Frequently Asked Questions

This is a list of answers to questions that people frequently ask about The Quotations Page. If you can't find your answer here, feel free to contact us by email.

General Questions

1. I need to know the author of a quotation. Can you help?
Have you tried our Search page? If you search and still can't find your quotation, try posting a question in the Forum. Don't ask us these questions by email - we don't have time to answer them.
2. Do you have a detailed source or reference for the quotations found here?
In general, all we know is in the database, and we can't provide further information by email. Your best bet is to search the web or post a question in our Forum.
3. Can you provide biographical information about an author?
We have biographical information for about half of our authors. Click on an author's name to go to their page, then look for the [more author details] link. If we don't have the biography you're looking for, your best bet is to search the Web or try posting a question in our Forum.
4. For my bibliography, can you tell me who publishes this site and when it was last updated?
This site is published by Michael and Laura Moncur. Generally speaking, it's updated every single day. Unfortunately, we don't currently have a way to track updates more specifically (such as when we updated a certain page or added a certain quotation). These features are in the works.

Quotes of the Day

1. What time are the Quotes of the Day and Motivational Quotes of the Day updated?
Currently, the quotations are updated at about 12:30 AM Mountain Standard Time daily. The update may be an hour or two late from time to time for one reason or another.
2. Why did you pick these particular quotations on this particular day?
We didn't. The quotations are chosen randomly by a computer. Any appropriateness or inappropriateness for any particular day is strictly coincidental.

Searching for Quotations

1. I can't find the quotation I'm looking for. Where else can I go?
We have a page of links to other sites where you can search. You can also post a question in our Forum - some of our frequent visitors are very good at answering these questions.
2. I searched for my favorite quotation and you don't have it. What's wrong with this stupid site?
We don't claim to have every quotation. Nobody does. Even the big quotation books are incomplete. If you notice any glaring omissions, why not contribute them to our site?
3. Why don't you have any quotations from my favorite author?
Like every web site and every book, our site is perpetually incomplete. If you'd like us to include some quotes--or more quotes--from your favorite author, the best bet is to send us some. You probably know your favorite author's words better than we do.

Contributing Quotations

1. Why can't I quote myself?
Because that isn't the purpose of this site. There are plenty of sites out there where you can post your opinions on different topics, but this isn't one of them - this site is devoted to quotations from famous people.
2. That isn't fair. Are famous people the only ones with anything to say? Why can't I quote my friends or relatives?
Once again, we're not saying anything about who has something valid to say and who doesn't. We're saying that famous quotations are the purpose of this site. Not because we hate you, but because we specialize. If you want to quote anyone you please, there are sites for that.
3. But I am famous. Now can I quote myself?
If you're an author or other reasonably well-known person who other people might quote, your best bet is to send your contribution by email instead. Include an explanation of who you are and a statement that we have permission to quote you. We still reserve the right to include whichever quotations we please.
4. I contributed a quotation. Why isn't it in the database?
If you just submitted the quotation, be patient - we manually review the contributions for inclusion once a week or so, and it won't be available until then.

If it's been longer than a week, here are some reasons your contribution may not have been included:

  • We already have the quotation in our collection.
  • You've quoted yourself. See above.
  • You've submitted an "anonymous" or "unknown" quotation. We reject most of these because, most of the time, they're incorrectly attributed.
  • The quotation had a typographical error. If you leave out punctuation or capital letters or include spelling errors, we don't have time to fix it.
  • We're concerned that the quotation may violate someone's copyright. Song lyrics are an area where this happens frequently.
We reject 80% of contributed quotations for one or more of these reasons.
5. I have a large number of quotations to contribute. Is there a better way?
Yes, send them to us by email in any format. As always, we can't guarantee we'll include them.
6. Why should I log in before contributing a quotation?
Our contribution system now recognizes registered users of the forum. If you register and log in before contributing, we will give priority to your contributions. We may also credit users who contribute large numbers of quotations. Also, if you are logged in, you don't need to enter your name and email address with each contribution.

Copyright Issues

1. Can I use quotations from this site in my Web page, book, product, etc.?
Please email us for details and for permission. The short answer: you're free to use a small number of quotations for any purpose, but you can't copy large portions of the site.
2. If I use a quotation in a book or product, do I need permission from the person quoted?
Sometimes. Many quotations qualify as "fair use" under copyright law, but your particular use may not. Further, some uses, such as advertising, may require permission even more since you might make it appear that the person is endorsing or approving of your product. We strongly suggest that you consult a good copyright lawyer before any commercial venture involving quotations.
3. Once a person dies, their quotations go into the public domain. Right?
Wrong, very wrong. Death has almost nothing to do with copyright. The copyright on many published works expires 75 years after death, but some issues continue long after that.
4. Once something is on the internet, it's considered public domain. Right?
Wrong again. Publishing a quotation, or a Web page for that matter, does not relinquish any rights.
5. Can I trust your answers on copyright issues instead of asking a lawyer?
No. This isn't legal advice, I am not a lawyer, and I don't necessarily know what I'm talking about.

Stupid Questions

1. Why do you idiots use the word "quotes"? The correct word is "quotations".
We get this question about once a month, and the amusing thing is that the email asking the question almost always includes numerous errors itself. Nonetheless, it's a valid question and we have an answer.

"Quotes" is a generally accepted colloquialism for "quotations" and is, as much as you may object, in wide use. We use it for four reasons:

  1. Tradition. The Quotes of the Day page has had the same title since 1994.
  2. Convenience. "Quotations" doesn't always fit or make a catchy title.
  3. Convention. People use the word "quotes" to search for our site twice as often as "quotations". If we abandoned the colloquialism we'd lose traffic.
  4. Just to annoy the grammatically pedantic.
2. Why are there more quotations from men than from women on this site?
For several thousand years on planet Earth, the literary and oratory contributions of women were ignored, marginalized, published anonymously, or published pseudonymously under male-sounding names. While we regret this state of affairs deeply, we are reasonably certain that it is not our fault.

Now that we've got that out of the way, if you have a favorite quotable female who you feel is underrepresented here, please help us out by contributing some quotations.

Didn't find your answer? Ask a question in our Forum or contact us by email.