Re: Borrowing Web Site Language/Content

["Frank Sherwood" <fsherwoo@Hermes.GC.PeachNet.EDU>]

Date:          Wed, 30 Jul 1997 20:41:03 -0500
Reply-to:      wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu
From:          Muriel Harris <harrism@omni.cc.purdue.edu>
To:            Multiple recipients of list <wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu>
Subject:       Re: Borrowing Web Site Language/Content


> This is my problem:  how much language can I borrow from what others have
> done?  For example, I really liked Purdue's list of hints for how to best
> prepare for a tutorial.  I want it for my page!  I would adjust language,
> maybe add to it/alter it as time went on, but the concept and most of the
> words would still be Purdue's.  What is the protocol in a situation like
> this?
> 
> Wendy Smith
> 
> 

Hey Wendy, thanks for the kind words about our "tailor your tutorial"
file! It's just the Web version of a handout we give to our students,
and while I would love to claim that it has caused wildly noticeable
improvement, we probably still have the same ratio of kids coming in
who put down the paper on the table, and figure from then on, it's up
to the tutor to decide what to do. I've thought a lot about this,
trying to revise and revise that handout, and I think I've finally
realized that verbalizing what a kid wants to do with a draft of a 
paper is a highly complex matter. If the whole tutorial is spent on
getting clear picture of what to work on, then there has been a major
leap forward, and that writer may just leave knowing more about how to
rework a draft. So, asking all students to come in with a clear idea
of what to work on is not a realistic expectation...not should it be
for writers learning to write better.

As for incorporating words from other texts on the Web, you really,
really don't want to do that. Our legal beagles here go into rapid
shallow breathing if we don't post that copyright notice on
everything. As far as they're concerned, it's really theirs (i.e., the
university's). I've never tried to pin them down as to
percentages. That is, how much can one incorporate from another text
before it's plagiarism. Of course, as writing teachers, we've never
agreed on this either. But intellectual property rights is a hot topic
now. So, why not just link to the sites you like? 

Mickey



-- 
Mickey Harris
harrism@omni.cc.purdue.edu

Boy, it goes without saying your page is great!  But I cannot find 
the tailor your tutorial file.

off on the sidelight here, though, in the disclaimer of your legal 
beagles breathing shallow it says, "Portions of this document may be 
copyrighted by other organizations."  I think I know what that means 
but isn't it more than a little ambiguous?

Thanks again for all the help.



Frank Sherwood
Gainesville College
Gainesville, GA