Error in judgement?!?

In today's Bergen Record there is a story of a school superintendent who reads a speech from the Internet to her National Honor Society students without crediting the author. As her defense, she states that it was an "error in judgement" and that since it was in the "public domain" she didn't feel the need to credit the author. I'll leave the debate about her fate to her school board and the other pundits who will no doubt hop right on this.

Instead, I want to question a growing belief that things on the Internet are public domain. At what point did we decide that the move from paper to digital negates the copyright of an original work? Does the fact that I type my thoughts, opinions, and statements here on-line make them any less mine than if I disseminated them on paper? Why do we believe that it's OK to download papers, quotes, music, movies, or anything else of the Internet without paying for them or at least creating their creator?

Does no one else see that this actually harms the growth of the Internet? If my original work can be passed off without credit or compensation, what is the incentive for me to "publish" it on the Internet? Lastly, if educators feel this way too, who is left to stand against plagiarism?

Please let it be known, I certainly would love you to reprint any of my articles, there's even a way to e-mail a copy to friends at the end of each post. Nothing would make me happier than to know that I've said something that strikes enough of a chord that you think it bears repeating. Please do that, but please let people know where you heard it first.

Also, be assured that if I ever re-enter the world of public education, the fastest way to fail my class (not just the assignment) is to copy work from anywhere and pass it off as your own.

Thoughts anyone?