Alarming plagiarism of yours truly.
An alert reader pointed out that this person apparently ripped off, word-for-word (or nearly so), one of my posts.
It's worst than that, though, because there's more than one.
Unlike some of these websites that include the full text as well as some mention of MsPhD or YFS, this one doesn't credit me at all, so the posts appear as if they were original. Clearly, someone who didn't know about my blog wouldn't realize they're not reading the real thing.
I'm not sure what to do about this person, who goes by "The Mad Scientist".
I have to wonder if the other posts are also stolen from other people? It's really a shame, since some of them (besides mine, of course) are pretty good.
Are any of them original?
I always figured adding one of those copyright emblems to my blog would be silly, but maybe I will do that now.
In a way I'm flattered. But I would like to put a stop to it, and soon.
I think perhaps the most surprising thing to me is that the URL is also via blogspot.com.
Shame on blogger for not having a way to catch this kind of thing automatically!
Labels: copyright, plagiarism, stupid new blogger
posted by Ms.PhD @ 4:59 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Aha. Apparently what this person is doing is illegal . Copyright is automatic in the US.
Hmm. Now what.
Ok, went to the Blogger help center and realized I can file a complaint, so I asked Blogger to look into it.
Unfortunately it sounds like the most they'll do is kick this person off Blogger.
If they're still ripping off my stuff after that, I'll have to pursue it on my own time. There are ways to pursue it through the legal system in the US, but I'm not sure if this person is outside the US, whether anything will happen to prevent this from continuing indefinitely (the profile lists Singapore).
Sigh. In a way, it's really funny, because I have to assume this person AGREES with what I said in those posts.
Quite the opposite of many people who comment here!
That's completely messed up. Please let everyone know about the follow-up from Blogger, since I'm curious if they will act.
I wonder if mad scientist also takes her lab mates' plasmids, or wholesale data? It's not any different, really.
Who'd have thought we needed the blog equivalent to turnitin, the plagiarium-checking website for college students?
Good luck.
Hi,
Yes at least one of her other posts is completely ripped off from another source, but I imagine nearly the whole thing is.
When I pointed it out by commenting on her entry, with a link to the original source, she deleted my comment and enabled comment moderation.
What a sneaky person.
A few of her other posts seem familiar. Not familiar enough that I can place them, but familiar enough to know that I've read them before, and not just the ones from your blog.
It seems that this person has already swept the evidence under the rug. I went there to see the nefariousness for myself, and there is only a single post about her ex-boyfriend. The blog (and the blogger) also now go by different names.
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