Plagiarism - Well And Alive!

Discussion in 'News' started by Dashken, Nov 15, 2005.

  1. Dashken

    Dashken Administrator!

    ARP recently found that repeat offender, Michael Sievers, was up to his old tricks again, plagiarising our guides and getting other sites to post them as his own guides.

    What should we do about such people? Come and tell us what you think!

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    Link : Plagiarism - Well And Alive!
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2005
  2. t-readyroc

    t-readyroc Newbie

    Sad, really. :rolleyes:
     
  3. sgt

    sgt Newbie

    A most unfortunate occurance.

    I always thought that it was illegal...perhaps not!?! Other than persuing some sort of 'legal' route, and doing what you're already doing, consider it a compliment! :") If he's copying from here, at least he's giving GOOD instruction...if he writes his own, it could be damaging.

    I don't think you can stop him, but spreading the word about him, with all the proof you have, should be embarrassing to him, especially if he's being removed from various sites.

    It might be a better idea if these other sites kept him on and were willing to state the facts (a link to here?) That would strip him entirely, don't you think?
     
  4. I agree with sgt. We should just spread the word about him.

    But we all should also try to keep an eye out if another offender surfaces online. :shock:
     
  5. Mike AC Ryan

    Mike AC Ryan Newbie

    well.. its not legal to copy someones work... But considering it's not for free to "sue" someone, its most of the time not worth it. And even then, you are not sure if u can win...

    Though it has to be said its quite alike and whenever i think of a BIOS Guide... its Rojakpots... no doubt about it. Dun think it'll ever change that way either - not even for this fella :).

    What to do about it? Hmm... Make sure ppl know about this issue and let them draw their own conclusions - no need to stuff your conclusion in their mouths... Word-a-mouth it will come quite far and hopefully make this person realise it doesn't happen anymore.

    Good luck Rojakpot!

    Cheers,

    Mike
     
  6. peaz

    peaz ARP Webmaster Staff Member

    Well the thing is that we can actually be quite thankful, sort of in a way, becuase of the uniqueness of Adrian's BOG. Therefore, spotting it plagarised is quite easy. What worries me more is the lesser known articles and reviews by all the various sites around being plagarised and published on more known sites. This way, the orignal author will not be acknowlegde even though he/she's the original writer!

    That would be much worse, don't you think?
     
  7. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    The thing is he's a little different from other cases we have seen.

    He not only plagiarizes our material, he actually goes around asking other websites to post his guide. When caught, he refuses to admit he stole our material.

    Hehe.. Even if the act is not illegal, it stifles research and production. Would writers need to bother researching or even writing? They might as well just plagiarize another writer's work. Or in some cases, just translate another writer's work and call it their own work, deriving both profit and name from someone else's efforts.

    In fact, plagiarism is not only a crime against the writer. It's also a crime against the community. This is especially true on the Internet. We do not sell the guide. It's available for free to everyone. Heck, we even pay for the hosting!

    Hmm.. What do you mean by keeping him on? :think:
     
  8. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Yeah, we are hoping that you all can help us look out for such people.

    Even if it's just some college kid who derives no benefit from it, they should be taught that copying other people's work and getting credit for it is wrong.

    Best they learn the lesson now, before they do it in the real world.
     
  9. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Thanks, Mike! :beer:
     
  10. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Yeah, that's a serious possibility. After all, we have all heard about the Anandtech case, right? :think:

    Also, quite a few sites are doing nothing but translation jobs of other sites' articles and reviews.
     
  11. Papercut

    Papercut Newbie

    Personally I think the Anandtech case was that other site making a mountain out of a molehill :lol:
     
  12. Great article... those bastards :/
     
  13. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    Yeah..... Losers.... :mad:
     
  14. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Possibly. Hard to know the truth since it was not quite clear-cut.

    Then again, I think it was not written by an Anandtech staff member, but contributed by an unknown writer? :think:
     
  15. hehehehe... and even if you do win, what are the odds that the guy is probably flat broke anyways?? :haha: :haha: :haha:
     
  16. snakefoot

    snakefoot Newbie

    As long the information isn't harmful

    I only see a problem if the person who re-publish the material makes changes or other stuff that makes the material harmful, or if the person tries to sell the aquired information (I guess the commercial sites who offer to host his guide, may benefit from eventual linking by receiving higher search engine rank)

    I have seen lots of places where they copy information for their personal website so they don't have to scavenge around to find it again. (Links are fragile).

    It is only information and it should be free :), but I guess that view changes when one actually makes a living of providing information.
     
  17. Papercut

    Papercut Newbie

    I'm sure it does, but even if you don't make a living out of it, how would you feel if something that you put a lot of work into was copied and claimed as someone else's?

    If you're so concerned about not being able to find it again, you can just save all the text into a file instead of storing it on a website :roll:
     
  18. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    We do have a free version for BOG. But the fact of the matter is that u dont go around claiming other people's work as your own. Especially when u put in a lot of hardwork and effort into something as in depth as this.
     
  19. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Even if there's no financial gain, plagiarism is still wrong.

    What about the college student who does it so that he can score in exams without studying? He gains no financial benefit from it, but it's still wrong and severely punished.

    The crux of the matter is credit. It's one thing if you quote sections with proper credit and refer readers back to the original article, it's a totally different thing to steal whole sections of the article and call it your own work.

    The thing is most information on the Internet is provided free of charge. It's the case with the BIOS Optimization Guide. I fail to see the reason behind his acts.
     
  20. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hehe, I doubt they need to fear our site or the BIOS Optimization Guide dropping off the Net. :mrgreen:

    We have been around since 1998! :beer:
     

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