The Family Girl #031: Oh, No, You Don't!

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The Family Girl Blogs
(aka "The New Working Girl Blogs")

Blog #31: Oh, No, You Don't!

To see all of Bobbie's Family Girl Blogs, click on this link:
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/28818/family-girl-blogs

For those intending to "borrow" text from my stories or posts here or in the website, fictionmania.tv, or in other websites, I am stating directly and without any qualification, exception or limitation, that I am not giving permission for any part of my stories and blogs here and in other websites to be used in other stories, posts or publications.

   
Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what brought this up from out of the blue.   Well, I'll tell you.

I have been exchanging some emails with certain fellow BCTS readers.   Having gone the other side of the planet, my time zone's been flipped over, which sort of cuts me off from most of my BCTS friends - they'd be asleep at the time when I'm awake.

But since a  lot of people read BCTS, there are a few out there that, though they don't have the same time zone as my current one, at least their time's closer to mine, and these were the folks I was chatting with via email. Sure it's a slow way of chatting, since you have to wait for a response after you send an email.   We didn't really mean to chat this way - it just happened.

We emailed back and forth about the topics that were currently "hot topics" in BCTS.   The "talk"  turned to that plagiarist that used the pseudonym, "Austin Logan," who published in amazon.com stories he had plagiarized from elsewhere, and claimed them as his own.

Playing amateur Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys, we tried figuring out what this joker's plan was, but we couldn't.   He is very deluded to think he would never be found out.   In any case, the stories he plagiarized from a BCTS/FM witer with the pseudonym "Tigger" were pulled from Amazon.   My new email buds say Mr. Austin had supposedly plagiarized other stories but they didn't know if these stories were pulled as well.

There were also some discussion about someone "borrowing" portions of others' work and splicing them into his.   Many things have happened regarding this, but I guess, for obvious reasons, I won't detail them here.   We had also wondered why this person thought he could do this without being found out, but we couldn't figure it out either.

I just wish such people would stop doing this.   I don't have much stuff here, much less stuff that is worthy of being plagiarized, but the possibility that someone would gets me quite hot under the collar (or the neckline, depending on which top I am wearing heehee).

So, here's a "point of clarification" for anyone contemplating "borrowing" text from my posts and blogs - let me reiterate: I am unequivocally stating that I am NOT giving permission for any part of my stories and blogs here, in fictionania.tv, and in other sites as well, to be used in other people's stories, posts or publications.   No exceptions.   Claims that I gave such permission are bogus:   if anyone should use my text - they should put a link in their post or publication to whatever website/webpage where I supposedly gave permission.   I will NOT give persmission that cannot be substantiated this way.

And, can I ask a favor?   If anyone finds someone doing this, please let me know.   Privately, of course - it's only fair to check it out before publicly claiming that it IS a case of plagiarizing.   Erin will not stand for anything less.

I suppose it would be okay if it was a quotation - which means that the text is identified with quotation marks, and the person being quoted is also identified. Apologies - I know you guys know what a quotation is.   I am just being thorough.

But then again, quoting someone wouldn't be the plagiarist's objective, which is to claim other people's words as his own.

Many have said that there are no more truly original ideas to be had.   I sort of believe that - a lot of the stuff I write are based on other people's ideas, or were inspired by other people.   But I have not stolen other people's words and claimed them as mine.   And to illustrate what I am saying, here's a quote from that great inventor, writer and statesman, Benjamin Franklin:   "There is much difference between imitating a man and counterfeiting him." (Please note the quotation marks and the fact that I identified the words as coming from Mr. Franklin.   Heehee)

May your muse keep your mind filled and your imagination alive, and may your conscience keep you guilt-free and plagarism-free.
     

Note:
Lots of graphics in Bobbi's posts use publicly-accessible pics from the net: No ownership is claimed nor IP infringements intended



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Comments

Attributing?

Andrea Lena's picture

...I don't know where I heard this, but I can safely state that I didn't come up with this...Mark Twain perhaps?

"Plagiarism is the sincerest form of larceny..."

It's really disappointing that you have to resort to stating in a blog what should be patently obvious to all but seems to elude some:

It's not yours, so hands off!!!!

As my Grandmother used to say, "Oh well, at least Mussolini got the trains to run on time."
Well, at least that's what she told me.(tee hee) Much love to you, mi dolce nipote!


* * * * *

Post Script: Little know quote from a very little known version of Casablanca: Everyone goes to Ricki's


* * * * *

Ricki: Me, borrow someone's writing? How can you say that? On what grounds?

Captain Louise Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that plagiarism is going on in here.

Editor: Your 'revised' story, Madame Captain!

Captain Renault: [Quietly] Oh, merci...merci beaucoup...shhhhhhh

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

The Same Goes for Me

littlerocksilver's picture

I couldn't find any reference to Austin Logan on Amazon. I am still thinking about publishing my stories if I can ever get off of top dead center.

Portia

Good idea

I don't go to that A.... place myself, so I'm unable to tell if anyone has lifted any of my stuff and is selling it there. Or anywhere else for that matter.

Occasionally I will try to Google certain names out of my stories to see if I get hits in places I shouldn't. I suppose that isn't going to work if someone is trying to sell my work, but still...

I suppose we can rely on the 'crowd source' we have here to do each other's detective work? I can certainly say that if I find something somewhere that rings a bell I will try and validate whatever I'm reading, and if it is dodgy then I'll try to bring it to the author's attention.

One caveat I have found in the past: Some authors use different names on different sites. What might look like plagiarism can be simply different noms des plume (excuse my French!).

Penny