Blogging Ethics
January 28th, 2010 | by Daniel Moroz |You know what I really don’t like? When someone passes other peoples’ work of as their own – and also tries to sell it. It’s just generally wrong behavior. When a blogger does it, it gives every online writer who takes their work seriously and puts real time and effort into it a bad name. When an Orioles’ blogger does it, it hits closer to home. When an Orioles’ blogger does it, and one of my readers brings it to my attention and notes that he got to the offending site through a link on my blog, I really get upset. The blog I’m referring to is OriolesProspects.com. Started by Jordan fairly recently, it has scouting reports of various O’s prospects and occasional posts weighing in on minor league matters. Though some of the writing looked familiar to me – and I saw a few people make similar claims – I largely ignored it. But when it became the case that I was even passively condoning plagiarism (as the reader called it), I could not in good consciousnesses ignore it any further. I really, really don’t like doing this, but I think it’s important.
I realize that Jordan is still only 15, and the good point was made to me by a very smart fellow-blogger that perhaps the best thing to do would be for him to take some time to really learn the skill of scouting instead of pretending to be an expert. He might be good at it in the future, but scouting isn’t that easy and the experience just isn’t there yet. If he is honest with his current abilities in that area and works to improve instead of (as my grandma says – and that’s my grandma, not the advice-giver’s) “trying to run out in-front of the train.” I think that is excellent advice.
The internet surely allows everyone the freedom to express themselves and have their own voice, and I think that Jordan can be a contributor in the Orioles community. That is made much harder when you start things off in the way he did. You lose credibility and respect. My inclination is to give him a break for his age, but the influence he was trying to draw for himself negates that. If one wants to play in this league, so to speak, one needs to be able to handle the responsibilities that go along with. Pitchers in the majors don’t just lob them in there for rookie batters, after all.
I contacted Jordan about the issue and he at first claimed that he wasn’t doing it. He claimed to have attended many games himself, took notes, etc, etc. When I mentioned three scouting reports as particular offenders – the first three I looked at, by the way – he immediately said he’d take them down (which wasn’t done). At that point there was much hand-wringing about feeling bad about possibly having done something wrong (unintentionally, or so he said) and not wanting to offend the Orioles blogging community. I told him that he needed to take that stuff down, but that it could be a growing experience for him if he wrote a post admitting his mistake and correcting his behavior. I was told this would be done, and it finally was today (after a couple of days of knowing he had plagiarized material on his site – and continuing to post other things but not taking the offending stuff down). I realize it’s very hard to admit when you’re wrong, but in a case like this it’s pretty clear to me that honesty is expected and not a bonus.
Here it is:
“I need to share something with all of my loyal readers and followers.
I have used other sources for a few of the players and almost copied exactly what they said. I know that this is not allowed, and I could in fact get in a lot of trouble. I wanted to share this and be honest with my readers. I hope you understand and it will not happen again.
I am taking those specific reports down from the site for now, but they will be back up shortly after I re-write them, using my own knowledge of the players. To name a few, Aaron Wirsch, Ashur Tolliver, Cameron Coffey and Ryan Berry.
I do want to note that only certain reports were compiled from other sources. I have seen all the Norfolk, Bowie, Frederick, Aberdeen and GCL players myself. I have friends who have seen the guys at Delmarva and Bluefield so they should be able to help me out with some of the new and revised reports.”
I don’t think that second paragraph is completely honest, since it contradicts the conversations we had before it went up. I am willing to give him a little bit of the benefit of the doubt, but either (1) he knew he was doing something wrong and did it anyway or (2) didn’t actually know that taking other peoples’ work and passing it off as your own is wrong. Not sure which is worse, but in either case I think (hope?) he’ll actually sticks to his word to stop. And taking down the guide that he was selling with plagiarized material was a must, so I’m glad it was done (after having insisting repeatedly for him to do so).
I realize it is very harsh on my part to still post this after his post and his commitment to taking down the offending reports, but I really wanted to make a point about this. At the Bloggers’ Forum at the Orioles FanFest, they talked both well and at some length about ethics in the age of bloggers in which we live, journalistic standards of the medium, and so on. And they were 100% right that if we don’t hold ourselves to higher standards than we necessarily have to, we lose credibility despite sometimes having the better arguments and the more interesting work. It’s not my job to police this kind of stuff, but sometimes it’s necessary to be the “bad guy” and not just say “whatever”.
A few examples of what I was talking about, that have since been taken down (or altered, as additional instances were discovered by others):
Randy Henry
“Hailing from Arnett, Okla., Henry was slated to attend Texas Tech after high school. But he blew out his elbow, missed his senior season after having Tommy John surgery and ended up at South Mountain CC. He’s played second base for the Cougars this year, but his future is likely on the mound. At 6-foot-3, Henry has clean mechanics from a three-quarter arm slot. Just 18 months removed from surgery, head coach Todd Eastin gave Henry a very soft landing this year, allowing him to pitch out of the bullpen. Over nine games, Henry pitched just 11 innings this season. Because of his limited time on the mound this year, Henry has been tough to see, but those that have seen him walked away impressed. His fastball has shown good life, sitting at 90 mph every time out and even touching 94-96 late in the year. While Henry threw mostly fastballs and changeups this year, when he regained the confidence to throw a breaking ball, scouts said it was an above-average pitch with great tilt and snap.” – Baseball America
“Henry has a plus fastball in the 92-95 mph range with good life on it. He has a change up that sits in the 80-82 mph range. In 2009 he rarely used his breaking ball although it was an above average pitch with great tilt and snap. Henry has an athletic body and stands at 6’3”. He has clean mechanics from a three-quarter arm slot and has an easy release.” – Jordan
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Ryan Berry:
“Curve: Was a plus pitch, thrown 80-84 mph. It had late break and he buried it for a true out pitch. He throws it with two grips — a knuckle grip and a spiked grip.” – MLB.com
“Berry has a good fastball in the 89-92 mph range with quality movement on it. He has a plus curveball in the 80-83 mph range that he throws in two different grips, knuckle and spike. Berry has excellent command of all his pitches.” – Jordan
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Michael Ohlman:
“Yet another prep catcher from Florida, Ohlman started to get national attention last fall playing for North Carolina’s “Dirtbags” travel team, which featured Tar Heel State prep stars Brian Goodwin and Wil Myers. Ohlman showed premium power potential in the summer and fall and was snapped up in the early signing period by Miami. He’s tall for a catcher at 6-foot-4, and his slender 200-pound body doesn’t seem suited to the position for the long-term, scouts worry. But he has shown excellent athletic ability, and he should be able to remain a catcher at least through college. He has excellent arm strength, but his receiving skills are less advanced than his Florida prep rivals. He has improved his skills behind the plate but has a long way to go in terms of blocking, framing pitches and learning other nuances behind the plate. He’s tall so he has some holes in his swing but has a good feel for hitting and hand-eye coordination. His best tool is his raw power, which might be sufficient for a move to a corner. Ohlman should be athletic enough to give outfield a try if catching doesn’t take. He could go in the fourth-to-sixth round range.” – Baseball America
“Ohlman has great hand eye coordination and a great feel for hitting. His best tool is his plus power and it may be sufficient for a move to first or third base. Ohlman has 25-30 home run power potential and has the athletic ability to handle an outfield corner if needed.” – Jordan
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Cameron Coffey:
“A 6′4″ left-hander with a strong build and good frame, Coffey touched 92 several times in his Friday outing, sitting 89-90 early but dropping to 85-89 by the 5th inning. His best pitch is his changeup, which he turns over very well, getting good tumbling action. He has good feel for when to use his changeup, and showed enough confidence in the pitch to double up on it. His slider is well below-average right now; it’s a pitch he rarely used before this year, and it showed, as he struggled to find a consistent release point on it and had several back up on him.
His arm works well and he generates good arm speed; he can overthrow a little on fastballs and plant his front foot hard enough to make him snap upwards in his finish, which is going to limit his fastball command. Reducing his stride length a little would probably mitigate this issue. Coffey’s committed to Duke but all indications are that he wants to play pro ball; he’s not first-round material but is high day one material, and if he can show more stamina and arm strength he will be a top 100 pick. ” – Baseball America
“Coffey has a fastball that sits in 90-92 mph range, sometimes touching 94-95 mph. He is 6’5” with strong build and a nice frame. His change up is his best pitch and it has some good tumbling action on it.
Weaknesses: His velocity drops as he goes deeper into games and he struggles to throw a slider right now and can’t find the right release point when throwing it. He tends to overthrow a bit on fastballs but reducing his stride could help that problem.” – Jordan
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“Weaknesses: While his command is advanced for his level of pro experience, sharpening it will be Matusz’s final task. He has great control and usually is able to keep the ball low and work both sides of the plate at will, so he just needs more experience against big league hitters to develop the pinpoint command he’ll require to get them out consistently” – Baseball America
“Weaknesses: Matusz already has plus command but sharpening it will be his final job. He already controls the ball to both sides of the plate and developing pinpoint command will help him get big league hitters out consistently.” – Jordan
[This last one I didn't notice until almost having finished the post, when someone brought it to my attention. Jordan said he thought he had taken all the offending material down, but he missed the O's #1 prospect? Someone who he very easily could have written up on his own? Come one. I was greatly waffling about whether or not to post this, but the Matusz rip-off sold it for me.]
By Jordan on Jan 28, 2010
Really nice post. I have learned a lot.
By Dempsey's Army on Jan 28, 2010
I like Jordan but this is the right thing to do. The reports struck me as very Baseball America-ish but I couldn’t find the exact examples like you did.
A tough lesson but it had to be done. Thanks for doing the legwork Dan.
By Jordan on Jan 28, 2010
Thanks Dempseys Army. This whole process taught me a lot. I really like this post.
By Bryz on Jan 29, 2010
I think you’re being too hard on Jordan. Was it wrong that he lied to you? Of course it was. But in my eyes, he at least made some effort to avoid copying word for word what someone else had said. I don’t think he needed to take his posts down, but rather just cite his sources. It’s as easy as saying, “Source A is where I got this information” somewhere in the post.
Jordan is only 15, I think you should give him a break. Besides, if plagiarism is so easy to avoid, then why do I get reminded that it’s wrong every time I take a test or write a paper in college?
By Daniel Moroz on Jan 29, 2010
It was wrong if he lied to me personally, but people lie to me all the time and I don’t write about it.
I did give him a break for is age, noting that he can still learn and grow and be a legitimate contributor. But he’s the one making a very large effort to gain himself recognition and influence off of other peoples’ work, and that is unacceptable. If he wanted to be treated like a 15 year old than I would have gladly done so by disregarding his opinions and acting as if he was beneath me (exaggeration, but you get my point). As a blogger though, he and I – and many, many others – are relative equals. I’m willing to give him that respect when earned, but that comes with responsibilities.
Citing sources as an option as well, but seeing as how he wouldn’t admit that he actually took things in every case (especially the Matusz one, where he adamantly refused to acknowledge that his work was the same as Baseball America’s) it didn’t seem like a viable option. I don’t have time to go over all of his work every day to make sure everything is on the up-and-up. I think the solution he proposed of taking down all the reports but continuing the blog where he presents his own opinions and analysis is for the best at the current time. I think it’ll strengthen his blog in the long-run.
Plagiarism can indeed be tricky, but I thought it was clearly very blatant (”he at least made some effort to avoid copying word for word what someone else had said” isn’t nearly good enough – and frankly, sounds kind of ridiculous as a defense to me) and the reaction to it wasn’t enough for me to be willing to just say OK. Your mileage may vary on this count though.
By Bryz on Jan 29, 2010
I see you admitted on Twitter (via Jordan) that you may have been a little harsh. I’m glad to see you say that. Don’t get me wrong, you’re doing the right thing, I just feel that you could go a little easier about it. Now if it was Dave Cameron from USS Mariner…
By Bryz on Jan 29, 2010
The reason I used that defense for him (the “he made some effort, at least” one) is that although I do not know this for sure, it made me feel like he may have been doing what he thought was right in avoiding plagiarism. Avoiding it is not something that’s learned immediately, which is why I brought up the fact that I’m a junior in college and my professors remind me several times a month that plagiarism is wrong.
I can understand your argument about why having him cite his sources would not have necessarily been appropriate. I agree, making a niche can be tricky.
I apologize also if I sounded a bit harsh in my first post. I’ve had a long day of being locked up in a computer lab doing work for a class presentation, which has made me a bit cranky tonight.
By Daniel Moroz on Jan 29, 2010
I will note that thus far the “too harsh” votes are coming in well behind behind the “it was fine” or “I would have been harsher” voted. I’m also not sure how I could have been less harsh while still making both my point and the circumstances clear. The original post I wrote was two or three times as harsh, and was still fairly reasonable in my opinion.
Also, if Dave Cameron did it, he would lose his job. Jordan hasn’t really lost much, and should be fine in the long-run.
By Daniel Moroz on Jan 29, 2010
It’s cool – I bear no grudge. To be honest, this has made me pretty cranky for the last couple days as well. And I’m sure it’s been no picnic for Jordan either. It’s an unfortunate situation, but I tried to handle it in the best way I could.
I’d buy the defense more if once what was and wasn’t OK was explained there would have been less of a run-around and attempts to hide what happened. I weighed many different issues when writing this and deciding whether or not to publish, and it was a judgment call that I’m comfortable with.
By Matt Kremnitzer on Jan 29, 2010
I don’t have a whole lot of patience for plagiarism. Even 15-year-olds know when work is and isn’t their own, and in this day and age with blogging, etc., as long as you give credit to the source and provide a link, you really don’t have much to worry about. But trying to make others believe the work is your own is pretty lame.
To the above commenter, the reason why your professors remind you so much about plagiarism is that it’s rather easy to do and lazy students try to get away with it all the time. All you have to do is look something up that is relevant to what you’re talking about and add it to whatever you’re writing. But that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for someone to do it.
By Dempsey's Army on Jan 29, 2010
Hey Dan,
You handled it just fine. If I had addressed a situation like this, I would have been more heavy handed. Jordan (or anyone who thinks you were harsh) should feel OK that it was you and not others to expose this issue! The kid’s 15 but he’s not mentally deficient…he knew that that wasn’t an honest thing to do.
By Stacey on Jan 29, 2010
Daniel, thanks for pointing this out and for taking the time to speak to Jordan about it. I understand that at 15 one doesn’t always have the maturity to know the best way to handle things, but we’ve all been taught from a young age that cheating isn’t acceptable and that’s what plagiarism is.
If Jordan had been able to scout some players but not others and wanted to complement his writing with facts from Baseball America or another source all he had to do was cite that. It would have been fine as he builds up his scouting skills. Instead he passed it off as his own and even started selling a prospect guide based on it. That’s simply unacceptable no matter your age.
Like you I take blogging ethics very seriously because if we want to be seen as reputable we have to stop things like this from happening.
As an aside, his site seems to be down now. Perhaps he’s fixing it up? I don’t know.
By Dempsey's Army on Jan 29, 2010
He’s going to revamp the site with his own video, etc.
Man, I didn’t realize he was actually selling the info in a guide…well, he’s ambitious, young and hopefully he’s learned his lesson early in life.
By KS on Jan 29, 2010
Daniel, thank you for taking the time to look into this and explain so thoroughly the problems with someone appropriating others’ work as their own. Plagiarism is a major problem in today’s world, since it’s so easy to find whatever you need on the web, then cut and paste, As a part-time college professor, I’ve seen it a lot. And it disturbs me that a college junior downplays the seriousness of the offense. It is stealing, plain and simple. I’m sure what Jordan stole was the result of several days of someone’s work, which is worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Yes, understand that he’s 15. But if a 15-year-old stole hundreds of dollars cash from someone, he’d be reprimanded and punished, at the very least. Quite possibly, he’d face legal action. In this case, he’s getting off with a reprimand.
Everyone needs to understand that plagiarism is a serious offense and anyone with integrity (or aspiring to establish a reputation for credibility and integrity) will know what’s appropriate and what’s not, and behave accordingly.
By Jordan on Jan 29, 2010
Thank you Daniel for bringing it up to me first, and being pushy. I understand why you were harsh, although you were pretty hard on me and it took it’s toll. I appreciate all the input on this. I really do want to be a contributing member to the blogOsphere and understand what I did before was not a good way to do that. This will never happen again. I have learned so much from this already in the last three days and hope to continue to learn every day about blogging. You guys are great, thanks.
By Sadler on Jan 29, 2010
This is a very touchy issue. I know my team has worked very hard to build relationships with various minor league teams. It was made much more difficult because of a generalized and unfair reputation of bloggers. This type of stuff doesn’t help the reputation.
Jordan- hey man it happened, you were called out on it, you fessed up, move on and good luck. I think what makes blogging wonderful is that we don’t have to be experts on stuff. We don’t have to take ourselves too seriously. We are fans who love the O’s and we just want to express are fondness or frustration. Good luck to you in your endeavor. Hopefully we can all go to a game together this season and we can make fun of Moroz as his head explodes because he is doing his real-time WAR calculations.
By Daniel Moroz on Jan 29, 2010
Now Matt (Sadler), you surely must know that I can’t do that in real-time because I wouldn’t be able to accurately value the defense. The batting side is just linear weights though, so that would be relatively easy to do on a PA by PA basis.
By the Wayward O on Jan 30, 2010
you did the kid a favor
this is quickly becoming my favorite Os blog
ps. my curveball has a zingy snappiness redolent of pasta primavera
By Daniel Moroz on Jan 30, 2010
Thank you kindly Wayward O.
PS – I have no idea what it really tells me about your curveball, but it sounds delicious.
By Zachary on Feb 1, 2010
Ugh. I can’t believe anyone’s saying you’re being too harsh. 15 is not 8 or 10. The notion that someone doesn’t have a sense of what’s right or wrong at 15 is ludicrous. And one imagines that if this ois the stuff you found, there’s at least twice as much that you didn’t find.
Let’s call this what it is: A person was trying to steal the work of others, pass it off as his own, and make a profit on it. Of course he knew what he was doing was wrong. He’s not an idiot. And it doesn’t matter that he was “a kid”. Even in his apology, he tries to minimize what he did by implying it’s just “a few” players, when there are at least seven on this page that we can identify, which means there are probably more.
It’s really problematic that we have devolved into a culture where people are taught that it’s okay to cheat, and if you get caught just “say you’re sorry and move on”. Michael Vick, Mark McGwire, etc.
I truly hope Jordan has learned his lesson, but only time will tell.
By Scott Hoffman on Feb 26, 2010
Thanks for bringing this to light Daniel. What I don’t understand with Jordan is that he and I had a heated e-mail exchange discussing the EXACT SAME PRINCIPLES/ISSUES/ETC. at the end of 2009 when his “friend” spammed our message board. I brought up the same issues you mentioned…plagiarism, taking the scouting reports of others and re-wording them, etc.
Him pretending that, “Golly gee Dan! Thanks for pushing the issue with me!” proves just how disingenuous he is.
You have every right to be pissed with him. Not only are a significant portion of his “scouting reports” plagiarized but it was brought to his attention well before his website was brought to yours.
Sincerely,
Scott Hoffman, Managing Editor
http://www.OriolesHangout.com
By Daniel Moroz on Feb 26, 2010
Thanks Scott. I had the feeling that was the case, but was willing to give the benefit of the doubt.