Warning: Longish Post Ahead!
Student: If I use an encyclopedia for my paper, I don’t have to reference that, do I?
Me: Yes, you do.
Student: But, it’s just an encyclopedia!
Me: It doesn’t matter. Whenever you use another person’s work you are required to cite your source properly. Otherwise, you are plagiarizing and the University frowns on that sort of practice. And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about what constitutes appropriate source materials. . .
My senior year of college I was a Teaching Assistant for three sections of an introductory religion class. I did grunt work, so glamorous, let me tell you. I never got the chance in that particular class to lecture, since the impetus behind the course was test my resolve for graduate work and the teaching profession. That and I was cheap labor for the semester. I graded papers, wrote exams, graded exams, proctored study sessions.
The above conversation took place in one of those study sessions where I was to put my students through the basics of what was expected on their term paper. Now, before you start gasping, they were college freshmen. They should have known better, but come on. FRESHMEN. And newbies of all kinds should be given more rope to hang themselves than what is given to their more experienced peers. Had this been a class of seniors, I would have thrown down my stack of papers, because I always had stack of papers, and stormed out of the room with a huff.
That was 12 years ago and plagiarism is still alive and well. In the online world of blogging it has taken on a very different texture, but it’s thriving. Which brings me to the present moment, because today, I got Scraped.
For those of you unfamiliar with that term, imagine an anonymous “bot†culling through your entire site, post by post, downloading your content. That’s right, 700 page loads later my entire archives have been stolen. The purpose? Well, in less than a week my work (and probably the work of dozens of other people) will show up on a site that will magically be populated with thousands of posts full of new material. This will drive traffic their way and inflate their online presence. And because it’s always about money, they will begin selling advertising on those pages. That’s right. My work is about to make someone some money. Sadly, it’s not me.
Before you get completely outraged, you should know this is a growing trend. If you are a baby blogger and haven’t been at this for long, your page rank will probably protect you. For now. But if you’ve been consistently writing for more than a couple of years, then be prepared. I must say, it isn’t pleasant. I feel violated in some very odd way.
Now, you can get outraged.
But waking up to hundreds of page loads on my stats prompted some thinking on my part. The truth is, while this is impersonal and egregious, there are lots of little thefts taking place in the blogosphere on a daily basis. And lest anyone reading this be confused: plagiarism is theft.
Lately, I’ve been noticing a trend, especially by newer bloggers, to populate their posts with graphics. (None of you, dear readers, of course!) I don’t have to list these sites, just go trolling and you’ll find them. A stock photo depicting a pencil and paper will accompany posts on blogging. Posts about getting a car repaired will have a flickr photo of the downtown car dealership.
I’m a big fan of pictures, so don’t get me wrong here. While I have a preference; I’d rather see pictures you have taken of your own life than images lifted out of stock photography files or snatched off flickr, it’s still a bonus to see words and pictures with any given post. What I find disturbing is the lack of referencing that takes place. Very few bloggers bother to note the source of their photos. Even those who note the image is from flickr rarely link back to the original artists. Don’t even hope for the original artist’s permission.
Freshman mistake, right? Probably. Blogging is such a new medium that rules haven’t been written. And while I’d like to have a code of ethics for the medium, it isn’t likely. I have a feeling that the use of flickr images (or any scrounged up on the internet) is viewed much like my Freshman students viewed an encyclopedia. But, even an encyclopedia needs a citation. Otherwise, your blog might look lovely, but it’s sporting stolen goods.
If image poaching was the only theft going on, we’d be lucky. But the truth is, artists’ works are stolen and reproduced and exploited on a daily basis. Don’t think a Creative Commons License is going to protect your work from being Scraped. It won’t any more than imbedding watermarks into your photos will stop the oblivious freshman blogger from posting your photos any way.
This isn’t University—you can’t get booted off the internet for poaching pictures. But, I wonder how much of the poaching that goes on is simply from being inexperienced? If that is the case, then allow me the hubris of suggesting my handy dandy rule of referencing. It goes something like this:
GOOD: Cite somewhere in the post where you got the photo.
BETTER: Do GOOD and also link back to the original source.
BEST: Do BETTER and get permission to post the photo if possible.
Anything less than GOOD is plagiarism unless you own the photo.
Every artist wants recognition for his or her work. We shouldn’t deny them that, especially when they are contributing to our own bodies of work. We can’t control the Scrapers in the world… but we can hold a different standard. We can all do our BEST. I hope we will.
Tomorrow there will likely be a related post on referencing inspiration. Because, evidently, lots of people seem to run amok there as well.
As for the photo above… it has nothing to do with this post. Other than I snapped it today at sunset and it isn’t a poached view, it’s mine. 😀
I wanna be a cowboy!
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No, seriously, I do! However, it’s not relevant, really. This was test comment because I was having formatting issues interfering with the comment function. Sheesh, will this day ever end??? ~W
Well Howdy There…Ah….Cowboy……
My Libertarian Streak has to disagree with some of the points made.
Personally I don’t care if someone steals my intellectual property and if they can make a profit, all the more power to them. It seems to me the whole point of writing online for all to see is to get our ideas and points of view to the masses. What better way to do that than to have someone steal your work and re-post it?
In the case of photos, the owner of them has a very easy way to take credit for them by stamping a First and Last name, or the name of a website, directly on the photo. If I ever made internet graphics or took amazing photos that someone would want to copy that would be the first thing I would do.
Contrary to what I believe is the Internet laws. Which IIRC states that credit must be given to the source only if the person that lifted it is making profit. Example….a website that sells advertising or charges fees for sign-up.
So, if you do find your posts showing up somewhere and you can prove that the person is making money, the law is on your side and you can take them to court. It’s just not something that I would even think about doing.
BTW I think you gave us your age. Last year in College (22)+12 =blah!
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I totally disagree with you, obviously. But I appreciate your perspective, “kinda”.
I’m not arguing legalities here… as much as ethics. For me, it’s a matter of behavior. Nowhere else would it be appropriate for me to take something that didn’t belong to me. And, money aside, I still benefit from the use of those images. Especially, if by not referencing the artist, I leave the impression that the work is mine. It’s skanky behavior at the worst, ignorance at best. It should stop.
And you assume that I was 18 when I went to college and 22 when I graduated. Just sayin’ ~W
For me the ethics are all about the lazy people who aren’t even reading the material. They are using bots to copy and deploy content so more bots (aka search engines) will read the content, give a high score, so people will be sucked into a site and “encouraged” to click on embedded links leading to advertising from *wherever*. They are content vampires – the living dead of the blogging world. They also represent a growing trend with people who want to “cash in” on having a blog but who don’t want to work. God forbid they actually write on their own… but as this month of writing an article each day shows – it is hard work to come up with decent, regular content. I for one applaud your effort to shine a light on good blogging behavior. Bring it on!
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Yeah, I’m guessing the world isn’t interested in my treatise, “The Etiquette of Blogging: How to be humble host and respectful guest.” I’m sorry my Scraping woes shanghaied your work-out time. It’s been a day, eh? ~W
Nowhere else would it be appropriate for me to take something that didn’t belong to me.
Except we are discussing intellectual property (ideas and words) which is taken by everyone everyday. Technically anytime you read something new and repeat it you are taking something that doesn’t belong to you unless you cite where you got the information. This is taking the true Devil’s Advocate approach, but where is the cut-off? If you are to strict in your interpretation you prevent society from moving forward in any meaningful way. If you are too lax you run the risk financially hurting someone whose time effort has been wasted by theft.
It is a matter of behavior, but whether behavior is ethical or not, in the many gray areas like this one, is open to anyone’s interpretation…..that could only be settled in the Twilight Zone.
Especially, if by not referencing the artist, I leave the impression that the work is mine.
This is a borderline strawman argument. There is not much impression at all unless we are dealing with a reader who is truly ignorant. 99% of the time I know when something like a photo, that is being presented, is not the author’s. Because 99% of the time the author will take credit for the work right on the spot if it really is their own. Once someone takes credit, I mean really takes credit for a photo that is not their’s, they enter the role of pure skankiness.
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I’m not just discussing intellectual property. But actual art. Photographs and essays belong to people. And while I do agree with you that you can hinder progress and conversation by being too “stiff” I don’t think referencing where you got things is being too out there. In fact, it’s just polite. Maybe that is the better argument. But anyone who makes a habit of taking ideas (I have friends whose work is ripped off on a daily basis for financial gain, and my brother is a songwriter whose work is constantly stolen via illegal copyright infringement) without referencing where those ideas came from is lazy. If you can right click and save, you can link a source. If I were writing news articles, I might feel differently I suppose.(Even then, it would be nice to be cited!) But I’m just deluded enough to consider my writing my “craft”–and I work HARD at doing it!
As for claiming photos… I don’t always take credit for the photos I post (although, unless noted they are all mine). And a lot of bloggers I know who use their own work don’t scream from the mountains, “HEY THIS IS MINE.” Even those that do, have found over and over that their work is being stolen. Whether I can tell you lifted the photo from flickr is beside the point. You did it, and you should admit to it. To not do so is disingenuous from my drafty seat up here on my high horse. 😀
The bottom line is, I think you should reference where you get things. You disagree… we’re going to have to agree to leave it at that. 😀 ~W
I would hate someone taking my posts and putting them somewhere else. They are personal, so it would feel like someone stealing my underwear and bras, for crying out loud!! I don’t know if it’s illegal, but I don’t have to like it. And blogging is all about the small moments, isn’t it? That’s mostly what I write about.
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Yeah it does feel like an invasion of privacy, at the minimum. It’s the down side of this amazing medium–but that doesn’t mean we have to like it! ~W
This just argues in favor of crappy writing, Wende. When I put out crap on a regular basis and someone steals it … who’s the victim? Now, with internet bandits, I can torment people exponentially. And that cheers me up like you wouldn’t believe 😀
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uh-huh. You wait. ~W
great post and, wait a minute . . . I L O V E that photo!! It speaks to me.
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Thank you! 😀 ~W
I confess to using images that aren’t mine. I’d love to say that I don’t know any better, but I do. I’ve written enough research papers to know that if it’s not yours cite it. So you can consider me converted from “thief” to “good” (it’s all about baby steps) 🙂 And that really sucks that your blogs were stolen. Not a fun way to start the day, I’m sure.
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Good girl! :D And thanks for the sympathy. Yesterday’s migraine is finally gone. ~W
I like the picture, too.
As to the topic at hand, TH, it’s hardly principled libertarianism to strike a pose of “anything goes.” Saying that theft is rampant, and is committed every time you open your mouth and repeat something you might have read in the newspaper or heard on TV, is hardly a defense for it (and the notion that that sort of conversational pass-on bears on IP rights is absurd). It’s true that overly draconian intellectual property laws, like the ones that have been put in place by Congress at the urging of the content industries, can strangle creativity and innovation. But that’s irrelevant to the process Wende is describing, where grass-roots creators–potentially the very innovators you say you’d like to protect–are targeted. One can see any area as gray if one decides to see it that way; that doesn’t make the real ethical and legal issues vanish, though. A lot of people have worked hard to put in place a community-driven way for every creator, from the humble blogger upward, to tell the world exactly which rights, if any, they claim in their work (Creative Commons, if you’re interested). For instance, I feel strongly that some areas of human activity, including my blogging, shouldn’t be about a commercial transaction. So: No ads on my blog. But if someone should chance to want to use anything original I’ve written, they can: if they attribute it to me, and if it’s for a noncommercial use. If someone wanted to negotiate with me to use the stuff commercially, they could–but they have to get permission. (And when I blog something that comes from someplace else, I’m pretty darned careful to attribute it using the well-known conventions: naming the source, using quotation marks, giving links. It’s not hard to do.)
The problem with bot-driven scraping to provide even a meager profit center for others is partly that it’s simple theft; more seriously, though, it treats the creator of the property as a cipher, someone who’s there just to have their pocket picked. There’s nothing innocent or ethical about it.
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EXACTLY! There is a point where the relativism has to stop. And sadly, I have feeling we are well past it! ~W
Having been plagiarized in the past (not just word for word… but each and every KB of raw html code). I know that feeling of violation all too well and I’m so sorry it happened to you. I’m profoundly adamant about photo credits, links, etc., and I’m so glad you’re bringing it to the table!
I also agree with looking at a blogger’s own photos vs stock photos. Just knowing the moment caught on “film” didn’t happen through the eyes of the writer takes something away from it.
I recently had something happen to me like what you described with your stats. One “person” and it was like 40 continuous hits. Now I have to wonder. Not a good feeling and all.
I totally agree… it’s THEFT. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
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It’s an unsettling feeling, eh? And I’m with you, it’s theft. As well, I don’t like blogs that constantly use stock photos. But, that’s just a preference. Once in awhile is OK but if a blog does that regularly, I tend to stop reading. ~W
Dan
The bigger picture here is internet is about as free as a place as there is when it comes to government intervention. I want it to stay that way.
I am not outraged about people stealing my words online.
I am not outraged by people stealing my photos.
If someone lifts Wende’s and uses it to make a profit (which is very easy to do with google) the law is on her side.
The problem with bot-driven scraping to provide even a meager profit center for others is partly that it’s simple theft; more seriously, though, it treats the creator of the property as a cipher, someone who’s there just to have their pocket picked. There’s nothing innocent or ethical about it.
Who decides if it’s theft? If someone steals from me I don’t think I’m a cipher and I don’t think it’s stealing. Can the original creator of the work make that call?
It seems like all of you calling for more laws on the books for this sort of thing. Which is fine, but be careful what you wish for.
One question I have though…if someone uses the words from Evidently for profit and since Wende does not have a blurb about Copyright, does she even have a case?
It’s okay with me if someone takes my underwear ( I need new anyway) but I do feel as though I don’t want anyone taking my photos, at least not without acknowledging the source. I only post my photos unless it’s a rare occasion when I need something for illustration that I just can’t get for myself (like Chiobi National Park, Botswana). I don’t understand this bot business except I think it may have happened to me a couple times because I found a wierd trackback or something- I can’t remember exactly. (It was more than 5 minutes ago that this happened- more like 6 months.) So, I guess, other than offering up my underwear, my comment isn’t the least bit helpful here. Sorry 🙁 Moving on to the thrift shop finds…
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So many open doors here… but I’m not going to walk through them out of respect for my elders. 😛 ~WÂ
Well there it is!
Here is mine….
Take What You Want Unless Otherwise Indicated.
I had “Steal what you want” for a while, but I went for something a little more “professional”. (ya right!)
TH: I don’t see anyone calling for more laws. Your unregulated Internet is shot full of them already (today’s exhibit, regarding content: Viacom going after YouTube to get Comedy Central and MTV clips taken down).
It’s nice that you don’t consider stealing stealing. You have bicycle you care to leave out on the lawn for me? I need one.
As I said, one can declare anything a gray area, but that doesn’t really make it gray. What I’d like to see is more respect and consideration–from individuals, unregulated, not driven by the heavy hand of the law–and less self-justifying opportunism. That’s all.
Dan
You can’t compare bicycles to words.
And how can you steal something from someone that is willing to give the information for free?
As far as respect and consideration goes, your opinion of respect is way different from mine. If someone takes the time to take my words and repost them somewhere else, I see it as the ultimate sign of respect.
Hey Wende, how would I know this bot scraping had happened? I’m still new to some of this stuff.
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I emailed you info. Let me know if you didn’t get it! ~W