It is urban legend today and fact at one time in history that horse thieves were hung when caught. It was thought of as a fitting form of justice for the crime as it was particularly harmful to the victim and the victim’s ability to earn a living. Sadly, this swift justice is no longer permitted.
For those of us who use Social Media, plagiarism is every bit as harmful, insulting, degrading and frustrating today as being a victim to horse thievery was in the past.
In this post we will discuss:
- What plagiarism and slander really is
- The advantages to using one of the various available plagiarism tools or plug-ins for your writing and website
- Steps to take as a victim of plagiarism
What plagiarism really is
Plagiarism is an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author.
In raw and much briefer terms, plagiarism is thievery; damaging, lazy and stealing what belongs to someone else.
The advantages to using one of the various available plagiarism websites or plug-ins for your writing and website.
- The advantages of using one of the many plagiarism detection websites, programs or plug-ins are many and varied. There are various free online tools that are available as well as multiple plug-ins available for your own website.
- Some of the advantages are simply to assure that your finished project with the extensive research that goes into most writing projects is of the highest standards are as follows:
- A plagiarism detector provides the protection of someone’s intellectual property from thieves and pirates.
- The flip-side of the ugly point above is that a plagiarism detector also shows the percentage of the work found in and from a certain outside source.
- It allows you to consider if the percentages of quotes, sources and citations are appropriate.
- Basic CYOA.
Now, some may think, “I would never…!” but this would be hasty and sloppy thinking.
A plagiarism checker also catches innocent mistakes! A simple and rare mistake in note taking can trigger the detector and allows you to check or change what you believed was a word-for-word quote or references that were not recorded or cited correctly.
Steps to take as a victim of plagiarism
The first step a victim of plagiarism has in front of them is to come to terms with what has happened and what lies ahead.
- Step 1: Breathe. Calm down. No, you are not allowed to hang them by the neck from the nearest tree or streetlight.
- Step 2: Decide if you want to pursue. (Don’t gasp! Keep reading.) Is this worth your time and effort? It will most likely be unsatisfying and frustrating, and that may sound cold, but it is true.
Wrong is wrong. Period. Stealing is wrong. Proving it may be very difficult, however.
Personally, I feel very strongly about that noose. String ‘em up.)
- Step 3: Get your horses in line. Pull out your notes, research, any emails or saved conversations about the work that was stolen. (So that you can prove it belongs to you.)
Do a bit of research on the thief. Who do they write for? Check them out using Google search and Social Authority. Look them up on FaceBook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube; are they there, are people following or subscribing to them, are they engaged? In other words, do they matter?
- Step 4: Contact the website that has published the plagiarized work. Be sure to include where it is, who you are and what you would like to see happen.
What I would hope to see within short order would be the stolen work removed and an apology both by the company that owns the website and/or blog as well as a personal apology from the thief.
- Step 5: If you do not receive that satisfaction in short order then you may need to go back to Step 2 and consider again if this is truly worth your time (possibly money) and health to pursue.
One option at this point is to consider simply calling out the plagiarist at this point, either by a personal email or straight out online. This can be a slippery slope- be very careful.
You might also consider legal action and speaking to a lawyer, but again consider if this is worth it to you and your state of mind.
If the thief happens to only work for a company, consider going over their head (no, not with the noose!) straight to the boss and explain what has transpired.
No matter who we are or what we are doing online and with Social Media, it is incredibly frustrating and terribly offending to be a victim of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is running wild online and although there are more tools available now to protect our work, it hurts.
Horse Thieves thwarted, but not punished
Nobody wants to be calm and collected when victimized. I’m all for stringing them up, right next to the horse thieves of the old days.
We had quite the interesting experience this fall in our remote Alaskan mountains while our season was in full swing. A late evening phone call from a good friend alerted us to a bit of arrogant Facebook bragging and mud-slinging happening online during one of the 24 hour re-supply stops back at the Lodge in Chisana.
Blocked from seeing the comments ourselves, we had to work our way around and through some other ethical and moral humans who also happen to be good friends to see what was going on this time.
Boy, were we surprised. The 12 horses lost to the people rescued early this September had been found and were being stolen! It was all right there on Facebook! (Good grief, I wish stupid people would stop breeding!)
Anyways, we nixed all of that and laughed in their faces (not at their backs) as they made up stories, excuses and tried bluffing their way out of the fix they found themselves in.
It wasn’t a rope, but they were hung. (Thank you, Social Media!! Yay!)
Here are a few tools to help nix any unethical plans to steal from you too:
Plug-ins for websites:
Online Anti-Plagiarism Tools:
Here is the article that caught the attention of the would-be horse thieves:
Stranded in the Alaskan Mountains
photo credit: stavos via photopin cc
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