Why do Steemians use “plagiarism”?
Do you know why?
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Plagiarism is a word that Steemians are all too familiar with.
We see posts from the Steemit team mentioning plagiarism. We see ”No plagiarism” in the rules of contests that we participate in daily. We see moderators using “avoid plagiarism” in their tips and verification and we see it as a clear mention from curators that "0% plagiarism" will be allowed. We also see it in posts from Steemians.
Yet, I’m seeing Steemians using plagiarism regularly. Call me inquisitive, I just had to find out why Steemians are doing it.
After reading so many posts I’ve concluded that there are three basic types of plagiarism on Steemit.
1. Deliberate plagiarism – Where the author is out to copy somebody else’s work
2. Accidental plagiarism – Where it is not the author's intention to copy somebody else’s work
3. Self-plagiarism – Where the author copies from his own previous posts
That brings me to the million STEEM question;
Why do Steemians use plagiarism?
1. They run out of ideas for their post |
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If you copy the work of others because you don’t know what to write about you are on the wrong platform. There is so much we can write about every day. I often tell Steemians that all they must do is look around them and use all their senses and they will quickly find something to write about. The laughter of their children, the smell of the cup of coffee next to them, or the beauty of nature.
Steemit introduced us to three wonderful initiatives;
• “The Diary Game”- If you don’t know what to write about on a specific day tell us about any day of your life.
• “Engagement challenges” - There are seven topics each week that you can choose from. A topic for each day.
• “Contests” – There are ample contests to participate in daily. Best of all, you don’t even have to look for them. Our friend @disconnect is so good at finding these contests for us.
List your ideas. If you make a list of possible posts that you can write about at the beginning of a week you will not run out of ideas. I can guarantee you that during the week that list will grow.
2. They are pressed for time to write a post |
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Time is a big culprit when it comes to plagiarism. Steemians get busy during the day and when it is already late in the evening they get all stressed out and take the easy way out. We all know by now that a good quality post not only takes time to write but also time to check and finish off.
It is when you are pressed for time that you make mistakes. You think you can get away with deliberately copying from someone else and changing a few words so that a plagiarism tool won’t pick it up, or you accidentally forget to paraphrase or reference the information that you have used.
Even worse, you commit self-plagiarism by copying some of your previous work and think you can get away with it. Yes, there are times that we might write about the same topic. If you have written 365 posts in one year the chances that you are going to duplicate content is there however it is writing about the same topic and not copying the post.
You have to plan and organize your posts, break down your posts, prioritize, and don’t leave writing your post to the last minute. I often start the layout of my post early in the morning and as I get a chance during the day I fill in the gaps just to check and finish it at night before bedtime.
3. They believe they must write a post every day |
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Guess what? You don’t have to write a post every day. If you think you “have to” or you “must” you are going to make mistakes and plagiarism is going to slip in.
It is often also when you have this belief that your post doesn’t qualify as a quality post and we all know that quality is key on Steemit. A post that is creative, informative, eye-catching, read easily, and that is trustworthy.
The best post is often written the day after you have taken a break.
Don’t exhaust yourself, take that break and reward yourself!
4. They may not know that it is wrong to copy from someone else |
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This can only be your excuse if you are a newbie on Steemit. It is Steemit’s first and greatest rule, NO plagiarism.
Plagiarism is also clearly explained in Achievement 3 - Content Etiquette by @cryptokannon
If you search Google to find the definition of plagiarism in a simple term you get the following answer;
“Plagiarism is presenting work or ideas from another source as your own, with or without consent of the original author, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement.” By the University of Oxford.
There are wonderful plagiarism tools for moderators and curators to use to pick up plagiarism content. One small mistake and they will know exactly where what and how. You might get away with it once but not the second time around.
There are consequences for breaking the rule of plagiarism on Steemit. You will be reported and you will damage your reputation which will harm your Steemit journey. Steemians will lose confidence in you.
For me it is an ethical issue;
• My work is my own!
• I am proud of my work!
There is nothing nicer than to do your research, write a quality post, and then to be rewarded for it by comments from your fellow Steemians.
Be proud of your work. If you carry pride in what you write you will not commit plagiarism. Lastly, make sure that you understand what plagiarism is to avoid sitting with a red face.
5. They don’t know what paraphrasing is |
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Believe it or not but Steemians don’t know paraphrasing. It is not copying an article, changing a few words, and then posting it.
No, it is rewriting of specific content from someone else.
This you have to do by;
• Not changing the original meaning
• Not removing specific information
• Rewriting the content in your own words
• Mentioning the source
Steemians are often guilty of paraphrasing a whole article. This I found mainly happens when they write about something that they are not familiar with, when something is academic, or when statistics are used. It is when they copy the full original article that mistakes slip in like keeping the content in the exact order.
The best is to rephrase or rewrite the content in your own words after you have done your research and to add your own meaning. Your content will now be;
This you can only get if you have read the article several times, taken notice of the key concepts, and compared the piece you have written with the original piece.
Another mistake I’ve seen is the use of quotation marks when paraphrasing is used. Quotation marks are used for quoting someone, for highlighting, when you want to support your statement, or when words in the paraphrasing stayed the same.
Only use part of an article in your post and when you do rewrite it starting from a different point than the original text. It is also important to change the sentence structure and use synonyms.
6. They lack the skills of citation (reference) |
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Citation is when you acknowledge the source in the text you are writing. In other words, you tell the reader that the piece is not your work but that of someone else. You give credit to the author. I hardly see Steemians doing this.
We are all often guilty of mentioning a fact but fail to mention where the fact comes from.
By citation of ideas, theories, words, facts, and even figures or stats you will make sure that your post past the plagiarism test.
There are also other advantages of citation;
• Through the use of citations, readers can search for more information
• Readers and especially moderators and curators can quickly get a clear indication that you did your research and found some great sources
Part of planning your post is to keep track of sources so that you can correctly cite the source.
7. They are just not honest |
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Steemians know it is wrong to copy work from someone else yet they just go ahead and do it anyway.
In closure, let me summarize and leave you with 10 tips that can help your posts to get past being marked as plagiarism.
Tips for keeping your posts plagiarism free
- Plan your post
- Make time for your post. There are no shortcuts for posting quality content
- Do your research and make the post your own
- Make sure that you always mention the correct sources
- Use direct quotes as it is the safest
- Rewrite the phrase in your own words and add your own thoughts
- Be careful when you copy and paste
- If you quote make sure you quote the exact words
- Use a plagiarism checker and check your post not once but twice
- Be true to yourself
A valuable suggestion from one of the readers, @aparajitoalamin - Write in your own language instead of trying to copy from another language.
I hope to read more posts on Steemit that don’t include deliberate plagiarism, not accidental plagiarism, and for sure not self-plagiarism.
“Plagiarism is one of the great academic sins. It has the power to destroy a scholar or writer and turn a lifetime's work to dust.” By Miranda Devine
*Note: As the system is currently experiencing image problems the images might display incorrectly.
I think the best thing is to publish posts on topics you already know and on activities you already do normally. I like drawing, so I take pictures and post my work on Steemit. So do photographers, those who love to cook, those who have pets, etc.
In this way the post is original and there is no need to go looking for the material to publish online. Maybe online I can look for something more for completeness, maybe a quote, but 90% of the post will always be original.
I think the problem arises when we try at all costs to write about little-known topics, for which research is needed. Then it becomes very difficult to write in your own words about a subject that you know little about.
This is not a Steemit problem but a problem that has been around for a long time. We try to write about trendy topics, with keywords and titles that can push the public to click, and also to meet the search engines that thus reward the content. This way of writing has spread so much that for some it is the only way to write a post. But the blog was born many years ago, before social media and the power of google, and was based on personal experiences.
If we write about the things we know how to do and the world we live in directly, not only do we create original content, but things are also easier because they are spontaneous and the time to create a post is much shorter.
We support quality posts anywhere and any tags.
Curated by : @steemdoctor1
Writing about what you know is calling it "safe". Best to be rather safe than sorry as the Englishman will say.
One reason I failed to mention why Steemians use plagiarism is that they want to copy other Steemians. In the process, they only harm themselves.
"Skoenmaker hou jou by jou leuse" as we would say in Afrikaans, my home language. Meaning, "Cobbler stick to your motto"
Thanks for the visit and the great comment! 🎕
Points 1 and 2 - I would not break it down. What does unintentional plagiarism mean? These are the excuses of a fraudster.
But self-plagiarism is an interesting topic.
Even the authors of books, articles in magazines, and newspapers often use the material they have already written earlier. Even in films, we can find references to previous films of the author and director.
For example, I showed a photo from my trip to an interesting place. After a while, I was going to write a big article about this place and used a previously published photo in my work. I can't call it plagiarism. This is my photo, I can use it in different places. For example, show it on social networks or some special photo pages on the Internet. And they will tell me on Steemit - you are a plagiarist. This is not very correct on the part of Steemit. This is a kind of restriction of my freedom. But I understand that there is such a rule and I have to agree with it. Or I need to leave.
Talking about self plagiarism, I agree with you, if I have a photo or an artwork I did it's mine and I can publish in more posts and platforms. The point is, when I enter a contest, for example, and the rules says "original content" I should use a new content following the rules. Also If I use the tag "steemexclusive" is intended for original and new content.
On the other hand I see many posts with the same content cross posted in some communities and sometimes they are curated with upvotes by the same moderator that post the rules "only original and new content" , so I think it is not fair to those who follow the rules. There are many communities where these rules are not enforced so everybody can post there.
Yes, you're right. If there is a requirement of the organizer of the contest that there should be new material and a new photo, then it should be new.
Another thing is, if I write a free post, without any contests, then I can use any material for these purposes.
Admittedly, moderators and curators often use the rules to their advantage. But this is familiar to me in real life. Curators are also just people.
CC @emmawalt
Hi, you two!
I left your comments unanswered as I wanted to see if any moderators or curators will jump on board. It was not the case.
My viewpoint;
Good luck!
hi @patjewell Thank you for your answer! Of course, I'm not referring to all the posts accross steemit, it would be impossible, and I also understand that curators are not detectives, nor would I want to have a police service that checks the posts :D
But if a person, posts several times over the course of a week the same photos turned around in 2 or 3 communities and sometimes in the same community (!) catch the eye. It is more difficult to discover a copied text, but the photos are too evident :D
As you said one day the developers could come up with something about it.
After all, not all communities are the same, in fact, some are more successful and attract more people, others less ... and this really depends on how they are managed and how moderators guide users.
I wander around once in a while, I like exploration, but then I come back to a small group of communities that I like and feel good in, including @Steemladies
In general, I personally have nothing to complain about the curation of my posts accross Steemit, I'm getting a lot of support, booming votes and sometimes I even win contests, so I'm happy about that! :D
Whoop whoop! It so nice that you mention Steem for Ladies. Thank you! I'm sure my friend @liasteem will also enjoy it.
Hopefully we can add you to our moderator training program in the near future. You will be the perfect candidate. (•ิ‿•ิ)
👍👍👍
This is a very educative post mod'm... I know that some of us also make unintentional plagiarism mistakes, "he said" caused by their ignorance of sourcing. However, I agree that original content is from those who write themselves with their own thoughts and creativity. and steemit is an original content-producing platform that we both have to maintain 👍
I agree 100% with you. I can often happen by mistake.
I've seen this happening mainly in posts from newbies.
All that we can do is to guide them.
I just love these words! How I wish for more Steemians to read it.
There is no greater pleasure than writing original content.
Thanks for the visit! 🎕
You are welcome mod'm... 🤗😘
I still waiting for your other next originally post...
and I really appreciate the original steemians...they should be appreciated no matter how small it is... 👍
As for the next post... it's coming! (•ิ‿•ิ)
Thank you for the visit, the engagement and the summary of my post. It is appreciated.
Of utmost importance to me is that pride. If you can pat yourself on the shoulder and say, "A job well done" you will feel so good and this you cannot do if you copy from someone else.
Keep on writing original work!
This is not only an educative post, I believe it serves as a warning to us all.
My work is my work and am proud of it!! So true..There is nothing good about plagiarism. Infact I think it's a clear sign of laziness because the user wants it fast and doesn't want to engage the brain.
Thank you so much.
Thanks for the visit and the engagement.
I think that most of the time plagiarism happens when the user has run out of time.
Time my friend is a terrible thing. It can put tremendous pressure on us.
Happy Easter! 🐰
You are so correct!
Happy Easter to you too
Thank you!
আপনার মূল্যবান লেখাটি পড়লাম। অনেক তথ্যবহুল এবং আমি আপনার সাথে সম্পূর্ন একমত। এচিভমেন্ট ৩ অনেক ব্যবহারকারী কেবল নিজেদের পদোন্নতীর জন্যে করে থাকে। বিশেষ করে যে সমস্ত দেশের ব্যবহারকারীদের মাঝে ইংরেজি জ্ঞান ও চর্চা কম তাদের মাঝে অন্যের লেখা কপি করার প্রবনতা বেশি থাকে যা আমি এই প্লাটফর্মে দেখেছি। অন্যের লেখা চুরি করে নিজের লেখার মান উন্নত করার চেয়ে নিজের ভাষায় লেখা উত্তম এই উন্নত প্রযুক্তির সময়ে।আপনার লেখাতে অনেক কিছুই সবসময় শেখার থাকে। আজ লেখা চুরি থেকে প্রকৃতভাবে বাচার উপায় ও নিজ দক্ষতায় কিভাবে ভালো লেখা যায় সেই কথাগুলো পড়ে উপকৃত হলাম।আপনি দীর্ঘজীবী হোন। আপনার কাছে অনেক অনেক কৃতজ্ঞতা ও শুভকামনা।
You have nailed it! Write in your own language!
A thought that did not cross my mind. Thank you for sharing this valuable view point with us.
In fact, I am going to edit my post and include your suggestion.
Thank you!
আপনার লেখনিতে আমার নাম মেনশন দেখে নিজেকে ধন্যমনে করছি। এবং আপনার কাছ থেকে অনেক কিছু শিখছি। সহজে গ্রহন করতে পারা ও বিনয় আপনার অনেক বড় গুন। ধন্যবাদ আপনাকে।
Thank you for your kind words.
Here is a few post that can help you with your Steemit journey.
https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/the-5-main-reasons-why-posts-goes-wrong
https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/make-your-comments-and-replies-count
https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/how-to-write-that-perfect-diary-post
https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/what-to-write-about-on-steemit
https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/what-you-need-to-know-about-tags-or-hashtags-on-steemit
আপনাকে কি বলে ধন্যবাদ জানাবো আমি আসলে ভাষা খুজে পাচ্ছি না।আমি যারপরনাই কৃতজ্ঞ আপনার প্রতি। আমি একজন ভালো ও উদার মনের মানুষ। আমার মতন নতুনদের প্রতি আপনার সহযোগীতার হাত বাড়িয়ে দেয়ার মানসিকতাকে আমি শ্রদ্ধা করি। আপনি দীর্ঘজীবী হোন।সব সময় সুস্থ ও সুন্দর থাকুন।
Thanks for sharing the inspiration, dear
Great post
🥰🥰🥰
Thanks my friend! 🎕
@patjewell
Mam sorry for disturb
I just want to know that is this community only for ladies?
You are not disturbing at all!
Yip Steem for Ladies is a community only for ladies but there are contests open for all Steemians.
https://steemit.com/hive-168072/@steemladies/booming-vote-week-9-from-27-03-to-02-04-2023
Good luck!
Thank you ☺️