On plagiarism ...and friendship
So the last post - the take-off the NPR column - has caused a bit of a stir. Twice.
The first was when Hart Hanson linked to it, the second was when I found it had been posted on a Tumblr page with no acknowledgment at all as to source.
You know, I've actually been plagiarized before. A grad school prof took a paper I wrote and turned it into a class handout. (Same outline, same quotes, same syntax/phrasing.) Maybe it's just the person I was then, but I was cool with it. I took it as a huge compliment.
This, not so much.
Part of it's because I've spent a lot of time the last several years interacting with people determined to be angry about Bones. I used to think that if they had a chance to vent/discuss what they were angry about, they'd get to the point of being able to enjoy the show. (Yeah, I know. Naive in the extreme. I'm over it.)
I've finally accepted that there are people who are so screwed up that spending hours every week hating a TV show makes sense to them. (Then again, maybe there are worse things to hate? Your kids, your neighbors...?)
In any respect, as I read the NPR article, I thought of comments I've seen over and over - sometimes in posts at TV sites, sometimes at LJ or our forum - and the idea of organizing them in a similar fashion wouldn't go away. I put it together in about 20 minutes on my lunch hour on Thursday (which probably tells you how familiar I am with those kinds of comments.)
And yeah, several people noted to me that many of them could be true of other shows, too, which is reassuring a bit, because I'm glad to know it's not just Bones fans that have a minority of the fandom who are clinically insane, but it's also puzzling. Because - really, why?
(Was there that level of hatred and insanity in the SG-1 fandom? I remember a few stalkers, and I know a lot of people who didn't like some of the writers/producers - but I don't recall the level of hate we're seeing now, toward Bones, toward Torchwood...? Or is that just me?)
For example - The Finder is the spin-off from Bones that's going to air in Bones' slot while the show is on hiatus due to the lead's maternity leave. Every decision Fox has made in respect to it has been a business decision, including where to schedule it. I know Bones fans who are looking forward to it, and (sane) fans who've said, 'not my cup of tea,' and others who've shrugged and said they'll give it a try. And that's great. That's how TV works: I have a remote and I know how to use it.
But then we have the not-quite-stable who keep going off on rants about Hart forcing it down their throats, expecting them to watch, etc., etc. Last week, there was a call to boycott it to make a point to Fox. WTF? I mean, really? There's no gun being held to your head here. Watch it, don't watch it, whatever. But quit acting like you don't have a choice in the matter.
The only point I can see being made to Fox is that some Bones fans are absolute morons.
(Was there that level of animosity about Atlantis? Or NCIS: LA? If so, I swear I don't remember it. I do remember anger towards SG:U but that was at least in response to creative decisions they were making in respect to female characters, not simply in response to the nerve of the network in doing a spin-off.)
Anyway, I posted my little take-off, to amuse both myself and others who see the same kind of insanity. And was gratified because yes, they enjoyed it. And as the day passed, others enjoyed it, including non-Bones fans who saw their own fandoms in the comments.
I got busy and missed Hart's tweet where he was amused by it, but my own feed erupted with people squealing for me, and that caught my attention. Last week has stressful in many ways, and it made my night. He's commented one other time on something I posted at the Bones Theory blog, but this ...it mattered more, somehow, that he'd seen it and appreciated it, because I want him to know that there are people watching the show who actually like it. Not every single thing he does - I wasn't wild about the last ep that aired - but that there are those enjoying what we're seeing. (Of course, one of the things that the naysayers refuse to acknowledge is that the ratings prove the same thing - the show's doing very, very well. But still.)
And that was that, until a friend asked today if I had a Tumblr account. No. Tumblr mostly confuses me, and I have enough to keep me busy without yet another site to follow.
Someone had posted the piece on Tumblr without referencing me in any way.
Apparently I care more about this piece of writing than I did that grad school paper, because this ticked me off in the extreme. Part of it, as I said, was because the post grew out of months of conversations with people who enjoy spreading misery (and in that sense, was a bit of revenge) and part of it was that I didn't want someone later to suggest that something Hart commented on and linked to was not my own work.
There was no date stamp on the Tumblr post, but word for word it was what I'd written - even the title was the same.
While I was still trying to figure out how to approach it, other friends stepped in. I know of at least two people, if not three, who sent her a message about it. Almost immediately she put a link to my LJ at the bottom (with a rather snarky 'happy?' in parentheses after it) and shortly after that, took it down entirely. I'd love to know exactly how many comments she got. LOL.
The irony is that I didn't mind it being posted somewhere else. I want people to read it. I just don't think putting my name on it is too much to ask for, even if not linking back here.
From what I can see, Tumblr is full of people posting things without bothering to reference the source - I know I've often seen quotes there and wondered where they came from. But in this case...the lesson of the day would be not to mess with me, because I've got good friends who will come after you.
But on another level, it's troubling in terms of people respecting the work of others. It makes me wonder how often things like fanfic stories are plagiarized, or other blog posts, and how many people think if they see something they like, they can simply claim it and no one will never know or care.
If that's the case, it bodes ill for our society.
The first was when Hart Hanson linked to it, the second was when I found it had been posted on a Tumblr page with no acknowledgment at all as to source.
You know, I've actually been plagiarized before. A grad school prof took a paper I wrote and turned it into a class handout. (Same outline, same quotes, same syntax/phrasing.) Maybe it's just the person I was then, but I was cool with it. I took it as a huge compliment.
This, not so much.
Part of it's because I've spent a lot of time the last several years interacting with people determined to be angry about Bones. I used to think that if they had a chance to vent/discuss what they were angry about, they'd get to the point of being able to enjoy the show. (Yeah, I know. Naive in the extreme. I'm over it.)
I've finally accepted that there are people who are so screwed up that spending hours every week hating a TV show makes sense to them. (Then again, maybe there are worse things to hate? Your kids, your neighbors...?)
In any respect, as I read the NPR article, I thought of comments I've seen over and over - sometimes in posts at TV sites, sometimes at LJ or our forum - and the idea of organizing them in a similar fashion wouldn't go away. I put it together in about 20 minutes on my lunch hour on Thursday (which probably tells you how familiar I am with those kinds of comments.)
And yeah, several people noted to me that many of them could be true of other shows, too, which is reassuring a bit, because I'm glad to know it's not just Bones fans that have a minority of the fandom who are clinically insane, but it's also puzzling. Because - really, why?
(Was there that level of hatred and insanity in the SG-1 fandom? I remember a few stalkers, and I know a lot of people who didn't like some of the writers/producers - but I don't recall the level of hate we're seeing now, toward Bones, toward Torchwood...? Or is that just me?)
For example - The Finder is the spin-off from Bones that's going to air in Bones' slot while the show is on hiatus due to the lead's maternity leave. Every decision Fox has made in respect to it has been a business decision, including where to schedule it. I know Bones fans who are looking forward to it, and (sane) fans who've said, 'not my cup of tea,' and others who've shrugged and said they'll give it a try. And that's great. That's how TV works: I have a remote and I know how to use it.
But then we have the not-quite-stable who keep going off on rants about Hart forcing it down their throats, expecting them to watch, etc., etc. Last week, there was a call to boycott it to make a point to Fox. WTF? I mean, really? There's no gun being held to your head here. Watch it, don't watch it, whatever. But quit acting like you don't have a choice in the matter.
The only point I can see being made to Fox is that some Bones fans are absolute morons.
(Was there that level of animosity about Atlantis? Or NCIS: LA? If so, I swear I don't remember it. I do remember anger towards SG:U but that was at least in response to creative decisions they were making in respect to female characters, not simply in response to the nerve of the network in doing a spin-off.)
Anyway, I posted my little take-off, to amuse both myself and others who see the same kind of insanity. And was gratified because yes, they enjoyed it. And as the day passed, others enjoyed it, including non-Bones fans who saw their own fandoms in the comments.
I got busy and missed Hart's tweet where he was amused by it, but my own feed erupted with people squealing for me, and that caught my attention. Last week has stressful in many ways, and it made my night. He's commented one other time on something I posted at the Bones Theory blog, but this ...it mattered more, somehow, that he'd seen it and appreciated it, because I want him to know that there are people watching the show who actually like it. Not every single thing he does - I wasn't wild about the last ep that aired - but that there are those enjoying what we're seeing. (Of course, one of the things that the naysayers refuse to acknowledge is that the ratings prove the same thing - the show's doing very, very well. But still.)
And that was that, until a friend asked today if I had a Tumblr account. No. Tumblr mostly confuses me, and I have enough to keep me busy without yet another site to follow.
Someone had posted the piece on Tumblr without referencing me in any way.
Apparently I care more about this piece of writing than I did that grad school paper, because this ticked me off in the extreme. Part of it, as I said, was because the post grew out of months of conversations with people who enjoy spreading misery (and in that sense, was a bit of revenge) and part of it was that I didn't want someone later to suggest that something Hart commented on and linked to was not my own work.
There was no date stamp on the Tumblr post, but word for word it was what I'd written - even the title was the same.
While I was still trying to figure out how to approach it, other friends stepped in. I know of at least two people, if not three, who sent her a message about it. Almost immediately she put a link to my LJ at the bottom (with a rather snarky 'happy?' in parentheses after it) and shortly after that, took it down entirely. I'd love to know exactly how many comments she got. LOL.
The irony is that I didn't mind it being posted somewhere else. I want people to read it. I just don't think putting my name on it is too much to ask for, even if not linking back here.
From what I can see, Tumblr is full of people posting things without bothering to reference the source - I know I've often seen quotes there and wondered where they came from. But in this case...the lesson of the day would be not to mess with me, because I've got good friends who will come after you.
But on another level, it's troubling in terms of people respecting the work of others. It makes me wonder how often things like fanfic stories are plagiarized, or other blog posts, and how many people think if they see something they like, they can simply claim it and no one will never know or care.
If that's the case, it bodes ill for our society.