The
Phenomenal Women Of The Web

Stop Internet Plagiarism

In this new and expanding world called the Internet, there are vast resources to behold. Women and men are putting forth tremendous effort and talent to forge a new frontier. Although the Internet is new, the same rules of the jungle apply. When a person creates an original graphic, or writes a piece of poetry and puts it on their site - they don't want it snatched and grabbed and used on another site. Without written permission from the original author/artist - it is stealing.

But what is internet plagiarism? Plagiarism in as it applies to anything is a form of stealing. It is when a person has a site on the WWW, willingly and knowingly uses, without permission from the original owner, graphics or written words —  regardless if they generate revenue from their website or not.

In this case, I am referring specifically to internet plagiarism - and also to specific topics. Since the majority of people in the private sector have relatively simple websites, the two topics below are the most commonly plagiarized - and are the sole focus here.

Graphics - a graphic created from scratch or *re-worked significantly (*taken from a ROYALTY FREE clipart package, and re-designed into something that looks substantially different than it's original form). This could include backgrounds, icons, dividers, WordArt, site logos, an award you give, your organization logo, etc. Read an incident from a very new, inexperienced webmaster and the trouble you can make for yourself if you act in haste.

Written word(s), poetry/writing - content, verses or lines of words. Examples of this might be - poetry or writing. (I maintain a huge poetry site - and on occasion, a writer on my site has been found to have plagiarized work).

If you suspect a website on the internet is using something you have created or written from scratch, The PWOTW urge you to investigate the website thoroughly. Write to the owner of the site with your concerns and be ready to prove that the work on the site is indeed yours! An example of proof is "work in progress."   For example - regarding graphics - when one creates a graphic, generally the work is saved many times in unfinished states of completion.)

Placing the seal on your site sends a very clear signal to those who surf with the expectation of "snatch and grab," techniques for building their sites - that YOU the ORIGINAL creator - will NOT be plagiarized. The Seal represents the "THIS HOUSE PROTECTED BY..." signs that you see outside of homes... telling thieves that the homeowners work hard for their belongs and have taken measures to safe guard them.

I receive hundreds of letter from people all over the world, asking for my help in a matter of stolen work. I hope this will help you. Below is a comprehensive list of internet and local resources to help you both protect yourself from plagiarism, and the tools necessary to legally combat it if push comes to shove.

• Avoiding Plagiarism - advice for using sources

• How to Lessen the Chances of Plagiarizing - from the Learning Skills Centre at the University of Northern British Columbia.

• Glatt Plagiarism Services - software for detecting and deterring plagiarism.

• Plagiarism and the Art of Skillful Citation - essay on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, especially in science writing.

• Statement on Plagiarism - "To put your name on a piece of work is to say that it is yours, that the praise or criticism due to it is due to you." From WFU.