Comments on: Internet Makes Plagarism a Breeze

By: Bill Hilton

Bill Hilton — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:15:02 +0000

Agreed with Joel and Riel. I used to teach, and you can usually spot plagiarism a mile off - providing you know the kids well, that is.

By: Raj Khera

Raj Khera — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:36:53 +0000

We spend a lot of money on our web site, MailerMailer, writing original content. I’ve seen our checklists, articles, industry reports, and even our marketing material get chopped up and used as text on other people’s blogs. As a company, there are too many of these bandits to pursue. So, while the Internet makes it easier to plagarise and for plagarists to get caught, unless you dedicate a lot of resources to pursue them, the saddest part of the issue is that they often go unpunished.

By: Peter George

Peter George — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:13:08 +0000

Ease and tolerance are two of the key factors in the swell of plagiarism. Perhaps lack of shame and accomplisment are equally so. In researching topics on the Internet, I have not only discovered identical articles with different author’s names, but I have also found one of my own articles being attibuted to another author.

For obvious reasons, Bob, I found your post near and dear to my heart. So much so that I almost copied it and put it on my blog. (Just kidding!)

By: Craig Hysell

Craig Hysell — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:12:21 +0000

Do they still make high schoolers read “1984″? Would they cherish their free thought and indivduality any better? Maybe if Orwell was on MySpace and posted acted out chapters of his writing on YouTube…

Dianna said “Too much stuff on the Internet is free- and because it’s free and easy to consume we don’t value it.” A valid point. Perhaps not to most of us because we remember what it meant to trudge to the library or pick up a phone when we needed something done.

Maybe they should assign today’s students a paper once a semester where they can’t use the Internet as a source. Then again, “free” and “easy” are some very popular words among us copywriters…

Was cheating always so predominant? How far back to the studies go?

By: Copyvirgin

Copyvirgin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:37:03 +0000

I was reading something the other day on the bbc website, where students had not just plagarised, but plagarised badly. They had left the ad’s from websites in the text they had copied.

Surely its easier (as i always found it was) to form your own opinions, find info that backs that up and make it part of your argument!? As opposed to having to go through someone else’s work and trying to make it look like your own work!?

The fact that students have little guilt about it, just shows how they feel about their education; as a means to an end!

By: Bob Bly

Bob Bly — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:22:37 +0000

Jesse: I am not convinced all get caught. And of those who get caught (e.g., Stephen Ambrose), are they really punished or penalized in any way?

By: Jesse Hines, Vigorous Writing

Jesse Hines, Vigorous Writing — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:00:16 +0000

Like previous commenters have said, plagiarists are lazy.

Eventually their laziness will get them caught.

Irony is beautiful.

By: Stacey Mathis, Copywriter for the Parent Market

Stacey Mathis, Copywriter for the Parent Market — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:09:43 +0000

Riel Langlois is right. Plagiarists are lazy. My English professor shared a story about one of his former students who plagiarized a piece by a writer and hadn’t bothered to check the name of the author; the author was OUR ENGLISH PROFESSOR!

By: Dianna Huff

Dianna Huff — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:31:46 +0000

I think the problem goes way beyond simply catching students using content from the Internet. (And it’s not just students — business people do it, too.)

Too much stuff is “free” on the Internet — and because it’s free and easy to consume, we don’t value it.

By: Fern

Fern — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:43:23 +0000

Let me re-comment. My earlier comment referred to mindless assignments in grade school. I taught myself how to research and draw my own conclusions in graduate school.

But I still think that (most) teachers don’t teach methods for research assignments.

To answer MB: Many colleges/universities have a disciplinary process, usually involving a faculty-student committee.