Plagiarism

[Dana G]

This posting can also be found in the NOTES section on the left side of the Main Page, but is being posted in the FORUM section as well to be sure it gets "circulated".

While plagiarism per se is not necessarily grounds for legal action, it is not only "frowned upon" here at The Writer's Box - it is grounds for dismissal.

"Quoting" the works of another author is not plagiarism. Below is Wikipedia's description of plagiarism:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.

Within academia, plagiarism by students, professors, or researchers is considered academic dishonesty or academic fraud and offenders are subject to academic censure. In journalism, plagiarism is considered a breach of journalistic ethics, and reporters caught plagiarizing typically face disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to termination. Some individuals caught plagiarizing in academic or journalistic contexts claim that they plagiarized unintentionally, by failing to include quotations or give the appropriate citation. While plagiarism in scholarship and journalism has a centuries-old history, the development of the Internet, where articles appear as electronic text, has made the physical act of copying the work of others much easier, simply by copying and pasting text from one web page to another.

Plagiarism is not copyright infringement. While both terms may apply to a particular act, they are different transgressions. Copyright infringement is a violation of the rights of a copyright holder, when material protected by copyright is used without consent. On the other hand, plagiarism is concerned with the unearned increment to the plagiarizing author's reputation that is achieved through false claims of authorship.

**Note that I have given credit to the "source" of the reference**

**Also note that photographs and video fall under the same/similar regulations**

[James Waters AKA. NineSpeed]

What brought this on?

[Blindogg]

Somebody once said...
If you steal the work of one person it is plagiarism but if you steal the work of several it is research...

All kidding aside...plagiarism is theft and is just plain wrong.

[Dana G]

Well, my friend, I would say that if you don't know - you are in the clear!

James Waters said:

What brought this on?

[Dana G]

Yeah - isn't there another saying that goes something like...

"steal from the best...just don't get caught!" :-)


Blindogg said:

Somebody once said...
If you steal the work of one person it is plagiarism but if you steal the work of several it is research...

All kidding aside...plagiarism is theft and is just plain wrong.

[Mary Deal]

_____

This is a great topic for discussion in any forum where plagiarism is possible.

In the past, I have had two poems stolen by a then famous singer/songwriter. You can bet I went after him.

Among the nearly 30 writing sites that I presently frequent, perhaps a dozen people have been expelled from various sites in the last few years. When plagiarism is found—

~ The Webmaster immediately deletes the plagiarist’s page and all their postings.
~ The Webmaster also blocks that person’s IP address so they cannot return using a new name.
~ The Webmaster sends an email of explanation to the person and there is no recourse.
~ On some sites, the Webmaster posts a notice to all informing about the penalty for plagiarizing, and the need to protect the honest participants.
~ Still, other sites do not post a notice. When the offending person is expelled, it simply looks as if they have moved on. If that person’s friends feel offended, I’d be questioning a friendship established during an act of deceit.

It’s easy to learn if a person plagiarizes. Since titles can be altered or changed, simply select one important sentence from the body of the suspected plagiarized work, then Google it. Yes, type it into Google search and click. Whether or not the sentence has been altered from the way the real writer composed it, Google will produce the original article at or near the top of its list of results.

I’m for booting off any plagiarist. Why should we allow our diligent efforts to serve the self-serving? It would be sad, indeed, as hard as people strive to learn the craft on this and other sites, to have even one unscrupulous person steal a piece of writing and publicize it under their own name. The real writer would have little chance of getting that piece published.

Something else that concerns me is that if an unscrupulous person posts plagiarized items from other sites here, claiming that they, in fact, wrote them, what’s to stop the plagiarist from copying our writings, pasting them into other sites, and also claiming our work as their own?

If an offender posts a plagiarized story coming in, I doubt they would think twice about stealing a new one on the way out.

Even if a plagiarizing person is left on site and NOT posting anything new, they may still be stealing from others.

We need not become paranoid, but we should investigate our suspicions to, in return, protect any site that offers so much to our good.

Mary

[Blindogg]

I couldn't agree more with Mary.
My concern is, similar to ID theft, by the time you realize that you have been robbed it's too late to do anything. The damage is done, so to speak.
It's too bad that all of the different web sites couldn't form some sort of collaborative union to scan for plagiarized material.

[Mary Deal]

One thing you can do if you find your material plagiarized is to notify the Webmaster of the site where it is posted. That Webmaster will expel the offender from his site too.

Blindogg said:

I couldn't agree more with Mary.
My concern is, similar to ID theft, by the time you realize that you have been robbed it's too late to do anything. The damage is done, so to speak.
It's too bad that all of the different web sites couldn't form some sort of collaborative union to scan for plagiarized material.

[James Waters AKA. NineSpeed]

I feel if your such a weak writer that you can't do the research yourself or come up with subject matter for yourself, you have no business being on a writing site in the first place, or putting pen to paper for that mater. I don't know if I have ever been plagerized or not, I know I have never intentionally plagerized anyone. I take what I put on paper very seriously, I try to write with pride and integrity and honor. to think that someone would steal my words is unconscionable.

If I may ask Mary how did you know, did you come accross something you wrote with someone elses name on it or what? I wouldn't even begin to know where to look.

I belong to several writing sites, you guys have me nervous now, I am going to have to go and check every writer on those sites.

[James Waters AKA. NineSpeed]

Learn something new everyday, I was not aware of google being able to do that. Pretty cool

[Tony Walker]

I write a lot of technical articles for various gun and collector magazines, which does involve a lot of research. However, I'm always extremely careful to quote references and sources, and credit the authors thereof.

True plagiarism occurs when a direct quote is used, word for word, and is passed off as original work without attribution to the true author.

Quoting passages from other works for purposes of criticism is classified as 'fair use', so long as the original author's name is given.

[Mary Deal]

You're exactly right, Tony.

Also, more and more in these days of Internet ease, an entire article, story or Internet post is copied verbatim. Someimtes only the title is changed in an effort to keep Goggle from finding it. The plagiarizer attaches their name, and treats it as their own. That's blatant plagiarism.

Tony Walker said:

I write a lot of technical articles for various gun and collector magazines, which does involve a lot of research. However, I'm always extremely careful to quote references and sources, and credit the authors thereof.

True plagiarism occurs when a direct quote is used, word for word, and is passed off as original work without attribution to the true author.

Quoting passages from other works for purposes of criticism is classified as 'fair use', so long as the original author's name is given.

[Johnell McLean]

I would hope no one would do this to me and if they do let's hope it was one of those days when I was in a hurry and they have many misspelled words and so many grammatical errors they end up looking foolish.

I agree with James, I write from the heart and sometimes I have to work very hard to craft my poetry and to think some lazy fool would claim my hard work as theirs just leaves me hurt and angry.