Plagiarism Sucks Big Time

Have you ever had one of your works plagiarized? I am unfortunate enough to say YES to this question. Online writing allows me to express myself, share ideas and more important converse people across the globe about numerous topics. Let’s not forget the pleasure of earning from writing online! However, it really sucks when I see my work posted on other people’s pages. Worse, they take credit for the work that I did. Now, that really sucks.

So far, there are around 21 hubs that I know if that has been plagiarized. And thanks to Hubpages Copied Hubs feature I get to see the webpages were my work is illegally copied and posted. This allows me to know which hubs are copied, when it was discovered by the system, website where the infringed work is located and most important the capability to file a DMCA. For this spectacular feature, I cannot thank Hubpages enough.

Checking your copied hubs

1. Go to My Accounts
2. Under Hubs tab, click “Statistics”, copied hubs have a red copyright symbol at the end of the title.
3. For more details you can click the “Copied hubs’ link under the Hubs Tab

I have seen a decline in my statistics because of these plagiarisms. And it is hurting my ego and my wallet. I have noticed a decline in my Hub Score as well as a decline in my page views.

Getting your work stolen is not nice. Obviously that is an understatement of the century. But suffice to say, we don’t want our work plagiarized. There are several steps you can take so that you can protect your work.

First, it is prudent to place a copyright on your work. Moreover, a notice that signifies ownership helps deter plagiarism.

Second, visit your hub statistics often so you can check on your hubs.

Third, Use a plagiarism checker. This allows you to randomly check your work if it is copied elsewhere on the net.

Fourth, don’t be afraid to file a DMCA takedown notice. Hubpages provides assistance should you find one or more of your hubs copied. I have filed several in the past.

Of course these steps do not guarantee that your hubs will not be illegally copied. But these steps are a good start. As soon as we acquire the habit of keeping our work safe, we can sleep easier at night.

It is one thing to protect our own work. But we should not stop here. I encourage everyone in this community to help fight plagiarism. There are several ways we can help our fellow hubbers fight this theft.

1. Report any violations should you encounter one
2. Inform the Hub Author if you think a hub is copied
3. Read more hubs so you can be familiar with the work of other authors
4. Be a good example to others
5. Be a responsible hubber

It is annoying to find your work copied by some lazy crook. If you feel this way, I bet, others would feel something similar – if not worse. So let’s help each other keep the sanity of hubbers all around the world. After all, we are a family here.

I have seen my work in numerous places on the net and it irks me to know that there are people who are too lazy to write on their own. What is surprising is that some are supposedly experts in their fields, companies and even on research papers. My friends this is theft and I will not condone such acts – especially if it is my work. Id o not claim to be an excellent author. But I work hard for every word that I put in here. So I imagine you have an idea how horrible I felt when I saw my work copied.

We have the ability to stop plagiarism. More importantly we have the right to protect ourselves from theft. For the lack of more inspiring words, let me put is simply: Plagiarism Sucks!

I hope we can start in our own backyard and soon help spread our conviction to stop plagiarism all over the online world. I truth is I have other accounts from other sites where my work is also copied. I am just one person trying to fight plagiarism. I hope you can join me in this fight.

Just never forget that Plagiarism Sucks.