I have noticed a rise in Waymarks being submitted with most or all of the write-up being Copy/Pasted from another web site. No citation of that other web site is listed. I have Declined them for that reason. I will include something like this in my decline note:

Plagiarizing is frowned upon by Waymarking. If you must Copy/Paste please list your source.

"Website.com" does have a very nice write-up.("Website.com" is the site where I found the identical write-up) Declined until your source's website, or other source by title and author is listed or until it is rewritten in your own words. Then I will be happy to approve it. 8Nuts MotherGoose

I have had Waymarks resubmitted with the Source listed and I have approved them. I 'sometimes' tell them that the photo and location are great, but there is a slight problem.

Is this appropriate? Am I stepping out of bounds? Am I sounding unfriendly?

Dear 8NMG,

Not at all, plagiarizing is a serious issue and everyone should take some steps to limit it.  Working it educational software, I find my companies software copies constantly in the Middle East, and we take very harsh measures. You have posted a very gentle reminder to waymarkers to write their own material or document where it is from.

Lucky Stars

Plagiarizing is certainly something to be avoided.  And providing sources is a must, but remember that people can use a certain percentage of the content.

 

However, I'm no specialist on this.

 

I think your blurb is a good one.

 

BQ

8Nuts MotherGoose:

I have noticed a rise in Waymarks being submitted with most or all of the write-up being Copy/Pasted from another web site. No citation of that other web site is listed. I have Declined them for that reason. I will include something like this in my decline note:

Plagiarizing is frowned upon by Waymarking. If you must Copy/Paste please list your source.

"Website.com" does have a very nice write-up.("Website.com" is the site where I found the identical write-up) Declined until your source's website, or other source by title and author is listed or until it is rewritten in your own words. Then I will be happy to approve it. 8Nuts MotherGoose

I have had Waymarks resubmitted with the Source listed and I have approved them. I 'sometimes' tell them that the photo and location are great, but there is a slight problem.

Is this appropriate? Am I stepping out of bounds? Am I sounding unfriendly?

I think you are right to correct people who make innocent mistakes. If you can make the assumption that they just didn't know any better, I would stay away from using the P-word. It's a pretty powerful word with negative connotations deeper than a beginners mistake.

I like to cut and paste from official websites, because they know more about the subject than I do. I learned official methods to cite sources when writing college papers, but I feel more comfortable citing on my waymarks in this form... The webiste says (url) : "blah-blah-blah". It's still giving credit, but less formally. If it's just one sentence, I don't usually bother.

I think you're right on target 8NutsMothergoose.  Politely reject the submission when the text is lifted from another website, unless credit is given.  Usually it is information that you couldn't have known otherwise.  Credit should be given to those that did the research (or blame if it is wrong), and crafted the prose.

What is Plagiarism

Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means

1. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
2. to use (another's production) without crediting the source
3. to commit literary theft
4. to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

 

If a place is added to add the url of the website of the object you are Waymarking.

Or you add the url to your write up which I always try to do.

As long as you do not lie about it I think we are fine.

I always try to add something of my own when the website knows more than me which is most of the time.But I still add something of my own.

Maybe those of us who are category creators could add something like this to our posting requirements:

"If you are using text from a book or Website remember to cite your source."

It's a gentle reminder to new waymarkers, as USGlobetrotters said.  Yes, people should know that you can't copy someone elses work, but this is just a reminder that officers will notice copied text.

 

This is the text I have used on the categories that I have created.

*Submissions that use photos or text obtained directly from an internet source that has not been cited will be denied*

I need to go back and verify that I have it in all of my categories though and possibly add the more friendly version that Hikenutty suggests.

Some of my Categories state:
 Quoted text must be accompanied by credits to the author/web-page or other printed source.
-------
... and I always credit my sources on my Waymarks if needed.

BTW: Wikipedia can be quoted without credits as it is open source information.(and not to be taken as gospel)

Some information on some of the pages I reviewed  have quotes per batum which will also be turned down.

(FYI:  I posted 2 copyrighted photos with the permission of the owners by stating that I would credit them and/or add his weblink . ...as they were much better than what I had added to the gallery)


."It is not the amount of time we live, but what we do with the time we have."

Jake39:

Quoted text must be accompanied by credits to the author/web-page or other printed source.

Can I steal that for my categories?  Or do I need permission?

From what I remember way back in high school and college writing classes - facts are not copyrighted, can't be copyrighted, and can't be stolen.  Paraphrasing a source should be credited, especially if it's an idea, but doesn't have to be, and usually isn't, in journalism.   Word-for-word copying should be surrounded in quotations and credited.

In order to avoid copying, I reduce the facts I get from different sources (NRHP narratives, wiki, websites, handbook of texas on-line, some books I have) into short bullets, then I rearrange the bullets into prose.  Hopefully what I read didn't stick in my head long enough for it to come back out verbatim.

But it's so easy just to paraphrase - to take someone else's words and twist them around until they're your own - I don't understand why people don't even do that much.

I think it's funny trying to identify the source of some of the material.  If it is written in a mixture of second person and first person plural (YOU will love OUR selection) it's directly from advertising copy.  If it goes on and on about every single little architectural detail until your eyes cross (the windows are hung 2 over 2...), it's from an NRHP narrative.  And if it digresses on some tangent that really doesn't have much to do with anything, it's from wiki (especially if it looks like the words are squared, or cubed, or to the power of 4, or the power of 5...).

Yes - s5280ft      you may use that line.

I will only charge  by page view, clicks on the page and twice the $.00  value on week-ends and 10% of gross sales.  .

Quote: (I think it's funny trying to identify the source of some of the material.  If it is written in a mixture of second person and first person plural (YOU will love OUR selection) /quote. <- JimmyEv

I agree when I see an article that states ... we are open or you can reach us!! instead of -> they are open and you can reach them, that it says that the submitter doesn't even take the time to change the wording to fit the first person narrative.

Jake39:

s5280ft:

Jake39:

Quoted text must be accompanied by credits to the author/web-page or other printed source.

Can I steal that for my categories?  Or do I need permission?

Yes - s5280ft      you may use that line.

I will only charge  by page view, clicks on the page and twice the $.00  value on week-ends and 10% of gross sales.  .

May I use that line as well under the same terms and conditions?

JimmyEv:

But it's so easy just to paraphrase - to take someone else's words and twist them around until they're your own - I don't understand why people don't even do that much.

Agreed this has been my thought as well.

I had problems with this early on with a submission that plagiarized from a web page verbatim. I declined it (politely) and unfortunately the poster did not resubmit and hasn't posted anything since that I am aware of.

This situation brought my awareness up to a new level and the numerous threads that have popped up shows that is is indeed a bit of a problem.

When I say my awareness was brought to a new level what I mean is this. I wasn't really aware of the issues and "rules" myself and had to change my own early practices a bit. If you look at my early waymarks there might be an instance or two where I posted something back then in a way that I would never post now. Those were done in ignorance and  I have corrected a few that I have come across. Anyhow I share this to remind myself and others that there is a learning curve to Waymarking and for some users this is part of the curve.

On a recently declined entry I used this template, which still needs some work...

 

If you are going to 'borrow' text and/or images to create a Waymark listing, you should also cite your source. Otherwise this is plagiarism and could constitute copyright infringement. Please resubmit with citations or revise this listing to use elements of your own authoring.

 

BQ

Jake39:

BTW: Wikipedia can be quoted without credits as it is open source information.(and not to be taken as gospel)

Is the waymarking project considered an open source project? If not are their pros and cons to making it one?

After working on it for a bit, here is my latest template which anyone is welcome to use or modify.  Thanks to the OP for inspiring me.

 

When you create a Waymark listing that borrows text and/or images from other sources you should also cite your sources to credit them for their content. Otherwise this is plagiarism and could constitute copyright infringement. Please resubmit with citations where applicable or revise this listing to use only elements of your own authoring.   For more information on this topic see the article on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

 

BQ

I like that, but it's hard to read like legalese.

Here's how to paraphrase:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/

From the link provided by BQ on wikipedia:  "A copyrighted work may contain elements which are not copyrightable, such as facts, ideas, themes, or content in the public domain." So you can basically extract facts, ideas, themes or content from another source, put them in your own words, and use them.

From the US Copyright Office:  "Works by the U. S. government are not eligible for U. S. copyright protection." I think this covers the American Guide Series and NRHP narratives, as well as other information put out there by the National Park Service.

One thing that confuses me are photographs.  You can't copy a photograph, but you can take a photograph of an object, say a building (the work of the architect), a painting (the work of the painter) or a sculpture (the work of the sculptor), and that's not plagiarizing.  But what about a photograph of a photograph (the work of a photographer)?

Wish I had looked here before declining one this morning.  I will use your words (do I use quotation marks, italics, or just plagarize them?)  Although I tend to like Hikenutty's 'gentler' rendition, the waymarker needs to know it has to be resubmitted - appropriately.  

fishingwishing:

Wish I had looked here before declining one this morning.  I will use your words (do I use quotation marks, italics, or just plagarize them?)  Although I tend to like Hikenutty's 'gentler' rendition, the waymarker needs to know it has to be resubmitted - appropriately.  

 

That's because Hikenutty is warm and fuzzy like a bunny... you know "Way-Angel".  And I'm cold hearted and anal retentive... you know "Way-eerrrr.... you know, I'll let you fill that in!

 

BQ

Two thoughts:

1) When I was writing college papers, I was taught that even paraphrased information should be referenced.

2) When I uploaded pictures for Wikipedia, I couldn't upload without adding a gazzionion references to the fact that I was giving my picture to the public domain, and I was warned that my pictures could be sold or copied by anyone. So, when I have a waymark that has a crappy picture, (flash issues, people in my picture, etc.) would it be okay to use a wiki public domain picture, with a note saying where it came from, but no requirement to ask for permission?

globetrotters.us:

Two thoughts:

1) When I was writing college papers, I was taught that even paraphrased information should be referenced.

2) When I uploaded pictures for Wikipedia, I couldn't upload without adding a gazzionion references to the fact that I was giving my picture to the public domain, and I was warned that my pictures could be sold or copied by anyone. So, when I have a waymark that has a crappy picture, (flash issues, people in my picture, etc.) would it be okay to use a wiki public domain picture, with a note saying where it came from, but no requirement to ask for permission?

If you only put the Wiki photo (that is not your own) on the waymark, I for one, will reject your waymark.

I'll second that Bruce.

According to Wiki' -
 If you want to reuse content from Wikipedia, first read the Reusers' rights and obligations section. You should then read the GNU Free Documentation License.

There are pages and pages of information on various subjects to be found on Wikipedia Copyrights>

I guess it all comes back to the poorly defined purpose of waymarking.

Are we inventorying the GPS coordinates of locations within categories, or showcasing our individual knowledge and artistic ability? I guess it all depends what category you are posting in.

There aren't very many subjects that I know well enough to share any of my individual knowledge about. Very few of my photos could be considered good artistically. But, I'm pretty good at hitting the mark button on my GPS, and most times I transcribe the numbers right. When I look at the first few waymarking categories, that seemed to be the main criteria. I love wi-fi, because I don't even need to put a picture up! It's kind of sad that some of the categories have become places where a person might be afraid to post because they were unsure of their own artisitic ability.

globetrotters.us:

I guess it all comes back to the poorly defined purpose of waymarking.

Are we inventorying the GPS coordinates of locations within categories, or showcasing our individual knowledge and artistic ability? I guess it all depends what category you are posting in.

There aren't very many subjects that I know well enough to share any of my individual knowledge about. Very few of my photos could be considered good artistically. But, I'm pretty good at hitting the mark button on my GPS, and most times I transcribe the numbers right. When I look at the first few waymarking categories, that seemed to be the main criteria. I love wi-fi, because I don't even need to put a picture up! It's kind of sad that some of the categories have become places where a person might be afraid to post because they were unsure of their own artisitic ability.

If all waymarking was about was categorizing GPS coordinates then the site could look like this:

Browse by County - Caldwell, Feature Type - Cemetery

Feature	Type	County	USGS Topo Map	Elevation	Lat	Lon
Bowman Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Kidder	932 feet	39.779ºN	94.004ºW
Brown Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Polo	954 feet	39.613ºN	94.072ºW
Cameron Memorial Gardens	Cemetery	Caldwell	Cameron East	997 feet	39.744ºN	94.202ºW
Cates Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Elmira	951 feet	39.536ºN	94.134ºW
Dixon Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Polo	971 feet	39.556ºN	94.084ºW
Dunkard Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Polo	977 feet	39.576ºN	94.092ºW
Dustin Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Hamilton West	935 feet	39.666ºN	94.009ºW
Estes Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Polo	1004 feet	39.573ºN	94.075ºW
Highland Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Hamilton West	981 feet	39.748ºN	94.022ºW
Hill Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Cameron East	909 feet	39.663ºN	94.132ºW
Kenney Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Winston	997 feet	39.765ºN	94.130ºW
Kidder Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Winston	1010 feet	39.773ºN	94.129ºW
Mayes Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Polo	987 feet	39.563ºN	94.110ºW
McDaniel Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Cameron East	974 feet	39.746ºN	94.203ºW
Morris Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Hamilton West	961 feet	39.642ºN	94.109ºW
Paxton Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Cameron East	991 feet	39.640ºN	94.136ºW
Sloan Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Elmira	984 feet	39.578ºN	94.133ºW
Wiley Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Polo	997 feet	39.550ºN	94.048ºW
Zeikle Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Elmira	974 feet	39.534ºN	94.135ºW
Zimmerman Cemetery	Cemetery	Caldwell	Polo	968 feet	39.530ºN	94.039ºW

-credit to www.topozone

I don't think that  is what was envisioned for the site.  I don't think it was envisioned to be a phone book with coordinates.   I have never had a waymark rejected because of lack of artistic ability of any of my photos.  I have rejected a few of my own photos or had to lighten up when they were too dark.  Why is it sad that people managing a category want it to look good? 

Wow, thats cool! Wouldn't it be great if that kind of information were available for everything? I keep finding Starbucks that have the location wrong on the map on the Strabucks website.

What is "sad" is people feeling bad (I made a poem) or afraid to post a new waymark.

My vision is a partnership between the person creating the waymark, and the people visiting the waymark to work together to make a a waymark that adds the most value. I have clicked in on a visit picture and selected it for my main picture, because my visitor took a better picture than I did.

In the Sad world, I would have looked at my picture, and not even bothered because it wasn't good enough, and the visitor never would have contributed their part, because they weren't into creating waymarks, and everyone loses.

I truly believe that people working together produces better results through synegy, and each small step goes to making the world a better place.