I started to write another blog entry, but something else came up that preempts it.
I hate plagiarists. With a passion. I guess it comes with being a writer.
Today’s incident involves a fellow blogger who wrote a fantastic piece about creepy kid shows. Even had it featured on FARK. Received tons of hits from it, and plenty of comments (around 240, if I remember correctly). So he found two other blogs that posted his list, without giving him credit. Although one did admit that she didn’t write it.
Why does this bother me so? Well, I’ve been in his shoes. Back in the late 90’s, I had several short stories on a horror website called Dreadful Dreams.
In the Fall of 2001, My wife was a TA and grading papers. After finding two plagiarized papers, she gave me the stack she had already graded to check for more. Using google, we found seven others. In the swing of things, I started googling parts of my short stories; identifiable snippets. And found that a high school kid in Ohio decided to copy one of my stories and another one from DD. I mean, he literally just copied the text and put it on his own page (hosted by tripod). I know this because, that particular story had the first half typed in red, and the second typed in green (it went with the story picture) and so did his.
I send a letter to tripod with links to the original, and two days later his site was down.
But it really irked me seeing people, probably his friends, commenting on how awesome his story was and he’s a great writer.
Mind you, I look back on those stories now and cringe. They’re awful. But still. It’s my work, not yours. Don’t be an idiot and steal, and CERTAINLY don’t be a mope and put them where the real author might see them. Duh.
So, in short. If they’re not your words, give credit.
Thus endeth the lesson.
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3 responses so far ↓
1 Mom of Three // May 18, 2006 at 12:15 pm
I am a journalist, though not a horribly active one at present, but if I found out someone was using my stuff? I’d contact their Powers That Be right quick. “Can I fax you the article his paper was lifted from?” That sort of thing.
In other news, a kid in front of me in a college class wayyyyy back was turning the pages of his notes between the wall and a bookshelf during a test and I told the professor and he didn’t do anything. Still, after I pointed out that the same kid’s poem sounded like “Have a Cigar” from Pink Floyd in front of the whole class, he dropped out.
2 Matt // May 19, 2006 at 1:09 am
Thanks for the plug.
When my wife and I were in college, she had a fellow classmate who submitted No Doubt’s “I’m Just a Girl” as her own work. This was right before they hit big, and unfortunately for this student, the song suddenly became popular.
3 dtkelly // May 19, 2006 at 7:14 am
People are idiots. It’s just that simple.
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