Butterballs is a plagiarizing fucktard

[End Master]

Normally I don't care if a shitty story gets self ranked (or friend ranked) into the top twenty because usually survival of the fittest plays out anyway and even if it doesn't... oh well the fools have got to have their fun right?

However plagerism is another matter entirely.

And I'm not talking about someone making an unoriginal zombie story where it involves a group of people shooting said zeds in the head and boarding up their safe house until they all inevitably get their brains eaten. That's fine, everyone gets their inspiration from some where. You can even do something completely unoriginal and it still be entertaining.

No, I'm talking about this sort of shit right here.

http://www.infinite-story.com/story/room.php?id=98762

If that doesn't look familiar, well that's because you probably forgot I linked to it a long time ago.

http://www.jerking.com/

Direct line by line, word for word, flat out copying.

Now fortunately the plagiarist was already rated low by Playa who probably didn't know about the original and just thought it was a dumb story. So its not in the top ranks, but this would be one of those rare times that I'd urge a mass 1 rating just on general principle.

Be sure to make funny comments!

[Locke]

I don't remember the original link, but I trust you, and the writing style has a certain familiarity to it. Glad you kept working on that style of yours, though. If Threadkiller had claimed it, aside from the lack of spelling errors, I might've believed him

We ought to be able to get it removed, whenever Sev stops by again. In the meantime, I did rate it.

I have to say it's ironic that he posted it here, of all places and all the other stories he could've ripped off. It's a lot of effort to plagiarize a story like this, room by room, and I can't say I really understand it.

A quick search didn't turn up any other instances, although I was surprised by the popularity of the original story. Someone's link to it on another forum was deleted for "possible homophobia" on the site.

[End Master]

I have to say it's ironic that he posted it here, of all places and all the other stories he could've ripped off. It's a lot of effort to plagiarize a story like this, room by room, and I can't say I really understand it.

Yeah its not the first time its happened around here.

There was some guy who plagerized 3 stories from poopypeanutz who posted his CYOAs on his own website. We didn't even know until he popped up to rip the plagiarist a new one. His Yakuza Diaries story is still on here with the proper credit now and the plagiarist was banned.

I think some other idiot plagiarized some flash game or something. "Don't push the red button."

I remember before I actually signed up on here, I found Sev's Corporate Ladder story copied on another site. It got taken down though, I'm guessing Sev found out about it.

The funniest attempt was duke who tried to plagiarize Legend when it wasn't even finished yet. DEP, Chubby and Jeff found out and got on his ass about it in a thread before I even really knew he did anything.

Though he at least put in a little more effort by changing some names around and it came off more like a bad Italian B-Movie knock off rather than direct plagerism. He got SHAMED into taking it down though and soon quietly disappeared from the forums and the site in general.

Actually I didn't even get that offended by it since I knew damn well he'd never finish the thing anyway mainly because he'd have to wait around forever for ME to finish the original story which was still two years away at that time.

[Playa988]

Now fortunately the plagiarist was already rated low by Playa who probably didn't know about the original and just thought it was a dumb story.

I feel helpful now

What's the point of plagiarizing anyway? All you earn is bragging rights considering you don't get caught and even then you can't really even feel proud about that. It's just stupid every way you look at it.

I noticed he has another story. Does anyone know if that one is plagiarized as well?

[End Master]

I don't think that one is. It's just a crappy story he self rated.

[donteatpoop]

I have alerted severenz.

[Locke]

Butterballs responded earlier today on the comment section, giving himself two and a half stars.

In all fairness, he claims he gave credit in the description. I checked; it's sort of true (although it's hard to stumble across that now that the "description" isn't the first page you see); he admits it's "a copy of a CYOA on Jerking.com."

It's possible he just wanted to share the story, and didn't know the author was on-site and probably wouldn't approve. I'm not saying it should stay up or anything, but I might've scaled back my comment a little if I'd known.

[End Master]

Butterballs responded earlier today on the comment section, giving himself two and a half stars.

In all fairness, he claims he gave credit in the description. I checked; it's sort of true (although it's hard to stumble across that now that the "description" isn't the first page you see); he admits it's "a copy of a CYOA on Jerking.com."

It's possible he just wanted to share the story, and didn't know the author was on-site and probably wouldn't approve. I'm not saying it should stay up or anything, but I might've scaled back my comment a little if I'd known.

The author of the original popped up on this site? Did someone here tell him?

Anyway I saw BBs protests of innocence earlier, but really if he wanted to share it with everyone like he claims he could've just posted a damn link on the forums to it.

And maybe I missed it, but I don't even recall seeing his description giving credit to the story before and I had checked the stats page when I first found it. For all I know he added it later when he got busted. Like I said though, maybe I missed it.

It is sort of amusing he didn't give himself the highest rating to counteract the 1s though.

[Locke]

...so if you're not the original author - keeping the quality, and the social/commercial viability in mind - why does this bother you so much?

As an aside, the forums are more prominent on the main site than they have been in the past, but there's still no reason to expect someone - even if they're posting others' work, like Butterballs - to visit, or to talk about it here.

[End Master]

Well just because I'm an asshole 90% of the time I can't draw a line somewhere? We've had people on the forums bitching about getting a low rating and no comment or crappy stories rated highly. Let alone the unrelated writing drama that we've had on here. I'd say something like this is at least as important. (Meaning probably not at all in the scheme of things)

Its not so much that it bothers me, but rather that it is one of the few things around here that we probably shouldn't be tolerant of as a writing site after all. About the only other thing I can think of that might be comparable is someone writing a child porn story, and even Xnull got a pass on that a couple times.

I mean if it stays on here, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it obviously since I already said my piece about it on here and to butterball on his comments page. My intention was more to mock him for his actions than anything else. (Similar to what was done with the Facepunch crew) DEP said he reported him to Sev, so all of what could be done has been done, and I'm fine with it.

As for the original story, no I didn't write it. If I had I would've just posted it on here a long time ago. I can see where you might think I had, but even with my own reader insulting, vulgarity excessive stories, the storyline would've still been a bit more than just finding a place to jerk off, a lot more text as well.

Besides, if I had written it there would've been at least one ending in that story where the protagonist jerked off to a picture of a female family member which probably would've went something like this…

YOUR FUCKING FAMILY ALBUM



You HAVE TO JERK NOW and the ONLY SHITTY STIMULUS you can find is your OLD family album. You quickly turn to the page of your WHORE SISTER in her SLUTTY BIKINI when you were on a family vacation in GAY ASS FRANCE. You begin to FUCKING JERK THAT DICK to that HOT BITCH until YOU SHOOT your MASSIVE UNGODLY LOAD all over the page not only covering her picture with STICKY GOO but also a picture of yourself in your FAGGOT BATHING SUIT.

You are one SICK INCESTUOUS FUCK but you JERKED THAT FUCKING DICK like a GODDAMN ACE.

You win!

Or something like that anyway.

[Dragavan]

...so if you're not the original author - keeping the quality, and the social/commercial viability in mind - why does this bother you so much?

Why does someone have to have a horse in the race to upset about plagiarism? Copying someone else's work without their knowledge or permission (and especially if also without giving them clear credit at the least—really they should give a link-back to the original) is something anyone who cares about the integrity of any art piece should be upset about. It is a clear violation of the social contract (and also legally dubious at best).

I'm upset every time I hear about this happening (here or on other sites), but I don't always chime in when I feel that everything I could have said was said by another. No point in just adding a "me too" to a conversation, unless someone is making a poll.

Posting anything on line puts you at risk for thieves to take it and post it elsewhere, but it shouldn't be treated as if it's an okay thing to do just because it happens often enough. If you are someone who doesn't mind if people repost/copy your work without asking first, then publish it using the Creative Commons License that allows for it. But don't assume or even expect that everyone feels the same way about their work. I certainly don't.

[Vesnic]

a clear violation of the social contract (and also legally dubious at best).

I find it a little strange how suddenly people are very concerned about the social contract and legalities in the wake of almost universal apathy to the recent incident of harassment. I find that a bit baffling and also somewhat hurtful. I'm not here to pick a fight, however.

Merely to say that despite all the utterly untrue nonsense Chubby had to say about me, I am in fact doing quite well, and will be taking steps this summer to further my career.

So don't expect to see much of me. I wouldn't have bothered posting anything at all, except I'd rather not have any more of "Ves took her ball and went home" or "Ves committed internet suicide" so I'm doing the unthinkable and speaking for myself...I'm moving on.

Later, then.

[donteatpoop]

Ves, once again: The only thing I (and presumably everyone else) picked up from Chubby telling lies about you was that he "hurt you real bad."

The other thing I think you've been over looking is that no one took him seriously on most of the crap that comes from his mouth except for you. Apathy? Yes, because none of us believed him. Honestly, I wasn't aware that anything he said was serious until talking to him outside of the site. And even still, he has said nothing other than you're a nice girl and he hurt you. I've seen no details. So by all means, keep being pissed off about something that wasn't a big deal because NO ONE BELIEVED HIM.

Finally; none of us gave him your phone numbers. Things that happen off-site are exactly that: Off-site. And thus, none of our business.

[Vesnic]

It's got nothing to do with whether you or others believed him or not. It was the behavior itself that was objectionable and utterly inappropriate. It was a "big deal" in the sense that it made IS a really inhospitable place to be, and continued even after I made it clear that what was going on on the forums was completely non-consensual and constituted harassment. Harassment is not defined by how people react to it, but by the aggressive actions themselves. Even with IS's comparatively lenient view towards member self-expression, this nonetheless crossed the line. Isn't my right to exist peacefully as a regular here greater than someone else's right to systematically slander me? I felt very much alone in vying for myself.

I seem to remember a case in the past when someone else made an obnoxious pest of himself, but did not come anywhere close to the level of harassment and unequivocal threat that occurred here, yet he was thoroughly drummed out of town.

It's nice to see that people still care about things like plagiarism. I was really beginning to think anarchy had just taken over here entirely. However, as long as there is a forum in addition to a main site, then rules should be applied evenly and with appropriate immediacy. My complaint about illegal behavior on the forum should hold just as much weight as End's complaint about plagiarism on the main site. And no, this isn't just my "opinion". Chubby's recent behavior fell well within the bounds of harassment. Some people here might have found it funny or forgettable, but again, that's really not the point.

Writing is a creative endeavor and as such involves a degree of letting down one's guard in order to produce something authentic. I can't really be creative in a place where I don't feel that there's an underlying atmosphere of trust. By this I don't mean always getting along, I don't mean the absence of lively discussion or even the name-calling and general crudeness, but I do mean a certain baseline of maneuverability without fear of repercussion. The problem with harassment, even stupid false harassment like the kind dished up recently, is that it makes the recipient feel sort of mute, like nothing can be said or done without its being twisted out of shape. This is a bad feeling for a writer to have, whose most central interest involves self-expression.

[Hi! My name is: Katie]

Ves, I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better… but I completely understand that sometimes words are entirely inadequate and sometimes actions are too little, too late.

Plagiarism is so easy to understand. Stealing is wrong. It is wrong here, there, everywhere.

Harassment is wrong too. In this case, the harassment was not as obvious- it was insidious.

The malicious undertones behind Chubby’s comments must have been so obvious to you, but I didn’t see it at first.

To complicate things, we respect the right of individual members to maintain off-site relationships without having those relationships immediately become the proprietary fodder of the forum. Chubby implied that the two of you had some deeper relationship, and it was challenging trying to figure out what was going on when so many of the puzzle pieces seemed to be missing.

I like to make informed and independent decisions rather than snapping to judge someone. The time you spent hoping for someone to step in and help after you asked must have been pure torture.

You didn’t deserve the harassment. From the outside it only barely looked like unusual behavior. Chubby should have been groveling for your forgiveness… it made perfect sense to me. Why wouldn’t he try to get back in your good graces? You went above and beyond the call of duty to reach out and help him when he hit a rough patch. It seemed you cared for him a lot, and it seemed he cared for you too. If he had been mean to you, called you names, or threatened your life, I think you would have been surrounded by white knights. Instead he found a better way to push your buttons, and it didn’t hit anyone’s radar as being batshit crazy until you pointed it out.

And even when you pointed it out, there were unusual circumstances. Your messages and pleas for help probably ended up in Threadkiller’s hand when he hacked DEP’s account. DEP didn’t sign up to play ref, his position as MOD was originally only intended to be for clearing new members to use the forums. This was above his pay grade… and still, he took steps to protect the community; to protect you. He stepped in even though he was coming under attack more and more in increasingly personal ways. Even if no one responded as quickly as you would have liked, I don’t think it is safe to assume that you were ignored.
And I know even as I write this that none of it is enough. You still suffered harassment- you were victimized, and nothing any of us can say or do will change that it happened. I’ve tried to see it from your perspective, and I recognize how genuinely awful it must have been. Now, I hope you’ll try to see it from my perspective, from the perspective of the community. We didn’t know what was going on, sometimes we rough house with our words, but usually no one gets hurt. We don’t expect people to get hurt. I’m sorry you got hurt.

I really love this community. I love the sense of freedom here, and the possibility for anyone to say anything. Even when I don’t post, it is comforting knowing a place like this exists. I believe that all of the people here are inherently good people. The individuals in this community are all amazing in one way or another.
I’d prefer Ves remain a part of the community, aside from the comfort of having another vagina floating around, she’s genuinely one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. I understand, however, why she might choose to leave, and in the end, that’s just another one of the freedoms we all have here.