I have been accused of plagiarism

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   Jean Bakulaposted 7 years ago

   I wrote a piece about Scorpio Sun Sign People about 6 years ago when I was new here. Most of my main niche is astrology, and instead of contacting me civilly to ask if there was a problem, my piece that was on Exemplore was just pulled from the site. I had just edited it tonight because it's a good piece and I didn't understand why it wasn't with the rest of my series on Sunsigns on Exemplore
   
   Much of my work has been stolen over the years, but I excel at Astrology and feel really upset and insulted that I was just accused of plagiarism, with a plagiarism page definition from Wikipedia.sent along. I have gone along with all the crazy changes over the years, this is my area of expertise, and unless it's a new moderator, I can't believe someone didn't just contact me and give me an example, or tell me why they thought it was plagiarized, it was just pulled, with no explanation or example of why? I have never plagiarized anything written in my life, it is I who get plagiarized, and we all know HP never went out of it's way to do anything to protect us as writers . Do you understand how it feels to be treated like that after writing on a site that keeps changing the rules and still keep writing as well as I always do? I just spent 3 hours tonight revising old hubs, and the administrators are familiar with my caliber of work. I told them I actually edited that piece this evening.
   
   How would you feel if you were treated like this? My average score on my remaining hubs is 88. I am shocked at how low this administration will go and am thinking of just deleting all my work. What would you do? I have responded to the "TEAM" but they usually ignore us anyway.

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      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      So sorry to hear this, Jean. I'm sure the HP team will sort it out for you. Just hang in there.

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         kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         @ Jean, I stand with you and will do whatever within my power to help you. Just remember that.
         And I agree with theraggededge on just hang tough and HP will take care of this.
         Here is you need me.

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            Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks Kenneth,
            I knew I could always count on you. It seems what happened is somebody stole that hub from me, and then waited a bit, and came back and said I was the one who plagiarized them. I was so upset because I didn't think it through. And attaching a wikipedia page with the meaning of plagiarism on it was extra mean. Most of the hubbers that started around the time you and I did know the kinds of things we write. I always read your hubs for a smile .
            
            The hub is back up, Christy and Luke, two moderators, took the time to fix it for me.
            
            Take care,
            Jean

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               kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               @ Jean Oops! Now I feel so stupid for I did not read the comment above. I have just posted a loving question of did you not read "my" comment of support.
               I apologize.
               When a good friend/follower is in trouble, "I" am in trouble.
               Love you.

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                  Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi Kenneth,
                  I have your back too. It doesn't seem so long ago we were new on here and trying to figure it all out together. Stay well, my friend.

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                     kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                     @ Jean . . .and you as well, my dear friend. I know what it is like to face a crises on HP and it is not fun.
                     If you need me, just inbox me.

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      Christy Kirwanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Jean,
      
      What kind of communication did you receive from us? Was it a duplicate content warning or a notice that a DMCA complaint had been filed?

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         Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Christy,
         It was not a DMCA. It was an accusation made by HUBPAGES.COM. They didn't give any warning, they took a piece that was on Exemplore, told me it was duplicated, and sent me a copy of what plagiarism means from Wikipedia. The piece was taken down by the time I read my email. I'm very angry. It has a different title now, but the original one stays with our hubs, as you know. I got another email from Luke saying it was fixed, and an error I have to look.

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      2. 88

         Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Christy,This is what I got on the hub after it was taken down with no warning
         
         A link to your Hub: http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy … nd-Serious
         
         Dear Jean Bakula,
         
         Your Hub's content has been detected as published on another site. Duplicate content is not allowed on HubPages, even if you wrote it or retain the copyright.
         
         Duplicate content can mean:
         * Text that appears on another site or in whole or large part on HubPages
         * Substantial similarity to another work, which includes close paraphrasing (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantial_similarity for more information)
         
         Your Hub has been unpublished. When you are finished editing it so it complies with our Terms of Use, please click the "Submit for Publication" button. We will then review your Hub and publish it if it is no longer in violation.
         
         Repeatedly attempting to publish duplicate content on HubPages will result in a permanent ban from HubPages. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with our Terms of Use and our Learning Center before publishing again:
         
         http://hubpages.com/help/user_agreement
         https://hubpageshelp.com/standards/Lear … d_22732309
         
         Sincerely,
         
         The HubPages Team
         
         
         Today I got this email:
         
         Hello,
         
         We apologize for this mistake. I have gone ahead and passed your hub through the quality assessment process and it should be featured soon. If it is not, or if you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know.
         
         Thanks,
         Luke
         Team HubPages
         
         But the first part suggests I am a regular plagiarist. It's very insulting tat it "may be featured soon." Most of the pieces in that Astrology series written in 2011 have been changed many and corrected as the rules changed, but it's as good as all the others on Exemplore. I just edited it again last night before I got the first message. It hurts to be judged this way by HP after being here for 6 years.
         
         OK, so I guess I understand based on what all of you are telling me. Thanks for writing back. Someone ELSE stole my piece, or parts of it, and then came back and said I took it from them? That has been happening for ages. I write DMCA's but rarely get results. Plus everyone in Astrology loves Scorpio, it's the most commonly stolen hub. I just don't have time to hunt these people down anymore. I am getting a lot of referrals for astrology charts and tarot readings from my own "landing site" and write two columns a month for a friend's blog. I'm getting too overwhelmed with all the writing now that I got what I wanted. I need carpal tunnel surgery on both hands and am in the midst of a break. That's why I was editing old hubs. Thanks again.

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            Christy Kirwanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Jean,
            
            So sorry for all the confusion and frustration. What happened was this: your article was stolen by someone else and our duplicate content algorithm mistakenly identified the stolen copy as the original and sent you this automated email. Then Moderator Luke corrected the issue as soon as you brought it to our attention. The first email was sent in error and nobody on HubPages staff believes or intended to imply that you are a plagiarist. Sorry again for this mixup!
            
            And as others have mentioned, you can indeed file a DMCA complaint against the people who have copied your articles and the stolen copies will likely be removed.

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               Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks Christy,
               After some help from friends here I figured out what happened after I thought about it. I know the administration here knows me for a long time and didn't think it was right. I just don't get who attached a wikipedia page about plagiarism. But it's OK, and thank you and Luke for looking into it so fast when I know how busy you are .

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  The email you got was a standard email from Hubpages which always includes that link.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   That's crazy, Jean.  I suspect what's happened is that Google has sent them a DMCA notice that has been raised by someone else.  HubPages is so anxious to keep in Google's good books, they will remove the article first before they start investigating.
   
   I know you are not guilty of plagiarism and I hope it will all be sorted out asap.

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      Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Ragged Edge and Marisa,
      It really hurts that after 6 years of writing here, they thought so little of me that they just took my hub off the site, without giving me a clue to where this duplication happened. They also know there would be no reason to plagiarise my own niche.
      
      Also, no matter what I write they move it to Exemplore. History has a category for Greek Myth. I have written about reincarnation, a major tenet of world religions.
      
      .I wrote a lot of fiction. They make it seem like I can only write about one thing.
      
      Normally it's a new moderator. But I spent 3hours updating hubs tonight, with carpal tunnel in both hands, and just feel like packing up and leaving.They only come by like scavengers when they can,t fill a niche. I'm finding the bounce in payout only lasts a few months.It was a rude way to handle it. When they do allow a hub to be moved to a niche, they are ridiculously picky when the hopper is still filled with terrible work in broken English. They don't appreciate the good people they have.
      
      I feel they owe me an apology I'll never get. Maybe it's not worth the aggravation anymore.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         No, don't leave - just take a break.  Your Hubs will go on earning even if you don't update them.  Let's hope someone from HubPages will drop by to explain what happened, otherwise send them an email.

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            Patty Inglish, MSposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Jean, I agree. Don't give up yet. This sounds like a horrible mistake that needs to be corrected.
            
            On another site, work of mine was stolen and the thief reported my work as plagiarism, but since my published date was 5 years before the thief's, it worked out in my favor. I wish you the best for a quick turnaround on this.

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   grampapaposted 7 years ago

   What are we going to do today brain? The same thing as we do everyday, Pinky, we're going to plagiarize the world!  ; )
   
   Carry on, then

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   Lady Loreleiposted 7 years ago

   I know I have fought a couple plagiarists by using the wayback machine to locate the original article. As it also shows the date this is a good way to prove that it is your work. It is a good tip to keep in mind for future use.

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   Scorpiowriterposted 7 years ago

   Anyone can upload to Wikipedia. Maybe someone saw your article and copied and pasted parts of it to Wikipedia. Is there a way to prove the dates, that your article was uploaded BEFORE someone posted that same text on Wikipedia?

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   MizBejabbersposted 7 years ago

   I had something similar to happen to me, Jean. I don't write that many hubs because of my "real" editing job doesn't give me time, but I do try to do the best job I can. Anyway, I went to the trouble to actually interview some folks and got their permission to use their photos for which I gave them credit in my hub. a day or so after I published, they published my hub on their website using my real name. They thought they were doing me a favor, which I understand. HP computers immediately caught the duplication and took my hub down. I was able to prove that my hub was published on day one and the other website's copy was published on day 3, so HP put my hub back up. The trouble was that it was down in the critical three-day period when people look up your hubs from their notifications. It did ok, but never as well as it would have had it not been taken down then. At least I got HP's attention and it is still up.
   
   Oh, HP didn't tell me where it happened, but I guessed where it had been published. I have not asked this company to take my article about them down because I may want to work for them someday for real money.
   
   I think once you get their attention, they will straighten it out for you. Good luck.

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   psycheskinnerposted 7 years ago

   If a formal take-down notice is sent the host is required to remove the work while working things out. So that response is not really a choice on their part.

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      Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks psychskinner,
      I didn't know they had to legally take it down. It's beginning to make sense now. It was odd because I was just fixing that hub last night to try to get it moved with some others.

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   Cher43posted 7 years ago

   Did you copy anything in your material and did not add the credit to who ever mentioned that information or where you found that material?

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      Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      No. I wrote it 6 years ago, I know a lot about the topic.

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         kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         @ Jean didn't you see my response? I will do whatever I can to be of help to you. In short, I've got your back!

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   WryLiltposted 7 years ago

   Jean, don't stress. This wasn't an insult aimed at you, personally.
   
   Many of the site's functions are automated or include sticking to specific legal requirements (such as Adsense rules or copyright rules). There are hundreds of new hubs, stolen hubs, low quality hubs, possibly even DMCAs assessed on a daily basis. As psycheskinner said, legally they have to remove the content while they investigate, when a DMCA is filed. If they're working through lots of hubs, there's even a chance the moderator who unpublished your hub didn't even look at your profile name, instead simply clicking the button to send the email and moved on to their hundreds of other reports.
   
   I just looked at the hub (which I think is this one: http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy … nd-Serious ) and it's live. Either the issue has been cleared up, or, as Christy said, it was a miscommunication and they were actually warning you that someone ELSE had copied your work and you should file a DMCA against that person.

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    Jewelsposted 7 years ago

    Jean, think of it in terms of what's actually going on astrologically.  Uranus/Mars conjunction opposite Jupiter - volatile times.  Put it down to your spiritual process.  Hold tight and feel the feelings.

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    Shyron E Shenkoposted 7 years ago

    Jean, maybe you could find the article by researching and find out who posted it as their work then file a complaint with Google.
    I just hope that HP will do something about this.
    If I can help let me know.

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       Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Jewels, thanks for coming out to defend me and in the way I can feel better! I'm getting a lot of trouble from the planets lately. I've been on political forums lately, and am vehemently anti Trump, I think the man is insane. I'm wondering if it is one of his followers who tried to hurt me. Who gets an attachment with a Wikipedia explanation of plagiarism? But it has been fixed, my hub is back up. Thanks for your kindness, always great to hear from you.
       
       Hi Shyron,
       Thanks for caring. HP has put the hub back up, Christy is always kind and a man named Luke (like m son) looked into it right away. Someone stole the hub from me, waited a short time, and tried to say I stole it from them. Anyone who knows me knows what topics I write about (although I do vary) and so once I wrote about it on the forum, it  came out into the open. It feels personal though, because of the wikipedia piece.
       
       Thanks to everyone who has supported me. I am having increasing trouble typing, and think I have to go to one of the voice activated programs. So I took off this week from my many other writing projects, so I could update my older hubs and then be done with it. The one that was said to be plagiarized was one I worked on last night. But HP has been very helpful. I was just upset by it.

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