Re: [epub] Steal from one=Plagiarism. Steal from many=research!

[Cathy Stucker <cstucker@xxxxxxxxx>]

From: Cathy Stucker <cstucker@flash.net>

Keith, you are absolutely right.  I hope that my earlier post was not
seen as condoning approprating others' work as your own.  As someone 
who makes much of her living with words, I don't steal from others and 
I certainly don't want anyone stealing from me.  I have found, however, 
that there are few original ideas; mostly there are original combinations
of and twists on old ideas.  Everyone recognizes that there are similarities
among "Romeo and Juliet" and "West Side Story" and even "Love Story".  But
I don't think you could make a case that the 20th century authors "stole" 
from Shakespeare.

Where the idea is clearly "borrowed" from someone else and expressed in
your own words, you have a clear obligation to identify the source.  It gets
murkier when the idea is a synthesis of ideas, experience, knowledge and
other input you've received from many sources, perhaps over years.

Also, we all have to recognize that many others are subject to similar 
sources of inspiration, and "great minds think alike".  I've written things
I thought were terribly brilliant and original, only to find that someone else
has expressed something similar (often written around the same time, with 
neither of us having knowledge of the other's work).  It happens.

Having said all of this, I am firmly convinced that there is a special place
in Hell for anyone who would try to pass off someone else's work as their own.
Yes, they hurt themselves and their reputation by doing so, but I'm hoping
they
also receive eternal damnation.  It seems only fair!

Cathy Stucker

At 09:56 AM 8/20/1999 -0700, you wrote:
>From: kap@zmagic.com (Price, Keith)
>
>I tend to feel that if someone takes someone else's material and
>goes rewords it point for point, simply changing the wording,
>that is wrong -- and lazy.  Just as bad IMHO as copyright
>infringement.  But, if the ideas are expanded upon, looked at in
>a new way; if new examples are given, or additional ideas from
>other sources are used, then we have an ethical use of other
>people's work.
>
>The truely ethical author will also credit the original authors
>as research sources.  (very rare)

Cathy Stucker, The Idea Lady(tm)
Creative strategies for attracting customers with
     Personal Visibility Marketing(sm)
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cathy@idealady.com


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