What is with fandom lately?

[dimity_blue]

After having my mind blown after reading about Wincon 2008, I wasn't expecting anything to happen in fandom for at least a few days. Maybe even a week or so. Nope, the next night, there's a huge plagiarism case involving the Sentinel and Starsky & Hutch fandoms.

Oh, but it's okay about that one - the 'author' has 'apologised':

I screwed up in a terrible way. And I need to apologize to everyone
 whose read, helped, and encouraged me over the past four years.


Several stories of mine contain sections that are far, far, FAR too close to other authors’
 stories.

Sometimes stories become intertwined in one’s mind. Sometimes one reads
 something and files it away subconsciously only to have it pop out
 later, its origin blurred. This wasn’t the case here. What I did was
 born of pure carelessness, stupidity, laziness and arrogance. I have no excuse.

I’ve given two of the authors my personal apology and will be writing the other one to tell her I am sorry as well. I also will be taking steps to make certain this never happens again. In the interest of taking full responsibility for my actions, I have written stories under the following pen names: Pepper Ckua and Micah Loden.

For those who have given me any award for my writing, please remove my name. Under the circumstances, it wouldn’t be right to leave my name on it.

I've emailed 852 Prospect and asked my fiction to be taken down. My stories have been deleted from the other archives and from Sentinel Thursday.

Again, I never meant to hurt anyone. I’m sorry.

Somehow, she manages to avoid using the word 'plagiarism' though. I would have thought an apology about plagiarising people's work would involve the word plagiarism, like "I'm sorry I plagiarised people's work". Maybe those are just my expectations though.

Comments

[karieflybabe.livejournal.com]

*Several stories of mine contain sections that are far, far, FAR too close to other authors’
 stories.*

Try this instead, Dear. "Several stories that I tried to pass of as mine are really other people's stories. I just lifted the best parts of their work and changed the names to protect myself."

*Sometimes stories become intertwined in one’s mind. Sometimes one reads
 something and files it away subconsciously only to have it pop out
 later, its origin blurred. This wasn’t the case here. What I did was
 born of pure carelessness, stupidity, laziness and arrogance. I have no excuse.*

Bullfuckingshit! This wasn't careless, it was deliberate. This wasn't stupidity, it was theft. This wasn't laziness, it was calculated. This was more than arrogant, it was malicious.

She not only manages to avoid the word, but she tries to pass herself off as the innocent victim of a talentless person.

I have less talent than her, or so I have surmised from what others have said about her earlier works, but even *I* would never steal from someone else to further my popularity.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

You would never steal because you have integrity.

This wasn't careless, it was deliberate. This wasn't stupidity, it was theft. This wasn't laziness, it was calculated. This was more than arrogant, it was malicious.

Too damned right. GAH! This pisses me off so much.

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

I get the feeling she was surprised to be found out - maybe she's been doing it so long that she thought she was immune to discovery? I will never ever understand this sort of behaviour - not only dishonest but deeply stupid too.

As far as her apology goes, it's pretty feeble and tacky. The only thing I give her half a point for is at least making some small effort to say sorry. She could have just rolled up her tent and vanished... but I'm so deeply baffled by this sort of behaviour I feel I'm making excuses for something I can't begin to understand. ::sighs:: Yeah, you're right - a proper considered apology, naming names and explaining if possible why she did it would have been the decent thing to do. As it is, she's left a raw wound and upset a lot of lovely people. So bloody unnecessary.

::hugs you hard::

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

I think she's trying to redeem herself in fandom with her 'apology'. Step One in rehab, as it were. The problem is, who can ever trust her again? Not only did she steal from fellow writers, she stole from someone who beta read her! Talk about untrustworthy!

There have been stories I've read where I've thought, "Wow, I wish I'd written that!" It wouldn't occur to me to take the story (or take paragraphs), slap my name on it and post it on the internet.

It's also sheer stupidity, IMO, as people move from fandom to fandom - and they remember what they've read! It's only a matter of time before someone reads a story and realises they read the same thing in X fandom by a different author.

A pox on them all!

::hugs Snail tightly::

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

I worry at things like this - I don't understand, wouldn't dream of doing it myself, so I worry at it like a sore tooth. *g*

I think she's trying to redeem herself in fandom with her 'apology'. Step One in rehab, as it were.

I was looking for reasons, especially for the half-baked apology, but I think you're right and it's as simple as that... she can't bear to walk away completely, at some point she's going to want back in, so she's laying the foundations for her 'rehabilitation'. And that's... no. Not that I think it's going to happen - she's ticked off too many people and caused extra hurt over the awards too. But I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't think she could get away with it. If she's morally lacking enough to do it in the first place, who knows?

And there I go, back to worrying at it *g* Thank goodness for all the great, noble, generous, funny people in our collective fandoms. They make this sort of crap worth wading through.

::hugs you long and hard, and throws in a quick snog for good measure::

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

If she's a BNF in the Starsky & Hutch fandom (I think Mab said she is) then that might be partly why. It takes a lot of work to become well known in a large fandom, and if you like the attention, you might not be willing to lose what you had or not be willing to put in the work to become well known again. Especially if you cheat along the way and steal other people's work. So, I think that's what's behind it. In her mind, she may think that all she has to do is play nice, play reptentant and sooner or later everyone will forget.

I don't think she can understand how big a betrayal this is. If she did, she wouldn't have done it in the first place.

So she can lay those foundations all she wants, but who the hell can trust her now??

Fortunately, most people either have too much sense or too much integrity to betray people like that. ::hugs tightly::

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

I think you've hit it on the head... she's pretty invested in the S&H fandom - I believe there's a huge resource-type web site that's her work. That would be pretty hard to walk away from, so yep, I'm guessing: be contrite, lie low for a bit, admit the bare minimum, tuck head between knees, and come out again in a few months looking slightly wounded with a good cover story, possibly involving mental health or the dog and homework... and I'm being a right old cowbag about this, which ain't helping *g* Somebody slap me!

::hugs::

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

and I'm being a right old cowbag about this, which ain't helping *g* Somebody slap me!

Heh, no slaps from me. I read this part of her apology:

For those who have given me any award for my writing, please remove my name. Under the circumstances, it wouldn’t be right to leave my name on it.

I've emailed 852 Prospect and asked my fiction to be taken down. My stories have been deleted from the other archives and from Sentinel Thursday.

And thought, "Do you honestly think you're in control here??" Like they weren't going to take down that fanfic/take back awards if she hadn't said to do so? Almost like she's graciously 'giving up' awards as there was no way the awards committee would dream of stripping her of those undeserved awards?

And this bit?

I also will be taking steps to make certain this never happens again.

WTF does that even mean?? It makes it sound like an unethical employee of hers did the dirty deed, and she's going to turn them off without a shilling. Does it mean she'll give away her PC and never be able to write another word? What? It comes off as more deferred responsibility. It'd be more straightforward to write that she'd never do it again.

I'm with you on the wounded look and cover story.

So...cowbag? ::sits down next to Snail:: Me too. And the good thing about being cows is that you recognise bullshit when you see it.

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

And the good thing about being cows is that you recognise bullshit when you see it.

LOL! This? One of the many reasons I do so love you *g*

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Hee! I made you laugh! ::gloats::

::snoggles tightly too::

[scherwood]

...

*is all she gets from me*

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

I don't blame you. Who can ever trust her now?

[scherwood]

Dunno... I just hope this doesn't get out of hand, and that she will face up to what she's done.

[amanuesis-tic79.livejournal.com]

Okay, I will add my six cents and then shut up and hopefully move on...

I think she's ice cold and calculating, because if she would really feel any remorse about what she did, she would delete the entries from her LJ and not friend lock it...I think her behavior is like a slap into the face of the injured party...just like someone singing na na na nana and shows you his tongue...I suspect that she will wait some time and then start over with "her" stories, again.
Like we all would have a short memory and forget what she did soon...

Well, that's my opinion of it...Now I'm depressed and needs some chocolate, again *sigh*

[scherwood]

*hugs you*

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

::passes over a box of chocolates:: I agree with you. Her 'apology' seemed to downplay what she did. In the Stop Plagiarism post and comments it's been noted that she's apologising to 3 authors...but they've already identified 4. And who knows how many it really is? That 3 going on 4 may be the tip of the iceberg.

And she can wait some time and start over...but fandom has a long, long memory.

::hugs::

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Looking at her apology again, I don't know if that's going to happen. Oh well, wait and see. :o\

[scherwood]

I just feel numb really...

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

::hugs::