Is contnet rewriting is ethical?

Jhmattern has made the legality of it clear enough and here's what I think.

I have never been a webmaster as in running a website full time for profit/fun. But as a someone who consumes a lot of content everyday, I would say that rewritten content almost always has that stale taste to it. It's like leftovers that have been in and out of the icebox too many times. There's no flavor or freshness to be found there. Original content always has that freshness about it that will make even yesterday's news a good read because the writer has an interesting take on it.

As a writer, I have the best time writing about things I love and follow almost obsessively. That is when I have a thousand ideas, a long personal history and a lot of data at my disposal. The enjoyment I derive from writing those article shows through when you read them. In a way, I feel like I transfer that enjoyment to the reader. This is why, IMO, original content makes for such a good read and rewritten content is simply drab.

 

spend sum time surfing on the internet and u wont need to copy the articles...if u do mention the original writer..it would be fine then

 

No.... No, no, no, no, NO! Mentioning the original writer does not make it fine. Don't give advice when you don't know what you're talking about please. This is precisely why so many writers think it's okay to steal others' work as long as they include a credit link -- because people who are ignorant on the subject tell them it is.

 

It's not ethical to post rewritten articles. Aside from it's a copyright violation, it's not fulfilling to publish others work and claim it your own. In my opinion, those who practice such can't proudly call themselves writers.

 

Nope, it is unethical and can also land one behind bars.

 

here we go again.

If you really want to 'write', go see a publisher. become the next J.K. Brown or whatever.

If you want to make money online, use whatever tools will help you to do it, as long as you don't hurt anyone else (a rule, incidentally that applies to pretty much every aspect of life).

If you think extracting the guts of someone else's article to create something entirely new and fresh is immoral, then don't do it. As to whether it's illegal or not, the burden of proof is on the 'injured' party. If you rewrite it sufficiently well, it's yours, and new. For example, can you sue me for this:-

[removed]


I think not. Every search engine on the planet would regard it as different from your 'original', and so, I suspect would every court.

I'm not trying to be funny here, but frankly, stuff that sells gets used as a starting point for stuff that comes after. For example, once upon a time there was a book called 'Lord of the Rings'. Nowadays, go to any bookshop, and there's an entire SECTION rammed with books featuring 'orcs', 'elves', 'halflings' and so on. All good writers base their work on something, and the degree of influence a previous work has over a new work is down to the author, not us lot. And the courts, obviously.

 

I totally agree that rewriting is NOT the way to go, but there is an issue of there being so much content online that what I write *appears* to be rewritten content at times.

For instance, just yesterday, I was writing an article for an online client's blog and doing a little research online so I didn't write the same thing someone else had written. (I like to check the "originality" of my titles, specifically).

I came across an article that covered the EXACT same points I had just written in almost the same order. I had never read that article until my own was finished, but to someone looking at both articles, they would think one was either copied or a rewrite of the other just because there were so many similarities. So it's hard to be completely original when working online, though you have to be careful and not knowingly copy someone else's work.

 

interesting that you say that, because I found an article that covered the same points I'd just drafted in just about the same order. I'd never read that article till my one was finished, but to somebody having a look at both articles, they might think one was either copied or a reworking of the other because there were such a lot of likenesses. So it's tough to be utterly original when working on the web, though you have got to watch out and not deliberately copy.

 

Agreed.

Writers here accept all types of jobs.
You just name the niche and they will write it for you??
How???

 

You have to think about the originality of your website. If all you've got is rewritten articles, your website is worthless. It's junk! It wouldn't exist without other websites where you can steal the contents.

Are you happy with that? A website that can only say what other websites are saying!
I'm very proud that all my websites have all original content, and this is what my readers appreciate.

 

That is what is called Paraphrasing.

Are you writing that for your clients??
If your answer is in affirmative, you are lucky to get such clients.

Great! Good to hear that. I think you are writing in a niche in which you are proficient.That's a special case.Not many here will do that.That is why people outsource.

The web is full of junk.Thanks to the article re-writers / spinners and auto blog owners.People are just interested in money.There are those who are genuinely interested in writing and they do it well.But most are here just for $$$$.


If that's what you want rewriting/ paraphrasing is the easiest option they have.

If you want really original unique content, either you'll have to predict the future or write a personal blog.

 

content rewriting can not be ethical, but many are doing it so. Good information from jhmattern.

 

for me content rewriting is part of plagiarizing one's work... and beside why rewrite if you can read the article and make your own article from it... right?

 

Rewriting and paraphrasing are being used interchangeably here.

 

that's correct. A good paraphrasing tool can automatically produce a summary of any article. The result probably also falls with 'fair use' as long as the paraphrasing is significant, and the results are rewritten too.

A bit like a review of a film, if you will. It doesn't impinge on the scriptwriter's IP.

 

Honesty is the best policy:

What many writers on DP will not mention when questioned about what is moral, ethical, and legal, --is their own experience. How many copy- and content writers here can honestly say they have never "spun", "re-written", or god forbid, "re-phrased" another's work for pay, and at the direction of a client asking for articles to be specifically "re-written"? I can't say it, that's for damn sure.

What I can say is, I've never written anything that hasn't passed Copyscape as clean as a virgin's, --well, you know. I can also say that when writing a news piece, I typically quote another source, then add my own comments, although to be honest, I am not lately in the habit of writing too many news articles. Any writer who has a problem with "re-writing" can respond in two ways when asked by a loyal client, to rewrite another's work (which is probably re-written anyway):

1. "I would never do that! I'm too good for that!"

2. Silent acceptance to use the content to be re-written as "research material".

So let's focus less on moral postulating, and more on business, hm?

 

As long as you do it the right way.

 

a lot of content is rewritten from books to blog , but if your whole idea is based on someone elses work then no it is not legal or ethical

 

I'm new to this but is SHARING a complete article from another place in your blog considered plagiarism? And can we add hyperlinks to text in the article?

 

AnniCanClick, speak for yourself. I don't do rewrites, period. I have either explained the value of truly original content and the client agreed to new content or I simply declined the business. Even when updating sales content for a client, I never assume and always verify all "facts" and statistics on my own.

It's not about being "too good for that". It's simply about doing the right thing.