unbe-fucking-lieveable

[sophia_helix]

As the subject header states... unbe-fucking-lieveable.

The Harry Potter fandom really IS full of plagiarists.

Witness Broom Closet, by Cadey, as compared with Gwendolyn's Crawl Space, from X-Files.

Comments

[nmalfoy]

Which story was posted first?

[sophia_helix]

Sorry, I've searched and searched and I can't find a posting date for the HP story. Since the XF one was posted February 1999, prior even to "GoF", my best guess is that it was the first story.

Still doesn't rule out Cadey being Gwendolyn, in which case, hey, no big deal. *g*

.m

[vatrixsta]

Duuuuuuuuude. Fandom so crazy. narida and I are following up on this, as we're in the HP fandom and can navigate better.

*dons investigative reporter glasses*

All we want is the truth. And a pony.

[sophia_helix]

Yes! If you can figure it out, I would love you. Go investigative Trix, go! *g*

.m

[sarea_okelani]

Hey -- it's Narida. Just wanted to let you know that I've emailed Cadey, so she should be stopping by.

Narida/Sarea

[noelleleithe]

E-mail Gwendolyn. She's the one who it appears was hacked, and she deserves to know about it. If she's also "Cadey," then she can tell you that.

[cadey]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/ladycadey/33620.html#cutid1

I'm not Gwendolyn, but I did email her, apologizing for the unintentional plagarism and I'm taking down the story. I honestly only meant to draw inspiration from the fic, not actual lines. But hers came first, so mine goes down.

embarassed!Cadey

[sophia_helix]

To be honest, I really *liked* the story, in part because it reminded me of the older one, and it was only when a few lines struck me that I got worried. I didn't see how it could be anything but coincidental, given the sparseness of the similarities, and I'm glad you at least didn't mean to borrow actual phrases.

Sorry you're having trouble getting a hold of Gwendolyn. I would recommend e-mailing her friend Dasha (dashak@visi.com) to see if she knows what she's up to these days.

.m

[cofax7]

I'm going to sound really skeptical here.

How do you use the exact same language in multiple places in a story without doing it on purpose? Without knowing you're doing it?

I have to be looking at another story, or have read it frequently and recently, to quote it verbatim. And if the other story were that fresh in my mind, by god I'd check to make sure I wasn't duplicating anything more than the premise. AND I would disclaim in the headers that I got the idea from this other story, isn't it great and everyone should read it.

For me it's in some ways worse than failing to cite a fact in a research paper. My fiction is me. When I post it, I'm saying "I wrote this." I'm claiming the words for myself, asserting they are a product of my own imagination. If I use someone else's words, I damned well know I'm doing so.

Just... think about these things, yes? I don't know what Gwendolyn might think, but I sure as hell know what my response would have been.

[lissannej]

I am a good friend of Cadey's and I can assure you that any similarities were *not* intentional. I know when I've been writing my novel length, phrases and words have popped into my head that I've read before.

I can see the similarities, but she didn't use anything word for word, so it's not plagiarism. I'm not wanting to argue, just stepping in to defend my friend - as you have.

Peace to you all.

[hobviously]

Now, see, if you hadn't broken down and tagged, I would never have experienced the awed joy that is clicking on a "wank" tag and finding MsScribe defending a plagiarist in your journal. In THIRTY SECONDS.

See? See? Totally worth it. Hurrah for new tricks! :D

[sophia_helix]

Oh, man! You are totally right! I didn't even remember!

...wow. I feel like I should report this somewhere. Three years later, IT STILL PISSES ME OFF, and I can't believe how much I backpedaled when it was totally lies.

[hobviously]

Seriously, the world deserves to know. If not bad_penny, at least your flist. :>

[sophia_helix]

Hm. Who is the proper authority to report this to? I am unwise in the ways of wank.