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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Internet Linking and Citation

As I'm gearing up for the end of the school year I'm writing a lot of papers, and with papers comes the arguable trauma of citing. MLA, APA, Chicago, McGill, blah blah blah. There are so many different styles, so many ways to make small errors, and so many ways to be terrified you'll accidentally not cite something properly, get dragged in front of the dean and thrown out of your masters program because you forgot a period. Well. Not really. I ~know~ that I won't be thrown out for forgetting a period, I know I spend hours citing, and making sure I'm not plagerizing, but what about the real world? What happens when there is not more citations, or what about, the Internet?

Most people I've discussed the ideas/issues of Internet linking with agree that internet hyperlinks are a type of citation. There are, however, 2 schools of thought I've come across that DO NOT THINK that hyperlinks are a type of citation.

There are the people that 1. think you need to obtain permission to link to another website and 2. Those that think whoever is associated with the author/owner/host/ISP of a website are responsible for any content accessible via hyperlinks on their site.

I don't get that. Hyperlinking is a citation, because you are linking back to the original source material, you are NOT republishing the material on your own page - as that would be outright copying content from one page, onto another. I don't actually understand how a hyperlink could be considered republication, and am admittedly baffled by those who threaten legal action.

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear Wayne Crookes appeal of a '08 BC ruling that linking to websites that contain allegedly defamatory material is not in and of itself defamation. Vancouver-based Crookes has sued a TON of poor folks for libel based not on things they wrote on their websites but on thinks written on sites they linked to, or sites those sites linked to. Really? Really?? So I link to, say, a blog of a University of Toronto professor. They, in turn, are studying, I don't know - racism in the early 1900's in the Southern United States. On one of those sites, THEY link to links to a page where THAT page talks about how some anti-racism protester is dumb. Crookes then wants to sue the U of T prof for defamation.

Y'know what? I can't even.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Keeping it Real

School got a tad... intense a bit out of nowhere (Masters are hard. Who knew?) So I decided to copy Kaye's idea and give you some fun, random facts about me! Other then the fact that Kaye and I are occasionally freakishly similar, here are some random things to distract me from yet ANOTHER paper!

I don't love sugar - given the choice I will always chose savory unless it's certain types of fruit or dark chocolate. Growing up I didn't have much candy, unless you count Pepsi, and to this day I will rarely buy it for myself unless prompted. Unless it's Coke or Nestea - soda is my fatal flaw! Yes, I call it soda. Not pop, soda.

I have lots of books. Like... lots. Here are a fraction of the bookshelves, they line over a wall of our bedroom. This is a terrible picture, I'll try to get a better one. I absolutely love to read and currently have 5 books on the go. Maybe after classes I'll finally get to finish!

I also love mindless books. Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror and Mysteries all are right beside books I'm reading on how to reference, biographies and amazing fiction and other non-fiction. I'll also read books over and over, it's how I calm myself down and relax.

One of the biggest sacrifices we've made living in Toronto is that a fair bit of our book collection is stored away in boxes due to lack of space. We is Beau and I - that's right. My beau's name is Beau. Really.

Speaking of loving to read, I'm currently going to library school, but I don't want to be a librarian. I want to build information infrastructure internationally, and am terrified and thrilled at the possibilities my degree offers me.

I'm partially deaf in both ears. I worked as a stage manager for four years through university. Because I was too lazy/broke to buy proper earplugs, I have mild hearing damage in both ears. So I'm not ignoring you, I probably just didn't hear you!

I love stuffed animals. I don't know why. But I really really do.

I love food, and cooking. I was raised around cooking, and it's what I do to relax. A good indicator of my stress is how much I've spent on food for a month. Alternately, when I'm extremely stressed I'll cook, but completely forget to eat.

I am extremely sarcastic, and generally feel people take life too seriously. I'll laugh at a lot of things a lot of people don't find funny, like falling. I'm not making fun of you, if it's funny it's funny. I also fall a lot, usually over nothing, and am the first one to laugh at myself for hurting myself in hilariously stupid ways.