I am designing a fantasy sports site and am looking for a way to automatically update stats. I remember reading awhile back that you can write scripts that will scan a page on the net and could "pull-out" relevant data. I'd like to be able to read NASCAR's stats page and pull out the point totals I need to update my system.
1. Is this even possible?
2. Is this legal?
3. Is there another option besides paying a Ststs service?
I could understand paying for something like NFL stats, but for NASCAR there isn't much to stats. It'd be much more sensible to type them in than paying for a service, but it'd be nice to have a script to run at a certain time each week to automatically update everything.this kind of thing, i think, is called skimming, and while it is not technically illegal, you could end up in a copyright feud.
you will either have to do it by hand, or enter into an agreement with a service that does it for you (make sure it is NASCAR approved, and not just some skimming script).But can statistics be copywrited? For instance, if I read an original article on the web & then re-print it in my personal paper I'm obviously guilty of copywrite. But if I look online for Sunday's scores, right them down, and put them in my personal paper, is that also copywrite? I mean, you have to get the stats from somewhere?
Whats the difference between watching tv, & writing down Sunday's NFL scores to put in my paper, and viewing them on the web, "skimming" them, and using them in my database?it is called screen scraping and yes people could get you on it. why is it different than the tv or newspaper? well cause you leave a trail to the server you got them from. they can see you doing it.it's information published by someone - that means they own it.
and as Scoutt side - it's a bit harder to enforce with copying of the TV, because they can't prove it...
1. Is this even possible?
2. Is this legal?
3. Is there another option besides paying a Ststs service?
I could understand paying for something like NFL stats, but for NASCAR there isn't much to stats. It'd be much more sensible to type them in than paying for a service, but it'd be nice to have a script to run at a certain time each week to automatically update everything.this kind of thing, i think, is called skimming, and while it is not technically illegal, you could end up in a copyright feud.
you will either have to do it by hand, or enter into an agreement with a service that does it for you (make sure it is NASCAR approved, and not just some skimming script).But can statistics be copywrited? For instance, if I read an original article on the web & then re-print it in my personal paper I'm obviously guilty of copywrite. But if I look online for Sunday's scores, right them down, and put them in my personal paper, is that also copywrite? I mean, you have to get the stats from somewhere?
Whats the difference between watching tv, & writing down Sunday's NFL scores to put in my paper, and viewing them on the web, "skimming" them, and using them in my database?it is called screen scraping and yes people could get you on it. why is it different than the tv or newspaper? well cause you leave a trail to the server you got them from. they can see you doing it.it's information published by someone - that means they own it.
and as Scoutt side - it's a bit harder to enforce with copying of the TV, because they can't prove it...