To Catch A Thief?

How one writer made a difference in their own writing community.

 

Plagiarism is always a hot-topic among writers. This writer braved the ridicule of peers and mentors to expose a repeat plagiarist for what they were. Laurawrites.net is lucky enough to offer a first-hand perspective with this concern.

Q. "How did you make the discovery?"

A. "I was a member of an on-line writing community. This particular web site has been closed for a few years. Sometimes I wonder if, since this member was copying from such places as government offices, if that didn't have something to do with it. Perhaps they demanded the site be closed since they apparently didn't screen for piracy."

"I posted an article that revolved around a subject which I had heavily researched for my own book. I posted the piece and left, I have a busy schedule and don’t spend much time on-line. I returned to the site about two weeks later and they had an "awarded" article on the same topic as my piece. It was displayed on the homepage of the site."

Q. "Were you jealous?"

A. "No. There are were hundreds of these communities at the time, one was the same as the next. Receiving an award wasn't exactly a professional credit. More of an ego boost than a publishing victory. I was more curious than anything. I had spent much time on research and was interested to see someone who spent their time likewise. This is a topic which I really enjoy reading about. I went to the page and read, word-for-word, the material from my internet sources, only they had made their article exactly like mine. It started with related profiles, then suspicions, facts, and ended with the help, all in the same order as mine. Only those were the words of my sources. There was no structure differences from my article or word changes from my sources. It was line-by-line the exact material my sources had used. They published their work almost five days after mine."

Q. "Is it at all flattering?"

A. "No. It’s bizarre. In this regard, imitation is the farthest thing from flattery, it’s very unsettling. This person ended up having article after article, all plagiarized from public sources. They were rewarded and praised for months, stealing material from major newspapers, magazines, and organization web sites. Yet, no one prior to my discovery even suspected them. None. They had gained an immense group of readers, the site itself plugged their work, an entire community respected this person who didn’t write a single word of the celebrated articles. I mean they literally copied, cut-and-paste. They didn't even change the words in most of the stolen articles. The few fiction pieces which were original weren’t bad, that made the circumstances even stranger. They didn’t need to copy."

Q. "What were they like as a professional?"

A. "Who knows? How can you tell on the internet? They had a lengthy biography that boasted about all their published books, how they obtained their agent, they had several children, a successful marriage, they were a medical professional, a ’soccer-parent,’ and an active member of their local community. Yet, with all that, they submitted lengthy article after article two and three times daily. These articles were strangely thorough and too good to be thrown together in a few hours. When this person was investigated, none of their books showed up anywhere on-line. No bookstores, publishers, or web sites carried their titles. The name provided by the ‘author’ didn’t show up on any writing or book sites at all. They had submitted several of the same copied articles to some other writing communities, without suspicion, and who knows where else they used their ‘work’ off-line?"

Q. "From a public standpoint, how did they fair with others? Did they have any particular ‘quirks’ or a tendency to exaggerate their compliments to others?"

A. "On the message boards at this particular site, they were completely normal. Others often posted threads to congratulate this person on ‘well-written material,’ they were nominated for several awards (and had won a few). The plagiarist reacted modestly and was quick to return the compliments. From their posts, they were just amazed that their ‘work’ drew attention. You know, the government and medical organizations they stole their ‘work’ from tends to have excellent writers."

Q. "Were you aggravated at the site, itself?"

A. "Yes, the site, as well as the other members. It seems highly dubious that so much could’ve been posted without any verification or attention. No one gave it a second thought. This person lived such a "busy " life and kept writing as much as someone who didn't work outside their writing enviornment? I think it all could’ve been prevented. When I first discovered the person, all the members whom I spoke with often assured me the plagiarist’s work was quality and they were a popular writer with the site. These writers dismissed my feelings and suspicions. It is aggravating that fellow writers could be so passive and apathetic when you suspect something like this. This is plagiarism. Among writers it’s the same as multi-million dollar embezzlement or Federal fraud. At least, among most writers."

"Not to mention, when you think you know the people you ask. All I wanted was someone to verify that they saw something odd with the published works. I did not want to jump to conclusions, I wouldn’t alert site administration or moderators before someone else looked at it. All other members whom I knew personally dawdled and made excuses. I had to ask an editor who wasn’t even a member to visit and examine the suspicious works. None of the writers there would bother. It is astounding that so much could come from widely visited web sites of mega-corporations and respected companies. No members of that entire community read newspapers, visited government sites, or anything else. This was a slap-in-the-face to any honest writers there. How could they rip off government web sites without suspicion? And in a seemingly 'literary,' community? Not only did it make the site administration a joke, it made the other members look equally as uninformed and ignorant of cultural issues. The little disclaimer regarding plagiarism members agreed to when publishing was pure nonsense."

Q. "What happened to the plagiarist?"

A. "The last I heard, none of the copyright holders had pressed legal charges. Initially, the management merely removed the plagiarized articles and demoted the plagiarist to the status of a new member. Of course, they could still post new articles and keep their original material up. Eventually, I don’t know what happened, but after a few weeks they were removed from the community and had the tag, ‘removed for plagiarism’ posted after their community name. I suppose the writers victimized by the plagiarist grilled the site management until some real action was taken. Demoting is fine for minor misbehavior, but they had taken it so far overboard. They had their ‘real’ name listed on their biography, but who knows if that was real?"

Q. "Do you ever feel guilty for drawing attention to them?"

A. "No way. If they were plagiarizing at that rate, they could have faced some serious incarceration. They were extremely lucky in that no swift and merciless legal action was taken. They had no scruples, as I mentioned, even government sites were their shopping center for new articles. Again, this is from my experience. They may be currently in custody for the crime. I doubt these sites will publish any F.Y.I.s for convicted plagiarists. Not good for business."

Q. "What did you learn from the experience?"

A. "Mainly, to watch out for the politics in online communities. Instead of performing a routine check on articles which seem uncommonly good, the site’s owners used them for company benefit, no questions asked. I think that is why so many writing sites have closed. They weren’t started by writers at all, just someone who wanted to make money from writers. Certainly not by people who wanted honest writers at their site. One of the members I was closest to followed the popular opinion at the site. The initial feeling was that I was, ‘insecure,’ or, ‘worrying too much.’ One even half-wrote a letter stating they saw no similarities between our work and I must’ve overlooked the real words."

Q. "It is an unpleasant experience?"

A. "Frankly, it’s torture. You know something and no one else remotely cares until it’s a genuine issue. That involves much researching and looking through articles that have been copied. Not to mention, exposing yourself from the critical judgment of others. There’s always the initial stigma that you have some personal problem before anyone will listen. You’re ‘jealous,’ ‘self-doubting,’ or some issue all your own."

"After you suffer that, it’s still an unappreciated effort. You’re never congratulated or thanked for saving the community the humilation of harboring and applauding plagiarists. I felt I had shattered some community-wide dream that people commonly wrote that well and posted it there. Maybe that made others feel more professional? Although, another fact which surprised me, out of the few members I spoke with, none ever thanked me. You‘d think other writers would be elated to remove a known plagiarist, but they didn‘t talk about it. I never received any acknowledgement from the community at all. Perhaps the management was too embarrassed, but it seems they would be grateful to weed out members who could get them in legal hot water."

Q. "So why bother with telling?"

A. "For a time it would be easier. But, what if they steal your work? What if it’s really your words they are getting awarded for? You know if major sites are stolen from without discovery, your work has no haven whatsoever. Ignoring the issue is encouraging the problem, avoiding confrontation is assisting. They thrive on silence. One less plagiarist makes the world a better place for writers."