Rank: ? (1121)
Member #: 1689

Plagiarism is not acceptable in these forums and those who plagiarize will lose 100 points. If you use something that is not yours please give credit to the original author/site. This is all I ask, thank you.

These forums are also not the place to complain about the fact that you got rejected for hosting. I for one, could really care less and I don't feel any sympathy for you. Hosting is not free, and it will never be, and you are not guaranteed to get it. The purpose of being rejected is so that you can have time to improve your site and reapply.

This topic is sticky as a reminder to all members, and a warning to those who plan to plagiarize, because this needs to be stopped.

Rank: ? (344)
Member #: 4189

Roddefig: Could you possibly revise your post? I happen to think it's a bit tactless, and insulting in general. The "you" in your post currently seems to refer to the person who's reading the post. Unfortunately, (or more of fortunately) not everyone who reads this post plagiarizes.

Rank: ? (1601)
Member #: 6249

I would not call it tactless but the use of "YOU" can be taken personally but I don't see a way around it... but it sure is a serious admonition.. plagiarism should not be tolerated in any form..

It is a good idea to nip the evil in the bud

Rank: ? (1121)
Member #: 1689

Well, yes, but it has to be harsh as this needs to be stopped and it's a good way to influence the person, and it serves as a warning to others as not to plagiarize.

Rank: ? (344)
Member #: 4189

 attila-the-hun

Actually, I'm sure there -is- a way to rephrase the above without it being offending to everyone.

 attila-the-hun

I completely agree. However, I do not believe telling everyone (including people who do not plagiarize and suggesting that they might/will in the future is the correct way.

 roddefig

What you said above wasn't "harsh". It was insulting everyone who read this :P. Also, posting a notice might influence someone, I doubt it's a good way.

Your notice could be rephrased to something like this:
Plagiarism has been occuring around the forums lately. Please note that, those who plagiarize will LOSE 100 POINTS. Plagiarism is ILLEGAL. Please give credit where it is due.

Imo, it's short, and to the point.

Rank: ? (4540)
Member #: 51

I would agree that Vaiyen's wording is preferable, less likely to inflame or provoke a potential spammer or forum abuser.

There have been only two plagiarists of late, each posting more than one sample. As far as I could see, it was not actually their intention to pass off the writing of others as their own. The intention was clearly to make a nuisance of themselves using a form of gratuitous spamming based on text copied and pasted from other sites.

It's best to keep warnings a little bit toned down.

Still, all credit to roddefig for having a go at posting a suitable warning topic. Just edit it a little to make it less inflammatory.

Rank: ? (263)
Member #: 161

Well I wasn't offended, not even slightly, it's clear that he is talking to past and future Plagiarists, but nobody else.

Rank: ? (1121)
Member #: 1689

I modified it and cut it down a little, made it more to the point, and less "insulting" as everyone was saying it was.

Rank: ? (4540)
Member #: 51

 roddefig

Thanks, mate. Good job.

Rank: ? (432)
Member #: 36

I agree with Gerry, this post was not insulting to me, but i do think it should not be in the forums.

Yes, it may direct more attention with the big red dot, but couldnt there be a seperate page with a list of rules? Or when the user signs up, (or posts their first forum post) couldnt there be a list of rules?

I agree that plagarism is horrible and should be stopped, but we have only had one event in which a (sorry, but i'm going to describe him with the word "stupid" or "not-so-smart" person copied some intructions on how to use IE6.
That was totally out of line, but unless we get atleast 2 or these occurences, i dont think this thread is necessary.

Rank: ? (1121)
Member #: 1689

Hmm, yes, usually there is a list of forum guidelines, don't remember if there is here, but most people don't read them (I don't). Maybe we could have a news posting about it but this is somewhat more permanent.

Rank: ? (432)
Member #: 36

Yeah i personally dont read them myself, but its always a good idea to have it around.
Very few people would read them, but i think a full forum post stating all the rules would be much better than seperate issues, although i must admit that Plagarism would probably be an exeption.

Just an idea, but i think there should be a forum rules post thats a sticky. Something that states all the rules including banning spamming, plagarism, rudeness, and general rules that everbody should follow.
The community is getting big, not all of them will turn out friendly in the end Hopefully we get a fair share of friendly people, as we do right now in the forums.

Rank: ? (138)
Member #: 3985

Well, Patriot, a sticky post/thread at the top of a forum (or at the top of every forum) would be a good way to ensure that you couldn't miss the rules - especially because that little button image is red...

You'd have to take into account the fact that people would often get sucked into clicking on it to find if there are new posts, and would get frustrated by its existance, as well as the fact that there's a red blob at the top of everything on the forums. It's a very realistic solution, though.

I like roddefig's sticky thread (this thread; I think you're reading it...) - everyone will see it, I'm sure, but after a while I bet that by human nature it will be forgotten and after some time very few people will notice it's actually there.

Rank: ? (138)
Member #: 3985

[rant]

I'm pretty lucky to go to the school I do - Knox, but there are a few things in it which annoy me:

- Knox doesn't have an anti-plagiarism policy. (Excepting the HSC)
If a student cheats in an assessment task by directly copying reference material from the web without putting it in quotes or listing it in the bibliography, it is fairly obvious. The student would appear to be expressing himself with a different (typically, more advanced) tone, if it were written by an adult. You'd expect that, right?

In most cases, the teachers think such things like "Those good little boys wouldn't do that", or take the attitude; "Why should I bother to do a google search for that sentence; what's in it for me?. This attitude is what lets so many kids give in work which may be 80-90% someone elses, with a little bit of manipulation to make it fit in with the question asked.

- Knox fails to discipline those who plagiarise.
Every now and then, a teacher will come across a student who is plagiarising, and realise what is happening. Unfortunately for the rest of the yeargroup, the student will not get a "zero mark" as should happen according to the rest of the state schools: he will probably get a slap on the wrist in the form of a detention, if he's unlucky.

Quite often I have seen students get 'special awards' for work which is clearly not their own. This really nerks me, and it's something which I can't easily do something about.

I don't know why I posted that... but it was worth it for something!

[/rant]

Rank: ? (771)
Member #: 5727

 StrataFortress


You only need to see it once. After someone has read it once, it doesn't matter if you forget it's there as long as you remeber not to copy stuff.

Rank: ? (115)
Member #: 4296

Hmmm....
If I were you, I'd keep an eye on your school computers. If the teachers fail to do anything about the plagarism, a student might.... about the teachers.

There was a case where a student decided to teach a lesson to the faculty and posted bathroom photos of all the teachers who did nothing. It was embarrassing to the faculty and the school IT department.

Rank: ? (4540)
Member #: 51

I'm finding it annoying that the red button doesn't change colour when someone new replies to the thread. It is meant to change colour but Terminal hasn't made that last little graphic yet.

*prodding Terminal to get on with it*

Rank: ? (771)
Member #: 5727

Maybe yellow for slow down becuase this is a sticky to go with red's stop and read now, green's go here because there's something new and blue's ignore me becuase you've seen me before.

Rank: ? (432)
Member #: 36

Arizona, i was thinking the same thing.

 Arizona


This is the first sticky topic i've seen, so i guess the issue is only coming up now.

Heres some versions of the same button (same size, exact shape, but with different colors) that i made for f2c:

Light Blue Bubble
Orange Bubble
Purple Bubble

I could probably make some more if you want, but those are all i have for now

I dont take any responsibility for making those dots, their property of f2c, i just changed the color a smidge.

Rank: ? (4540)
Member #: 51

It's kind of you to make those.

BTW, they don't load from those links. I think geocities doesn't accept to show just gifs.