In “Why Napster matters to writing: Filesharing as a new ethic of digital delivery” Danielle Nicole DeVoss and James E Porter contruct an intriguing argument for ways in which Napster and filesharing have influenced perceptions of ownership in written material. They urge teachers to stress the positive ethic of writing collaboratively and using others’ work/writing in a way that is acceptable rather than to threaten punishments for plagiarism.
While society is becoming more accustomed to publishing online in various forms, the majority of the instructors of writing and authors have been participating in a print-based society. How do we make such a transition without compromising (what we may only perceive to be) the intentions of writers of the past? Would writers of the present be ready to relinquish ownership in this form? What is this form?
In the high school where I used to teach English, I was quite devoted to turnitin.com and I admit that I’m not sure I’m ready to embrace the concept of “sharing” writing without citation–perhaps because I don’t have a strong understanding of the approach/product. DeVoss and Porter acknowledge taking another writer’s work as your own is wrong, and they emphasize the need share information with the public to bring forth new ideas. Are they proposing we work towards omitting documentation when we utilize material or only when we manipulate it? And how do we establish such a distinction?
