I did a little thinking earlier today on the subject, so I wrote this little essay and posted it as a thread in the forum. And I thought I might as well post it as my first blog here as well. Here's a link to the actual thread: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.ph p?t=1165957
Hi
there all UG transcribers!
I write this thread to open an interesting
discussion of a topic, which I believe is essential in our little tab-universe:
Can you "steal" someone else's tab?
Let me take it from the
beginning. Yesterday I took a little break to rate some of the new tabs on the
site, and I stumbled across this perfect tab, which undoubtedly deserved a 5
stars rating. But some other guy had rated it 1 star though - simply because
the tab was originally posted on another site by another transcriber. According
to the guy the tab was therefore "stolen". It made me think a little,
and now I must say that I strongly disagree with this guy's point of view!
I'm an experienced transcriber as well. When I see
MY "stolen" tabs posted on other sites, I'm proud. I'm simply proud
as I then share what I believe is true information with even more people. My
knowledge is carried even further out! I'm grateful for that, and I'm sure that
whoever delights in finding my tabs is grateful as well!
I think a tablature is a piece of information
that's given from one person to another. Let's say, as given from a teacher to
a student. It's some sort of education that's absolutely free for everyone with
access to the internet. I think that's a beautiful thought! The tab in this case here was simply flawless. It
shared the most exact knowledge about how to play the song. That is the mission
for tabs: Sharing knowledge. And I therefore I though it rightfully deserved
its 5 stars! That's why copying other people's tabs aren't
"stealing" knowledge - it's sharing knowledge!
I think a lot of people are confused about what
tabs are for. They think it's a show of one's transcribing skills, and then
naturally gets a feeling of possession towards their tabs. But again, a tab is
not a proof of how smart one is, as if it was a test in school. (And possibly,
they might think so when they are tricked by all these high score lists and
tend to think that it's about reaching the top there. But it's not, high scores
are entirely pointless, they're just there for fun.) Submitting tabs is not a thing you do for
yourself, it's a thing you do for others. And the feeling of possession towards
your tabs only hinders your knowledge from reaching and educating people. It's
of no real use. So if you see the same tab posted by two different
people, just be happy about the knowledge being carried further out to even
more people. Then rate both of them equally!
I also think it's good that other sites show my tabs, but I can't stand it when someone copies one and put their name under it..
to me, that's a big difference
Yup me too! It's cool if the tab gets spread out, but it's utterly disgusting when you realise it's your tab with someone elses name on the bottom of it... specially when they dare to submit it on the same website as you!
So yeah, it's stealing since it's someone elses work.
Like you said, it's sharing information/knowledge, so we should always be able to know it's source. If I see a tab with your name on it, I'm more likely to trust it.
Submitting is Sharing, but let's share good information/knowledge... that's what I would add to your quote : )!
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Can you "steal" someone else's tab? blog
