Plagiarism - "Cut & Paste" Style

"Cut & Paste" plagiarism plagues message boards all over the internet, and we have begun to see it pop up here at MoFo as well. This brand of plagiarism not only robs the real writer of his or her recognition but it also undermines the entire point of these boards. Kong is wondering what can be done to halt, or at least minimize, future instances of this behavior.

Kong can't think of many options. It seems like warning the offender about the first offense, and then banning them upon recidivism would the most effective means, but not only does Kong not have the authority to issue such a proclamation, but Kong would hope that someone could come up less harsh but still effective means of attacking this problem. Any ideas on what we can do?

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Making sure the offender is aware of the seriousness of the issue is key. Also, making sure the plagerized material is given proper credit is important. What bothers me is, even when the post has been edited after the fact, it leaves a wake of replies that were based on false assumptions.

If someone copies and pastes without giving credit, should we private message upon discovery, to allow them to save face? What if there are already several replies praising the poster (imposter)? What do we do with those replies after the post has been edited?

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I'm glad you started this thread, Kong. This is a serious issue that most definitely needs to be dealt with.

One potential, more lenient alternative to banning, is temporary banning. This forum software allows me to ban people for specific periods of time; a day, a week, a month, etc. I'd be interested to hear what some of you think about this.

I think that if there are already replies and/or praise, you've got no choice but to make the violation known. Societal stigma, though it can be abused at times, can also be very useful for keeping order.

I do think some form of mercy should be shown to first-time offenders, however.

There's one very obvious way to avoid all this:

DON'T RIP OTHER PEOPLE OFF IN THE FIRST F_CKING PLACE.

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I certainly agree with this viewpoint. As far as the people who have already been exposed, perhaps the same thing should apply for them from here on out. I'm sure after having a pack of us descend on them like a hungry pack of vultures, there will be no more blatant offences.

My suggestion would be a warning in the post in question, plus a PM from the admin or moderator who notices it first. Second offence is a temporary 30 day ban and the third a permanent one.

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

I am guilty of this as some of you know, and banning me for some time, could have been an option towards me. If it had been, I would accept it ......with no complaints.


Like I have stated earlier in another thread, I entirely and whole-heartedly apologize. If you all can , could you all please forgive me???

Of course. I feel bad for giving you so much grief lately, but I tried getting you to just admit it, and you wouldn't. It's too bad that we all ripped you to shreds, but I think you had a part in that with your stubborness. I doubt that you will ever do it again.

Kong can't say that his regard for you hasn't sunken, but he can say that he can forgive you and with respectable posting on your part Kong's feelings for you can once again return to the pink.

Like LordSlaytan, Kong doubts that you will repeat your mistakes. Nevertheless we should figure out a plan to deal with any future incidents that may occur with other forum members. The idea that Yoda breached, temporary bannings, sounds like a pretty good one to Kong.

Just remember that this isn't all about you either, jrs. Godfather has only posted plagiarized stuff and even his posts aren't all of it. It seems to be happening in abundance lately. Hell, I did it once, twice, thrice when I first joined. I'm ashamed to admit it. But stopping is crucial. I'd be loathed to be caught doing it, how embarrassing.

Respect can be earned....am I right?

Not only can respect be earned, it must be earned.

Now that's a fact !!!!!!!

Why don't you just go back and place in a credit as to who wrote the reviews in question, seems a simple enough solution to this particular predicament, and in the future if JRS wishes to use some one else's review just be sure to place proper recognition.

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I think that there are to many considering he has over 5,000 posts.

Kong is a most wise ape.

That would seem to be a problem wouldn't it?

I have done that. (The best I could)

Come on now!

I didn't mean 5000 posts worth. I just meant with that large of a post count, finding all of the posts that you may have done that to might be kind of hard.