Content & Writing Tycoon

**Decaf** · 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomsonbsa

Any writing you borrow from another author or source HAS to be cited, end of question. It doesn't matter whether it's wikipedia or a definition from a dictionary. Unless it's common knowledge. be on the safe side and site it. And don't plagiarize, it's just not fair to the original mind and it's creation

Not if someone has given up the copyright to the material, released it with out a license, and/or asked for credit to be given back to the original author.

If they say its non-copyrighted then it is, and if they ask for credit and you don't give it to them, you can get mega sued.

**Learning Newbie** · 10-28-2008, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foldingtablesm

Plagerism is plagerism.

Sure, and donkeys are donkeys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by foldingtablesm

If it wasn't necessary to cite Wikipedia than why would they have a page with instructions on how to cite it?

Reading, or even glancing over, the page you dug up a link to, would answer your question.

Quote:

As with any source, especially one of unknown authorship, you should be wary and independently verify the accuracy of Wikipedia information if possible. For many purposes, but particularly in academia, Wikipedia may not be an acceptable source;[1] indeed, some professors and teachers may reject Wikipedia-sourced material completely. This is especially true when it is used uncorroborated.
We advise special caution when using Wikipedia as a source for research projects. Normal academic usage of Wikipedia and other encyclopedias is for getting the general facts of a problem and to gather keywords, references and bibliographical pointers, but not as a source in itself. Remember that Wikipedia is a wiki, which means that anyone in the world can edit an article, deleting accurate information or adding false information, which the reader may not recognize.
However, we are also confident that Wikipedia provides good overviews of most topics that it covers. See Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia, Caution on academic use of Wikipedia and our General Disclaimer page, for more information.
A wiki is an unusual medium, and as such doesn't conform well to the usual book-citation formats. Wiki is not paper, so you will need to use an electronic-citation format instead. The exact format will depend upon the citation guide that you are following, but here are a few general principles to consider:

Quote:

Originally Posted by foldingtablesm

Don't steal ideas, concepts, or words

You can't steal something that has been freely given to you.

It's admirable that you seem to be standing up for the rights of content producers in general. But you're confusing people who read this thread - there was a very specific question about using content from Wikipedia, which is entirely unlike using content from Joe's Blog. Wikipedia grants the public the right to use any and all of its content for any use.

**Mark Henderson** · 10-28-2008, 08:01 PM

I have used a lot of wiki content in my history of sites and can honestly say i have never had any real problems. It's usually better practice to use wiki as a reference and write your own articles from your research.

**Decaf** · 10-28-2008, 08:43 PM

Its better to have cited them and not need it then need it and not have cited them.

**Learning Newbie** · 10-29-2008, 06:32 PM

Fair enough, but it's even better to know whether you need to cite or not, than it is to guess and hedge.

**Decaf** · 10-29-2008, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

Fair enough, but it's even better to know whether you need to cite or not, than it is to guess and hedge.

True, and that's why sending a email before its sent will never hurt, and if your able to ask for Written permission with a signature so that if anything comes up you can show your proof.

**alysha** · 10-29-2008, 11:07 PM

Use wikipedia only as a source of information. Write your own unique content.

**whguru** · 10-30-2008, 01:40 AM

Even if you had no problem with Wikipedia for copying its free content, your website will have duplicate content--with or without citations. Writing the article in your own words would be easier and safer.