There have been quite a few jokes lately on the widespread misinterpretation of the quote, “Information wants to be free.” Call it optimistic hopefulness. Call it brutish ignorance. Call it whatever you will. The simple fact of the matter is that because “free” has multiple definitions, people interpreted it to fit their worldview (perhaps saying something about themselves in the process).

Most of my students haven’t heard this quote, in context or out, but they definitely face the inherent spirit of it on a near-daily basis as they learn about copyright and plagiarism. I’ll never forget the student who, in all seriousness, told me that she could take anything she found on the internet and do whatever she wanted with it because it was “free”. I quickly explained to her that copyright does extend to work on the internet, and it’s only free if it’s specifically labeled public domain. She wasn’t too sure about that, but she was at least willing to consider that I knew what I was talking about.

It’s amazing how many of my students have either not been taught this, or have tuned out the teacher. These students tend to be frustrating because they whine on and on (in a private tutoring center, no less) about how they can’t get to the information they want for a school project because some jerk had the gall to lock it up away from them. They then boast that they can just find that same information somewhere else…and that never works out. They don’t get it. They don’t understand.

What they’re missing, and what I think is a part of what makes copyright protection so nice, is that information doesn’t want to be certain definitions of free. It wants to be unrestrained, but at the same time be respected and valued.