I completely agree with this. I fail to comprehend the need for people to plagiarise others' works. I admit that this show is very inspiring and thought provoking, but that does not mean people steal others' work!
Being a writer myself (I have not written anything on IPK as of yet), I know how would it feel if someone would use my work and claim it as their own.
Okay lets forget that. Lets go into the technicalities. I'm a student, and I know how stringent schools and universities are when it comes to plagiarism. Forget expulsion and the fact that your degrees/diplomas are revoked, extreme cases may even earn you a prison statement! Just because this is a website where we're not able to do much about this, it doesn't mean people just roam around plagiarising stuff!
This has GOT to stop. The heads of IF need to come up with a solution to stop this criminal activity that's taking place here.
Regarding the issue of mature fics on IF which get banned because of the fact that there are kids who're able to access this website, I have a small idea. I don't know if this has been suggested before, but I'd request you to think about it.
There are a LOT of websites on the internet that allow writers to post up their works. I am a huge fan of Harry Potter and I read a lot of HP FF all over the web. There are many fics which have a lot of mature content available, and these websites have a way of ensuring that kids and underage people don't check out such stuff.
Firstly, anyone on the web can access most of the stories and read them. However, to read mature content, the user has to be logged in and has to prove that they're legal, as in, minimum 18 years of age. If a regular user/guest tries to view such mature fics, a dialog box pops up, informing them that either they're underage to view such fics, or they're not allowed to access the fic cause they're not logged in.
Obviously, there is a huge catch to this, where the user can fake his/her age to create an account and access these fics. But I think something can be done about this as well.
Lets say IF has a special FF website. Anyone can read most of the fics on IF, but all the mature fics are restricted to selected users who WANT to read it. As in, if I am a member of IF and I want to be granted access to read a mature fic, I have to send a special application to the DT/mods, who will review my application and check out my profile and posts to ensure that I'm no kid or preteen. Obviously, we can have some ground rules for this particular application, such as newbies and groupbies cannot apply for this special access, and other stuff, whatever is feasible.
This method has a few benefits. Firstly, IF can ensure that at least 85% of the users who have access to such fics are people who're of age, and are mature enough to read them. Secondly, we can't neglect the fact that there may be some sensitive people who find such graphic and mature stuff offensive. These people can choose not to apply for access to such fics, so they're not left offended.
I hope I didn't waste anyone's time. To all those who're going to meet the heads of IF, all the best. My support is always with you guys.
Cheers,
Ritchelle
PS: In case anyone wants links to the HP websites I mentioned to check out their layout, please drop me a PM. 😕
CID
