Armchair BEA: Ethics

It's quite the heavy topic today at Armchair BEA! Ethics! I' not sure what I have to add to this discussion but we'll see what I come up with here.

First of all, I've been really lucky and have manged to stay out of the drama and far away from the center of unethical action! At least as far as I know. If plagiarism has touched me, I've remained blissfully unaware. I do remember one website that just took everyone's post and re-posted them, but I think we were credited... sort of. Not sure that makes it better, but I think they were busted.

Anyway, I get sad when all the hoopla happens with some sort of blogging drama, but I guess we end up all learning something from it. Hopefully. I think some people thrive on it though, so it will always be there and will always keep happening.

As far as giving credit, it's pretty simple. If you get an idea from someone else, say... "Hey,  I saw this on so and so's blog and this it what they said, and this what I think." Link to them. And then they will be, hopefully, pleased with the shout out and the follow up discussion.

If you are participating in an event or a meme or a weekly feature of some sort, link back to whoever is hosting that event. Makes sense, yes?

A recent (well sort of recent) thing I've been doing is grabbing blurbs from other reviews and adding them to my "other reviews" section of my own reviews. And I will copy and paste a sentence or two that stands out from the other reviewer, and then link to them. I love doing this, and now and then I wonder if they will be bugged, but truly, I think that they would just be happy to be featured/highlighted on my blog. So hopefully I'm covering my bases by the link and the shout out and hopefully sending other readers their way.

Some guidelines I suggest:

-- never copy and paste someone's whole blog post and post it as your own. I mean, why would you even do this?
-- never copy and paste someone s whole blog post and then just change the details and post it as your own. Same difference.
-- if you get an idea or a blurb (as I mentioned I do above) link to them! Link a lot. Link all the time. Link link link!!!
-- I'm not really that familiar with the FTC guidelines regarding ARCs, but I'm figuring it's safe just to say where you got the book from and disclose if it's an ARC.
-- bottom line, be yourself and try not to copy anyone else in any way really, because I mean, why else are you blogging if you don't want to do your own thing? Know what I mean? I just don't get it.
-- I also think we just simply should be nice.... nice in our comments to each other even if we disagree, nice in our reviews, even if we didn't like the book (and remember it's the book not the author you are reviewing) and nice in all our dealings with each other, on Twitter, and etc.

Hmmm... did I simplify too much? Is this issue more complicated? Don't copy, link a lot and be nice! Oh, and stay out of the drama! I think that about sums it up!