Plagiarism is a crime in most areas, and is a violation of TOS on this site. If plagiarism is found, it can result in the removal of the account as well as the post by the Admin. It can also result in possible criminal charges if the creator of the information chooses to seek them for copyright infringement.
Aside from being illegal, I think it is also very misunderstood as far as what constitutes plagiarism. By definition, plagiarism is "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." ( http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism )
Take note of the words "close imitation". This would be paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is "A restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words, often to clarify meaning." and/or "The restatement of texts in other words as a studying or teaching device." (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/paraphrase)
When we re-write another persons words to "sum" it up, we need to cite our sources. If we take even HALF of a sentence from something that we got from somewhere else, we need to cite it.
It doesn't make you less of a person to express that you got information from somewhere else. We all do. It's how we learn about the subject. However, when we use actual words, or partial words from a source, that source needs to be given credit for it.
Putting the book and author, or the url where you got your information is all it takes from turning a post that is against the rules, into a post that is legal and informative.
If anyone has questions as to what counts as plagiarism and what does not, please do not hesitate to ask here.
Re: Understanding Plagiarism By: Zea
Post # 2 Apr 04, 2011
Thank you for posting this, Rashnu.
Many people on the site lately have been having issues with this.
I stress that plagiarism can easily be found, especially on this site. There are patterns, and glitches that come up when something is copied and pasted, not to mention people tend to randomly have much better grammar and syntax...
SO, I suggest to all who think that if they are careful, and use a website that most people don't know about, will actually allow them to plagiarize material-- that it doesn't work, it will be found, and you will suffer the consequences.
Plagiarizing is a serious offense, as Rashnu expressed, it's not only against the law, but it's disgrace to your coven.
I mind you, there have been entire covens wiped for plagiarism.
