~ ~ Don't forget to check out the other posts in Stacked's "Unconventional Blog Tour"! ~ ~
Academia has lots and lots and lots of systems in place for assuring that credit is always given where credit is due. If you're writing a paper, there are particular ways to cite internet sources-- even tweets and Facebook posts.
But what about on the internet? We know we're supposed to cite sources, but a standardized system hasn't developed, and in the meantime, you could face a lawsuit if you steal someone else's work, even by accident.
Does that mean you can't ever elaborate on someone else's ideas or repeat a little of what someone else said? Of course not. Just use some common sense and always err on the side of caution.
*click to expand
As always, a couple of notes:
- Because of space/design limitations, I didn't include an important guideline: Never repost someone's article in its entirety. If you find yourself quoting more than a paragraph of a long post, or a few lines of a short one, contact the author for their preferences. When in doubt: less is more. (By the way, this also goes for infographics. Copying a whole post full of charts with a tiny link to the source at the end is uncool.)
- Remember that in addition to credits, citations are there to help others track down information they need. My English professor BFF suggested that links are like page numbers in academic citations. Taking two extra minutes to include them might save someone hours of searching, not to mention the help it will be if you need to retrace your steps someday.
- Media and academic sites have their own in-house rules, and so should you. Check out some examples, and consider whether yours fit within the general guidelines required of university students. Set a good example, and consider explaining your policy so that others will consider their own.
- I realize the hilarity of creating this infographic using pictures to which I don't own the copyright. I've used public domain images whenever possible, but sometimes it's hard to determine the real "owner" of an image, or whether it was a publicly-released promo photos, or whether it's a maniuplation and if so, who owns *that* incarnation...
It's a slippery subject, but in general, the reason the internet has images at all is because of "fair use." If I were making a profit on this project, JKR and Warner Brothers would sue the pants of me, but they *probably* won't because this is an educational project producing no profit and not causing them harm.
However. If I pretended to own them, or that JKR was behind this project, then goodbye pants, hello courtroom.
- Finally, if you're wondering what my qualifications are, I have a BA in History and Spanish and a smattering of grad classes. But I'm not trying to present myself as the ultimate authority on this topic (and feel free to make suggestions or corrections in the comments). In the end, no matter what your schooling, you should be fine if you just follow Wil Wheaton's law: Don't be a ... um, jerk.
Head over to Stacked for more posts about blogging ethics and best practices!
Credits:
- Most of the character pictures: Harry Potter wiki.
- Free hugs
- Dementor costume
- Hot Neville
- Weasley is our king
- Hermione
- Moody
- JKR quote
- Ford Anglia
- paper background
- fonts: Academy Engraved LET; Century Schoolbook; Arial
Dear JKR, I think Hermione would be on board with this project. Please don't sue the pants off me.
