TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Use it. Quit agonizing over it.
Logic must prevail at some point.
Joyce_Flaherty -at- liebert -dot- com
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Plagiarizing
Author: Debbie Figus <debbief -at- NETVISION -dot- NET -dot- IL> at INTERNET
Date: 1/5/99 4:47 PM
Folks,
I specifically meant the following scenario:
You are glancing through another company's manual.
You read the following sentence:
Our Company is interested in the applications
you develop with our products, and we want to
help if you have problems with them.
It's a nicely written sentence, says everything it
needs to, and you were just about to work on the
Customer Support section of your manual.
Can you/would you use this sentence? Is there a
legal element to copyright and a moral one for
plagiarize? Would either of these obligate us
to twist and turn it around so it's our own creation,
even if that means it's not as pleasing a sentence?
