Does anybody know a good way to stop people stealing articles and information off my site?
I dont mean people cutting and pasting, i mean automatic spiders that pilfer the lot in one fail swoop.

Cheers
Ste

try using copyscape (http://www.copyscape.com) to detect content copiers and also, if you have a XML or RSS feeds thats where the bots usually get it from.

I hate content stealers too

Yes, its so annoying, i can think of lots of ways of stopping them ripping the whole site but they would also hinder search engine results as well I thinks.

To get this information use copyscape. Copyscape is great. It gives information about copier, from where the article is taken.