Plagiarism is bad, kids. Not to mention stupid when you do it online.

[bironic]

Heads up, Housefic writers: awwsugah has been reposting other people's stories on her MySpace and passing them off as her own. She's got stuff by daasgrrl, cryptictac, maineac, isagel, soundship, evila_elf, genagirl, jaryn_, elynittria, sam_storyteller, and others. (Not me, though. I guess my stuff isn't good enough. Heh.) See cryptictac's post for an in-progress roundup.

ETA: Example, now that the blog has been locked:



Click for larger image.


Thank you to thewlisian_afer for the alert.

Comments

[bell]

W, why WOULD YOU DO THAT? D:

I've never really read assugah's works before, but I recognize her name from around and, if you're somewhat high profile, copying off fic-- FAMOUS fic-- is even dumber.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I remember when she first came on the LJ scene with a bunch of short, fluffy ficlets, and I think she's active in the RP community.

if you're somewhat high profile, copying off fic-- FAMOUS fic-- is even dumber

Honestly! As if plagiarizing weren't stupid enough, why do it to people in your own community? Or, if she posted those copied fics before she joined LJ fandom, why leave them up there? Gah.

[bell]

I'm kinda curious as to what kind of comments she was getting. And how people feel upon getting comments based on stuff they plagiarized-- how could you feel good about that?! "Oh, they're complimenting something I didn't make. Golly gee, I'm so popular!"

PS: Is it sad that I'm not as "HEY WHY NOT ME" since you weren't plagiarized? XXD

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Re: PS: Hee. I didn't really mean it, since there are far more visible and talented people than me who weren't victimized, but I couldn't resist the joke. You and me, babe, we got WHY AM I ALWAYS PASSED OVER?! badges.

If you haven't been checking in on the comments over at Awwsugah's journal, there are two apology posts now (both more dramatic than necessary, regardless of sincerity) wherein people have asked the same thing about whether the feedback she received for stolen fics actually sustained her. She hasn't answered the question to my knowledge, but it definitely seems to be something people are curious about.

[bell]

*pins badge* But seriously, it's better not not have to deal with the hassle. And it's kinda funny how worked up we get over plagiarism in works of fic, which, uh, could count as such

I saw the apologies! She might not have answered about how she felt on receiving feedback, but on commentor-- copperbadge, I think?-- gave some interesting feedback about how plagiarism isn't about making one self look good in someone else's eyes, but about building one self up. Perhaps by pretending you can fool yourself into feeling better?

So, yes, a little dramatic on her part, but she apologized so let bygones be bygones. Amongst all the "OMG!!!!"s she's received some good advice, I hope she listens to it. :D (It sucks when you fuck up and everyone finds out in a massive way.)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

And it's kinda funny how worked up we get over plagiarism in works of fic, which, uh, could count as such

See, I don't buy into that. Fanfiction writers make use of preexisting characters, but (a) we use disclaimers to credit the people who came up with those characters and settings and plots, etc., and (b) we are creating our own stories, not reprinting, say, a script from the show or a passage from the book and passing it off as our own. There's a key difference between copying and being inspired, you know? Even people who do borrow lines of dialogue from episodes or passages from books credit them in their author's notes.

[bell]

Yeah, pretty much. :D

Just that every time the plagiarism comes up, I have to stop and take a moment and remind myself of those differences.