Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Possible plagiarism on fanfiction.net?

I saw this story today in fanfiction.net's "Superman movie" section:
Superman: I am Human too

I remember reading this story here a while back (summary: Clark comes to Lois for comfort after his father dies of a heart attack, and Lois figures out he's Clark as he leaves since Clark had rushed to Smallville to be with Jonathan who had taken ill.) However, the impression I get is that the author on fanfiction.net is not the same person who posted it here. I looked for the story here to check but couldn't find it. I hope I'm wrong.

Does anyone else remember this story, and have a link to it?

Edit: fixed link

Definite plagiarism. I searched for the first line on the archive, and found Go Softly Into the Night by Yvonne Connell.

I reported it to fanfiction.net, so we'll see what they say.

Well, I tried the link and it no longer exists, so perhaps ff.net has done something about it. Let's hope so. Thanks for the heads up, Debbie.

LabRat

Psst.. the link is wrong. Remove the first http:// from the address.

Labby - the link is still active, only there seems to be a typo in Debbie's post somehow. Here's one that works:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4157844/1/Superman_I_am_Human_too


~Lara
(who is totally not supposed to be here right now. *lol*)

The link has two "http", but the story is still there and definitely is the same story . The plagiarist just changed the title; the rest is the same, commas and all. It's a shame that somebody could be so despicable to copy a whole story and flat out lie saying to be the author. It's abominable.

Aha. Well, I registered with ff.net, and added a review of the story pointing out its true origins. At least those who've been posting glowing reviews will be made aware that it's not her work.

LabRat

I just went and looked -- no question. So I reviewed it:

For whatever that's worth. It said it could take up to an hour for the review to post. Labby, I haven't seen yours yet.

PJ

And I forgot to say... Thank you, Debbie, for noticing something off and following up on it. That's pretty much the only way to catch plagiarism, and we have to look out for each other. You done good.

PJ

I liked yours better, Pam, anyway. I wasn't sure how to include direct links to Yvonne's story, so glad you were able to include that.

Also the link to Y's other work was a nice touch.

LabRat

I looked at both versions and was amazed. This was more than simply stealing an idea or some dialog, this was a complete copy with only a name change.

I know some of the authors that post here also post their works to fanfiction.net. Is part of the reason to try to cut down on this sort of thing?

Are there any general rules or guidelines for posting stories to multiple sites? What are the benefits and the downsides?

Bob

Having written a few things (none of which are as good as Yvonne's story referenced here), I'd be really ticked off if someone stole my work and claimed as his/her own. For what it's worth to Yvonne, the reviewers who commented on the story were moved quite deeply, just like those of us here who read it when Yvonne was still the author. /end snarky crack

I don't know what fanfiction.net's policy on plagiarism is, but I hope they enforce it swiftly and efficiently. If it were me, I'd put a tag on that author's home page that revealed that the story was stolen and that anything from this author is therefore suspect in regard to its origin.

Yeah, I'm kinda hard-headed that way.

Yeah, I've seen plagiarism before but this was by far the most blatant.

As far as I know there's no reason not to post a story you wrote as many places as you like. The archive hasn't got exclusive rights or anything. I've posted some of mine to ff.net. It's just that mostly I barely have time to get a story posted one place, let alone multiples!

PJ
who really ought to get back in touch with her General Editor...

Labby, both our comments have posted now, but the links I put in didn't come through. I should have spaced out the address or something. I might just try again. Although I am at work, and they expect to actually get some productivity out of me in return for a paycheck...

PJ
eta: okay, tried again, but if this one doesn't work I think I'll give up...

I read it and reviewed - I KNEW i'd read it before but figured it was a repost.

I hate plagiar-cows.

Well, this is a blast from the past! Part of me is amused at the pitiful lengths some people will go to in pursuit of a bit of attention, and part of me is just plain annoyed.

I've posted on the site, and hopefully fanfiction.net will eventually take the story down.

Many thanks for all the flattering comments about my story.

Yvonne

FF.net does not allow links in their reviews for security and anti-spam purposes. (more's the pity.)

Oh, that's just disgusting

There's a community on LiveJournal called Stop Plagiarism: http://community.livejournal.com/stop_plagiarism. They investigate reports of plagiarism, follow up with the alleged plagiarist, help the real author communicate with the website hosting the plagiarised story, and maintain a list of known plagiarists. Of course, chances are that the person concerned will just change their nick, but it's still helpful.

I know, from dropping into the community from time to time, that ff.net will delete stories and ban users once an abuse report has been made and they have evidence - but it takes times.

If you want to report this to Stop Plagiarism, you'll need screenshots of this story including the posted date (in case it gets taken down), and links to the original story. Copies of any attempts to contact the plagiarist are also helpful. My guess is the other works there could well also be plagiarised...

ETA: a five-second Google search found a second plagiarised story: Homecoming is actually Missing by Elizabeth Wilde.

I think I'll go to Stop Plagiarism myself!


Wendy

I did drop the alleged author a note to let her know the jig was up. Originally I thought it was a cross-posting from the L&C section, which is bad form over there and can get you banned. Then I saw this thread and realized where the story came originally - the L&C archives.

Now I have to keep an eye out in the event this person tries to post it to the Movieverse Archive.

Has anyone tried to get in touch with Yvonne to let her know?

Yvonne does know - she's posted a review of the plagiarised story and also posted above in this thread.

I have now posted a report to the Stop Plagiarism community, citing two plagiarised stories. My post is in a moderation queue at the moment; I'll let you know when it's up in case anyone wants to follow the discussion. Oh, and my screencaps are fairly poor as all I have at my disposal is Print Screen and Paint. If anyone has better capping resources let me know in case the investigators want them.


Wendy

Go PJ! I liked your review. Too bad the links didn't work, but I'm sure the idea got through.

Artemis

I've got Grab and Gimp, I'll send you the screens, Wendy.

Wow - that's just so, so wrong. I went and read the reviews and cackled at the comments. Hopefully this person will learn their lesson.

Yvonne, I hope you can take comfort in the fact that you're eminently worth imitating. And you have many, many friends watching out for your best interests.

On a side note, I remember years ago in the XF community there was a big to-do when it was discovered that someone had taken Mulder/Scully stories and simply switched the names to make them into fanfic for "The Nanny". The mind boggles.

I used to have a Buffy fanfic archive and I had a lot of dealings with Stop_Plagiarism. Good group of people! they will get to the bottom of it, I'm sure.

Turning Mulder/Scully stories into LnC stories I could understand - but into 'The Nanny'?

But I have to agree, this whole plagiarism situation is *not* funny. But it's good to see several people writing reviews to that effect. I could almost pity that poor misguided fellow. Almost.

I went through and googled the first lines of the rest of that person's stories, and found 5 other stories that were copied from other sites. I guess they thought they'd never be caught?

This made my blood boil. I left a comment with my thoughts - the printable ones, at least.

I dunno - the characters are so completely different, I don't see how it could work.

It doesn't surprise me that the other stories were also plagiarized. And now I'm a little suspicious of the author's sister - can we check those stories as well?

I checked the first 20 of the sister's stories. Only 1 had another story linked on google. The year is the same, and the names are similar, so I think it was the same person posting in 2 different places.

That's good - maybe it's a case of trying to keep up with their sibling. Thanks for checking, Karen!

Well, we're starting to have an effect on the reviews. Yes,the story is great. Too bad she didn't write any of it.

Artemis

Also on the reviews for another story, Artemis:

http://www.fanfiction.net/r/1353545/


Wendy

Anyone else notice this on her profile:

Fanfics? Plural? Wonder who else she's planning to steal from? :rolleyes:

LabRat

I just have to wonder why the XMen fandom didn't pick up on this earlier. Were all of her fics plagiarized? She's been trickling stories on FF.net for years.

It's late at night here and I clicked on the links - the plagiarised Yvonne Connell story must have been taken down as the link doesn't work anymore. Also, I don't see the line in the profile about "Superman fanfics coming soon".

Hopefully that means that everyone's efforts, in reporting and exposing, have been successful.

I was disgusted to hear of the theft. The story "Go Softly Into The Night" is one of the finest fanfics I've ever read. It has stayed with me ever since I read it, more than a year ago. It is certainly well worth plagiarizing, from a strict value point of view! /lame laugh/

I guess if you're going to steal, then steal from the best. Doesn't condone it, but explains it.

Interesting - it's gone that fast? Clearly the ff.net admins got on the case - or perhaps the author saw the reviews and took it down, if the Superman fics line is gone. I'm glad I took screencaps!

The report about this incident is now up on Stop Plagiarism . The mod in charge of the case has identified all but one of the person's other 'stories' and is contacting authors.


Wendy

This is just disgusting. I'm always appaled to hear about such cases.

Anyway, I just checked out a few links posted here, and apparantely, all of her stories have been deleted and her account has been removed. So at least that's taken care of very quickly, but still, I always have grave doubts about persons subcombing to plagiarism to learn from their mistakes. She will probably show up somewhere again...

Saskia

Forgot to say many thanks to Karen for alerting me to all of this. Also hugs and thanks to all of you for your wonderful support!

An apology from the plagiarist would be nice, but so would a win on the National Lottery...

Yvonne

Yep, it's gone. It was still there about 9:30 p.m. PDT last night. By the time I posted my review, the reviews were tipping to negative as the majority.

Artemis

Not sure it's really an apology but check out the Stopping Plagiarism page Wendy linked to. The 'author' posted there...

Carol

Beat me to it, Carol. I was just idly wandering through the Stopping Plagiarism site (excellent resource btw) and spotted it, too.

Here's her excuse:

ETA: I've been trawling back through previous entries on the SP site and, honestly, it's worth taking a look at some of the excuses offered by plagiarists. Makes you shake your head and wonder what their parents and teachers taught them when they were growing up.

I like this one:

Eeesh.

LabRat

Wow, that is strange. It sounds like they have no concept of what plagiarism is. But how can they think they worked on anything if they simply copied a whole story and pasted it on another board? They didn't even change the names of the characters with a global replace?
Even so, I'm sad to see someone declare they won't write ever again. They had good taste to pick good stories. Actually, the whole apology was so effusive, I'm skeptical (but I'm a cynic). My bet is they try it again under another pseudonym. Most first timers would be in denial first.

Artemis

One would think that people would have been taught in their Language Arts classes (for whatever language) that taking someone else's work and slapping their name on it was stealing - they wouldn't have gotten away with it in school, so why do they think they can get away with it in the rest of their lives?

It also means they haven't read any of the guidelines ff.net has on what is and is not allowed, nor any other archive guidelines.

Luckily, such blatant theft seems relatively rare in fanfiction - in part due to self-policing as evidenced here.

I'm stunned that the 'author' posted there. Still, all the plagiarised stories are gone, which is good. I just posted a note of thanks to the comm and the mod on our behalf.


Wendy

I had to go back to 2005 and read some of my 'old' cases with Stop_plagiarism. It made me laugh. Oh the good ole days...
The lameness that some people can display is overwhelming!

Stop_plagiarism has posted a follow-up to the original post and investigation, just summing up findings.


Wendy

It is good to see it dealt with. The motive however just weirds me out.

How people can think that it's okay to post somebody else's work as their own, and not view it as cheating, is a mystery to me.

At least Google (and vigilant fans) are making it harder to get away with.

PJ

Thanks for posting the link to the follow-up Wendy. It's nice to see that it is dealt with. Looks like Shin Kalel never did any original writing at all, just slapped new titles on other stories. How there is any satisfaction in that I simply can't understand.

Artemis

What's really depressing and chilling is the attitude/excuse given by this plagiarist - which, reading the stories on the SP website, are not at all unusual.

This idea of "Well, you see, I didn't actually have any writing talent, so I couldn't write or post any stories of my own, so I just figured no one would mind if I took other people's and posted them instead and I'm really surprised to find out that's considered a bad thing to do."

I mean where does that kind of thinking come from?

LabRat

LabRat, the answer is the lack of proper teaching. Sadly, this has become common in the USA.

Artemis

Out of the 15 or so term papers I've graded, I've had about 5 or 6 that were plagiarized and a couple more I gave the benefit of the doubt to.

I get to grade about 25 more; we'll see how those do :p . And these were 2 2 page papers each, so 4 pages total on two different topics.

Fun times...
Carol

This is infuriating. One of my college research papers was plagiarized word for word and then afterwards, the person bragged that they got an A plus when I got an A minus. The nerve of some people.

I would have love to have seen some of the comments all of you put on fanfiction.net! And how in the world could someone not know what plagiarism is? Maybe they might not know the official name, but surely they know what stealing means.

As I was reading this again a thought struck -- wonder if some of the cases aren't writers at all, but in their group, it's cool/common to have stories on ff.net. Since they can't write their own, they pick something else and put their name on it. The story's not the important thing, and there's none of the satisfaction *we* have in getting feedback on our hard work -- but what is important is that the person has now posted *something* and is thus one of the cool kids. The peer pressure is focused on participation, not originality. The number of reviews is a status thing, so numbers are all that matter, not content.

Okay, it's hard to imagine fanfic-writing being that cool <g> but if all your friends are doing it...

PJ

I agree, Pam. Plagiarism of a fanfic makes no sense to me, either. At the same time, it's one of those things that I keep trying to understand. I mean, I can understand stealing someone's essay to submit for a class. You want the marks but you don't want to do the work. But stealing a fanfic? It's not as if it's going to give you the feeling of a job well done - nor is it going to benefit you financially or in terms of easy marks. So why bother? There must be some other motivation - like peer pressure. But I wouldn't have considered writing fanfic as the 'cool' thing to do.

But then, a lot of things about the web completely confuse me. For example, why do people claim to have insider information about a political candidate or a reality show outcome or almost anything else when they don't? Or why do people feel free to be mean just because they don't have to sign their own name to a comment?

There has to be a reason for these things, but for the life of me, I can't understand it. I'm sure it would make an interesting study.

ML

I took a web studies class in grad school, and we talked about this all the time. There are so many things said online that we would never say face to face but because we have a level of detachment (the computer) separating us...some how this lessens our thoughts concerning the consequences of our dialogue. We went off on tangents a lot about how our whole society is finding new ways all the time of detachment...email, text message...

Maybe if we had more face to face conversations, we'd all be a little peachier online. I bet psych departments are writing whole papers on this kind of stuff...

The only reason I can think of so far for stealing fanfic is a little fame or glory in a comments section...which is sad that you need to steal it, but ok, it's a *little* geeky cool that someone thinks fanfic is worth all that trouble...If that makes any sense.

Cheerio
JD

Silly thought, but it seems backwards to me that people would plagarize fanfic to get glory among their RL friends when so many true fanfic authors don't even tell their RL friends that they write fanfic because they feel too geeky.

Elisabeth
who has always been forthcoming about her geeky hobbies