brewmaster15
03-26-2014, 10:00 AM
Hi all,
I think now-adays most people here have been participating on forums for a while and probably have been involved in several forums and discussion boards. I want to take a few minutes to remind members about some forum etiquette and standards.
Often time I read a thread or a post where theres a discussion going on and members start to really get into it. People like to participate in these threads, which is good. Whats not good is when people state their opinions and experiences as facts. People are more than welcome to post their opinions and personal experiences on a topic. If you do so, a good way to get across that is an opinion is to use the abbreviation "IMO" or "IMHO" (IN MY OPINION/IN MY HUMBLE OPINION). If it was something that was your personal experience , you can qualify the comment by saying, "IME" or "IMHE" (IN MY Experience/IN MY HUMBLE Experience). Its important to qualify your comments like this because if you don't they may be taken as fact and when novices read them they can internalize them as facts.
Plagarism and copy right. ...We've had issues where members have posted pictures from other sites and individuals without their knowledge or permission. This is not acceptible here. If you are going to use the works of someone else , you need to get permission from the owner. Assume that any image you do not own is the property of someone else. Same goes for videos.. Places like You Tube allow you to post links to their videos and thats okay to do here.
An area that is a bit grey is giving credit for sources of information. Generally if you paraphrase something that you read somewhere else.... You don't have to give credit or get permission, but its still good form to give that credit. However if you quote something specific, you must give credit...usually a link back to the website, or the name of the article and author is sufficient.... but be aware, the each website and book has their own permission requirements, and you need to follow them. Doing this not only gives credit where it is due, but it also gives members an opportunity to read further on a topic and judge for themselves if something is factual.
Last note..Paroting. Paroting is the act of taken information that one person posts and posting it as if you are the originator... If you read something and want to share it , thats cool...but give credit where its due. Also related to this is when a person with no direct experience on a topic, parots someone else and comes across as an expert on the topic. This is dangerous, especially if the person paroting is trying to help someone. Often times theres details that are missed and the good intentioned help actually can harm. Think very carefully when you dish out information without verifying it yourself or having first hand experience...also be very careful if you are the recipient of that information.
In closing...Posting on a forum should follow much the same rules as writing a paper, or book. When you use someone elses information, please give credit where it is due. If not you are plagarizing and guilty of copy right infringement...which is both illegal and against our stated forum rules. Its also just not a cool thing to do stealing someone elses work without their permission.
best always,
Al
I think now-adays most people here have been participating on forums for a while and probably have been involved in several forums and discussion boards. I want to take a few minutes to remind members about some forum etiquette and standards.
Often time I read a thread or a post where theres a discussion going on and members start to really get into it. People like to participate in these threads, which is good. Whats not good is when people state their opinions and experiences as facts. People are more than welcome to post their opinions and personal experiences on a topic. If you do so, a good way to get across that is an opinion is to use the abbreviation "IMO" or "IMHO" (IN MY OPINION/IN MY HUMBLE OPINION). If it was something that was your personal experience , you can qualify the comment by saying, "IME" or "IMHE" (IN MY Experience/IN MY HUMBLE Experience). Its important to qualify your comments like this because if you don't they may be taken as fact and when novices read them they can internalize them as facts.
Plagarism and copy right. ...We've had issues where members have posted pictures from other sites and individuals without their knowledge or permission. This is not acceptible here. If you are going to use the works of someone else , you need to get permission from the owner. Assume that any image you do not own is the property of someone else. Same goes for videos.. Places like You Tube allow you to post links to their videos and thats okay to do here.
An area that is a bit grey is giving credit for sources of information. Generally if you paraphrase something that you read somewhere else.... You don't have to give credit or get permission, but its still good form to give that credit. However if you quote something specific, you must give credit...usually a link back to the website, or the name of the article and author is sufficient.... but be aware, the each website and book has their own permission requirements, and you need to follow them. Doing this not only gives credit where it is due, but it also gives members an opportunity to read further on a topic and judge for themselves if something is factual.
Last note..Paroting. Paroting is the act of taken information that one person posts and posting it as if you are the originator... If you read something and want to share it , thats cool...but give credit where its due. Also related to this is when a person with no direct experience on a topic, parots someone else and comes across as an expert on the topic. This is dangerous, especially if the person paroting is trying to help someone. Often times theres details that are missed and the good intentioned help actually can harm. Think very carefully when you dish out information without verifying it yourself or having first hand experience...also be very careful if you are the recipient of that information.
In closing...Posting on a forum should follow much the same rules as writing a paper, or book. When you use someone elses information, please give credit where it is due. If not you are plagarizing and guilty of copy right infringement...which is both illegal and against our stated forum rules. Its also just not a cool thing to do stealing someone elses work without their permission.
best always,
Al