The Ethical Use of Information

I believe the ethical use of information is courteous, respectful, safe, and must be worthy of trust.

In previous centuries, access to information was scarce and contained by the "gatekeepers."  Information was so valued that we could always trust the authors and the keepers of the books.  We didn't need to decide to whether or not to trust the words; they were always trusted.  The words were sacred: unchangeable and uncopyable for all time.  Even if we didn't use the exact same words, the sources of the information had to be cited precisely.  We were the consumers of information.

By Sabatheus ("Jim Mills") (Sabatheus, self-made) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

In this century, virtually unlimited access to information has turned the old paradigm on its head.  Information is wild and free.  Anyone can publish their words without the need for books or gatekeepers.  We can no longer trust the information unquestioningly.  The words can be changed or copied at any time.  We now have to read information critically to check for reliability or bias.  We now view information as source materials for our own information products.  We are now prosumers, both producers and consumers, of information.

"SennMicrophone" by ChrisEngelsma - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SennMicrophone.jpg#/media/File:SennMicrophone.jpg

In this new prosumer era, we must see ourselves as citizens of the information world that respects other producers as we would like them to respect us.  We should be courteous of other people's information products, because we want to be treated courteously, too.  We need to give them credit when we borrow their ideas and remix them into our own works.  We ought to always ask to use their work if it is copyrighted, and give our permission to copy ahead of time using Creative Commons.  

Citizenship also includes safety.  The same behavior that is unsafe in person is unsafe online.  Talking to a stranger about sex online is dangerous, just like talking about it in-person is.  Calling someone names or bullying someone electronically is still bullying.  Damaging computers or infrastructure is just as bad as damaging someone's property in-person.  

Herb Roe [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 In a world of expansive access to information and media, the problem become not scarcity, but instead overabundance.  The information must be sifted and sorted by value.  Where once, all the information was valuable, now the value has been diluted by everyone being able to publish everything, no matter how mundane.  Now we have to question the reliability and relevance of the information.  Can it be trusted?  Does it help me with the story I am telling, or is it just someone's lunch?  We must now think critically about the information and it's sources.  

What about the media I produce.  Is it reliable.  What are my sources.  Now the reason for attributing the source of information become more relevant.  Not only to I need to cite my sources to protect myself from copyright violations, but I also need to prove the veracity of my facts.  By citing and linking, people can easily check it out for themselves.  I need to respect the authors of my information sources by giving them the credit they deserve.  By doing so, I also increase the integrity and value of my own media.

So, by using ethically the information information I find, I am not only respecting the source, I am also making the value of the information I produce even stronger.   

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