Petition to Fight Plagiarism - Copyright feature introduced P.33

AquaSandhya

@AquaSandhya

IF-Sizzlerz

+ 8

Posted: 8 years ago

I am one of the writers on fan fictions forums. Over the years there have been one too many plagiarism issues that cropped up at regular intervals on the forum. More importantly, I was/am disappointed by the lack of measures taken to control the problem.

As writers, we feel vulnerable and helpless knowing that your work could be stolen next or it is already plagiarized but you are unaware.

I know India forums has made several changes to help writers on the forum, for example ... taking the number of pms we send at a time from 20 to 50. It was a sweeping change and a welcome one.

Similarly, it would be wonderful, if every post on a thread could be protected with [NO COPY] instead of just the first post of every thread. I believe this will help to control plagiarism to a decent extent because the plagiarizer would not be able to copy the content and typing out chapter after chapter could discourage them from stealing as the process could be tedious.

I sincerely hope that you would consider this suggestion.

Thank you.

P.S - 'Read Only' or 'Water Marks' suggested by few here are great ideas too.

And India Forums Admin provided a better solution ...

A Dummy's Guide on How To Enable Copyright feature...

1. Go to post 1 of your thread. Click edit which is below the box.

2. Click in the box beside "Enable Copy Protect". A tick mark appears.

3. Inside the post add [NO COPY] - All caps and no spaces. Click on update.

4. Enable copy protect is enabled for the entire thread.

5. Now for the subsequent chapters on the thread ... do not forget to add, [NO COPY] once again in all caps and no spaces ... this does not allow anyone to copy the chapter.

6. Both "Enable Copy Protect" and [NO COPY] when used together does not allow people to copy the work or to quote (as this is a back door for copying).

7. Now keep your fingers crossed and hope and pray that the plagiarizers are lazy and are not going to take the time to type out the chapters 😆

8. Happy Writing and Good luck everyone 🤗

P.S - According to the Admin, using [MEMBERS ONLY] restricts search engines from reflecting your content when you google to check if someone has plagiarized your work. Therefore, [NO COPY] will protect your work better. I plan to discontinue using [MEMBERS ONLY]. I personally think it is good advice and plan to follow it.

Edited by AquaSandhya - 8 years ago

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ChemcartMJ

@Chemcart_MJ

IF-Addictz

+ 5

Posted: 8 years ago

I agree. A couple of my friends' work has be copied without their permission on to other websites. Though we have emailed the website owners take them down, this issue needs to be examined.

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bablubli

@bablubli

Groupbie

Posted: 8 years ago

That is a good proposal Sandhya! It is such a shame if people can plagiarize someones hard work so effortlessly & a forum does not have measures to mitigate it.

I second that proposal...so admins/moderators, if you are reading this plea, request you to please consider this proposal seriously otherwise, talented writers are going to be driven away from your forum. We have already lost a lot of them here.

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1likeNoOther

@1likeNoOther

Senior Member

Posted: 8 years ago

I agree! The writers are so wonderful and they take so much time out to write such amazing stories so to have all that hard work get ruined by just a few clicks and copy paste - then that is very upsetting. Please stop plagiarizing!!!

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bkamber

@bkamber

IF-Sizzlerz

Posted: 8 years ago

I stand with Sandhya and her proposal.
Perhaps implement a lock feature via a button on each post or an option in user preference section.
😊

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Ishque

@Ishque

Senior Member

Posted: 8 years ago

We all stand by it is a welcome suggestion as readers we look up till our writers come up with a great story on our favorite couples. It is a loss for us when we see writers moving away. Just a mother thought won't people still copy by quoting the whole update can they not do that. India forum should he the writers registered for official copyright and be the advocat for the creative writers.

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Arshi67

@Arshi67

IF-Sizzlerz

+ 13

Posted: 8 years ago

IF needs to recognise that the writers here are one of its best assets. Good stories are what makes readers keep coming back. Of course, the interaction with other readers allowing us to fangirl over the show and the related stories adds to the charm. So, why would you not do everything to protect your assets? In today's age of tech advances, I'm sure much more can be done. Merely banning transgressors is clearly not a deterrent, as that has had no effect. IF members continue copying from "Members Only" posts.

Sandhya, as you suggested, extending the "No Copy" over the thread will help, but the determined plagiariser will plough on regardless, typing it out themselves. That, then will be their "effort"!

How about having Mods dedicated to cross checking randomly across various forums? Also, vigilance on the part of readers will help. Jaw dropping improvements in story and language should raise a flag. I'm requesting readers to do something about it. Don't just shrug and go "Oh well".

I have wanted to read DND again so many times and have regretted you having removed it. But after seeing what's happened with Jigs, I'm glad you did. I know the labour of love it's been for her, and how upsetting it has been to have her story stolen as it has been. I'm really glad it's spurred so many writers and readers to raise awareness about the problem again. I hope IF admins do make a concerted effort to do something about it. It's a great platform and it would be a pity for members to abandon it due to lack of trust.

Thank you for the initiative Sandhya.

Edited by Arshi67 - 8 years ago

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