Current mood:

energetic

GO GO HIGHLANDER FANDOM
The Yahoo group "Duncan_Methos" graces f_w yet again!

It all starts when Xantissa posts the first chapter of the sequel to one of her fics. Everything is ok until...someone discovers that some of the passages were taken from another author's fic. Others chime in confirming that the passages were indeed plagiarized. More people show up after re-reading her past story saying more passages from certain chapters were taken from other fandoms' stories.
I am not going to argue or anything because to some extent you are probably right. I happened to write the chapter after reading that story and itwas possible for me to unconsciously copy some parts. The first two chapters of my last story can me removed if you wish so, but the previous one: Bed of Thorns was read by a lot of people and no one ever accused me of plagiarism then. I would like you to firt be absolutely sure before demanding that also that story was removed from all archives it was on.

About this chapter I am very sorry that I didn't realise what I was doing. I am also shocked that I have so much similar parts. I wasn't aware of doing it. I would like to take that chapter back and rewrite it and also send my sincirest apologies to the author. I never meant
any harm.

I think that you have read enough of my stories to know that it is a one time slip that I will do anything never to do that again.

I would liek to appoligise again. I know it's my fault and I did everything that possible to undo the damage. also wrote to teh author and said what I have done.
I said earlier that I didn't notice probably because I didn't want to. it's hard to see something you don't want to. I was just happy get over the writers block.

there are no more copies of this chapter anywhere, I asked them to be removed after I was pointe dout what happened.

I know yoy are angry with me, and I am angry on myself.

About this time, the admin finally steps in, says that the girl has apologized (twice) and asks that the discussion be moved off list as she doesn't want it interfering with the lists regular activity. ...of course, by 'take it off list' she apparently meant keep right on talking about it onlist because that's exactly what some of the angrier members do and they DEMAND immediate action.
The admin comes back and says the plagiarized chapter has been removed. She also asks if anyone has any input to what the final action should be. And input she gets. And mainly that of the angry variety. Then someone makes the mistake of reasoning against all the angry 'OUT FOR BLOOD' posts who demand she be banned from the list. The other posters don't like this idea and suddenly turn on her. One poster actually counts how many words were plagiarized (382).

Highlander: The Evil Bitch Fandom That Hurts Plagiarists' Feelings

Highlander: Working Hard Not To Be The Next Harry Potter.

Harry Potter: The Fandom Known Far and Wide For Tolerating, Nay,
Licking the Boots Of, Notorious Plagiarists.

Meanwhile, where is Xantissa? Who knows as she hasn't replied since her apology. For all we know (since everyone is too busy arguing over her punishment to actually check) she's already left the list.

Lesson learned? Plagiarism is bad, and this is what happens if you do it. Everyone in the damn mailing list has to discuss it over and over again!

(Post a new comment)

	nessa_t 2004-05-26 08:26 am UTC (link)
	Hmmm... yahoo groups have a wealth of wank. Trust me, I know. shudders (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ladyrogue 2004-05-26 08:52 am UTC (link)
	Oh indeed. The only problem is you can't direct link to the posts as you have to be a member to see them, which makes it so hard to post wank here. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: nessa_t 2004-05-26 09:23 am UTC (link)
	True. So the only alternative is to cut and paste :P But hey... a little hardship isn't a bad thing if you have the wank! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	khym_chanur 2004-05-26 11:42 am UTC (link)
	So the only alternative is to cut and paste No, no, no, that should be: "So the only alternative iz 2 cut und paste yay!" (Reply to this)(Parent)

	smo 2004-05-27 05:34 pm UTC (link)
	licks your icon Mmm, Kiefer. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ladyrogue 2004-06-01 08:08 am UTC (link)
	Heehee. Mmm indeed. Kiefer is the sexy! And I love your icon as well! Who is he kissing? ^.^ (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	smo 2004-06-01 02:39 pm UTC (link)
	Someone at the 24 Season 2 Halloween cast party. I don't remember who the other guy is, and I don't think Kiefer did either. ;) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kijikun 2004-05-26 10:00 am UTC (link)
	I'm just here with my icon. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ladymalen 2004-05-26 11:26 am UTC (link)
	Must. fight. urge. to. hump. icon! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	speshulduck 2004-05-26 01:08 pm UTC (link)
	You're succeeding better than I. [humps the icon] Where's my icon of Chris Meloni humping the refrigerator when I need it? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: ladymalen 2004-05-26 01:41 pm UTC (link)
	I said I was fighting the urge, not that I was succeeding at the fight ;-) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kijikun 2004-05-27 07:30 am UTC (link)
	Methos makes any wank better! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kijikun 2004-05-27 07:29 am UTC (link)
	This is the icon you should be humping (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	yankthewank 2004-05-27 09:49 am UTC (link)
	I was going to comment on your icon but after ogling it for 10 minutes I have completely forgotten what I was going to say. resumes ogling (Reply to this)(Parent)

	xeno4eyes 2004-05-27 07:08 pm UTC (link)
	guh... stares at the pretty all day (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: ladymalen 2004-06-08 03:43 am UTC (link)
	Nnnnnnnggggggghhhhhhhhh! faints and keels over (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ladybirdsleeps 2004-05-26 11:56 am UTC (link)
	Is it just me or do these excuses always sound like complete bullshit? It may be possible to accidentally copy a sentence here and there (I know, I've done it), but copying entire passages? Dude, NO. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	mirabellawotr 2004-05-26 12:53 pm UTC (link)
	I've had students offer me that excuse. "But it was an accident! It's only because I was tired and writing this paper at two in the morning that I copied entire paragraphs from the reader!" Yeah, honey, that's going to make me look kindly on your cause. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	jaseroque 2004-05-26 01:02 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, but at least she admitted she did it, apologized to them and to the writer of the fic, and took it down. She shouldn't have done it in the first place, but at least she had the decency to be embarassed when she was caught (unlike some coughCRYSTALcough), even if she did show it by... er, possibly stretching the truth a little. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kijikun 2004-05-27 07:32 am UTC (link)
	She didn't really apoglize, and she didn't take her fic down herself. Nor do I think she's email Astride. (Reply to this)(Parent)

bubosquared
2004-05-26 01:23 pm UTC (link)

The only case of plagiarism I was ever involved in (*), the plagiarist admitted up front what she did, but didn't see what the problem was.

...

I almost prefer the ones that make excuses.

(* I was innocently reading a U2 slash story, when suddenly it dawned on me I'd read this before, as Rolling Stones slash (I think). Check the headers and sure enough, the author freely admits she's basically done nothing but take a friend of mine's story, changed the names, and a few details, and slapped her own name on it. Didn't ask permission, didn't see why this was not the way to "get started" as a writer. Oi.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

restlesshands
2004-05-27 08:55 am UTC (link)

Heh, I once tripped over a horribly written...um...Zoids or Saiyuki fic, or something along those lines. It was the worst bit of craptacular gay porn on the planet. (Why was I reading it? ...I like bad fic. They make me laugh.) And then half way through the fic, I tripped over Yohji. "What's he doing here?" I wonder. Only to find that someone had plagarized the fic I was reading word for word from a Weiss Kreuz fanfic.

...I think what really horrified me was the fact that the person had thought that the fic was worth plagarising in the first place.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bubosquared 2004-05-27 12:49 pm UTC (link)
	heh. Um. No comment. But yeah, I hear you. <g> (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	restlesshands 2004-05-27 04:41 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, it made me weep for humanity. And wonder if they have species change operations yet. When the race of super-intelligent aliens comes, I'd like NOT to be associated with the species that can't even copy GOOD porn. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	maev_connacht 2004-05-27 07:24 am UTC (link)
	Oh dear lord. It's, like, every common typo present in every parody of dumb fangirls... yet it's real. I've seen it before, I know, but every time the horror is fresh. (Reply to this)

	hylian_shadow 2004-05-27 07:40 am UTC (link)
	asks that the discussion be moved off list as she doesn't want it interfering with the lists regular activity Nothing can ever be taken off list. Nobody cares about the list's regular activity. That's why one of my mailing lists [a Yahoo group] has had no activity besides spam, mainly of "XXX Cartoons" for the past three weeks. >:\| (Reply to this)

	snacky 2004-05-27 07:04 pm UTC (link)
	Ah, the "Plagiarism By Accident" defense made famous by Cassandra Claire. Always makes a tasty wank. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	xeno4eyes 2004-05-27 07:10 pm UTC (link)
	I'd kill to have a memory so good that I could accidentally write entire paragraphs of previously written work. It would have helped me out a lot in those nasty in-class essays or essay-form exams. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

ari_
2004-05-27 07:24 pm UTC (link)

I *have* a pretty damn good memory (whenever we had listening comprehension at school - where they play you a tape in a foreign language 2 times, and then you have to write down what you understood - I usually wrote down most of the text verbatim). But, thing is, I *realize* when I start to repeat something verbatim. I don't understand how you can have such a good memory and *not* realize.

(the drawback of that kind of memory is that it usually has to be something that interests me before I get to the point that I remember it. So it didn't really help much with schoolwork.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)

ev_vy
2004-05-28 12:52 pm UTC (link)

Oh, hell, it was fucking wanky. But had the mod of the list had spine and banned the girl right away, instead of asking the list for input, it wouldn't have happened. She wanted input, she got input.

And frankly, I was the one out for blood there, because I'm fucking tired of HP mods telling authors give the matter a rest, as they should consider plagiarism a compliment. I'm also tired of LotR plagiarists who post their scanned handwritten drafts of fics to prove they wrote the fics themselves. I'm quite happy to know that HL will leave a headless body of a plagiarist to rot.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	kijikun 2004-05-28 07:57 pm UTC (link)
	Our fandom quite likes headless bodies. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ev_vy 2004-05-29 06:01 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, we're scary. (Reply to this)(Parent)

kamil
2004-05-29 08:06 am UTC (link)

I'm late to this but I have to agree with you that it is very nice to know that if you get caught stealing in HL your dead body will be left to rot, hanging high, for all to see.

And yeah, it was wanky, but how wanky was it of that girl to steal from one of the most well known, widely read sex scenes in the entire fandom? wtf? She didn't think anyone would notice that she'd lifted one of Aristide's sex scenes?!

Ah well, five thousand year old wank is the finest kind, doncha know?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ev_vy 2004-05-29 06:15 pm UTC (link)
	It's a vintage wank. I don't think she even knew that Aristide is a well-known writer. I'm not sure how well she knew the show, but she seemed not to know the fandom. (Reply to this)(Parent)