I have seen plenty of well-informed intellectual debates on gaming forums, so I feel that when somebody decides to quote somebody else's work to back up an argument here, he/she should clearly acknowledge the fact that it is a quote. I have written several (low quality!) fanfic stories for a non-Civ game on another site, and I would feel pretty annoyed with someone who reproduced them and claimed that they were his work.
Plagiarism (?) in the World History Forum
- Thread starter 7ronin
- Start date
I disagree that the poster should be made public. Instead I would suggest you PM the poster with links to his/her posts and the source and question them about it. Give them the chance to explain themselves without publicly ridiculing them. Just my two cents.
7ronin
海軍少佐
Rest assured that I have no intentions of publicly humiliating anyone. I am reasonably assured (given this posts number of views) that our errant poster has seen this thread and will (hopefully) moderate his or her future behavior.
I notice that none of the "no" voters has commented. I would hope that the voting has not broken out along the lines of age with younger voters opting for "yes" and older voters for "no."
I notice that none of the "no" voters has commented. I would hope that the voting has not broken out along the lines of age with younger voters opting for "yes" and older voters for "no."
privatehudson
The Ultimate Badass
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2003
- Messages
- 4,821
I would suggest if that is the way you intend to approach it that if the person continues that you then do something a little more pro-active.
Louis XXIV
Le Roi Soleil
I voted undecided. On one hand, plagiarism is a serious concern. On the other hand, this isn't a place of serious academic study. We are all anonymous to a degree and won't be getting any aclaim (or, better grades, which was the reason anyone I know did it) for writing it. People should try to offer sources, but information is good to learn from, regardless of who it came from.
EdwardTking
Deity
It is only an issue if people claim that the plagiarised text is their own work.
Stolen Rutters
Deity
A well reasoned argument is much stronger if the person uses cited material well. Word for word without citing is a no-no, and actually weakens the person's argument. Plus it's just wrong. That is why I picked standards should apply.
I personally like Augustine, Descartes, Aquinas, and other people who actually wrote "the Works of today" seen through the view of their present, and compare these texts to later writers who have their own views of how the past once was, seen through the lens of their times. Our opinions are always going to be the opinions of someone who wasn't there, and our worldview will color everything we see, no matter how much empathy we bring to the problem of trying to imagine ourselves there and then.
Then again, it is really only a game forum...
I personally like Augustine, Descartes, Aquinas, and other people who actually wrote "the Works of today" seen through the view of their present, and compare these texts to later writers who have their own views of how the past once was, seen through the lens of their times. Our opinions are always going to be the opinions of someone who wasn't there, and our worldview will color everything we see, no matter how much empathy we bring to the problem of trying to imagine ourselves there and then.
Then again, it is really only a game forum...
EdwardTking said:
But if you post something, aren't you implicitly claiming that it's your own work unless you state otherwise? Simply by making this very post, I'm also making a sort of unspoken claim that I wrote it, apart from the passage which is clearly flagged as a quote. So to do what amounts to a copy-'n'-paste post without any indication that it differs from a normal post really is lying, in a sort of a way. Now it may be less serious than (say) doing it when writing a book, because it's only a game forum, but still, it's still a lie - it just might have fewer repercussions, that's all.
And let's keep it that way. It might just be a mere oversight - this being a gaming forum and so forth.7ronin said:
If in future anyone has any problems with this issue, pls report the posts, citing sources and let me handle it.
Tank_Guy#3
Lion of Lehistan
A person should try to indicate where they got the info from, but if they can't remember, they should at least have the decency to say so. They hit us real hard nowadays about plagiarism at school (college that is). I generally use that time to post on here while the person is talking about it, as it is about the billionth time I've heard it since my Freshman year of high school. I also like to include a link, to prove to you that I am right, and you are wrong.malclave said:
Tank_Guy#3
Lion of Lehistan
Indeed it would be. I'm starting to rethink all the stuff I've posted to check that it isn't blatantly plagiarised.privatehudson said:
Plagiarism is a bad thing, but now I have to worry about it in a place where I go for a little R'n'R?!?!? (That Report Bad Post thing Knight-Dragon said). My paranoia meter is starting to spike the more I think about it.
Isn't this a little more of an OT type thread?
Why not send a PM to the guy, and a PM to all the others saying they are not the target oft he thread, so Tank Guy doesn't have to worry?
Rambuchan
The Funky President
I find the relaxed writing and citing rules of CFC to be a real relief. However, integrity, honesty and respect for other posters' intelligence should not suffer in the process.
Voted "yes".
Voted "yes".
Leatherneck
Drive-by poster.
Well I agree with what most are saying, link to where you got the info in case someone wants to read more or at the very least give credit where credit is due. Don't cut and past you info and claim it as yours unless it is in fact yours then say so.
After all unless you were there and speak of personnal memory or discovery then most information about history is plagiarism in a sense after all you had to have read or heard it somewhere it's a little difficult to witness history prior to your birth. Regardless of how it is compiled in the end some one else said or did it first. (Akin to compiling mods you might put a number of them tagether to make one and tweak a few things, but some one else wrote the original give them credit.)
After all unless you were there and speak of personnal memory or discovery then most information about history is plagiarism in a sense after all you had to have read or heard it somewhere it's a little difficult to witness history prior to your birth. Regardless of how it is compiled in the end some one else said or did it first. (Akin to compiling mods you might put a number of them tagether to make one and tweak a few things, but some one else wrote the original give them credit.)
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