Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 17:04:29 +0200 From: Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@physics.iisc.ernet.in> To: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Plagiarism (Was: FreeBSD spokesman) Message-ID: <20010706170429.M99228@lpt.ens.fr> In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20010706071808.04536ef0@localhost>; from brett@lariat.org on Fri, Jul 06, 2001 at 08:54:20AM -0600 References: <20010626174756.A61831@blackhelicopters.org> <20010702211810.B325@sydney.worldwide.lemis.com> <4.3.2.7.2.20010703141550.045f5340@localhost> <20010705123729.M371@sydney.worldwide.lemis.com> <4.3.2.7.2.20010705125211.04638740@localhost> <20010705224626.O47721@lpt.ens.fr> <4.3.2.7.2.20010705163434.04524b00@localhost> <20010706103808.A99228@lpt.ens.fr> <20010706151421.I99228@lpt.ens.fr> <4.3.2.7.2.20010706071808.04536ef0@localhost>
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> "The University attaches great importance to the contribution of > original thought to scholarship. It attaches equal importance to the > correct attribution of authorities from which facts and opinions have > been derived. > > "The proper use of footnotes and other methods of attribution varies from > discipline to discipline. Failure to abide by the attribution standards of > the discipline concerned in the preparation of essays, term papers and > dissertations or theses may, in some cases, constitute plagiarism. > > "Students who are in any doubt about the proper forms of citation and > attribution of authorities and sources should discuss the matter in advance > with the faculty members for whom they are preparing assignments. In many > academic departments, written statem ents on matters of this kind are made > available as a matter of routine or can be obtained on request." Note the word "may". Note also that this refers to scholarly academic writing, where citations are indeed important. Quoting without naming the original is undoubtedly undesirable and in some circumstances unethical in scholarly academic writing, which an article on DaemonNews is not. But the word "plagiarism" for what Greg did is completely wrong. > I happen to be spending the weekend at the house of a scholar who, > while he doesn't have the OED, has Webster's New International > Dictionary of the English Language. (The book is so heavy that it's > awkward to lift; he keeps it on a stand in his study.) It says: > > plagiarize (v.t.): To steal or purloin and use as one's own (The > ideas, words, artistic productions, etc., of another); to use > without due credit the ideas, expressions, or productions of > (another). "Use" is not defined in the second part, but if we take the meaning to be the same as in the first clause, the meaning is "use as one's own", not "quote for reference". (Aside: Webster has mutilated the English language -- or American language, as some editions call it -- in so many other respects that perhaps a little more doesn't hurt.... not that recent entries to the OED are guilt-free, though.) > Another authoritative reference: The MLA Style Manual > (http://www.mla.org/www_mla_org/style/style_index.asp?mode=section) > which is the gold standard among academic syle guides. My friend > has this here, too. It states, simply: > > "Plagiarism is the use of another person's ideas or expressions > in your writing without acknowledging the source." But he did acknowledge the source, a mailing list. Even if he didn't, I take "use" to mean "use as your own ideas", not "refer to in quotation marks". R To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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