Attribution Redux

 Posted on August 04, 2010 in Uncategorized

So I listed four big reasons blawgers should attribute ideas with which they disagree:

1. For yourself;

2. For your readers;

3. For those with whom you disagree; and

4. For the blawgosphere.

To illustrate the hazards of non-attribution, I pointed out a couple of Norm Pattis's and Jamison Koehler's unattributed statements, and asked: who said it, when, and where?

Both Pattis and Koehler commented. Koehler agreed with me, but didn't answer the questions. Pattis, in a comment steeped in the very nonattribution that the post addressed, disagreed with me, but didn't answer the questions or rebut or even acknowledge any of the big arguments for attribution.

Those who want to snipe at others' ideas without worrying about furthering the discussion or preserving the blawgosphere or even accurately portraying those ideas would ignore all arguments that don't support what they want to do. It's an uphill battle I'm fighting.