I’m also registered as independent, and was lamenting not getting a say in the primary, when someone clued me in to changing my registration to democrat for the primary, then back to independent. In CT, only independents can change so late because they’re considered ‘unaffiliated’.

I’ve also been lamenting the ever-increasing tendency of people to choose being funny over being kind. S&D for the sake of S&D, not even S&D to make or emphasize a legitimate point. Don’t get me started on S&D in place of truth (Ann Coulter, et al.) While sarcasm is a long-standing family tradition, we work hard to cull out meanness. Still and despite, we’ve all committed Famous Artist error. It’s like a right of passage; you know you’re reasonably close to maturity when you can recognize (and acknowledge) you’ve been a schmuck. And, barring the invention of a schmuck filter (expensive version installed in brain, cheap version installed in mouth) most of us will stray back into schmuck world on occasion. It’s like the tetanus vaccine; periodic booster shot required. Or, maybe rabies is a better example . . .

As handy as a schmuck filter would be, though, if there are any research dollars left after we deal with global warming, maybe it’s time we developed a replacement conscience for insertion (forcibly, if necessary) into the heads of those individuals who’ve lost–or never had–their own. Because, plagiarism is a kind of theft that takes planning, forethought, and afterthought, and anyone with even a minimally active conscience has plenty of opportunity to step back from the brink of commission. It’s also a wide-scale con perpetrated on every individual who bought the tainted work.

On second thought, replacement consciences would have put the brakes on global warming years ago. Maybe, along with honors courses, our schools should be offering courses on honor. Mandatory courses. Every year. Starting in preschool. Mandatory refresher courses every six months for anyone holding public office.

0

0

Faye

0

In the meantime, Jenny, thank you for such a thoughtful post. I’ll do my best to join you and the rest on the S&D wagon. Whomever noted above that sometimes, it’s better to be kind than smart is right.

0

0

I would like to bring back attention to what I thought of as Jenny’s main point in the original post. Snide and demeaning is easy and falling into that style of discourse creates more negativity all around us. Jenny finds this a generally bad thing for a list of well supported reasons and she personally is trying to stop doing that.

I find that profound and a pretty good idea, myself.

But nowhere do I get her saying anyone else has to follow her lead or that free speech needs to be in anyway limited.(Other than this blog, which is her personal problem)

As far as the dishwasher goes, if I am complemented on my cooking, I tend to grind my teeth less.

0

It’s time to step back and let the subject matter be investigated by the proper authorities. Let them state what the crime is and punish the author as per the laws of our country.

The interesting question for me is, why are so many continuing to sit in judgment? I have my own theories on that but I’ll keep them to myself.

0

There was a comment up here, and someone suggested that it was a personal attack. I pulled both posts and sent the post in question to the Forums moderators to make a judgment call. If they say it’s not a personal attack, both comments go back up. If they say it is, I’ll apologize for my poor judgment and for any distress I may have caused. I’m the one responsible for what goes up on this site, and I do take that seriously.

Addendum:
Well, that was interesting.
The mods, who are aces at this, pretty much agreed on the following:
The comment in question made a valid point.
The comment in question was not a personal attack.
The comment in question was couched in such S&D that the point it made was obscured and the criticism of actions sounded like a personal attack.
In other words, the tone of comment made it inflammatory and obscured its communication.

Yes, the irony kind of gets me, too.

Since I don’t want a flame war here, and since the mods are agreed that they’d pull it because of the S&D, it’s staying down, along with the reply to it and my lame attempts to find middle ground. I apologize to both commenters for pulling their comments and for the distress this has caused them.

This is the first time I’ve ever pulled comments that weren’t spam. Still not sure it’s the right thing, but the mods are never wrong, so I have to go with their call.

0

I can’t help but think the Cassie Edwards story would make a great Russian novel. You do something pretty stupid while young (? not fact checking here), and then your chickens get discovered and pushed back on your roost by new technology. You didn’t murder your landlady, but you did something that is reprehensible to most people in your profession. And what happens next? Agentless, friendless, left to live alone and be eaten by Aslatians? (Oh, wait, that’s British literature there.)

Sorry about the black humor — but I think the story illustrates a very basic human conflict, and maybe that’s why it affects me so deeply. Do you do nothing, in the hope that nothing does unto you? Or do you go out there, make mistakes — make horrible mistakes — and maybe do some good stuff, and just brush off the slings and arrows and keep on trucking, because the although the punishments are great, the rewards are great too?

Well, anyway, I don’t know what will happen to the author. I hope the punishment fits the crime — it’d be sad if this discouraged young writers from even taking a shot at the buiness. It’s easy to say, “if they don’t plagiarize, they won’t have a problem.” But how many romance novelists get formal schooling in the legal tangles of their profession? How many English teachers are teaching their kids the difference between fair use and stealing? How many English teachers really understand the difference themselves?

Oh dear. A lot of general “yous” and way too many rhetorical questions. At the very least, the storm has made some people think.

0

That said, while I myself have been guilty of S&D behavior more often than I’d like to recall, I have never seen Nora, on the site in question or any other, conduct herself with anything but great decorum and respect for all, even those who disagree with her.

I take issue with the idea that because she’s visible, she shouldn’t speak her mind. Nothing I’ve read from her on it has been anything but appropriate and respectful. If I had had Nora’s personal experience with this issue, I wouldn’t have handled it as well. I get pissy.

I don’t think Jenny has done anything wrong, either. This post wasn’t about Cassie Edwards, it was an open question about a tone it’s so easy to take on the internet, and a tone which created a splinter issue when this news was delivered. I like the SBs, always have, but liking them doesn’t mean I’m gonna automatically like everything they do, any more than not liking the way the news was delivered is a defense of plagiarism. Two separate issues.

I am glad the issue of plagiarism did come up, and if Nora’s spotlight gives her the forum to bring that issue to the forefront, then more power to her. Theft is still theft whether you can hold the stolen material in your hand or not.

I’m also glad that Jenny talked about the way the news was delivered, because I think it’s an important issue to discuss, and because so many people have taken it as a defense of Cassie Edwards and plagiarism, which it is not.

As far as whether Deb’s post should have been allowed to stand, Jenny, you came right in and re-set the tone without flaming anyone. I think in the context of the free speech vs. policed blog, you made the best call. It was a compromise, but I think it’s important for a site owner to set the tone and maintain it, which you did. After that, the only person answerable for Deb’s statements is Deb.

0

0

We live in a world where more and more news is becoming more obviously editorialized in a bid for ratings, and people are noticing. It’s part of critical thinking to consider your sources and their motivations, because there’s a real problem with biased news sources.

When you’re an editorial site, you have to expect questions to arise on your motivation in reporting news items. It then falls on you to do the best you can keeping the editorializing out of the news items.

Now onto Jenny’s blog post. We’ve all stepped in it a few times, and it’s big to admit it on the internutz and try to learn from it and move on.

0

I think snide and demeaning with a message can be effective, but once you open that door it’s hard to close it.

One of the things I love about the people who comment on this blog is that they disagree all the time but nobody flames. (I do watch the comments pretty closely but I don’t think I’ve ever pulled anything that wasn’t spam.) People get pretty upset sometimes, but I can’t remember any attacks. Of course my next post is going to be on sock creatures so the opportunity for flame wars is, uh, not great.

0

Plagiarism issues really make my head hurt. I’ve *never* seen a footnote in a romance novel — and I may have seen an acknowlegement or two, but I may be hallucinating them. What’s word for word? Three words in a row makes a case for plagiarism? The later examples were pretty obvious borrowed, I admit, but some of the earlier ones were . . . well, I could imagine myself doing it, maybe. If I wrote about poison arrow venom. Possibly.

And what happens if it’s zeitgeist in action, like me and the Smart Bitches being on the same brainwave today?

I swear, the whole thing makes me want to put away my keyboard and never write another word again. Which may possibly be a blessing to all humanity . . . .

I’m so late writing this, I bet nobody reads it anyway. (-: Vent my insecurities on an outdated blog comment — cheaper than psychotherapy.

0

I think snide and demeaning can be an important tool in the humor repertoire. Look at Swift and Mark Twain. They used snide and demeaning very skillfully to make important points that probably wouldn’t have gotten past their readers radar if it had been cloaked in Rational Discussion.

I think if you use snide and demeaning, you have to be ready to get it flung back to you. And if you get suave wittiness and forgiveness flung back at you instead, then you need to take the point, apologize and move on.

I wrote an anonymous humor column when I was in my early 20s, and made fun of Albanians. Not because I actually know any Albanians, but just because they have a mysterious country, and I’d seen some other authors making fun of Albanians. And someone wrote back to me, and told me I shouldn’t make fun of Albanians, they are people too.

If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a noise? If I make fun of Albanians, but no Albanians are around to hear it, is it still discrimination?

It’s a very tough point to make. (And I wasn’t actually writing about Albanians — I was writing a pseudo-advice column for foreigners in Japan.) Where does humor cross the line? Some snide humor can last for 100s of years — other fades so quickly one wonders how the author could have thought it was funny in the first place. Is a laugh worth making fun of other people?

I think it’s very much up to the author. You (and this is a general you, like all my yous) have to go with your conscience.

0

0

0

But, gee whillikers, I love your writing. Just wanted to say thanks again for writing BET ME, which is the book I’m reading today. My bursitis is killing me, I have no idea how we’re going to live within our means the next few years, and the gray is overcoming the blonde all over the front of my head.

But for several hours, I can watch (and listen to) these adorable 30-somethings falling into True Love, and once I am sure (again) they’re getting their HEA, I can tie on my apron and get back into the struggle with a little grin in the back of my mind.

Thanks, Jennifer Crusie.

0

0

Which annoys me. So if Blurgle turns out to be a real human being, let me know. Otherwise, I’m going to assume it’s spam to get people to the website.

0