plagiarism?

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by laxmi, Jan 17, 2008.

  1. ::TECHMAN::

    ::TECHMAN:: Peon

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    #21
    That's pretty ineffective if you ask me. Some websites have complex query pages or robots.txt files which means they won't be indexed by Google. In this case, you can't really know if information's been copied or not.

    Copyscape's the most widely used copy-checker so I guess you could use it with some success. If you really want to protect yourself though, the best thing to do is work with a professional writer. And when you do that, expect to pay a reasonable price. Many buyers are caught unawares when someone offers 500 words of high-quality content for $5. People promising to get you a rock from the moon for a couple of dollars will probably filch a stone from the street and paint it yellow.

    Cheers
     
    ::TECHMAN::, Jan 30, 2008 IP
  2. Agent_Dweeb

    Agent_Dweeb Peon

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    #22
    You missed out a part of the quote.
     
    Agent_Dweeb, Jan 30, 2008 IP
  3. peejaydee

    peejaydee Peon

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    #23
    The only guaranteed form of copy protection is to write the content yourself from scratch, knowing that you didn't copy it from anywhere.
     
    peejaydee, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  4. SoSuccessful

    SoSuccessful Peon

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    #24
    I think that's very vague. I think plagiarism is very vague and the definition is subjective as to the extent of what really is considered plagiarism and what's not.

    I think the problem is that it's nearly impossible to not copy someone else as most work is influenced by other work. Unless you live in a cave with no Internet or access to the outside world, you're bound to come up with similar ideas. I think the whole plagiarism topic, in online content is mostly a bunch of bullshit, unless something is copied word-for-word.

    I highly agree with this. In school most textbooks cite like 50 sources at the end of a chapter, and superscripts after nearly every paragraph. What's to say any of the textbook is even original material - and what's to say it's not just a compilation of other people's work??

    And let's not forgot all these 'building wealth' guides and self-improvement programs that are nearly all derivations of "Think and Grow" by Napoleon Hill.

    Most books steal over 75% of their content from somewhere else. I think it's not a matter of who plagiarizes and who doesn't...EVERYONE does, and to deny that you would have to show some valid examples...which honestly, I think would be difficult to find.

    Anyone who can see the bigger picture can understand that most books are generally the same. I mean, look at most ad copy, it's generally all the same. All of them have the same elements, same layouts, etc. I've seen many copywriting examples that have directly 'stolen' text from others. It's not uncommon at all.

    So...to answer the original question, yes, plagiarism is copying, but it's very vague, and unless you are intentionally stealing someone else's work, I wouldn't worry about it.
     
    SoSuccessful, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  5. elcomputo

    elcomputo Peon

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    #25
    Should you want to lift a long passage from some source, make sure the reader knows it's taken from somewhere else. Credit the source. And, to be safe, attempt to get the source's permission to use it. Of course, if the source is long dead, you don't need permission; e.g., Shakespeare. However, don't be misled into thinking that just because the source is dead, his or her heirs haven't got copyright protection. I just read the other day about the heirs of James Joyce suing someone for some kind of copyright violation.

    Generally, if you are dealing in factual information, you are pretty safe with some unattributed paraphrasing. It's when you directly lift a lot of material or if you are dealing with creative prose that you can get into trouble.
     
    elcomputo, Feb 12, 2008 IP