Ron Borges - Plagiarist?

Yeah. I was gonna say the exact same thing.

 

SF, i acknowledged that technically Borges stumbled

i guess what i'm saying, but apparently not very persuasively, is that borges' faux pas should not evoke the kind of moral outrage and self-righteousness seen on this thread

because originality is rare, and plagiarism is nuanced

given the nature of the notes-pooling system, i just can't find it in my heart or moral system to judge borges harshly

 

hh


i say this with all due respect: you're an idiot. and i proudly call myself a "friend of borges."

 

I just could not believe this paragraph in the Boston Phoenix story:

The blog moron doesn't quite grasp something: Borges had the consent of the Tacoma writer to use his stuff -- it was organized sharing. It was stupid of Borges not to rewrite it, but he wasn't stealing, it was given to him, presumably in exchange for notes that Borges provided in return. What the blogger is suggesting is stealing -- harvesting material without consent of the people who wrote it and then repackaging it as your own. The notes-sharing system may not be a good thing, but it is more honest than what the blogger suggests. I can't believe that A.) the blogger doesn't understand this, and B.) the Boston Phoenix wouldn't simply dismiss him as an idiot and find a more informed, credible person to offer comment. We don't have to quote everyone we talk to -- some we simply assess as unqualified and don't use them in a story.

 

I think implicit in what Shanoff was saying was that you should give attribution ("As the Tacoma News Tribune reported this week, Seattle WR Darrell Jackson is in a war of words with Seahawks management..."). I don't think he was advocating taking an article from a paper in another market and passing it off as your own.

 

Then why say Googling for information is somehow more honest than organized notes sharing: "Reporters don't need to travel any further than their laptop or reach out to any sources beyond Google to be on their way."

 

Why rely on someone to send stuff to you when it is easier to find stuff yourself? And instead of relying on what the other guy sends you, you can read everything and decide what will have the most reader interest in your market.

 

with friends like you shockey, borges really is in trouble

ftard

 

ron and i are just fine. he thanks you for your concern, though. ;D

 

I was surprised to see the shirttail saying that "material from other beat writers" is used regularly in those notes columns. That means the editors are complicit and are fine with their writers padding or fleshing out notes, in unexplained and uncredited ways, with material from other papers. Seems like opening a pandora's box of conflict with plagiarism policies.

 

rapier wit.

 

Because in one case you are using another person's work with permission, and in the other case you aren't.