(the ongoing adventures of the masked avenger)  I have to be careful in this journal as I am concious of the 'no naming and shaming' rule so will try and keep it as general as I can. So let me frame it as a question; what would you think of someone who continually posts quotes to make them look as if they are their own thoughts? Where over 80% of their contributions to the site have been lifted from other sources, but at no point have they credited the author or the original source. Where they steal, and I do not think steal is too strong a word, the thoughts and words of a cancer survivor and post them as their own in order to gain the sycophantic praise of people who think them wise beyond their years. Where, when confronted, rather than an apology and an acceptance of the mistake they have made, followed by an acknowledgement of the true source of their wisdom, they instead mount an offensive campaign against the person who has shown their true character.  I see nothing wrong with using others' thoughts or words, as long as the originator is credited properly.And I can even overlook the occasional lapse of good practice as long as, when pointed out to the person, they accept responsibility for the mistake.But for such a high percentage of your contribution to be intellectual theft, without a single acknowledgement of the fact that the thoughts are not your own, irritates me more than the mossies in the mangrove swamps.    

dont we love google?

I think we all take moral shortcuts at various points in life. But as you know from your counseling experience, repetiton of the same incorrect behavior is a form of insanity.

The baffling part within the context of TF is that the whistleblowing thread was locked, while the incorrect behavior has been allowed to continue unimpeded. If somewhere down the road it impacts TF (or the infringer) negatively, then ÊùéÓ˹éÒ. At this point, however, we both know what the motivation is.

Although i agree in general with your thoughts about copyright infringements, i wouldnt always google everybodys sentences in order to judge that person.

I believe most of the people posting a quote or a poem, are not posting it in order to claim an "ownership". I reckon they have other intentions, problably they liked the words and wished to share them with others.

I think the themes and goals of Thailandfriends website and community are friendship and love, so why not trying to be nice to each other in here?

And the best of all: There is No obligation to read everything and post a comment either

PEACE

yes Sassy, we do; it opens up paths to previously obscure texts. Though I still love the odd trip to the National Library in Edinburgh where there are still many bits of archaic and obscure knowledge that you cannot find online.

Yes Rob, agree totally. While I do not think there is any real danger of a breach of copyright action as most of these quotes are in the public domain, the quotes are still the intellectual property of those who wrote them.

I don't think there is any insanity involved however; it is just a case of someone trying to convince us that they have levels of intelligence and depths of profundity that they in fact only ever dream of.

Hayko - see your point - and I wouldnt google everyone's sentences, but when your suspicions are raised on 1 or 2, it is a natural instinct to check other contributions to see if the plagiarism/theft has a pattern of repeatability.

and yes I agree with your friendship and love ideals, but surely to attain those you should have an atmosphere that excludes deceit??

: )

A "technical" solution to solve this problem could be (attention to admin please!):

Adding at the journal entry page / box / submit button something like that:

"Posting another person's work, quotes or poems as your own work by copying and reproducing it without acknowledgement of the source is highly deappreciated."

Lets make the world a better place!

(Michael Jackson)

a great idea Hayko, though please, never ever quote MJ on my journal again!!! lol

LOL

Iain, you know damn good and well that if it can't be Googled and linked then, by God, it does not exist.

Why not? MJ was a talented little boy fondler.

Additional to the subject of this journal starting entry, what are your thoughts about using copyrighted words / trademarks as usernames?

lol.

Good point Hayko. But does that also refer to the Olympos leisure centres in the UK or the yachting company in your own fair country?

and what if someone's name really is Jack Daniels? Or Ronald McDonald. (would prefer the former to the latter)

Posted by Im_A_Bitch [ 21 July 2009 | 7:10PM ]

I don't think there is any insanity involved however; it is just a case of someone trying to convince us that they have levels of intelligence and depths of profundity that they in fact only ever dream of. <<<<

so what do u suggest i do then ?????

I knew a JOHN Daniels a while back.

Guess what his nickname was...?

keep drinking Ciaran - the great James Joyce had some of his most profound moments while pissed as a fart!!

wouldn't have to be a nickname Dave; people called John are often called Jack. My dad's given name was John but was known by one and all as Jack!!

LOL

"Olympos" is a tiny valley and ancient city in a national park, i have been living there for the past 12 years.

Right now i am in Istanbul, but in future i'll gonna move to Thailand... The airport is only 15 minutes away )

By the way i am not here to discuss copyrigths, i am here to hook up with the girls

I havent got a clue who or what youre talking about, but I hate missing out on all the gossip so give us a clue!!

ctrl + c and ctrl + v is all you need to pass yourself off on the internet as having knowledge of the highest degree.

Yep it is annoying when people plagiarise form the internet and people deserve credit for their work whether that is words music art or film.

When will people just be themselves instead of living under a false charade that will only get them caught out eventually anyway.

Knowledge is great to share but if you believe you know it all anyway then how are you ever going to learn.

As for myself I will quote the great poet Popeye and say "I am what I am!!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vENi_DymwQ8

ugh ugh ughugh

@ Sean - thought that was Gloria Gaynor??

lol

This is an important subject as it is immoral and possibly even dangerous to those involved. Obviously, if something is stolen and no credit is given, we take it down or have it changed immediately. Unfortunately we can't catch everything ourselves. The mods and I try our best to abide by every law, local and on the internet, but we really do rely on "whistle blowers" of sorts to help out.

If you do see something that is obvious or even questionable, let us know! We will definitely err on the side of caution when it comes to things like plagiarism.

@ Im_A_Bitch: Did you mean this one?

http://www.listicles.com/wp-content/upload/0616_jackson.jpg

LOL