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I have
started a thread raising a very important issue, with a point of view that some
share and others don�t. I�ll try to be brief on this one, but I rarely can. =D
So that I
don�t have to repeat my words, I�ll post the link to the thread for those who
want to understand my idea a little better [http://www.eslprintables.com/forum/topic.asp?id=15558].
And I also would like to point out that the kind Eva herself has written me
that she did not care about others using the same Word shapes she used for her wss,
and that she felt honored her work was that much appreciated. I could not think of a more true sharing
spirit. Where she saw appreciation, others saw a theft. Can we see how far human�s
difference goes? I think it�s wonderful to see things like that!
Victor has
created the BEST esl website I have found. And most people I have come to meet
in here have inspired me in more ways than I can describe. Therefore, it�s only
natural too that I care this much for Eslp.
After that I
wanted to say that we are wasting more time with the bad things, like calling other
people thieves, trying to protect other people�s work � and remembering, except
for the public case of AFS, where they gained money, whenever a member cheats,
they are looking for points to get some easy access to good esl material, a bad
thing for sure, and I also try to find those, but I have never, and I mean
NEVER called anyone a thief in here. All I do is pointing out that something
has been fully copied and that is not allowed (in here, at least). I don�t
judge people for their behavior in a website, in fact, who am I to judge?!
All that
being said, I also would like to say that I give in. I firstly cared about
making a difference and raising some awareness in our attitudes, because we
soooo are condemning things that in some other way we do it too (I do NOT see
graphics references/citation in almost any wss, but somehow, if it�s taken from
a member in here, it should be noted and asked). But then, most importantly I
give in because I have written the site�s
owner and have not had any response, but being a busy man as he is, proving us
with such great tools (eslp, OE, teacher�s organizer, etc.), I don�t dare
asking him for more. I simply assume he does not consider this to be relevant,
and no one will die nor Eslp will fall apart. Real life goes on.
But I still
wish I have helped somehow. And maybe, just maybe, in the future, that can have
some good effect in here or anywhere else.
For those
who have supported this real crusade for a better and lighter environment in
any way until now, I thank you for your energy. But in the end, I will borrow
Zora�s adjective and say that if Eslp. gets to become an �elitist� site, we are
losing the valuable chance of helping and seeing other teachers raising up to
the occasion and contributing a lot more to the site, which we all benefit
from!
To sum up, let �s try to enjoy our time in here as we can, for myself, I �ll turn a blind eye for the things that seem wrong, because as I could point out, RIGHT and WRONG (read: inspiring and stealing) have different POVs for the members, and the majority of the people with the power to vote wins, that �s somehow ok. And we �re all going to be ok, for sure!
Have a nice week, you guys. For me, I admit I �m a bit sad, but still, what can a member do?
And one thing I forgot, when we reported (our own) worksheets containing graphics without reference (or formal/informal permission, if some prefer) and even some INFLICTING COPYRIGHT, we were just PROVING that almost NO ONE in here is all thaaaat fair and honest (I mean, we actually are, but if we are strict to some, we should be to all).
So, we did not mean that 90% of Eslp. wss should be deleted, we simply meant that WE ARE punishing some and others no. That is MORE UNFAIR than not punishing any.
Therefore... I hope moderators are all wise people, probably wiser than me, because I cannot understand things like that.
Thanks for those who always give me attention and I hope I get to attend to you as well when you ask me!
In my opinion, the only way forward is by implementing the use of Creative Commons licenses (with the Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike as my favourite, but hey, why not let members choose?). Traditional copyright is much too restrictive for the kind of work on this site.
Also, we should use more (or should I say exclusively) free and public domain images (NOT just copyright-free) in our work. It doesn �t make sense to accuse others of stealing (a word I �m very hesitant to use) if many of our own blatantly use copyrighted materials.
Finally, there seems to be a lack of clear rules. On the reported wss page there are too many � we used to do this � and �didn �t someone say that � comments that are nowhere to be found black on white. I suppose it can be quite exasperating for (new) members to find out what can and can �t be done.
I �ve just seen Eva �s post on the thread and I agree that it �s very kind of her to say such thing about the �famous � layout. Word tools are available to everyone, and I still think that one thing is to help, like PhilipR is doing writing tutorials and making templates for people to use in their worksheets and another thing is to use templates from other user �s with the name of the person under the properties. I agree that layout is easy to make, and I have actually seen worksheet with that layout being older than Eva �s worksheets... So that probably wasn �t Eva �s desing/idea either. The problem was that the name under the properties was Eva �s (at least the very first worksheet reported don �t know about the others)... and we weren �t suppose to use other people �s worksheets as templates without permission, or at least I saw many members complaining for this, because someone had done this very same thing with their work and they didn �t want this.. One case was Evelina �s, and others..
I think there should be a system where members can allow �friends � to have fully access to their profiles and worksheets, ppts etc.. ....so many of these problems would be solved because you wouldn �t allow just anyone to have access to your work. But I guess this wouldn �t be convinient for people who race for points..dunno!..
"And one thing I forgot, when we reported (our own) worksheets containing graphics without reference (or formal/informal permission, if some prefer) and even some INFLICTING COPYRIGHT, we were just PROVING that almost NO ONE in here is all thaaaat fair and honest (I mean, we actually are, but if we are strict to some, we should be to all).
So, we did not mean that 90% of Eslp. wss should be deleted, we simply meant that WE ARE punishing some and others no. That is MORE UNFAIR than not punishing any."
I would really like it if all members respected copyright and that, even if it meant losing 90% of our worksheets, all worksheets on this site were the work of the claimed authors, but this is not utopia and I �m don �t claim to be squeaky clean.
I like very much Philips of "Creative Commons Licences" and would be happy to donate some of my worksheets. I couldn �t donate all because I also produce and sell ELT materials and some of these I put on this site for others to use with their own students.
- Using text found online is allowed provided that the author adds the link to the original source and an exercise or exercises of his/her own making;
- Uploading worksheets containing grammar/vocab exercises taken from online is not allowed;
- Using images found online is allowed provided that: they do not come from websites that explicitly forbid it; they are followed by an exercise/exercises of the author �s making;
- English is the only language allowed to be used for the worksheets on this site;
- Using layout from another worksheet of this site can only be done with the permission of the owner of that worksheet;
- It is entirely forbidden to upload someone else �s work as your own;
- There can be no monopoly over colour or layout sources widely available to all www/Microsoft Office users; if there is one member who uses a popular layout a lot it doesn �t mean that another member cannot use this layout just as much;
Only .doc files are accepted. If you have a .pdf or .jpg, you can copy and paste into a .doc file.
Please remember:
You cannot send printables taken from other websites or publications. They must be your own creations.
We only accept ESL resources written in English language. A frame, a border or a single drawing is not an ESL resource. Remember that this website is not a clipart collection.
If your contribution is a copy from other website or from a book your account in ESLprintables will be cancelled.
If you have a worksheet that you didn �t make yourself (borrowed from a colleage teacher, for example) DON �T SEND IT. It might be taken from this or another website, and you would be banned from eslprintables.com
Don �t send useless documents. Nobody will download them and you �ll get 0 points.
Why don �t we make some ESL layouts which could be used by all esl members ( like Philip did ) maybe we would avoid much trouble. People did great job with calendar pages and shared them. Others may adjust the templates the way they like.And we have no problems because they are meant to be shared...And they could be all in one place so that anybody can find them easily.
People who are less skillful in Word and have good materials could present better their work - sometimes their work is neglected just because it �s not wrapped nicely.
It �s just an idea...I �ll upload two layouts I �ve prepared for my future wss ... if you like the idea you may do the same...
Just to mention - I don �t need points for this, I think I have them enough for the rest of my life...
Thanks Lana, I had missed that thread. A bit clearer now.
Btw, with the templates I provide I intend to level the playing field. If everyone has access to decent layouts, all members (not just the ones good at MS Word) can spend more time on content rather than on fancy layouts. I hope it will lead to wss being downloaded on merit of content and not solely layout.
I also hope it will lead to more wss focusing on speaking, pair work, group work, project work, creative writing, games etc. instead of reading and grammar. I am fully aware that those are probably the easiest to produce, but are we really doing our students a favour by using them? Let�s try not to bore our students to death. In numerous countries around the world, students study English for many years but still struggle to put a few simple sentences together, let alone have a basic conversation.
I �ll do the same if somebody explains to me exactly what �s wanted from me.