Anonymous Coward

Alright, let me be clear about one thing.

I don't expect my publicly accessible blog to remain private. Everything I write here, I write with the knowledge that someone else will probably read it. If I didn't want anyone to read it, I wouldn't publish it.

That's not the issue.

The issue is that someone took my words from this blog, and pasted them over on Mayo's blog, without saying where they came from, who wrote them, or what the intention was. Without asking permission. And they did it anonymously!

I mean, what's the point in posting someone else's words anonymously without any explanation behind it? What were you hoping to achieve? If you're trying to make some kind of statement, can't you even put your own name on it? Are you too afraid to let everyone know who you are?

Yes, I am aware that when a blog is public, anyone can do whatever they want with it. I just expect most decent and mature adults NOT to. At Mayo's blog, we have all quoted each other before. But we always give credit to the original author, and the vast majority of us sign in or use some kind of screen name to post.

To make matters worse, when I commented at Mayo's to point out that this anonymous person had quoted me without permission, I was accused of altering my blog to make it look like Mayo's blog was written in relation to mine!

As if! Why would I go to the trouble?

To tell you the truth, I really don't know if Mayo's blog was written in response to mine. It could be a complete coincidence, as I stated plainly in my last entry.

But as far as my own blog is concerned, what you see is what you get. I write whatever pops into my head, and I do it pretty spontaneously. I don't waste time changing my time stamp or editing my blog title to make it appear more relevant to anyone else's blog. I have no need to make it look like I have a connection to Mayonaise. Whether any connection exists or not, it's quite irrelevant.

So for future reference to all who read this:
If you have questions about something I've written, if you want more clarification, or if you just plain don't believe me... then say it to my face. Comment me. Please. I welcome your input. Ask questions. Shoot my theories down. I am more than happy to read what you have to say and I'll even respond if warranted.

But please, please don't take my words out of context and paste them on another blog without my permission. Please. Yes, I know that anyone can do whatever they want with my words, but I'm asking you nicely to please leave them right where they are unless I give you permission to do otherwise. At the very least, give credit where credit is due. If you didn't write it, you should say who did.

Please. Be courteous. I don't think it's asking too much.