Digital Ethics and Responsibility

What is digital ethics? Digital ethics is about teaching ethical, courteous and productive behavior while using digital media. Some things to consider when dealing with digital ethics are plagiarism, copyright laws, and productively using the digital resources one is citing. When I, or anyone for that matter, research anything whether it is on my research project, for work or even other classes I want to make sure that the person that wrote the article that I am citing in my paper gets their due credit and referenced otherwise myself or anyone else are stealing information and claiming it for ourselves which is illegal. This kind of citing falls under plagiarism. As long as a source is cited properly within your paper you are safe under the principle of plagiarism which can be grounds for termination in colleges depending on the extent to which one plagiarizes.

Copyright laws are almost about the same as plagiarism but applies to more then just written work. The acceptable use policy falls under copyright. As long as something that is being used that is not rightfully yours falls under the guidelines of the acceptable use policy you can use it. If it doesn't you will need to figure out a acceptable way to re-iterate the information without stepping on anyone's toes.

As far as being productive with the resources one comes across this is quite simple actually. With the amount of media that is available to use we need to ensure that our references are valid and  efficient. When you come across sources that you plan on using in a paper or just referencing in general only use what you need to make or support your point/idea assuming that the source is legit. If you use more than what is needed then it is quite possible to lose our on the idea you are striving for. The internet is a tool with more than enough sources to sufficiently back your paper. What is all comes down to is just be ethical about what you are putting in your personal work. You wouldn't want people stealing from you so then don't do it to someone else. :-)