Ethics, Morals, and Material (Plagiarism?)

[Ian Kay]

I like when product errors/failures/recalls, etc. are brought to my attention. I have nothing personal against Ferguggia or Jimmy Smith... but it is nice to be enlightened on how things work, especially with fitness education products, which I like to spend time and money on.

[Lost Dog]

Kaiser, in a nutshell, the following was basically on both sites and basically unchanged. I don't recall the wording differences in the paragraph, but the email bullets seemed the same as Twight's site. If not exactly the same, they were very close.

Whoever said, "there are no stupid questions" was wrong. We are not interested in helping beginners, the indolent, or the ignorant. Contacting us implies you have done your utmost to become informed through other avenues and experience. It means you understand Gym Jones is not a mainstream facility using conventional methods to address sport or work-related challenges. Finally, by sending a note you acknowledge understanding that we are not waiting around for it.
Before composing a note please read these statements:

E-mail asking for dietary advice will be deleted.
E-mail asking us to supply an individually tailored training program will be deleted.
E-mail containing the question, “Where do I buy/get/find?” will be deleted.

E-mail containing serious, intelligent inquiry will be answered.

We could assume that he was using a site that he liked as a template, and made the mistake of putting stuff that wasn't ready for prime time on his live site... People do stupid stuff on their live web sites all the time.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It's also an expensive form if you have to pay your lawyers, the other guy's lawyers, the other guy, etc.

[Jean-Paul]

Ah, he must have changed it before I clicked on it because it doesn't say that now.

That's pretty disappointing. It is becoming very easy to cynical about this industry.

[Chris Correia]

It seems there is a lot of "we don't know that" in terms of who is writing what, whose, and why. We simply don't know what's going on behind the scenes.

However, here is my opinion as a consumer and professional of matters broadly related to this topic.

To me, trustworthiness, honesty and integrity are gold. Further, as I've aged, I've become even less accepting of even white lies, as well as incomplete truths, not just those of others, but of myself as well.

Using content, or design for that matter, with permission is fine. It's not even necessarily lazy; that kinda depends. But it can still have negative ramifications.

However, outright copying and heavy borrowing (including "rewriting") are, IMO, more than lazy. It is plagiarism. I assume most of these professionals went to college. In college, one should have learned that your thinking and writing should be your own. The standard for plagiarism is pretty broad. Your writing, your content should be your own. Express your own thoughts in your own words.

So, to me, when people, without permission, base their writing/content on other's work/effort, plagiarism aside, they are demonstrating to me that they are lazy to some degree, and if not dishonest, then not completely honest, or at least not at a level of integrity needed to gain my trust and business. If they have pulled a fast one, or cut corners there, then where else will they do so? In their effort with me? In their review of research/information and, thus, in the information they subsequently provide me? In their attention to my specific needs?

Even with permission (which the reader/customer certainly doesn't know about), if I see such close similarity, I get suspicious because, again, there was less than full initiative and effort. Even on my site, I've borrowed some design and content from others, but I asked in all cases if they minded if I adapted what they had done. But, someone coming across any similar content might wonder about me, not knowing if I just pieced some of the info together from other's work.

Bottom lines:
1. Certainly don't borrow or adapt without permission.
2. It's best to show the initiative and effort to say what you want to say yourself. Just like we all were told in college: express your own thoughts in your own words. Otherwise, you run the risk of people wondering about you, if not calling you out on what you've "created."

[Shaf]

Here are more examples, courtesy of someone who looked more closer than I. It's not as bad as the first two examples, however, it illustrates a distinct trend. In his latest blog, Jay F. retires from the internet in a somewhat self-induglent fashion:

Jason Ferruggia Uncensored: Growing Up

More similarities between GJ and RA.

Sources Gym Jones - Power, Speed, Endurance, Suffering and Salvation and The Leading Authority on Hardcore, Underground Strength, and Fitness

GJ At Gym Jones we train athletes and professionals. For some of these individuals fitness can mean the difference between life and death.
RA For 14 years I have trained athletes and professionals like their survival is dependant upon the results we achieve.

GJ The objective is genuine fitness, not the appearance of fitness.
RA True, genuine fitness and not just the nonfunctional “appearance” of fitness.

GJ The methods we use are based on old ideas, new research, creativity, anecdotal evidence and our own high-stakes practice.
RA Our training methods are based on experiments and experience; science and under-the-bar knowledge. We combine old school ideas with innovative new breakthroughs and are constantly risking it all to come up with a more effective way to achieve our goals.

GJ Our programming emphasizes relative strength, power-endurance, and endurance because in these areas we are expert.
RA We train for strength, speed, power and endurance.

GJ An individual will push harder and risk more in the company of trustworthy peers and that's one reason the gym is not open to the public.
RA For 14 years we have turned down more clients than we have allowed in and don’t offer our services or products to anyone who is not willing to do whatever it takes to be the best.

One thing I am very tired of is these assorted "fitness celebrities" telling me that because I am married, have a family I love, and enjoy doing things with that family, that I am somehow a "drone", a "sheep" or something similar.

[Lost Dog]

Originally Posted by Shaf

Here are more examples, courtesy of someone who looked more closer than I. It's not as bad as the first two examples, however, it illustrates a distinct trend. In his latest blog, Jay F. retires from the internet in a somewhat self-induglent fashion:

I haven't read that much of his recent writing to know what you mean by this. The blog post seems a little dramatic and a bit emotional. Maybe he's eating too much soy, still.

I've considered making my internet harder to use, too. When it's always on and easy to check, you can get sucked in and stop doing what you should be doing.

Originally Posted by Shaf

One thing I am very tired of is these assorted "fitness celebrities" telling me that because I am married, have a family I love, and enjoy doing things with that family, that I am somehow a "drone", a "sheep" or something similar.

Could you elaborate? Are you saying that because you choose family time over training time that you are assumed to be a drone or sheep? Because you're not interested in "doing whatever it takes?"