Copy-Cats, Copyright and Clones

A few MORE words about
PLAGIARISM
Copyright © 2002, Revised Version © 2006, Caroline Bowen 

With such accumulated web-savvy, it comes as no surprise, therefore, that Crystal, in 2001, wrote an engaging book on language and the Internet. The book has a few paragraphs devoted to copyright issues, which pinpoint concisely key concerns for those who are interested in writing and the Web. While optimistic generally about the directions the Web is heading in terms of the way humans engage with each other electronically, and respect each other's rights and values, Crystal cautions:

"...it is perfectly possible to download a document to our own computer, change the text, then upload the new document to a Web site we have created for the purpose. In this way, it is relatively easy for people to steal the work of others, or to adapt that work in unsuspected ways." p. 207

And more sternly:

"Uncertain copyright and privacy issues embattle the Web." p. 239

One of the most annoying things is to have masses of text lifted verbatim and then subtly altered, often by interpolating the plagiarists' own silly words (or ones they have taken out of context from some other victim). For this author, these subtle changes and unexpected and inappropriate interpolations are often more distressing than the blatant plagiarism itself. Part of me screams, 'No, I did NOTwrite that!', 'That's not what I meant!', 'If you're GOING to steal my work, get it RIGHT!'

With regard to being hurtful, Standler (1997, 2001) makes this point absolutely perfectly when he says, "But there is also a personal, emotional issue when an author finds his / her work copied without permission or — worse — plagiarized. Copyright infringement and plagiarization hurt the true author."

Lacking responsibility
When perpetrators of plagiarism are contacted directly and asked to acknowledge or remove the work they are claiming as their own many respond with outrage, defending their position. Apologies are few, and the embarrassment one would expect to evoke, unusual. As Crystal (2001) points out:

"There is a widespread opinion that 'content is free', fuelled by the many Web pages where this is indeed the case. But freedom needs to be supplemented with responsibility, and this is often lacking." p. 207

Some apparent plagiarists do not realise what they have done, and if they do realise, they do not necessarily know, or want to know, that what they have done is wrong. 

The title of the page, [Web Page] (THE YEAR), THE URL http://  Date accessed

for example, if the identity of the author is unknown, the following is acceptable:

Copy-cats, copyright & clones, [Web Page] http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/plagiarism.htm  Date accessed: July 14, 2006.

If the identity of the author is known, a web document may be referenced like this:

Bowen, C. (2006). Copy-cats, copyright & clones, [Web Page] http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/plagiarism.htm  Date accessed: July 14, 2006.

URLs (web addresses) may be unlinked (as above) or linked, as follows:

Bowen, C. (2006). Copy-cats, copyright & clones, [Web Page] http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/plagiarism.htm  Date accessed: July 14, 2006.

Number
Author: The name of the author / or "Undisclosed"
Document date: Copyright year e.g., 2006 / or date e.g., 7/14/06
Title: Title in the Title Bar
Heading: Title of the document itself (in italics)
URL: The web address of the page (http:// )
Accessed: The date author citing the web page viewed the page

for example:

1.
Author: Caroline Bowen
Document date: 2006
Title: Copy-cats, copyright & clones
Heading: Copy-cats, copyright & clones
URL: http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/plagiarism.htm
Accessed: July 14, 2006

With articles that include print and electronic references it may be more practical to list them separately in a bibliography, with the print references listed alphabetically and the electronic references numbered in the order in which they appear in the document.

APA Style
The 5th Edition of the APA Style Manual provides comprehensive guidance for citing electronic references which differs from the approach outlined in previous editions.
Reference Examples for Electronic Source Material 
Electronic Media and URLs 
General Forms for Electronic References 
Citations in Text of Electronic Material

Adequate
This page is cited appropriately here. While the citation is adequate, it would be 'improved' with the addition of the date the author accessed the page.

Perfect
The author of this page emailed me to ask permission to use this language sample as an exercise for students. 'Delighted', I said! Then, rather than reproducing the sample on her own page, the author linked to mine. This is an example of common courtesy, which is at the root of professional courtesy, and exemplary Netiquette.

References
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association : Fifth Edition

Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Page updated 13 May 2009

http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/plagiarists.htm