Paraphrasing vs. verbatim quotes

[dumbledore11214]

>> Ceridwen:
<SNIP>
> But, to get rid of quoting and replacing it with paraphrasing would 
> be difficult for quite a few members.  ESL members who are not wholly 
> sure of themselves when composing in another language might have 
> problems, and may not even feel welcome in the group any more if they 
> think they are, or in fact are, forced to paraphrase and get rid of 
> quotes; it's often easier to understand a second language than it is 
> to communicate in it.  > I can certainly see a place for 
paraphrasing, but not so they take 
> the place of direct quotes and clear attribution.  Does this help?

Alla:

Okay, I told myself that I will not be talking anymore on this subject, 
I really did :) Oh, well, I snipped everything I agree with,which is 
basically your entire post, but I guess this would be another me too 
from ESL speaker.

Um, do you know how I would feel if I would be required to paraphrase 
when I just started posting ? It would be definitely **shoot me, shoot 
me now** moment. Thank goodness, I'd say that rules do not require that.

Let me go further - I think I have gotten much much better command of 
written English language in the last several years and I am honestly 
not sure whom I should thank more - my schooling or this list :)

But I still write awkwardly sometimes, I still struggle to express 
myself sometimes and I still feel that I would **never** ever be able 
to write as well as some great writers on this list do.

I would not **dare** to paraphrase them, I would not **want** to 
paraphrase them, because I don't want to butcher their clear writing 
and because more often than not it creates unnecessary work for me.

I struggle enough to express myself with clarity, thank you very much, 
I am not going to add additional struggles of paraphrasing people.

THAT sound to me as so much more work than *gasp* self-attributing /or 
signing one's posts, but hey that is just me.

Having said that, as other elves said, there is no rule against 
paraphrasing of course and sometimes it can certainly work. 


Alla AKA Alika Elf, who speaks for herself only and who remembers with 
amusement her elfy reminders now, but who certainly was not amused at 
the time when she got them :)