I have noticed how many people will just "post" a recipe to "share" in Gather and nowhere on the post can you find the source....even photos of the recipe that were published somewhere else are shared without acknowledging a source.
I know that a recipe is a recipe is a recipe.....but, someone, somewhere went to the trouble of developing it. That person or entity should be credited when their recipe is shared, be it an individual, a cookbook a newspaper or magazine.
There are recipes that adapt well to many changes, and those recipes eventually do not resemble the one who inspired it. Different people have different tastes and/or food allergies and it reflects in the changes we make to original recipes.
If a recipe calls for peanuts, but you're allergic to or plain don't like them and change it to macadamia nuts, you should at least mention that the original recipe (giving source) called for peanuts but why you changed it.
Some recipes are classic and don't take well to changing or adapting.
According to the U.S. Copyright Office, a list of ingredients isn't protected by copyright law, but the instructions and any other "substantial literary expression" that go with it may be.
I'm not sure how many ways you can tell someone to "whisk the egg whites until stiff" or to "dredge the meat or vegetable slice in cornmeal or flour" to make it your own, but there are ways to write a recipe so that it will not infringe on another person's copyrights.
One particular way to do this, is to really, actually make the recipe and then describe in your own words how you did it.
If you're copying a recipe, verbatim, from another source, please...it is so easy to give the source.
If you don't know the original source, at least state that you found this recipe and are not sure where....but at least acknowledge that the recipe is not yours.
Changing a list of ingredients or changing the way you descibe the making of it, does not necesarily mean this is your recipe.
Recipe copyrights are a sticky wicky, but at least, if you give credit where credit is due when you know it...then you will not be stepping on other people's toes.
Sharing of recipes without acknowledging a source... is it ethical?
No, it isn't!
If someone reproduces a recipe from my cookbook in print, anywhere, I would hope they mention it came from that cookbook....I don't mind if they then proceed to tell us how they changed it to adapt to their own tastes.
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Comments: 49
Dead on!
Kevin.... I knew you would agree. Thank you.
......and I notice I must have stepped on some toes...;-)))
2 comments - 4 rating votes - low score...... Right on!!!!
If the shoe fits....it must have pinched!
I have posted recipes that were from a dear friend's recipe box. I always make note of that fact when I post the recipe.
We all know people who copy things right off Recipezaar and paste them directly here at Gather without the slightest acknowledgement. And we hold them in too much contempt to even bother rating them a 1. Other people think a mere 1-2 tweaks makes the recipe their own, and we hold them in contempt s well. Don't they know thtit takes less than a mnute or two to find the exact place they pasted from? Damn morons. You and I can both name Gather members' names, people who whore for points regularly doing this, and get approval from their friends. Contemptible!
Thank you, Sarina....Always, always....whether a friend's recipe or one from a family member...Say so!
Yes, we do know them don't we....?
views: 18 | rating: 7/10 (6 votes) | comments: 5
;-))))))) Love it!
Great read nevertheless.
Larry, yes, it is not just recipes. Any original work, when used in any way should be credited to the source, when known. If you do not know, then say so, but don't infer that it is yours by omission.
Thanks j r.,
Jessica, that is ok.... at least a mention should be made that it has been passed down in the family or from friends.
Dorine, I know you do.I can too....and they have been the ones who are doing the low drive-bys...;-)
Kerrell, Yes, that is sourcing a recipe....even if it has been handed down from great-grandma all through the generations....We should always say where we got it.
If I saw that someone had copied a recipe from another site without giving credit, I would rate that post '1' and leave a comment stating why, with a link to the original site. Of course, they can just remove the comment now, which then makes it necessary to publish another article and point out that they not only posted a copied recipe but also removed the evidence . . .
It's just not as easy or fun as it should be.
I think some people are now aware of copyrights and infringment laws....and some don't care, even when they know....We have a long ways to go to try to educate them.
I use several names on the Internet (as I've said repeatedly) and this is one way to catch posters who steal work. I have prosecuted a few who used words and photos and I'm working on some others who have made money off my work by reposting it on other sites as well as this one. One thing I've learned is to monitor the sites they use and when it happens more than once, I have a case. It's hard, requires an investment but is so worth it when they have to pay big time for it!
Good to see you again and thank you for the support!
Most of the food I post is stuff I make up to conform to a vegan lifestyle - not mine, but enough of the extended family want to eat that way that I view it as a challenge to do my best to accommodate them. This usually starts with my eating something, liking it, and then starting to think about how the taste/texture could be accommodated in a vegan framework. This makes for "non-recipes" as I just describe what I did, and anyone who wants to follow it really is on an adventure anyway...
Donna, it doesn't matter where the recipes comes from, if the source is not known, then by just mentioning that you don't know, or that Aunt Sally has always brought it to pot-lucks, or that Mrs, Smith down the street has been making this forever....you at least acknowledge that the recipe is not one you created yourself.
Linda, it is rampant all over, but Gather seems to be a place where it happens more often.
Thank you, Dianne.
Tropical Taste
..............as to the low ratings...Phweeeet!!! that just shows how many Gather members don't agree with us because they are the ones plagiarizing or stealing recipes....;-)))
Thank you, Ted.......as you can see from the comments above, we are in good company!
I actually get most of my recipes emailed to me when I sign up at food seller sites: Stauffer's, nestle, Campbell's, etc. Since you buy their products to make the recipes they give you, I'm sure they're more than happy that I distribute the recipe, and if I forget to post that it came from a Campbell's email list, well, I think they'll forgive me. :-)
Of course, from a BOOK is another story. I tend not to post from books though - in fact, I have very few cook books!
Sandy, I appreciate your efforts to keep this place good and wish it had happened two years ago. I blame the bzz-agent influx for a lot of the trashiness that started infesting this place in summer of 06. So where do the serious writers go? I joined because I was told it was here!
Then, of course, there is the issue of the many people who do not appreciate third-rate recipes that require opening cans, boxes and freezer packages to make, rather than doing from scratch with real food.
For instance, we have some seafood dip that I learned from my mother but she doesn't know who originally taught her how to make it. I could - and would - credit my mother but the real credit goes to some unknown person (sigh) I think we just have to do our best. If we find a recipe in a magazine, give the name of the magazine and even the month and page number, if possible.
This is a big step forward.
Jessie - me too
Tonia - yes, they do. also anything copied from newspapers or magazines or other websites....
Simply put .............ANYTHING that is shared with anyone regardless of where you find it should always be credited to the original source. If not known, then say so, but don't try to pass it on as your own work. Eventually someone will find you out when you copy someone else's work.
Even the very old recipes that I have without so much as a clue as to who originally put them together, came from the mind and ideas of someone.
I have shoe boxes of old recipes from both my Grandmothers that I do not know the source on. A lot of our family recipes came with my Nana from Italy and she just expanded them or changed them to suit her family's tastes.