I hired a blogger username: Hypnotique , for 1 article a day. Payment after a week. Now checking all his articles before payment i've noticed he directly copied 95% of some articles from another site. He keeps denying it, Saying he re-worded it. Any advice?
Can you atleast display an example/proof of an article he has done for you, and where it is copied from.......
I would appreciate if you would let me give you the resource from which I got the details before you start posting my name in a negative manner.
Ok here is where he copied from: http://www.gameinfowire.com/news.asp?nid=9624 and here is where he says wrote the article: http://pspcave.com/ps3news/ps3news/atari_announce_shipment_of_battlezone_for_psp/ And this is where he says he re-wrote the article from: http://www.mobilewhack.com/reviews/battlezone_psp_game_system_ships.html
And another. Here is where it seems he's copied from: http://www.ps3land.com/article-924.php and here is where he says he wrote the article: http://pspcave.com/ps3news/ps3news/going_in-depth_into_the_technology_that_lays_within_'lair'/ and the bottom 2 paragraphs he "wrote are more than identical" There is a difference between writing your own articles, and copying parts of other peoples articles, and changing a few words to make thm seem a little different. I hired you so that you would write articles YOURSELF and not pretty much copy them from other sites without writing anything from yourself.
I have ran this article through copyscape and the only result that shows is a mirror website which shows a screenshot of one of your previous webpages. I'm not going on about this anymore, it's not worth it. I have more than enough to ease my mind and that's the truth which is also backed by copyscape.
If you were indeed shafted, it goes to show that you get what you pay for. I'm sorry if this happened to you, but next time perhaps you need to be a little more careful regarding who you deal with. Hypnotique, I'm not making claims either way to whether you did this or not. I'm merely giving my general advice to blade he should follow next time he hires a writer.
Rightly or wrongly, the value of Copyscape isn't meant to ease your mind on plagiarism. The fact that you needed to ease your mind in advance suggests that you knew in advance that you were commiting plagiarism and merely attempting to cover your tracks. If this is your "style" of writing then you should advise those that commission you of this fact.
It might not be a bad idea to define plagiarism when you work with a new writer. Harvard has a booklet they distribute to all incoming students called Writing with Sources. It used to be available on the web and you can probably find it (or something similar from another college). Anything that would give you a common standard that you can both agree on would help minimize these types of issues.
Alright, here is my problem with this. You already paid him for his service, and you accepted them. I'd hate to tell you, but that was your first mistake. You should review any content before paying for it. Most writers have no problem awaiting payment until the files are sent. Now, from the brief moment that I decided to read the articles, I didn't notice any "word for word" plagiarism. To be honest copyspace would never be a deciding fact at all for the fact that any context considered copied material may be from using quotes. A lot of times where writers are asked to write on a subject that they don't know a lot about, they tend to use phrases that are common in the reference article -- to me that isn't plagiarism, however I try to avoid it. I really discourage taking any legal actions for occurrences as such simply because the hassle isn't worth it. Everybody jumps the gun stating that they aren't happy with their work. You approved it and accepted it. You could have went back and said "I'm sorry, I don't like your service because it doesn't meet my standards of ____,____, and ____." at which point you can request for the author to either write another article, or inform them politely that you will be hiring another writer to complete the job.
Your first clue that you didn't hire a professional writer is the person said they "reworded" someone else's article. Hmm, I think I'll go "reword" Star Wars and put my own name on it. I looked at that first example. If the originating article was from the AP, for instance, and they knew, you would find yourself having legal issues. That's just disgusting. Hell, that's not even creative stealing. It's 2nd grade work. In that first example, one "writer" copied the original article and should refund the price paid or be sued promptly. I'm not making accusations on who did what since I'm not part of this transactions. I just know that there is one original and one lazy attempt at copying.
I disagree totally. So many people do not pay after the work is done. I have made a very good success of article writing accepting payment up-front only. My feedback backs that up completely. I have been down that road too many times and lost so much money. Even PPP have completely ripped me off for some excellent articles I wrote for their advertisers only to have the "Offer is no longer available" message shoved in my face. I hardly do any work unless I get paid upfront in all matters unless I get to know the person very well indeed. Col
I don't normally accept complete payment up front. I typically ask for a 50% deposit, with the remainder due upon completion. This protects me partially, as well as the person I'm working for. Even if I end up getting shafted, I at least have the initial deposit -- that way, my hard work and effort doesn't go completely to waste. Unless the person offers to pay the complete sum up front, that's my typical operating standard.
I'm with DeniseJ - For clients I don't "know," I require a 50-100% deposit. Once we've done business successfully a few times, I will let that requirement slide. I've been very lucky and have not been stiffed on payment - yet. Of course, I make it very clear that I am always open to any necessary revisions, which eases a client's mind. If you feel articles are not adequate, perhaps you can ask to have them rewritten. That way you get fresh content and a writer has a chance to redeem him/herself. Rebecca
I just feel that for members that don't have any type of reputation built up yet, it is better to accuse than to be accused. I don't want to tie myself into any legal obligations, if my work is stolen from me, I would most likely drop it. Most freelance services I offer are for very small amounts, therefore you can never taken the case to any small claims court to begin with. What's the point of arguing with somebody that won't give it back, and threatening to sue somebody when you can't?
I just want to state the point that HYPNOTIQUE HAS NOT been paid for these articles... The agreement was for him to be paid after they were done. So to be honest I don't see what the problem is here. The guy who started this thread hasn't lost a dime, and has several good articles for free. So just move on find someone else to write for you. Also make sure you have a proper agreement before hand. End of. Also just want to add in that these articles have nout to do with forum-angels.
You can't reword someone else's articles, this is plagiarism. I wouldn't pay the person..... This may be one of those "you get what you pay for" situations.
hmmm... Plagiarism: defined as: the act of appropriating the literary composition of another author, or excerpts, ideas, or passages therefrom, and passing the material off as one's own creation. I seem to recall the author in question wrote both versions? What was done may not be a great policy for future business opportunity without having in writing that the work for hire is associated with exclusive use but you can't plagiarize your our work.
I betchya there are more definitions there.. I distinctly recall being told that anyone that plagorized their own work.. or anyone else's would be thrown out of my college.. Honestly.. I write for various websites about 6 hours per day.. and never once have I thought to check myself through copyscape.. of course it would come up clean right.. I just wrote it! That fact in itself seems a tad suspicious, but then I guess if you're writing on the same subjects over and over, you could sound 'a little' the same, and therefor come up with a small percentage, not a couple paragraphs.. but a few phrases.. As for the delivery before payment plan.. Don't even think about sending me a PM and asking me to write, or pay my writers to write something for you! Not gunna happen before payment! There are plenty of writers that are comfortable with this, I've just never been.. Not to mention, I have a lil spending habit If I'm willing to make a deal with you.. I am probably lusting after my local salon It sucks that this happened between the two of you.. but if no cash did exchange hands, and the writer seems to be ok with that and just wants it to go to rest... I'd just delete the posts, or let the writer copy them off of your site and post them where he likes.. (note.. yes gunna is a word.. just look in LadyH's personal desktop dictionary where all of my frequent typos and ebonics are listed before Microsoft Word Brutually attacks them)
Dont pay the clown, and find someone else. If I was paying for articles, I would want unique articles, not "reworded articles".