Let's Talk About Plagiarism

[nicefinalbeam]

Hello arashirabu members! Apologies for two mod posts back to back, but I wanted to highlight an important issue with the community.

Every now and then we get a request on our master request post for fics written by tsunderellasays, who was active in fandom for some time before deleting their journal and disappearing. What most people do not seem to know is

Comments

[akhikaru]

Thank you so much for making this post!

I was actually considering to write something inspired on a book I read... I wasn't sure if that was plagiarism or not :S Thanks for the clarification!

[nicefinalbeam]

Oh good! I'm glad this could help. Writing a fic inspired by a book is perfectly fine, so long as you don't make the fic a copy of the book with Arashi names inserted. Just play around with the plot a little, make up your own dialogue, have some fun and flex that imagination! :D

[rainbow_teatime]

Absolutely deplorable.  How exactly is copying off another person's work "writing"?

I can't understand such behaviour. The benefits of doing so are so mediocre- probably nothing more than bragging rights and some attention- so why do this?

I wish such people would consider the amount of work we've put in for our stories.  We write out of a genuine passion for the craft and love for the fandom. To do stuff like this is downright disrespecful.

[nicefinalbeam]

I think that some people search for attention in fandom because they feel alone. I don't want to point fingers at people who are looking for acceptance, I just want them to know that plagiarism isn't the way to go about it. Being more honest with the things you share will return better results - at least in the long run! :D

[antimiya88]

Thank you so much for pointing out! It's reallly sad to see that are people who are willing to steal others' hard work and claim it as theirs... I know that's the case unfortunately when it comes to uni papers etc but fanfiction?! We're writing and reading for fun... I just don't get these people...
I've been recently posting some of my fics and at first I kinda got scared about my on-going Ohmiya drabble series but then I read your post more carefully and I guess I'm safe...
Hopefully with this, it won't be repeated inn the future!

[nicefinalbeam]

You are probably safe, yeah :D If you are ever unsure, just ask me before you post to the comm and we can look through together. Immediate banning is really more for people who steal directly from other fanfic authors - so! ♥

[antimiya88]

I got scared because it is based on a movie (which is obvious even from the title - I have stated anyway) but I just got the basic idea... the whole "plot" is mine... so yeah I believe I'm safe! :D
You're very kind!!! If I ever have a doubt I will contact you! Thank you very much for your hard work! <3

[wendyjoly]

I remember a very good historical Sakumoto but after one or two chapters the writer happened to be a plagiarist and she purged her LJ. She didn't change anything but the names

[nicefinalbeam]

Exactly. With fandoms based on a source material like books or television shows, it's easier to see why people put disclaimers and there are references back to the work without it being a 'punishable' plagiarism so to speak. Fanfiction exists basically because something else does - so it's all a little fuzzy. With our fandom I think in some ways it can be even trickier. But stealing from another fanfiction author is blatant, so that I would warn against above all.

I admit I am just as much as part of the problem when it comes to commenting. I read a lot more than I comment. I've been thinking lately about how I might be able to help improve that as a mod of a fiction comm, I just haven't come up with anything yet. It's hard to say "If you leave the most comments, we'll give you a prize" because then people might leave comments with just a heart mark or something and not actually read :(

So I guess starting by example would be good. I need to comment more *nod*

[wendyjoly]

I have a very simple principle in that matter ^-^ if I read and I like I leave a com, I'm not that picky I'm pretty easy to please. The hard part is when I don't like what I read and it can be for a lot of reasons. Being part of this fandom since 6-7 years, I read a lot of fics and I tend now to be less seduced by some plots I read too much. But I can like the way it's written of course...
Anyway I refuse to leave a negative comment. Because the author surely did its best and if it's not my cup of tea it is probably someone else's. A negative com would depress the writer (in the worst case they stop writing )and it's not my goal.
But you're totally right, we can't force people to leave a com and I don't want to friendlock my fics because even if they are not commenting, knowing the same ghost readers are reading my stories again and again is enough to make me happy.

[sky_fish7]

*waves* Sorry for intruding. Just wanted to drop, that I have a pretty similar way of dealing with comments too. I leave comments on stories that I enjoyed or think that were good and I always try to point out the things I liked most so that the writer knows what exactly I enjoyed. I think, such comments are encouraging and that's the purpose why we're leaving comments, right? To express that we liked something and to encourage and thank the writer for putting an effort into creating something that we could enjoy. For stories that I don't like, I don't leave comments usually because I don't want to discourage people. Like you said, if it's not my cup of tea, maybe it's someone else's

[gambitsfox]

Ok, before I get everybody upset with what I'm going to say let me say this.....I LOVE fanfiction...and I understand the concept of plagiarism. I have been reading fanfics since the early 80's (oh the hard to get fanzines). Been in and written (poorly) in several different fan groups. Plagiarism has been with us from the very beginning and it will always be around. What I find ironic is that fanfiction in itself is plagiarism. Plain and simple. We take and read ideas taken from real or characters created by others. Yes, I count Arashi as being created by Johnnys Entertainment. We do not get permission to use their ideas. I'm not saying plagiarism in the fanfic world is right.....far from it. When you work hard to build your own universe....now that should not be taken from you. Your original characters should not be taken from you. But if five people write a story with the same characters stuck in an elevator......odds are your gonna get similar dialog. Frankly, have you ever read a harloquin romance? They all sound the same. Ok

[nicefinalbeam]

I actually entirely agree with you. If you look at what I said in the entry above, I told people that fanfiction would not exist without the original source - the thing you are a fan of in the first place. I also told people that it's okay to write similar concepts as other authors:

In a fandom like ours, two or more people might want to write about Ohmiya in Hawaii or Aiba and Sho on their HnA date in Chiba. That's not plagiarism.

I also agreed with a commenter above that, for example, doing a version of a story is not plagiarism either. People adapt fairytales all the time, and Romeo & Juliet - for example - was made into West Side Story.

The only thing I'm asking people not to do is copy directly from anything. Doing basically the plot of Star Wars is fine - stealing every line from Star Wars is not. There has to be something of your own in a story to be posted to this community, that's all I ask.

Recently a user came to me with concern about an adaptation. The problem with their fic in particular was using exact dialogue from