Winter is supposedly the most romantic of all seasons. I say this here since romance is apparently an excellent muse for many a person. Now whether the prose or poetic outburst that comes forth a person's pen is indeed worthy of the term ‘literature’ is often debatable and I am quite the snob when it comes to this as I’m not easily impressed. But the point I’m trying to make is this. Normally, a person inspired by winter would speak of his or her own feelings, thoughts or musings, ‘own’ being the keyword here. I mean, honestly, if you cannot write original stuff, don’t. No one is forcing you.
I wonder if this is the season to plagiarize other people’s work. In that case Christmas carols should be re-written this way:
“It’s the season to be a plagiarist
Tra la la la la, la la la la
Let me copy another’s original work
Tra la la la la, la la la la,
Pass it off as my own and think I’m smart
Tra la la, la la la, la la la
Considering myself to be the best writer in the world
Tra la la la la, la la la la.”
Ship posted last night about how she found two amazingly talented people from dA being ripped off by a blogger. This afternoon, having had the chance to finally use Broadband, I decided to go look in on the blogs of all those who have commented on my posts recently, especially since I hadn’t been able to blog-crawl much of late. Now imagine my surprise when my first visit to a classmate’s blog (a classmate, mind you, WTF!) had me spot a line I had written in Sunset sometime back in October in her most recent post. It wasn’t ripped off exactly but my own: “I don’t know if it was our condition affecting our senses or whether winter had really decided one morning that it would visit us early” got changed to: “It is as if Winter woke up one morning and decided to visit us early this time” by her in a post she calls fiction. And she happens to have commented on that very post of mine.
I was much too angry to go through the rest of her blog and my net connection had to go off the very moment I was about to comment asking her what she was doing copying my work. Talk about timing. Isn’t it the funniest thing you’ve ever heard? I mean, I’m laughing about this now in an oddly ironic way and I suppose I should be complimented. But there is a copyright on all my work published in this blog and I will certainly not have people steal things from me, no matter who they are!
It is hardly fair on the writer, isn’t it? A person’s original creative endeavours should not be copied without mention. It’s nothing short of thievery. I’ll think up something (on my own, thank you, since I arrogantly believe that I can think for myself) and another person passes it off as her own, that too without even crediting me. Where is the justice in that? It is something only a petty common thief would do. And this would just be one case that has come to my notice.
I have asked the person concerned to come and have a look at this post. Hopefully, such an incident will not be repeated. There will be worse repercussions otherwise and this is no idle warning. No one steals my work, not even a line... no one.
I wonder if this is the season to plagiarize other people’s work. In that case Christmas carols should be re-written this way:
“It’s the season to be a plagiarist
Tra la la la la, la la la la
Let me copy another’s original work
Tra la la la la, la la la la,
Pass it off as my own and think I’m smart
Tra la la, la la la, la la la
Considering myself to be the best writer in the world
Tra la la la la, la la la la.”
Ship posted last night about how she found two amazingly talented people from dA being ripped off by a blogger. This afternoon, having had the chance to finally use Broadband, I decided to go look in on the blogs of all those who have commented on my posts recently, especially since I hadn’t been able to blog-crawl much of late. Now imagine my surprise when my first visit to a classmate’s blog (a classmate, mind you, WTF!) had me spot a line I had written in Sunset sometime back in October in her most recent post. It wasn’t ripped off exactly but my own: “I don’t know if it was our condition affecting our senses or whether winter had really decided one morning that it would visit us early” got changed to: “It is as if Winter woke up one morning and decided to visit us early this time” by her in a post she calls fiction. And she happens to have commented on that very post of mine.
I was much too angry to go through the rest of her blog and my net connection had to go off the very moment I was about to comment asking her what she was doing copying my work. Talk about timing. Isn’t it the funniest thing you’ve ever heard? I mean, I’m laughing about this now in an oddly ironic way and I suppose I should be complimented. But there is a copyright on all my work published in this blog and I will certainly not have people steal things from me, no matter who they are!
It is hardly fair on the writer, isn’t it? A person’s original creative endeavours should not be copied without mention. It’s nothing short of thievery. I’ll think up something (on my own, thank you, since I arrogantly believe that I can think for myself) and another person passes it off as her own, that too without even crediting me. Where is the justice in that? It is something only a petty common thief would do. And this would just be one case that has come to my notice.
I have asked the person concerned to come and have a look at this post. Hopefully, such an incident will not be repeated. There will be worse repercussions otherwise and this is no idle warning. No one steals my work, not even a line... no one.
12 comments:
A great woman once said...
"The most despicable creature on the earth is a man who doesnt have a mind of his own..."
I am NOT plagiarising.. i am paraphrasing..
hehe..
intersting, do we see a catfight coming up? ;)
N
lol @ N ...
chill though...if u overreact ppl may do it just for kicks. tc
Oh yeah. I do hope she publishes them comments, since I am pissed.
Irony?
Paolini enraged hundreds of serious fantasy lovers world over with his shoddy Inheritance Cycle. Two Octobers ago, I put up a fairly detailed post denouncing him for the plagiarist he is. Six months later I discovered my post on somebody else's blog. Yes, my post on plagiarism was plagiarized. The blog has since been deleted, but the irony lingers. :P
Harshwardhan: Hehe. And that was a very wise comment. :P
Nothingman: Well, no, hopefully not. But who knows? :P Stay tuned though! ;)
Harshad: That's good advice man! I'll definitely keep it in mind. Thanks!
Kazarelth: Well, let's see... Heh.
Princess Stefania: Now that tops everything! Seriously! :P
Marina: Hehe, hopefully that won't be necessary. :P
With all due respect to your excellent writing skill which in any way demeans mine, LD, may I please notify you that this "line" is NOT a rip off from your blog.
THIS IS WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY:
Now imagine my surprise when my first visit to a classmate’s blog (a classmate, mind you, WTF!) had me spot a line I had written in Sunset sometime back in October in her most recent post. It wasn’t ripped off exactly but my own: “I don’t know if it was our condition affecting our senses or whether winter had really decided one morning that it would visit us early” got changed to: “It is as if Winter woke up one morning and decided to visit us early this time” by her in a post she calls fiction. And she happens to have commented on that very post of mine.
I fail to see, as you yourself have pointed out, how my line is a rip off off your line, since although it happens to convey the same sense, it isn't in the same words. And as for the sense of the line, it doesn't really take a genius to think of it. Sorry to offend, but really, it is nothing very indigenous, just a simple combination of frequently used simple english words like Winter, early, decided, morning, time and some verbs and articles and other grammatical tools.
I don't mean to accuse you of plagiarism but honestly,I have seen/heard this been written in various books, movies, even during my own conversation ....be it in those same lines or conveying the same gist .... it is very commonly used, Winter has many times been subsituted by Fate, Boredom, Sadness, Rains,Misfortune etc etc. And I wouldn't call them all plagiarism of each other. Its like copyrighting a sentence like "I am having tea."
I don't need to do this, yet, for the sake of some things, fine... I did come up with it on my own, I assure you,even may be long before it occured to you to write in your blog. /However, you are free to nurse whatever opinions you may want to of this situation.
Yes, I do understand your displeasure at having your "ORIGINAL" stuff copied, but pardon me, if everything you write should deserve your copyright, then am afraid the whole of blogosphere would be condemned to plagiarism. I hope the use of the English language and its vocabulary which you have used so wonderfully and rather explicitly will not be so unmeaningfully put out of reach for us poor bloggers for the fear that knowing not in what way you have used which words in which of your blogs, we might unknowingly tread upon the "COPY"rights of your prized compositions and thus earn your wrath.
I assure you, your "WARNING" has been heeded, but I also assure you that I have done nothing to earn the fatal repercussions. It is merely a case of co-incidence that we came up with the same thoughts, I hope there is nothing illegal in that.
And to let you know, that am not deleting this post, or the line or your comments.... and I'd beg you to be kind enough to allow me, even though I may not belong to your great league of writers, but please be thoughtful enough to allow me to use the rich bounties of the English language before you go around stamping your "Copyright" on all of them.
It is hardly fair on the writer, isn’t it?
And as for the other people who have commented, I am glad to see so much support against plagiarism, some violent supporters I see there. Kaz has already received his reply to the comment he posted on my blog, if he'd just care to check it out, as for the others, I'd refrain from commenting on them, as I dont know you guys.
Nothingman - you being the only one whose blog I read too, so this one's for you - Am sorry to disappoint you, not a catfight ! Later perhaps! *winks*
Let me begin by making clear the meaning of the term plagiarism. According to Wikipedia, “Plagiarism is the use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. It is important to reiterate that plagiarism is not the mere copying of text, but the presentation of another's ideas as one's own, regardless of the specific words or constructs used to express that idea.”
I apologize humbly for suggesting that although your particular arrangement of words (from the numerous words available to speakers and users of English) is remarkably similar to what I had composed and published before you, a composition which was in fact even read by you (as proven by the fact that you commented on it) your work is ‘derived’ and ‘inspired’. It is quite obvious indeed that after reading what I had written, you had come up with a phrase, almost identical to mine on your own.
However, I would, even more humbly, ask you to cite the books and movies where you have come across the phrase I have used for I seem to have not. Understandably, providing references for conversations is indeed difficult, but I am sure that it will be quite easy to provide me with references for the books and movies that you’ve mentioned? Although I must admit that I did not quite understand your allusion to the word “Winter” being replaced by “Fate, Boredom, Sadness, Rains,Misfortune etc etc.” for I was speaking of plagiarism of a “phrase” not just the word “Winter”, which I feel everyone has the right to use, especially in this season. But do know that in providing me with your mentioned references you are implicating yourself as, if such is the case and you are aware of these sources, you seem to have plagiarized them.
As for the rest of the blogosphere being “condemned to plagiarism” all I can say is that if there are indeed as many words in the English language as you’ve admirably pointed out, these esteemed bloggers can easily come up with their own permutations and combinations of the same on their own. Surely those intelligent enough to blog are capable of this simple a feat?
In fact, I’d like to mention that a writer’s ability is in arranging words in a pattern unique to the writer’s mind. This way ideas and thoughts get expressed in a new manner with every piece of literature.
Plagiarism does not bother with this experimentation with newer forms of expression. It indulges in a bit of superficial manipulation of already existing forms of expression without much depth of thought. And that is what I am against.
You are right when you say that language does limit expression to an extent with its boundaries of grammar and vocabulary – I am hoping that it is this honourable meaning that you have tried to highlight (but do pardon my ignorance if I am mistaken) – however is it not a challenge for human beings, we who are more intelligent than all other life inhabiting this world, to overcome these limits with ingenuity? It is this that is a true test of a writer’s skill or that of any other artist for that matter – and plagiarism simply shames all the triumphs that the human mind is capable of by showing the level to which it can sink – by taking the “easy way out”, as the old adage goes.
My attempt was not to lionize myself or my writing, which I personally feel has lots of room to grow and improve, something that will hopefully happen over time. However, whatever I write remains a mirror of my thoughts and perceptions at a given point of time. I’m sure that all writers feel the same way about this. What I meant to point out was that copying word for word, or more subtly, another person’s representation of an idea or description is a dishonest act amounting to thievery, which would make such an act illegal. It is for this reason that I have spoken out against plagiarism in my post, as have others who believe the same.
And honestly, I did not ask for any apologies. If you did feel that I have done so or demanded that you delete the lines from your post, do point out where exactly I have, in your inimitable style of copy-pasting and quoting so that I may note my mistake and make the necessary redress.
After all, we are all civil people here, aren't we? :)
Plagiarism is quite the b***h (sorry!) especially when its your own work being stolen from under your nose!
http://saadiam.blogspot.com/2008/11/plagiarism-and-two-steps-forward.html
hey LD, i am not a civil person, i demand my catfight! ;) LOL.
it's fun to read these comments :)
incase a catfight happens, please document it and i mean use a phone to make a video and upload the vid on youtube or something.
ok, i think i need to kick myself before i go on talking more...
:P
N
But people, chill.
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