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	::: I don't have time for a drawn-out process, but feel free of course to retain the flawed guidelines and force those who understand this issue to jump though hoops and expend energy they don't have. I can safely say that the version you will be reverting is misleading and inaccurate. But I guess if the Misplaced Pages consensus was such that the Earth was deemed to be flat, anyone who tried to correct that obvious mistake might face the same opposition. The word pedantic comes to mind, but that's fine, as you are supported by consensus. ] (]) 23:28, 29 September 2014 (UTC)		::: I don't have time for a drawn-out process, but feel free of course to retain the flawed guidelines and force those who understand this issue to jump though hoops and expend energy they don't have. I can safely say that the version you will be reverting is misleading and inaccurate. But I guess if the Misplaced Pages consensus was such that the Earth was deemed to be flat, anyone who tried to correct that obvious mistake might face the same opposition. The word pedantic comes to mind, but that's fine, as you are supported by consensus. ] (]) 23:28, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

	'''Note''': This matter has been taken to ]. A ] to that discussion is ] (]) 19:18, 1 October 2014 (UTC)		'''Note''': This matter has been taken to ]. A ] to that discussion is ] (]) 19:18, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

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This page was nominated for deletion on 17 June 2009. The result of the discussion was Speedy Keep.

Possible or impossible?

Is it possible to plagiarize/violate copyright using the quote = parameter of {{Citation}}? There is at least one editor who thinks it is. Should this twist be addressed in this guideline? -- DanielPenfield (talk) 00:12, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Plagiarize no IMO, as the template associates the quote with the relevant source and so provides fairly precise attribution (assuming the details in the template are correct and complete); copyvio yes, as it would be theoretically possible to violate fair-use requirements. NB: haven't looked at the specific case being discussed there, just speaking to the general issue. Nikkimaria (talk) 04:11, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

I'm having a hard time swallowing the WP:COPYVIO claim as well. Did you review Fair use? Regardless, should this guideline cover the use of quote =? -- DanielPenfield (talk) 12:50, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Yes, I've reviewed that; no, it shouldn't - as I said, unless the citation is flat-out wrong the situation you describe would not be plagiarism. Nikkimaria (talk) 13:10, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

So, I'm not really getting straight answers here. "No, it shouldn't" why? Isn't part of the purpose of this guideline to distinguish between what is plagiarism and what isn't? Why wouldn't you provide guidance for the overzealous editor who has a weak grasp of the definition of plagiarism? Furthermore you made the claim that "copyvio yes, as it would be theoretically possible to violate fair-use requirements". How is that possible given the conditions set forth in Fair use? -- DanielPenfield (talk) 13:39, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

In terms of copyright, it is very possible to violate copyright using the quote parameter. Fair use doesn't provide carte blanche for quotations - the use of quotations is limited by the four factors of fair use. For Misplaced Pages's purposes, fair use is restricted to WP:NFC content and guideline, which does discuss the need to use text transformatively. Very occasionally, an article is listed at WP:CP for overlong quotations. Frequently, these are truncated with a mix of proper paraphrase and more targeted quotes. I agree with Nikkimaria entirely that the case would not be plagiarism - if it's a quotation, it's attributed. A lot of people use the terms plagiarism/copyvio interchangeably, but they are really entirely separate things. In terms of placing that in this guideline, guidelines aren't for outlier issues, generally - if this becomes a common problem, it may be worth defining. But this is the first time that I ever recall hearing of anyone being accused of plagiarism for a quote. --Moonriddengirl 13:43, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

I came expecting a thoughtful response and am disappointed as usual. Had our roles been reversed, here's how I would have responded:

"While it's theoretically possible to violate copyright, you'd really have to go to extremes to do so—extremes like copy-n-pasting the contents of a 900-page book into "quote =" or perhaps scooping someone's highly-anticipated soon-to-be bestseller before publication (though I don't know how you'd do this). In practical terms, however, Misplaced Pages, like any group undertaking, is bound by the lowest common denominator. In the United States, for example, most people's understanding of copyright comes from their middle and high school English teachers who were mostly interested in limiting their workloads. So if Wikipedians see more than a phrase presented verbatim in a citation, they're going to almost certainly cry WP:COPYVIO when the likelihood of the cited author feeling wronged at having two or three sentences quoted verbatim on Misplaced Pages (in a citation verification, nonetheless) is zero. As for your suggestion, we can help you formulate a proposal to add that case to Misplaced Pages:Plagiarism#What is not plagiarism. " -- DanielPenfield (talk) 16:55, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

I'm sorry that you're disappointed that you didn't get the response you wanted. :/ I would not give you that response, because it probably wouldn't work out well for you. We have copyright standards on Misplaced Pages. I do not know if your edit fell afoul of them; you didn't ask us to review that, and I didn't look. You asked "is it possible to plagiarize/violate copyright" with the quote field - the answer is probably not and yes, respectively. Those are accurate answers. --Moonriddengirl 17:07, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Well, thanks for the dismissal masquerading as a patronizing "message of concern for your well being"... -- DanielPenfield (talk) 17:35, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Right. Thank you for the hostile response to a good faith effort to answer your question honestly. --Moonriddengirl 19:45, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Visual aid on plagiarism and copyvios

Hello everyone, I'd like to suggest an addition that I hope will help editors better understand plagiarism and copyright violations for different types of sources. Having been mostly unfamiliar with concepts like "fair use" and "close paraphrasing" before coming to Misplaced Pages, I've learned quite a bit by navigating the various Misplaced Pages policies, guidelines, information pages, and essays about copyright and plagiarism. However, it's a lot of information spread out across a number of pages, and I thought that to make things clearer for editors who, like I did, have a limited understanding of many of these concepts, it would be helpful to have a visual aid that shows the relationships between them. What I have in mind is something like this:

Problems with Copying or Closely Paraphrasing a Source's Text
	Nonfree Source	Public Domain Source or Compatibly Licensed Source
Proper attribution	Sparingly: None (if it complies with WP:NFC) Extensively: Copyright violation	None
No or improper attribution	Copyright violation Plagiarism	Plagiarism

Does anyone have any thoughts on adding something like this to the page? –Prototime (talk · contribs) 03:53, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

I think it's a good idea, generally. :) That boils it down nicely. I'm not sure if the plagiarism guideline is the best place - but maybe WP:Copy-paste? I'd do the links a little bit differently. For "Nonfree Source", I'd link to WP:COMPLIC, I think. Misplaced Pages:Copyright violation is a better link for "Copyright violations" than "Misplaced Pages:Copyright violations on history pages", I think. The latter is an historical document and has no real current function. :) And I would nuance "Sparingly" for two reasons: there's more than just sparingly involved in determining if quotation is fair use, and Misplaced Pages doesn't rely on fair use solely. As WP:NFC notes, content should be fair use and compliant with our guideline. I'd probably go with "Sparingly: None (if complies with WP:NFC)". --Moonriddengirl 13:15, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the feedback! I had actually meant to link to Misplaced Pages:Copyright violations and not WP:Copyright violations on history pages, but I guess that's what I get for experimenting with this table in VisualEditor ;) I've fixed that above and added in the nuance on "sparingly". I was thinking about including something like this on the Plagiarism guideline (and maybe WP:Copyvio) since it is a more visible page that editors may be more likely to visit, but I suppose that's not a necessity; I agree that WP:Copy-paste would be good place for this too, and perhaps WP:Close paraphrasing. –Prototime (talk · contribs) 16:26, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

Close paraphrasing

The existing wording is such that an editor has used this guideline to justify close paraphrases that contain the exact creative words as the source material. Apparently, because there is no note under the close paraphrasing description that states this, so are there any objections to adding a note there that states:

Note: when close paraphrasing, even with in-text attribution, distinctive words or phrases may require quotation marks.? Rationalobserver (talk) 16:29, 27 September 2014 (UTC)

I'm not sure that this guideline, as currently written, represents the position of the academic world regarding close paraphrasing and plagiarism:

lots of 3rd party examples
Per Wikilegal/Close Paraphrasing, Question: "Is close paraphrasing of a copyrighted work a copyright infringement?" Answer: "Yes. Among other rights, copyright law grants a copyright owner exclusive control over any unauthorized copying of the copyrighted work. Paraphrasing may be construed as copying if it is 'substantially similar' to the copyrighted material. Such paraphrasing infringes on one of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner." From Washington University Law: "Examples of Plagiarism: Verbatim appropriation of another's particularly apt phrase with citation but without quotation marks." From Bristol: "If you are not quoting other scholars directly, you must express their ideas in your own words: close paraphrasing, where only a few words of each sentence are changed from the original, has no place in academic writing." From the University of North Carolina: "Paraphrasing means taking another person’s ideas and putting those ideas in your own words. Paraphrasing does NOT mean changing a word or two in someone else’s sentence, changing the sentence structure while maintaining the original words, or changing a few words to synonyms. If you are tempted to rearrange a sentence in any of these ways, you are writing too close to the original. That’s plagiarizing, not paraphrasing." From Cabrillo: "You must put 'quotation marks' around any exact wording that you borrow, including phrases and sometimes even words." From Harvard: "When you paraphrase, your task is to distill the source's ideas in your own words. It's not enough to change a few words here and there and leave the rest; instead, you must completely restate the ideas in the passage in your own words. If your own language is too close to the original, then you are plagiarizing, even if you do provide a citation." From the University of Virginia: "In general, you will avoid plagiarism if you cite the sources you paraphrase and, if you use words or phrases that are distinctive to your original source, you use quotation marks as well. You should err on the side of attribution and quotation marks if you want to avoid plagiarism." From Amherst College: "No matter your intention, close paraphrase may count as plagiarism, even when you cite the source." From the University of Maine: "If your paraphrase mimics the original sentence structure of the source, it is considered a close paraphrase, a form of plagiarism." From Princeton: "Inserting even short phrases from the source into a new sentence still requires placing quotations around the borrowed words and citing the author. If even one phrase is good enough to borrow, it must be properly set off by quotation marks." From the University of Toronto: "A close paraphrase may count as plagiarism, even if you cite the source." From Earlham: "If the language of your paraphrase is very close to the original, then to drop the quotation marks and pretend the language is your own is still misleading and dishonest. It is still plagiarism. This is so even if you include a citation. A good paraphrase goes well beyond superficial tinkering with the original language." From Donnelly College: "You will also have plagiarism issues if your paraphrasing is too close to the original work. If you have any doubts about your paraphrasing, use quotations." From Loyola Marymount: "Unintentional Plagiarism: Paraphrasing too close to the original". From Athabasca University: "One particular problem has been with what is called close paraphrasing or patchwork paraphrasing. In patchwork paraphrasing, students copy words and phrases from the original source and connect the words and phrases together with a few extra words of their own. Some students think that by inserting a few words of their own that they have avoided plagiarism, but they are merely disguising it. Disguised plagiarism in the form of patchwork paraphrasing remains plagiarism." From Regis University: "Note that close paraphrase, where only trivial changes are made such as substituting similar words, is essentially the same as copying the author directly." From Texas A&M University: "Be careful that your paraphrasing is not so close to the original that it would be better to simply use a direct quotation with quotation marks. (Leaving off quotation marks is a large error, even if you have made a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence or passage; you could face a charge of plagiarism for such an omission.) Use quotation marks every time you use words or phrases from the original source." From the University of Queensland: "Close paraphrases of a text are regarded as "plagiarism", just as are unacknowledged quotations. This is defined by the university as "cheating". To "paraphrase" means to restate someone else's statement(s) in your own words. A close paraphrase means minor changes have been made to an original text – for example, phrases have been re-ordered, or synonyms substituted." From the University of Notre Dame: "Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words". From the University of the West Indies: "Cosmetic paraphrasing is also plagiarism. This can occur when an acknowledgement is made but the words are so close to the original that what is deemed to have been paraphrased is, in fact, a modified quote."

lots of 3rd party examples

Per Wikilegal/Close Paraphrasing, Question: "Is close paraphrasing of a copyrighted work a copyright infringement?" Answer: "Yes. Among other rights, copyright law grants a copyright owner exclusive control over any unauthorized copying of the copyrighted work. Paraphrasing may be construed as copying if it is 'substantially similar' to the copyrighted material. Such paraphrasing infringes on one of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner."
From Washington University Law: "Examples of Plagiarism: Verbatim appropriation of another's particularly apt phrase with citation but without quotation marks."
From Bristol: "If you are not quoting other scholars directly, you must express their ideas in your own words: close paraphrasing, where only a few words of each sentence are changed from the original, has no place in academic writing."
From the University of North Carolina: "Paraphrasing means taking another person’s ideas and putting those ideas in your own words. Paraphrasing does NOT mean changing a word or two in someone else’s sentence, changing the sentence structure while maintaining the original words, or changing a few words to synonyms. If you are tempted to rearrange a sentence in any of these ways, you are writing too close to the original. That’s plagiarizing, not paraphrasing."
From Cabrillo: "You must put 'quotation marks' around any exact wording that you borrow, including phrases and sometimes even words."
From Harvard: "When you paraphrase, your task is to distill the source's ideas in your own words. It's not enough to change a few words here and there and leave the rest; instead, you must completely restate the ideas in the passage in your own words. If your own language is too close to the original, then you are plagiarizing, even if you do provide a citation."
From the University of Virginia: "In general, you will avoid plagiarism if you cite the sources you paraphrase and, if you use words or phrases that are distinctive to your original source, you use quotation marks as well. You should err on the side of attribution and quotation marks if you want to avoid plagiarism."
From Amherst College: "No matter your intention, close paraphrase may count as plagiarism, even when you cite the source."
From the University of Maine: "If your paraphrase mimics the original sentence structure of the source, it is considered a close paraphrase, a form of plagiarism."
From Princeton: "Inserting even short phrases from the source into a new sentence still requires placing quotations around the borrowed words and citing the author. If even one phrase is good enough to borrow, it must be properly set off by quotation marks."
From the University of Toronto: "A close paraphrase may count as plagiarism, even if you cite the source."
From Earlham: "If the language of your paraphrase is very close to the original, then to drop the quotation marks and pretend the language is your own is still misleading and dishonest. It is still plagiarism. This is so even if you include a citation. A good paraphrase goes well beyond superficial tinkering with the original language."
From Donnelly College: "You will also have plagiarism issues if your paraphrasing is too close to the original work. If you have any doubts about your paraphrasing, use quotations."
From Loyola Marymount: "Unintentional Plagiarism: Paraphrasing too close to the original".
From Athabasca University: "One particular problem has been with what is called close paraphrasing or patchwork paraphrasing. In patchwork paraphrasing, students copy words and phrases from the original source and connect the words and phrases together with a few extra words of their own. Some students think that by inserting a few words of their own that they have avoided plagiarism, but they are merely disguising it. Disguised plagiarism in the form of patchwork paraphrasing remains plagiarism."
From Regis University: "Note that close paraphrase, where only trivial changes are made such as substituting similar words, is essentially the same as copying the author directly."
From Texas A&M University: "Be careful that your paraphrasing is not so close to the original that it would be better to simply use a direct quotation with quotation marks. (Leaving off quotation marks is a large error, even if you have made a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence or passage; you could face a charge of plagiarism for such an omission.) Use quotation marks every time you use words or phrases from the original source."
From the University of Queensland: "Close paraphrases of a text are regarded as "plagiarism", just as are unacknowledged quotations. This is defined by the university as "cheating". To "paraphrase" means to restate someone else's statement(s) in your own words. A close paraphrase means minor changes have been made to an original text – for example, phrases have been re-ordered, or synonyms substituted."
From the University of Notre Dame: "Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words".
From the University of the West Indies: "Cosmetic paraphrasing is also plagiarism. This can occur when an acknowledgement is made but the words are so close to the original that what is deemed to have been paraphrased is, in fact, a modified quote."

Rationalobserver (talk) 19:21, 27 September 2014 (UTC)

You bring up a good point. I'm fine with adding the proposed language to the article, except I'd note that it's only a problem when closely paraphrasing from a nonfree source, since quotation marks are not required for free source material. And I recommend just slightly elaborating on "distinctive" to clarify that such words are basically being directly copied. So, maybe say:

Note: When closely paraphrasing a nonfree source, distinctive words or phrases that are copied verbatim from the source require quotation marks in addition to in-text attribution.

Thoughts? –Prototime (talk · contribs) 00:10, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

Good point! That looks much better than my version. I fully agree with this language. Rationalobserver (talk) 15:52, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

I went ahead and added that note. Thanks! Rationalobserver (talk) 16:04, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

Since we were missing the fifth form of plagiarism, I added an example here. Rationalobserver (talk) 16:40, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

This subject has had a lot of discussion in the past:

Wikipedia_talk:Plagiarism/Archive_7#Phrases 'may' require quotation marks <-- probably the most pertinent

Some other sections containing some more conversations
Misplaced Pages talk:Plagiarism/Archive_6#In-text attribution Wikipedia_talk:Plagiarism/Archive 7#In-text attribution without quotation marks is insufficient Misplaced Pages talk:Plagiarism/Archive 8#Clarification of what "with very few changes" means Misplaced Pages talk:Plagiarism/Archive 9#Copyright violations

I do not approve of close paraphrasing of copyright material on Misplaced Pages because I think it causes more problems that it is worth. The point I have made to SlimVirgin, in the past is:

SV you say that to meet Misplaced Pages content polices and other guidelines, in-line attribution and an inline-citation are enough, but how is a reader to know if what I have just written is a summary of what you said or a direct quote unless quotes are marked as such? I would assume that although imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, to avoid copyright and plagiarism issues, I would have put in quotes an exact copy of your words. MRG has told me in the past that if a Wikiepdia editor use a well worn phrase -- as I did in the last sentence -- then those do not have to be quoted. On reading that last sentence would you assume that I was quoting verbatim what MRG said to me or paraphrasing what she said to me? -- PBS (talk) 01:11, 9 October 2010 (UTC) (Misplaced Pages talk:Plagiarism/Archive 6#In-text attribution)

There are some problems with your edits:

copyleft sources are "non-free sources" but text copied from such a source if they have compatible licences there is no requirement for either in-text attribution or quotation marks.
well worn phrase such as "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" do not have to be placed in quotation marks.

-- PBS (talk) 21:10, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

That's a good point about well-worn phrases, but I'm not sure when that would occur in encyclopedic writing, as editors wouldn't be including clichés as if in their own voice, would they? Maybe I'm missing something. Also, per Misplaced Pages:Plagiarism#Public-domain sources: "Whether copyright-expired or in the public domain for other reasons, material from public-domain sources is welcome on Misplaced Pages, but such material must be properly attributed." Rationalobserver (talk) 21:20, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

please do not use bullet points when replying to other's comments as it tends to mess up indentation (as it has here).

Sorry and thanks for the advice! Rationalobserver (talk) 15:46, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Editors may not including clichés as if in their own voice but they may include them when close paraphrasing.

That's a good point, in fact I just ran into an example of this yesterday. What do you suggest? Rationalobserver (talk) 15:46, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Copyleft is not in the public domain (eg Misplaced Pages pages), if text from a copyleft is copied into Wikpedia it has to have a compatible licence with Wikpedia, but how it is attributed depends on the licence and Misplaced Pages content polices (just as text copied from one Wikiepdia article to another does). -- PBS (talk) 15:17, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Another good point; what do you suggest that we do? Rationalobserver (talk) 15:46, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

I think it would probably be best to break the section "Forms of plagiarism" into two. The first two points in boxes seem to be about plagiarism in general, whatever its source origin. The last two and your additional one seem to be specifically about copyrighted material. If such a distinction was made through sectioning then a lot of complications in the second half disappear. Large chunks of this guideline probably need to be reorganised in similar ways for example in-text attribution is not usually required for PD and copyleft sources (it is done thorough inline citations and attribution in the References section, see any of these articles. The argument against this as expressed by SlimVirgin is that the legitimate copying text into Misplaced Pages is a minority sport and the guideline should emphasise guidance to ordinary non-experienced users using copyright text. -- PBS (talk) 19:10, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

I share your concerns regarding this guideline, and it also occurred to me that it might benefit from a substantial re-working. Washington University Law School takes the position that there are two types of plagiarism: Appropriation of Another’s Words and Appropriation of Another’s Ideas or Concepts. Harvard says there are five distinct types: Verbatim plagiarism, Mosaic plagiarism, Inadequate paraphrase, Uncited paraphrase, and Uncited quotation. Maybe that's a good starting point. What do you think we should do first? Rationalobserver (talk) 19:48, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Seeing that you just made this edit at WP:Citing sources, and are making substantial changes to a longstanding guideline, I feel that you should be seeking wider Misplaced Pages input on this matter, such as a WP:RfC. The guideline has stated for sometime, and still currently does state (unless you go ahead and change that as well), that "Sometimes close paraphrasing is appropriate or even unavoidable." And yet you have added the following line to it and to WP:Citing sources: "When closely paraphrasing a non-free source, distinctive words or phrases that are copied verbatim from the source require quotation marks in addition to in-text attribution." Really? So, I have to put a word in quotation marks because the source used that same word and the source is non-free? I'm not buying it. How do we define what is "distinctive," and I more so mean a distinctive word, and what is automatically a WP:Copyvio because of that? I'm very tempted to revert all of your changes on this matter, and start widely publicizing this discussion. Flyer22 (talk) 22:23, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

All the changes that I've made are consistent with academia. If you aren't sure what distinctive means, I'll give you an example. John Smith was a prodigious worker who was also considered obtuse. The only distinctive words in that example are "prodigious" and "obtuse". Notre Dame says, "Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words". Rationalobserver (talk) 22:38, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Per the University of Virginia: "In general, you will avoid plagiarism if you cite the sources you paraphrase and, if you use words or phrases that are distinctive to your original source, you use quotation marks as well. You should err on the side of attribution and quotation marks if you want to avoid plagiarism." Do you dispute this, or do you think that my edits are not consistent with this ethos? Rationalobserver (talk) 22:49, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Per Wikilegal/Close Paraphrasing, Question: "Is close paraphrasing of a copyrighted work a copyright infringement?" Answer: "Yes. Among other rights, copyright law grants a copyright owner exclusive control over any unauthorized copying of the copyrighted work. Paraphrasing may be construed as copying if it is 'substantially similar' to the copyrighted material. Such paraphrasing infringes on one of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner." Rationalobserver (talk) 22:41, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Like I stated at my talk page, I appreciate your knowledge. However, I'm going to revert all of your changes regarding WP:Plagiarism, pending discussion (except for your talk page comments of course). Your edits will obviously still be in the edit history and can be salvaged at any time. Like I stated at the WP:Plagiarism talk page, you should take this matter to WP:RfC. Substantive changes to Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines, especially the big changes you are making regarding how Misplaced Pages treats plagiarism, should have WP:Consensus. I don't think that they should be molded by you alone with input from one other editor. Now that I've objected, I think that these pages should be reverted to the WP:STATUSQUO. So that is what I am going to do. That Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines should reflect WP:Consensus is stated at the top of these pages. We don't automatically base Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines on what academia states, and certainly not on what a lone Misplaced Pages editor believes is the consensus among academics (no matter if that Misplaced Pages editor is an expert or not an expert).

You have been making a lot of changes to Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines, and I'm generally not a believer in WP:Be bold when it comes to these pages. Reverting you on this matter is not personal. For example, at the talk page of Misplaced Pages:Talk page guidelines, it's noted that I recently reverted additions because I think that significant changes to Misplaced Pages policies or guidelines should generally be discussed at the talk pages of those policies or guidelines first and that this "is indeed a good enough reason to revert, as is made clear by the notes at the top of these pages, and as has been made clear time and time again by my reverting in such cases, including the aforementioned WP:Reliable sources edit. It's been often enough that changes have been made to policies and guidelines only to be reverted months later because a significant number of editors missed that WP:Creep instance. WP:Silent consensus is too often a fail, which is why it's also only an essay. I uphold WP:Consensus until that is no longer the WP:Consensus." It took Arthur Rubin coming in to uphold my revert. So reverting on matters like these is simply how I am. If you don't start a WP:RfC on this WP:Plagiarism matter and/or invite the WP:Village pump to weigh in on it, then I will. But I advise you to do so. Simply trying to debate me on the matter will not cut it. Flyer22 (talk) 23:21, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

I don't have time for a drawn-out process, but feel free of course to retain the flawed guidelines and force those who understand this issue to jump though hoops and expend energy they don't have. I can safely say that the version you will be reverting is misleading and inaccurate. But I guess if the Misplaced Pages consensus was such that the Earth was deemed to be flat, anyone who tried to correct that obvious mistake might face the same opposition. The word pedantic comes to mind, but that's fine, as you are supported by consensus. Rationalobserver (talk) 23:28, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Note: This matter has been taken to Misplaced Pages:Village pump (policy)#Is close paraphrasing acceptable?. A WP:Permalink to that discussion is here. Flyer22 (talk) 19:18, 1 October 2014 (UTC)