PLEASE don't copy/paste (plagiarize) discussions...
By JJ
@JolietJake (50190)
January 30, 2016 7:19am CST
Now, before y'all get yer knickers in a twist, I realize not all copy/pasted discussions are plagiarized. Some of you write your discussions on notepad or whatever, then copy/paste them here...that's fine, nothing wrong with that.
But occasionally I'll see a member that is basically well known and liked, a 'good' myLotter...and suddenly, I'll see a plagiarized post from them.
And I don't get it. 
Maybe it's a joke, or an anecdote...or whatever...but it plainly isn't something they wrote.
Which makes it plagiarism...which is wrong, and is plainly stated as wrong in the guidelines.
So I am going to report it.
And I don't like reporting things here...especially from people that I think are pretty damn good members.
But I'll do it anyway.
Now, some will say "Why don't you just send them a message?"
The thing is, I've done it that way...and got basically yelled at and told to mind my own business many times.
I guess they don't see it the way I do...myLot is 'my business'.
It makes me feel very awkward when I feel the need to report someone I otherwise enjoy interacting with.
Now, the garden-variety spammers, that just join to copy/paste crap...I don't mind reporting them at all. In fact, I can't hit that button fast enough. 
I just don't get why some people do it.
They aren't going to earn millions of dollars from it...probably not even 50 cents...could it be they just don't realize they are doing something wrong?
I don't know.
But I don't like it, it makes me very uncomfortable, and I seriously wish they wouldn't...
Okay...rant over.
Maybe it's a joke, or an anecdote...or whatever...but it plainly isn't something they wrote.
Which makes it plagiarism...which is wrong, and is plainly stated as wrong in the guidelines.
So I am going to report it.
And I don't like reporting things here...especially from people that I think are pretty damn good members.
But I'll do it anyway.
Now, some will say "Why don't you just send them a message?"
The thing is, I've done it that way...and got basically yelled at and told to mind my own business many times.
I guess they don't see it the way I do...myLot is 'my business'.
It makes me feel very awkward when I feel the need to report someone I otherwise enjoy interacting with.
Now, the garden-variety spammers, that just join to copy/paste crap...I don't mind reporting them at all. In fact, I can't hit that button fast enough.
I just don't get why some people do it.
They aren't going to earn millions of dollars from it...probably not even 50 cents...could it be they just don't realize they are doing something wrong?
I don't know.
But I don't like it, it makes me very uncomfortable, and I seriously wish they wouldn't...
Okay...rant over.21 people like this
23 responses
@owlwings (43902)
• Cambridge, England
30 Jan 16
I don't like reporting people I know to be normally good, honest members but I do it when it's necessary and leave Admin to decide whether or not I'm right. I may have even reported you, Mr Jake Joliet (because you carve quite close to the bone sometimes), though I don't remember any specific incident. The important thing is that, when I have occasion to do so, I don't hold any grudge because we all make mistakes and step over the line sometimes.
8 people like this
@jaboUK (64350)
• United Kingdom
30 Jan 16
@JolietJake @Owlwings Have you ever just warned someone yourself instead of reporting them?
3 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
@jaboUK Yes, and I have had different outcomes...if they were new, I sometimes got thanked for pointing out the error...older members, if they are not well known by me, or me by them, have been a bit rude telling me it's none of my business (although some new users have done that as well) so unless I know them somewhat, I don't send messages about it now
6 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
Hell, back in the day I used to report myself sometimes. 
7 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
30 Jan 16
It is unethical to do so anyway, anywhere.
Why would you want to copy something?
I like to be original for sure.
7 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
Yeah...I'd be dumbstruck if I ever saw it happen from you. Which was kind of how I felt when I saw this other person doing it.
4 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
30 Jan 16
@JolietJake hmm wonder what possessed them to do so?
3 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
30 Jan 16
@vandana7 you mean someone used their acct Vandy? I guess that might be possible.
2 people like this
@hora_fugit (5862)
• India
30 Jan 16
Your rants get over very fast... before I could start empathizing with you.
3 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
I've got some serious breathing problems these days and run out of breath really fast, so my rants aren't quite as loud or long as they used to be.
5 people like this
@Bluedoll (16770)
• Canada
30 Jan 16
It is beyond me why anyone would plagiarize on this site because there are not many restrictions really. If it was a writing site that demanded content to be such and such I could see someone risking it if they can't really write more than one sentence?
On the other hand, not really sure if I didn't push it on one of my posts or not? I copied some song lyrics. They are so old there is definitely no copyright infringement but didn't use quotes and identify it as such. Thought it was obvious. But perhaps I should stick to using the 10% or 20% rule on how much of a post is not from me?
Maybe it's a joke, or an anecdote...or whatever...but it plainly isn't something they wrote. - by @JolietJake
I do know the above quote is okay to use.
3 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
Just realized I wrote about getting your knockers in a twist, which is likely a bit more painful than getting your knickers in a twist...I'd better edit that.
3 people like this
@yukimori (10179)
• United States
30 Jan 16
I completely get the feelings of realizing that a good member has done something completely contrary to what we expect from them, and also the sinking feeling that comes from having to report such a post. It's not something that I like doing, but I make a point of doing it regardless of how I feel because I know that some others might not hit the report button. It's really interesting what having a relationship with a poster does to affect our reactions to content that violates the guidelines, isn't it?
Heck, I remember a time when you asked me if I'd been hacked or if I'd simply lost my mind based on the posts I was making... 
2 people like this
@yukimori (10179)
• United States
30 Jan 16
@JolietJake Bugf*ck nuts, you mean... 
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
30 Jan 16
Whether they are a good mylotter or not it's wrong and should be reported. That's what I like about this site, the admins are quick to act and remove mess like this. I say keep it up.
3 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
I know I should, and I do, but sometimes I feel guilty about it.
3 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
30 Jan 16
@JolietJake But you shouldn't you are doing the right thing not the wrong thing.
3 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
@fishtiger58 Yeah, but smacking an old lady with a shovel to stop her from shooting an innocent man could be the right thing to do...doesn't mean I'd like doing it, though.
3 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45942)
• United States
30 Jan 16
I haven't had to report anyone, but wouldn't hesitate if I had to.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (164192)
• United States
2 Feb 16
As you say, myLot is my business as well. It is really the business of us all to keep it healthy. I did have a session of being yelled at for just that reason on the old myLot. It still got them reported and removed. I am also grateful that admin will look at what is done or reported and make the decision. Ultimately all you do is bring it to their attention.
1 person likes this
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
30 Jan 16
@JolietJake That is too sad and harsh dear JJ. but then, things need to be kept under control for the good of the community that we have here. Please dont feel guilty about it. We all know, no one of us is a cop or the custodian, but then, it is all that we should do to keep the ambiance clean - they say - You have to be stricter at times for the good.
And now that it is reported, let the admin take the better decision.
1 person likes this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
It makes me feel like I slapped my Grandma or something at times...I hate it.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85296)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Jan 16
Its bad enough when its a new user but when its someone that's been here a while they should know the right and wrong way of doing things.
P.S If I ever do something wrong here without realizing please message me and let me know. I won't bite your head off I promise!
P.S If I ever do something wrong here without realizing please message me and let me know. I won't bite your head off I promise!2 people like this
@jaboUK (64350)
• United Kingdom
30 Jan 16
You don't object if they credit the source?
I've seen someone I like trying to be funny with things that they have 'lifted' from the internet, but haven't reported it because they don't seem to 'belong' to anyone. They may think that they don't have to say it's not original to them.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64350)
• United Kingdom
30 Jan 16
@JolietJake The one I was talking about didn't copy it word for word, but they were sort of jokey things. He wasn't saying what he thought about them, just writing them as if they were his original ideas.
1 person likes this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
If they paste the entire piece, it doesn't matter if they credit it or not, it's still not allowed here, just like you can't repost anything you have written that you have posted somewhere else on the 'net.
They may not 'belong' to anyone, but that itself is a point...if it doesn't belong to you, it doesn't belong here pretty much. (An exception for uncopyrighted photos used)
2 people like this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
@jaboUK Which can be construed as intellectual plagiarism...still not a good thing.
There's a line there (which I will admit I can't clearly define) where you take an idea, and add your own interpretations to it, and 'make' it your own.
The situation I went through would be the equivalent of you suddenly posting a wide-spread joke from the Internet, without any word changes or added commentary, as your discussion. My first thought would be "Why did she do that?", but since we have had communication here before, I would probably send you a message asking you about it, vs someone I have seen here a lot, and have responded to once or twice, but have never had any real interaction with them.
1 person likes this
@JolietJake (50190)
•
30 Jan 16
There are some that are widely known by a few of us that have that practice...I've grown to expect it from them, so it doesn't bother me as much as someone that has been here three months, has 132 discussions, and then suddenly two plagiarized posts appear...and someone that I would think would never plagiarize stuff...
2 people like this
@Tierkreisze (1609)
• Philippines
31 Jan 16
The new guys, they are either really new that they don't know what plagiarism is or are probably someone else's referrals (is there a referral system here?) and just plagiarize content to earn some cents. I don't know about the old ones though.
2 people like this
@allknowing (147578)
• India
31 Jan 16
Why should you announce that you are reporting. If you do not want to be yelled at do it quietly as is being done by many here. We all owe it to the site to keep it as clean as possible and at the same time protecting ourselves from being abused or even blocked. is also our responsibility
1 person likes this
@ataboy (737)
• United States
2 Feb 16
Rant was called for! 
My answer, don't waste your time,...report them. Let the Moderators decide if it is plagiarized. If it's a well-known long-time established member that they are likely to know as being relatively reputable, then I'm sure that they will take that into consideration and be damn certain that the allegation is accurate before taking negative actions. Your right, it's not worth it to possibly irritate some idiot that finds it more intelligent to argue with you following a response or PM!
I've seen what I thought was a plagiarized document, and while it's not really worth the time to look this carefully, but it turned out on one occasion to be that the myLot post predated the posting of the same text on some other site. So it was the myLotter that was actually the victim of plagiarism and the other website that plagiarized the myLot member. This can be timely to confirm the correct date for though, so I'm not suggesting you do it, just pointing out that it could be true in some cases.
Easy answer, report it! Wash hands of the matter! Move on! 
My answer, don't waste your time,...report them. Let the Moderators decide if it is plagiarized. If it's a well-known long-time established member that they are likely to know as being relatively reputable, then I'm sure that they will take that into consideration and be damn certain that the allegation is accurate before taking negative actions. Your right, it's not worth it to possibly irritate some idiot that finds it more intelligent to argue with you following a response or PM!
I've seen what I thought was a plagiarized document, and while it's not really worth the time to look this carefully, but it turned out on one occasion to be that the myLot post predated the posting of the same text on some other site. So it was the myLotter that was actually the victim of plagiarism and the other website that plagiarized the myLot member. This can be timely to confirm the correct date for though, so I'm not suggesting you do it, just pointing out that it could be true in some cases.
Easy answer, report it! Wash hands of the matter! Move on! 1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15511)
• United Kingdom
30 Jan 16
Yes, it's bad and people should just write their own stuff
1 person likes this
@hellopeeps (403)
• United States
31 Jan 16
What? they are literally copy and pasting somebody elses work? ahhh so they have nothing to say... sometimes i have nothing to say so I just dont say anything...
1 person likes this
