Post by Ashleigh on Aug 13, 2007 14:00:33 GMT -5
Why?
Plagiarism and theft is a very serious offense and unfortunately, our RPF has had many problems with this issue, most of them stemming from people either not knowing what plagiarism is or not realizing that what they were doing was plagiarism.
Therefore, RPF has decided to put up a thread outlining exactly what plagiarism is, how it affects those involved and why it is such a serious offense.
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism, as defined by the Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English is:
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plagiarize v. (plagiarizes, plagiarized, plagiarizing) take and use or claim the thoughts, writings, inventions, etc. of another person as one's own.
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In simpler terms, plagiarism is taking another person's thoughts, ideas, writings, inventions or work of any kind and either using them without the original creator's permission or claiming the work as your own. It is considered to be claiming the work as your own if you do not give credit to the original creator.
Why is Plagiarism Bad?
Plagiarism is a very serious issue and is punishable by law. When you plagiarize someone's work, you are stealing from them and stealing is most probably considered wrong by almost everyone. It is taking something that is not yours and claiming that it is, or not crediting the original creator for it.
Plagiarism is also a very hurtful thing, because when you plagiarize someone's work you are hurting them by taking something that they worked hard on and devoted loving time and effort into away from them.
What Can Happen to People who Plagiarize?
Plagiarism is punishable by both North American and United Kingdom law. It is a serious offense that can:
- Get plagiarizers heavy fines and a criminal record.
- Land them in jail or another type of correctional facility for an allotted time period (usually only measured in days, but still... no one likes jail).
- Cause the plagiarizer to lose their credability, respect or reputation within their community, whether it be a school, workplace, recreational activity or an online community.
As you can see, plagiarism is not a matter to take lightly. It is a crime and causes serious emotional and professional damage not only to the victims of plagiarism, but to everybody involved.
What Can I do to Stop Plagiarism?
There are many measures everyone can take to stop plagiarism and theft, both on the internet and in their daily lives.
I. If you notice that either your work or someone else's work is displayed somewhere else without due credit or permission from the original creator, you should report it immediately to someone who can help you, such as a teacher, employer, administrator/moderator or a web host.
II. Disabling right-click on your website or forum if the feature is available may prevent people from being able to copy and paste your work.
III. Crediting yourself on your own work and claiming all the rights to it clearly will help you to prove that it is yours if someone does attempt to plagiarize it.
IV. DON'T PLAGIARIZE! Please be a considerate person and ask permission while giving proper credit before displaying someone else's work. That's why bibliographies and works cited pages exist, you know.
I hope that this will clear up any future plagiarism and theft issues. Thank you.