original Publications On Other Sites
Michael Martinez has written hundreds of essays and articles for other Web sites. Unless a site has only published a small number of Michael's articles, this page only provides a link to the root page for a site's archive of Michael Martinez articles.
- Essays by Michael Martinez on MERP.COM
MERP.COM is currently the only designated official distributor of new essays by Michael Martinez, except for special arrangement. That is, Michael has an arrangement with MERP to provide them with unique content on an ongoing basis. MERP also requested, and received, permission to include copies of ALL the essays Michael published through Suite101. - Tolkien and Middle-earth at Suite101
Michael wrote essays for Suite101 from August 1999 through January 2003. His last contribution to this topic was "Love in the Trees". One essay published on 8 December 2001, "Life Imitating Art in The Lord of the Rings", was contributed by Michael Siminski. - Building Online Visibility: A Three-Point Plan For Any Business
- Provide Affordable Health Care To Employees At Little To No Cost To You
- Reduce Workers Compensation Premiums and Increase Employee Benefits
- We Don't Need Another Broker: How To Get The Best Liability Insurance Rates Available
- American Anti-war Sentiment, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam: Why We Have To Stay The Course
- The Belt Buckle of Truth, at MeoSource
Michael contributed this light-hearted look at Tolkien and online gaming in March 2005. MeoSource is a fan site devoted to members of the online gaming community who are awaiting the long-desired release of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (or something like that). - What does 'marketing books on the Internet mean'?, WritersWorld Newsletter, Issue 26
This article started out as a lengthy post by Michael to the Internet Authors Network discussion group. The editor at WritersWorld asked for permission to reprint Michael's message, but instead Michael rewrote the text into a more formal article, which was published in issue 26 of the WritersWorld Newsletter. - An essay on Balrogs, Official Andre Norton Web site
NOTE: This essay was written specifically for the Andre Norton Web site to accompany the picture and description of the Balrog Award, of which she was the first recipient. - Understanding Magic in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, at the Middle-earth Vault
This extensive essay, written according to MLA style guidelines, was composed for the Vault, another gaming community site, in 1999. This essay was included in Visualizing Middle-earth. - Children's Online Privacy Act of 1998, Whoosh! Issue 43
Originally proposed as a means of curbing online commercial manipulation of children, the COPPA of 1998 was revised by Congress to mandate requirements affecting both commercial and non-commercial Web sites. Many large Science Fiction fan sites found themselves subjected to a law with which they were not equipped to comply. This article examined the act and how it impacted the non-commercial fan site community. - Children's Online Privacy Act of 1998, JimWorld Gazette Issue 91
Inspired by the Whoosh! article, this article looks at the impact of the COPPA on the commercial Web site community. - Xena In The Eyes Of The Historian, Whoosh! Issue 22
Written in 1998, this paper was to be the first of two papers presenting a theoretical argument which would explain all the historical inaccuracies in the television show Xena: Warrior Princess. Of course, the show was pure fantasy and there was no real way to reconcile it to history, but some fans seemed to be very upset with the way the show played around with real historical timelines. Unfortunately, right after this article was published, an episode aired which blew the entire schmaltzy theory to smithereens. There was no way to recover from the debacle, so the second paper was never written. Whoosh is a monthly online fanzine which has been continuously published since 1996. It has branched out to cover many other television shows. - Articles by Michael Martinez for the BASIS Advantage, 1995 - 1997
As an employee of BASIS International, a vendor of the Business Basic programming language, Michael wrote several articles for the company's magazine, The BASIS Advantage, which was distributed to customers, distributors, and other interested members of the Business Basic industry.
Xenite.Org Network
What's In 'Free' For Me?Why allow so many sites to use content for free? The short answer is that policing the Internet is a full-time job. Most writers don't have their essays and articles reprinted without their knowledge or permission on dozens of Web sites every year. The majority of Michael's essays are about specialized topics. But some topics have very broad appeal. "I don't expect anyone to pirate 'TAOS Tips' or 'Implementing Metaphors in Business Basic'," Michael says. "But I have learned that any essay concerning Tolkien's Elves is likely to be copied across the world in a heartbeat." Believing it is better to teach Webmasters to provide credit, a link to an appropriate site, and some free publicity rather than endlessly file abuse complaints, Michael has built a reputation for giving back to the community that gives so much to him. "When I find someone using my articles, I try to explain why simply 'borrowing' content is wrong," Michael explains. "But though I have occasionally shut down Web sites for stealing content, I only go that far when the Webmasters refuse to cooperate." It is better if the Webmasters contact Michael first, and ask permission in advance. But even that approach can be a little frustrating. "Every month, I find unanswered emails," Michael says. "People frequently write to me to ask for help with questions, or permission to translate essays into other languages. I try to respond as quickly as possible, but sometimes I find messages from two years in the past that I never answered. I send an apology, but after two years, I suppose people no longer care." |