Friday, March 8, 2013

It's A Little Disconcerting ...

When I write my papers for my college classes, I am required to use inline citations and reference with a link to the source at the end of the paper. When I write a passage in my blog that comes from someone else's intelligence or subject matter, I do my very best to cite and link to the resource where I found the information. Unfortunately, I am seeing an ever increasing habit of people writing their blogs or posting things on Facebook with NO citations or references. And some I've seen have a reference at the end of the post that is so damn tiny you need a magnifying glass to read the thing.

PEOPLE this is called PLAGIARISM and it's ugly. Not only have you blatantly stolen another person's work and posted it as your own which in itself is unethical, it is also ILLEGAL!

It also gives you a bad name in the blogging community. People will begin to fall off of your follower's network. They don't want to be associated with someone that consistently uses another's words and then takes credit as if they were their own work.

More importantly, if you claim to be Pagan/Witch/Wiccan it diminishes your reputation in the Pagan community... you know that *harm none* clause that so many live by? Well, plagiarism falls into that and you are indeed causing harm by using another's work and not giving correct and complete credit.

It's not brain surgery to read a source, use YOUR words to write your message and then at the end of the article give the reference for what you have used for your inspiration. If you haven't learned how to read something and then use your own words to convey the message you want us to know about, I don't want to read your posts and will be removing you from my reader roll.

Now before any of you leave comments asking why I'm letting this bother me, I'll explain. I try my very best to be above board and ethical in everything I do. I value my reputation as a blogger, but more importantly as a Witch. I've also come to realize I cannot change the world or the people in it, but I can change the people who are in my inner circle. If someone is doing something I know to be wrong, I can either ignore them, look the other way and let them continue to be associated with me. Or I can speak up, hope they get the message and then remove them from my life if they don't and thereby remove or reduce the negativity they are compelled to spread. No, I know I won't completely reduce their negativity, however, I WILL reduce the people it touches by not allowing them to have contact with me and those who are an integral part of my everyday existence.