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Plagiarism Strikes Again

Renee Stevens

Entry posted by Renee Stevens in Announcements

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We hate making these types of blog posts as we generally do not share moderation issues with the site membership. There are very few exceptions to this rule, and plagiarism is one of them. Plagiarism comes in many forms, and to make our position perfectly clear:


STEALING OTHER PEOPLES WORK WILL NOT BE TOLERATED ON GAY AUTHORS!!

Posting plagiarized content on GA is an immediate banning offense. Generally, when plagiarism strikes GA, it involves stories, but not always. In this case, the now banned member posted stolen song covers and claimed them as their own work. A member of site staff found the (copyrighted) originals entirely by accident and recognized them as being identical to those posted on site. All the original song covers were done by the same person, who was NOT the person on site that was posting them and claiming them as their own.

While this instance was not plagiarized stories, we urge authors on site to be pro-active when it comes to plagiarism. Cia has provided some great tips in how to protect yourself and your work.

 

How to check your stories for plagiarism:

 

1. Pick a distinctive phrase such as: Nyle looked up nervously as he rode under the portcullis.
2. Search the phrase within quotation marks "Nyle looked up nervously as he rode under the portcullis.".
3. Repeat search with a distinctive phrase without names: "The austere chapel and rigorous training had been a sharp contrast to his youth".

 

Tips: Search on both Bing and Google. Search phrases from the first chapter and later chapters. DO THIS OFTEN.

 


How do I get the story removed if I find one that's been stolen?

 

How to report plagiarism:

 

1. Look for a report button or a contact us link.
2. Copy the story link to the stolen story.
3. Share the stolen story title, author name, and links to your original. Haven't posted online? Keep copies of all sent mail to beta readers/fans with advanced reader copies of your work to prove when the content was written and sent. Offer to provide a forwarded copy of said email. If you really want to protect your work, purchase an official copyright, especially if you might publish later.
4. Follow up. Most sites will work with you to remove the content. Sometimes you have to take it further to the ISP.

If you suspect a story or other content on site has been stolen, please report it! This not only protects the site, but protects the authors, and the original artists.

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  • Site Administrator
Cia
  • Site Administrator

Let's also focus on the fact that an author on GA found several stories plagiarized by this thief claiming to be the author (on another site): https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1179512/1/just-one-day-vkook-short-fics-fantasy-shortfics-kimtaehyung-btsv-jeonjungkook-taekook-vkook

 

That's one of the unidentified stories. Cynus found some of his works, plus other authors' works he was able to find and notify so they could issue DCIM notices and complain to the site. He also let us know, which we are very thankful for since it's always good to check if the profile information matches someone here on GA. As for that, it looks like it was a 'guest', not a member, and they stole stories from several gay fiction websites. The stories... some are not so great. Definitely not polished. 

 

So how many of you authors read this blog and went, "enh, no one would steal my work!" and then didn't do the google searches as recommended? Care to rethink taking 20 minutes and protecting your creative artistry from being ripped off? 

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Brayon
1 hour ago, Cia said:

So how many of you authors read this blog and went, "enh, no one would steal my work!" and then didn't do the google searches as recommended? Care to rethink taking 20 minutes and protecting your creative artistry from being ripped off?

I checked, but found nothing of mine out there. Granted, I do not have the best Google-fu, and may have missed something. 😃

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FormerMember4
1 hour ago, Cia said:

Let's also focus on the fact that an author on GA found several stories plagiarized by this thief claiming to be the author (on another site): https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1179512/1/just-one-day-vkook-short-fics-fantasy-shortfics-kimtaehyung-btsv-jeonjungkook-taekook-vkook

 

That's one of the unidentified stories. Cynus found some of his works, plus other authors' works he was able to find and notify so they could issue DCIM notices and complain to the site. He also let us know, which we are very thankful for since it's always good to check if the profile information matches someone here on GA. As for that, it looks like it was a 'guest', not a member, and they stole stories from several gay fiction websites. The stories... some are not so great. Definitely not polished. 

 

So how many of you authors read this blog and went, "enh, no one would steal my work!" and then didn't do the google searches as recommended? Care to rethink taking 20 minutes and protecting your creative artistry from being ripped off? 

Just makes your heart break for the authors. A constant cycle. Dealing with DCIM can be a  time-consuming effort.

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mogwhy
1 minute ago, BlindAmbition said:

Just makes your heart break for the authors. A constant cycle. Dealing with DCIM can be a  time-consuming effort.

i may get my finger slapped, but what is DCIM?

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Brayon
11 minutes ago, mogwhy said:

i may get my finger slapped, but what is DCIM?

It's a copyright infringement letter. More technical stuff than what I know is more involved in it.

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Timothy M.
9 hours ago, Myr said:

Let's keep focused on why plagiarism is bad.

 

Yes - that's why I keep slapping my inner editor for being :off:

Spoiler

whenever he grumbles 'It should be STEALING OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK with an apostrophe.' :pinch: 

 

4 hours ago, Cia said:

So how many of you authors read this blog and went, "enh, no one would steal my work!" and then didn't do the google searches as recommended? 

 

raises hand sheepishly  Ehm, me...  But I did the Google search just now, and nothing came up. :) 

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  • Site Administrator
Cia
  • Site Administrator

I'd recommend searching via Google AND Bing. I get varied results from the different browsers. And it's great when you don't find them posted anywhere else. It's a good practice to get into regularly; you can find things other than plagiarism too. Like when I found one of my stories promoted on a site I did NOT want my content mentioned on because of the overall creepy pedo vibe of the images and stuff. 

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Kitt

Perhaps I should make a file with the key phrases to search? Then when I am backing up files regularly I can make searches part of the routine.  Not that my little tiny prompt responses are worth stealing, but some of them are good basis for someone who knows how to do a damn longer story to expand on.

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Puppilull

Well, I did a quick search and could't find anything. Just need to remember to do it. I would hate for someone to take my work and even worse if they posted it somewhere I didn't want to be seen... Not that I'm known or anything. It would just be icky... 

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Headstall

I did a search for Morningstar: The Malaise, and it came up on Google as being posted on Wattpad. I followed the link, and it said story was deleted or removed. Can I calm down now??? 

 

Asima Chatterjee's 100th Birthday
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2 results (0.76 seconds) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Search Results

The Malaise ( BxB ) - Chapter 1 All the Colors Under the Sun - Wattpad

“You've been in there long enough, dickweed. Do I need to break this fucking door down?” Kellar recoiled at the hollered threat. It wasn't an empty one, as had ...

Morningstar: The Malaise Chapter 1 by Headstall - Gay Authors

“You've been in there long enough, dickweed. Do I need to break this fucking door down?” Kellar recoiled at the hollered threat. It wasn't an empty one, as had ...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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ReaderPaul
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Another search engine to check is www dot ixquick dot com because it sometimes gives different results than Bing or Google.  Ixquick is a Dutch search engine available in almost 200 languages.  It is also the most PRIVATE of the search engines, because it does not record your IP address.  (IP stands for Internet Protocol. Every mobile/cell phone, tablet, or desktop computer has a unique IP address.)  One might have to address ones search settings on Ixquick.  They tend to reset back to "Moderate Safe" search levels after a few hours.

Edited by ReaderPaul
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ancientrichard

If we spot on another site plagiarisation of something legitimately posted here, should we report it here?

 

I'm not an author so if I spot anything discreditable, it will be the copying of someone else's work. Perhaps the best thing to do in that case would be to notify the original author.

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  • Site Moderator
drpaladin
  • Site Moderator
3 hours ago, ancientrichard said:

If we spot on another site plagiarisation of something legitimately posted here, should we report it here?

 

I'm not an author so if I spot anything discreditable, it will be the copying of someone else's work. Perhaps the best thing to do in that case would be to notify the original author.

 

You should report original work by GA authors you see plagiarized on another site to the original author.

 

Sorry for my original response. I totally misread the post. Too early in my day.  lol

Edited by drpaladin
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