I'm not joking either. Everything you post to sciforums is a publication. You are posting to a public forum. You automatically hold copyright to everything you post here. If you want to establish some kind of priority over your work, your posts are time-stamped here for all to see. Publishing won't guarantee somebody won't plagiarise your work, of course, but if they do you have an action for breach of copyright. Be aware, though, that copyright doesn't protect ideas. Anybody can "steal" any idea you post here, as long as they don't copy your exact words, or the essence of what you post.
