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A Useful Lesson in Plagiarism
- Jun 1, 2009 at 11:40 AM
- By
- Comments (39) Total Views (941) Everyone can see this journal post.
If you take words, written by someone other than yourself and reprint them without at least giving them credit, if not asking permission, that is called plagiarism. Plagiarism is stealing. It does not matter what your intentions were, or if the words were just taken off the Internet, it is still stealing.
Let me use this as an example. Say I have my bicycle parked in front of my house in full view of everyone. Does that make it okay for you to steal it? Shame on me, perhaps, for leaving it out in the open like that, but it still does not make it okay for you to steal it. I bought that bike with my own money, I take a lot of pride in keeping that bike clean and presentable. It is my bike.
Perhaps you like my bike tremendously. It is exactly the kind of bicycle you would own if you could afford it. So, you take that bike from my front yard and park it in front of your house. Everyone who drives by thinks that the bike belongs to you. You never expressly said it was your bike, but since it is in front of your house everyone assumes it is. Now, you have not only committed an illegal act by stealing my bike, but you have also misrepresented the bike as your own. It is still my bike.
Chances are someone who knows me is going to drive by your house and see my bike parked out in front of your house. The person who knows me recognizes my bicycle because it is unmistakably mine. No one else has a bike quite like that. She knows that you like my bike but could never afford one like it, so now she wonders about your character that you would, by omission, lie about the bike being yours.
Now, if you want to ride it around the block or even park it in front of your house, that may be fine. But, first you must ask my permission. Once I say that it is okay for you to ride my bike, you need to be up front with other people that the bike is not yours. When someone admires the bicycle, you will of course give full credit for the beauty of the bike to its owner. It is just the right thing to do.
It is the same with words written by someone else an the Internet. Just because they are 'out there' for all to see does not mean you have the right to use them without permission. Someone has worked hard writing those words and they belong to that person. It is not okay to pass them off as your own either overtly or by omission. They don't belong to you. You need to, at the very least, link back to where you took the words from. Otherwise you are plagiarizing, which is stealing. It is that simple.
ETA:
©KDV 2009
Comments:
Kim, well put. I love the example you used. Makes the concept pretty idiot proof.
Very good, Kim! Did I miss something??
Yes, me likey. Tell me someone didn't go being stupid, please?
I hate when people do not give their source.
Have you encountered a lot of plagiarism on cafemom? Is this journal in response to a specific incidence? Just wondering.
Plagiarism is serious. It is also often copyright infringement which is a federal crime!
No. No one took my words, that i know of. I just do not enjoy people who pass off things that are their own. Especially if they are on the Popular Journalist list. When someone gets on that list simply by copy and pasting as many journals as they can per day, it is not fair to those who actually take the time to research, think about and write their own posts. Plus, it is illegal.
I meant - not their own.
Honestly, I am sick of it too. Posts like that should be reported to Cafemom.
Good job. It only takes a millisecond to copy+paste the URL and post that in addition to the bit you took.
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Well said....
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