There are 3 quotes I really like/-d:
1) Logos: �Very few (and I do not include myself here) are talented enough to create worksheets from nothing.� This reassures me a little because this morning I received a comment on one of my worksheets from a French fellow teacher. I made this worksheet last April. I did not mention where I got the idea at that time. You have noticed since that I am more careful about my work. If I say it was not my idea in the first place, well, it was not my idea!! I confess I brought very little to the whole document (I basically redesigned the document, but I, in no way scanned it!). The irony is I got this comment from this French fellow teacher who uploaded a worksheet for today, using� scanned pictures from a French schoolbook!!! So please, I think many of us know the following proverb: �clean one�s own back yard�. I try to be very careful when I criticize someone because I know I too may be doing something wrong (and believe me, I am, we ALL are, see the end of the message)
2) Vickiii: I loved the image she used about whether it was right to steal her neighbour�s car!!! I think we should always ask for the permission. The images we use do not belong to US!!! Only Makigi can be proud of the pictures she has drawn HERSELF. Another thing: once I tried to do things properly. I wrote a mail to a site asking them if I could use their documents. Well, I am still waiting for the answer...
3) Sylvie (stexstme): her example of the Versailles gardener made me laugh a lot. I started to contribute to eslprintables by uploading some worksheets that were close imitations of some other works, sometimes I had brought more important changes / improvements. Then I began to have my own style. But even today, some of my ideas (note the �some�, which means that some ideas are also really mine!!!) come from somewhere. As Logos wrote, very few ideas are �brand new�.
I think all our wars / conflicts / tensions / disagreements come from our use of pictures. I think it is really important to clarify the situation:
1) using a picture is not an innocent act!
2) I am always a little surprised (but don�t be angry, I did the same, am still doing it, will sadly continue doing it�) to see what we say to new members about how to find cliparts. It is basically this: well, type a keyword in the Google Image Search bar and take any picture you want!! It is magic!! Well, it is magic but is it right? I don�t think so because there are � copyrights most of the time. But, on the other hand, we badly need pictures: it is the best way to avoid using our mother tongue!
3) To those who gave the links to clipart.com and fotosearch.com (I am also part of this group!): congratulations! Not only are you devoting your precious time to make worksheets but you are also sacrificing some of your purchasing power (very hot issue right now in France!). Because, surely you have subscribed to use these pictures (Clipart.com: 1 week = $14.95, 1 month = $34.95, 3 months = $59.95, 6 months = $109.95, 1 year = $159.95 / fotosearch.com : you can choose the option �Royalty free� but if you click on a picture, a price appears!!! Very confusing)...
4) to those who will say �Well, I take my pictures from free clipart sites!�: they are not �that free�. Read carefully those very small lines at the bottom. Usually they say something like �Please give the link to our site� (Do many of us do it? No.) or �for personal use only� (I don�t think using them in a classroom is considered as �personal use��) This is one of the reasons why I could not publish my work (some of you suggested it to me). If I go and see a publisher with my worksheets, the first thing he is going to tell me is: �Where does this picture come from? And this one? And this one? �� I know that for each of my Lessons, I should write "Picture... on page 1 was taken from ..., Picture ... on page 2 was taken from ...).
4) By the way, it is the same thing for songs and movies. I am sure you all know we are normally not allowed to listen to music or watch DVDs in our classroom (unless you�ve asked for the permission to do so, of course! Do you always ask the permission? Let me guess the answer: is it a NO?). But the thing is how can you open up to a foreign culture if you do not study its literature, its music, its films, etc.? So we all do it ...
So basically, I think there needs to be a tacit understanding. We also need to be very cautious before we accuse someone. Cleaning our own back yard first is vital.
One last thing, I am very likely to remove this post later on. I am sure you�ll see how embarrassing it is for all of us.
I am a little confused. I think we all forget why we are here. What is the purpose of this site? I would choose I verb I like a lot: TO SHARE. Here is a question for all of you reading this post: What are you sharing today? 
. It was just to tell you that you might have problems with this worksheet. YOu know that lately there has been a lot of controversy with stolen printables. Maybe I should have been more explicit. In fact I wanted to send you an email but I couldn�t find your email address anywhere.
