Quote question

[ScareCrowReturn]

I've jsut got a question about quotes in general..

If you're coming up with your own quote, does it count if you get an idea off someone else in what they say?

Example; Bob says "I hate girls, they have coodies"
Billy says "..."

Okay I cant think of one.. But if he used what his friend said, and then made a quote out of it, basing it on the idea and not the actual words he said.. is it okay to claim it as yours?

 

[Zjuggernaut]

Yes because he didn't say those exact words, so if you said he did.. It would be incorrect.

 

[Tsuyu]

That's how a lot of quotes are "claimed". For example, take one of my favourites; "Sometimes it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

Very often credited to old Honest Abe, but evidence points toward it not being something he thought up himself but rather a common saying back then.

 

[TRA Rotid]

It's called paraphrasing I believe.

 

[SelfAppointedGunslinger]

Yes it's ok, the idea isn't something exclusive to his friend so the other person can still adopt it and turn it into a quote and it can still be classed as theirs. It's how inspiration works really quote wise.

After all, Nilhi novi sub sole.

 

[HobbeBrain]

Well if you quoted it as yourself saying it, not him, I guess it's fine.

 

[ScareCrowReturn]

But isnt that when the whole interlectual theft or some sh*t comes into play?

 

[TRA Rotid]

Actually ideas aren't a property, so whatever anyone says without putting it into physical proof, stealing it isn't a crime - for example, I can tell you how to cure cancer and if you claim it as yours, I can't say anything that proves otherwise. (yes, we were taught that in school)

As I said, what you were describing is paraphrasing. If you feel that you want to point to your friend as the source of the idea, you can, but you don't have to - essentially, you can simply set it out as your own. Paraphrasing doesn't require quotes; and if you can't quote that friend exactly word by word, it's not a legitimate quote anyway.