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For recipes, it's possibly a way to qualify for copyright protection[0]. Recipes themselves aren't considered original enough, so authors can encase them in a c

For recipes, it's possibly a way to qualify for copyright protection[0]. Recipes themselves aren't considered original enough, so authors can encase them in a copyrightable shell of narrative. There might be other reasons for this on the net. And I wouldn't be surprised if new recipe bloggers write narrative because "that's how it's always been done." [0]https://info.legalzoom.com/recipe-copyright-laws-20049.html https://info.legalzoom.com/recipe-copyright-laws-20049.html

yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago
... but wouldn't you just copy the recipe part anyways? If the narrative part is the copyrighted part, just don't copy that, thus ensuring that you're legally okay AND you only keep the part that's actually useful.
- vharuck 7y ago
  The "trick" is that the recipe is now part of a larger copyrighted work, so it's covered by the copyright. Of course, I doubt it'd be easy to win a trial if somebody did this unless it was literally copied verbatim.
  - beerandt 7y ago
    Not an extracted recipe. Only as a part of the whole work. So if you copy the page, it's copyright-able, but not if you copy and paste just the recipe.
weaksauce 7y ago
I think a more likely reason is they are doing it for SEO
jjeaff 7y ago
If you are trying to learn how to code, do you just want to find blocks of code to copy paste or do you want some explanation? I realize sometimes the articles are pure fluff, but if you are passionate about what you are making, you want to read the how and why, the trial and error, and maybe even the history and backstory of the dish.
- LoSboccacc 7y ago
  funny because there are very few blog specimens[1] actually explaining why a recipe is the way it is, the fluff is almost invariably how the recipe reminds author of grandma or how it's a staple of whatever social gathering they held. 1) like http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2011/06/13/le-ricette-scientifiche-il-ragu-alla-quasi-bolognese/ http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.i...
beerandt 7y ago
Except the copy-writable part is not the part anyone wants. But I think you're on the right track. I'd argue it's the authors trying to differentiate (and add value to ) their copy of the recipe vs the 100s of others. And I suspect some do believe that adding dialogue or slightly changing the recipe covers them from copyright claims (not realizing recipes aren't covered) or provide them with some copyright protection of their own. Others probably do it because that's the way it's always been done, but don't realize what they're trying to emulate... It's the Martha Stewart / Alton Brown recipe for success, where the details are more interesting than the underlying recipe. But people mistake the extra detail for sentimental fluff (Martha Stuart) or technical babble that they don't understand (Alton Brown), and so they just perceive the formula as recipe plus fluff, without seeing the value that fluff should add. Or they misjudge the value that they think they are adding with their own fluff. Also probably relevant: recipes (along with product pages) are a couple of categories that Google treats drastically different than general web pages. And as a result has had unintended consequences for the worse, as far as overall quality of the web goes. I'm looking at you, affiliate links.
- cpach 7y ago
  ”Or they misjudge the value that they think they are adding with their own fluff.” This. There are some blogs that really succeeds with the story-telling. I don’t mind the stories on Food Lab for example. But if it’s just an incoherent and fluffy word salad, then I’d rather just read the recipe straight away.
  - beerandt 7y ago
    Good Story telling has its own value (to some), but I consider it to be different than what food lab, MS, or AB are doing, which I guess you could call more accurately a narrative of constructive details. As opposed to just an experience narrative to go along with the recipe. The experience narratives can certainly be constructive as well, like maybe describing different versions of dishes tried at various restaurants when trying to recreate a recipe. But even most of these aren't helpful, depending on the author. And of course the worst is the people who just try to describe an appropriate weather condition or family feeling that goes along with a meal, ala the Giada. Of course Giada is proof that even some people can make that model work well. It's just that most people on the internet don't.
Semaphor 7y ago
I’ve read that it’s an SEO thing. Some experts on Mashable agree [0]: > SEO and marketing experts agree that Nelson's approach is a smart one, especially in such a saturated landscape. "Because a recipe usually consists of a listing of ingredients and steps, it’s often very difficult for a search engine to discern what this article is trying to convey," [0]: https://mashable.com/article/why-are-there-long-stories-on-food-blogs/ https://mashable.com/article/why-are-there-long-stories-on-f...
- OGWhales 7y ago
  > "I do keyword research ... I see what kinds of questions people have around the topic, and look for ways to anticipate their problems, and answer their questions, so that they will have a successful cooking experience. Lately, I’ve been adding more step-by-step pictures of how to make dishes, as well as videos, because Google says that readers want that." That makes sense to me. More keywords related to search topics means more hits. >Nelson thinks there's an element of sexism to the critiques she sees about recipe writing. Give me a break. > "The feeling seems to be that they don't think these writers have something of value to offer," Nelson said. I mean yes, most people do not care about your home life. > By sharing stories on blogs, people get to know the types of foods [and] flavors that specific recipe creators enjoy. You figure out who is a good match for your own palate." Do this after the recipe? Oh wait, that would mean I don't have to scroll past more advertisements... This is what everyone is complaining about. Getting to the actual recipe is quite annoying, especially on phones without ad blockers.
  - Semaphor 7y ago
    I didn’t mean to endorse the article itself, just the part about it probably being SEO-related as I remembered reading this before and just grabbed the first article I could find ;)
    - OGWhales 7y ago
      Of course of course, I was just having fun during some down time at work

yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago

... but wouldn't you just copy the recipe part anyways? If the narrative part is the copyrighted part, just don't copy that, thus ensuring that you're legally okay AND you only keep the part that's actually useful.

vharuck 7y ago
The "trick" is that the recipe is now part of a larger copyrighted work, so it's covered by the copyright. Of course, I doubt it'd be easy to win a trial if somebody did this unless it was literally copied verbatim.
- beerandt 7y ago
  Not an extracted recipe. Only as a part of the whole work. So if you copy the page, it's copyright-able, but not if you copy and paste just the recipe.

weaksauce 7y ago

I think a more likely reason is they are doing it for SEO

jjeaff 7y ago

If you are trying to learn how to code, do you just want to find blocks of code to copy paste or do you want some explanation? I realize sometimes the articles are pure fluff, but if you are passionate about what you are making, you want to read the how and why, the trial and error, and maybe even the history and backstory of the dish.

LoSboccacc 7y ago
funny because there are very few blog specimens[1] actually explaining why a recipe is the way it is, the fluff is almost invariably how the recipe reminds author of grandma or how it's a staple of whatever social gathering they held. 1) like http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2011/06/13/le-ricette-scientifiche-il-ragu-alla-quasi-bolognese/ http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.i...

beerandt 7y ago

Except the copy-writable part is not the part anyone wants. But I think you're on the right track. I'd argue it's the authors trying to differentiate (and add value to ) their copy of the recipe vs the 100s of others. And I suspect some do believe that adding dialogue or slightly changing the recipe covers them from copyright claims (not realizing recipes aren't covered) or provide them with some copyright protection of their own. Others probably do it because that's the way it's always been done, but don't realize what they're trying to emulate... It's the Martha Stewart / Alton Brown recipe for success, where the details are more interesting than the underlying recipe. But people mistake the extra detail for sentimental fluff (Martha Stuart) or technical babble that they don't understand (Alton Brown), and so they just perceive the formula as recipe plus fluff, without seeing the value that fluff should add. Or they misjudge the value that they think they are adding with their own fluff. Also probably relevant: recipes (along with product pages) are a couple of categories that Google treats drastically different than general web pages. And as a result has had unintended consequences for the worse, as far as overall quality of the web goes. I'm looking at you, affiliate links.

cpach 7y ago
”Or they misjudge the value that they think they are adding with their own fluff.” This. There are some blogs that really succeeds with the story-telling. I don’t mind the stories on Food Lab for example. But if it’s just an incoherent and fluffy word salad, then I’d rather just read the recipe straight away.
- beerandt 7y ago
  Good Story telling has its own value (to some), but I consider it to be different than what food lab, MS, or AB are doing, which I guess you could call more accurately a narrative of constructive details. As opposed to just an experience narrative to go along with the recipe. The experience narratives can certainly be constructive as well, like maybe describing different versions of dishes tried at various restaurants when trying to recreate a recipe. But even most of these aren't helpful, depending on the author. And of course the worst is the people who just try to describe an appropriate weather condition or family feeling that goes along with a meal, ala the Giada. Of course Giada is proof that even some people can make that model work well. It's just that most people on the internet don't.

Semaphor 7y ago

I’ve read that it’s an SEO thing. Some experts on Mashable agree [0]: > SEO and marketing experts agree that Nelson's approach is a smart one, especially in such a saturated landscape. "Because a recipe usually consists of a listing of ingredients and steps, it’s often very difficult for a search engine to discern what this article is trying to convey," [0]: https://mashable.com/article/why-are-there-long-stories-on-food-blogs/ https://mashable.com/article/why-are-there-long-stories-on-f...

OGWhales 7y ago
> "I do keyword research ... I see what kinds of questions people have around the topic, and look for ways to anticipate their problems, and answer their questions, so that they will have a successful cooking experience. Lately, I’ve been adding more step-by-step pictures of how to make dishes, as well as videos, because Google says that readers want that." That makes sense to me. More keywords related to search topics means more hits. >Nelson thinks there's an element of sexism to the critiques she sees about recipe writing. Give me a break. > "The feeling seems to be that they don't think these writers have something of value to offer," Nelson said. I mean yes, most people do not care about your home life. > By sharing stories on blogs, people get to know the types of foods [and] flavors that specific recipe creators enjoy. You figure out who is a good match for your own palate." Do this after the recipe? Oh wait, that would mean I don't have to scroll past more advertisements... This is what everyone is complaining about. Getting to the actual recipe is quite annoying, especially on phones without ad blockers.
- Semaphor 7y ago
  I didn’t mean to endorse the article itself, just the part about it probably being SEO-related as I remembered reading this before and just grabbed the first article I could find ;)
  - OGWhales 7y ago
    Of course of course, I was just having fun during some down time at work