Edumacation Time (because apparently some people need it.) · 3:31pm Mar 27th, 2016
Righto.
Today class, we're going to learn about the difference between 'Copyright' and 'Plagiarism'.
First off, some definitions:
copyright
noun
1.
the exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material.
plagiarism
noun
the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.
Now class, notice the difference? Copyright is when a work is legally recognised, such as MLP belonging to Hasbro. Now, while MLP fanfiction is technically a breach of that copyright, Hasbro really don't care as long as they're not losing out on boatloads of money.
Plagiarism is a general word for copying the ideas of others and passing it off as your own. Sort of like how you passed that fiction-writing test in year 10/American grading system number by copying the Bible and writing your name on the front cover with a texta.
You can't be legally slammed for plagiarism (mostly), but writing sites like Fimfiction (a fine, upstanding site with brilliant coding and flawless functionality noticemeLordKnighty) have anti-plagiarism rules in place as, lets face it guys, plagiarising pony fanfiction of all things is pretty low.
Like, forty-year old manchild ScootalooxTyrek cloppers living in their mother's basement look down on plagiarisers. And boy, is that low.
So to sum up, while fanfiction isn't protected under legal copyright law, it is protected under FImfiction site rules (and what glorious rules they are indeed, my Liege. Notice me, Knighty!). So, if a fic contains plagiarised material and is taken down, then it means that the site mods deemed it to be unacceptable for the site. It in no way has any relation to copyright.
Why the lesson?
Well, recently a story that was taken down for plagiarising parts of my fics was reposted after a rewrite. Now, while I wouldn't actually read the fic for entertainment as I actually think it's pretty cringy, the author has learned their lesson and is actually taking the fic in a pretty unique direction.
So bravo.
However, we all know that every user on this site is a complete blight on humanity, so of course we get some entertaining weevils crawling out of the autism-laced lumber.
Fan fiction can't have copywrite as the stories them selves rip of characters and settings from legal owned material basically Hasbro if the felt like it can shout the site down. Also having read both yours and the better Crystal wolves this action was a load of horse apples
>Dat superior spelling and grammar, yo.
I may enjoy his stories, but making weak and selfish accusations like that is rather disheartening to see in a good writer. Especially when it ends up ruining an enjoyable story for you and the fans who took pleasure in your writing.
Sure his idea of "making a badass king of the Crystal Empire" was an idea that he proably started first. But you never stole his characters nor his story line. You just made up your own path and went with it. Just like a good writer should.
At least this guy can string together a legible sentence. Granted he completely missed the fact that numerous parts were directly copied and pasted, and that numerous characters were actually taken and renamed (except for Reflection, other author made his hate for her pretty obvious when he had her and a bunch of changelings magically tortured to death... lol), but he can at least get a sentence right.
If something happens to this because someone is a selfish moron who doesn't know when something is different from his own thing, i will be quite sngry at that person for ruining something good.
Sngry, that feeling when your so mad that you shit snags out of your nostrils.
i seriously dont like dropbear for that abd who cars if your fic is a little similar he should get over it and let other people have fun with your amazinzing fic and t be hones his crytal empire fics suck i ike this fic here far more
Not even going to touch this one.
who the hell is Dropbear and why is he so stupid? Copyright can no be used on any fan fiction on cross over as no fan fiction writer has copyright to any of the material the story is based on by law only bungee or Hasbro could claim copyright. Dropbear is dumb as fucking brick for thinking he can and the mods screwed up for supporting him. You can't copyright fan fiction.
who the hell is Dropbear
"Copyright can no be used on any fan fiction on cross over as no fan fiction writer has copyright to any of the material the story is based on by law only bungee or Hasbro could claim copyright. Dropbear is dumb as fucking brick for thinking he can and the mods screwed up for supporting him. You can't copyright fan fiction. "
mods had case of stupidity and mad him rewrite one f the best stories on site defiantly the best displaced story cause a another story had similar description of the Crystal palace.
Same guy. It's funny, he actually came onto a blog post of mine and, after unloading his upvotes and downvotes on a month-old blog, proceeded to lecture me on 'Copywright'.
Top kek.
So to sum up this entire blog:
1. If your going to call me a dick for 'taking down' a story you liked, at least get the terminology right. If not, I will call you a sperglord.
2. Shit be starting back up, yo. Much top lels incoming.
3. The governments around the world need to start explaining what 'Copyright' is, because people obviously don't get it.
4. Displaced is still cancer.
5. Don't downvote or troll the fic's page (for the shitstirring followers), the author (aside from a rather passive-aggressive explanation as to the re-write) isn't in the wrong.
6. 
7. Yes this blog is half-joke, half-firestarting. Deal with it.
And finally...
There is only one known cure for cancerous Displaced fan-boys:
Edit: Because people from both sides keep on demanding it:
Mine:
Nigel headed towards the city, and it was not long before he reached the start of a long road, no gates or walls barring his way. He advanced towards the citadel, his cold feet stinging as they propelled him along the cobbled path. The buildings around him at first looking like they were empty, however on closer inspection Nigel could see frightened eyes staring out at him through closed windows, shades and blinds covering those who dwelled within. The majority of the buildings seemed to be residential dwellings, with a few smattering of shops in a few places. The buildings possessed smaller doors than what he was used to, more and more evidence pointing to the possibility that whatever lived in this city was not human.
Knockoff:
Walking into the city I saw that the road is made of cobblestone but of the crystalline nature, it wasn't see-through like regular crystals but it has its hardness and durability so it is clearly capable of handling my weight without cracking or shattering. With each step I take down the center of the road I can see from the sides of my eyes the partially concealed gazes of the citizens that live here and I can smell their fear, without even needing to look in their direction I can hear the residents slam their windows and doors closed, seems like these people are skittish and afraid, I wonder if it is because of my appearance or some other foreign reason?
Looking at the buildings that reside within this town I saw that between every few homes are stores of some kind, each store had some picture of attachment to it to signify what it was which is a good thing because I have no idea what they could be without that assistance. Glancing at the buildings I saw that at first glance I thought this place was normal sized but as I walk up to some random home I realized that I was wrong about this place having normal homes, the doors and windows are all smaller than normal, clearly hinting that those living here are not human...that or they are just midgets.
Mine:
Nigel reached the base of the citadel, four long legs holding it off the ground, much like the Eiffel tower back on Terra. There were no guards or sentries to block his way as he entered via a door set into one of the tower legs, ascending the staircase he found within. He strolled through a lavish entrance hallway, the walls covered in black crystal, no sign of life present at all in the lonely rooms. He reached a large spiral staircase, the circular walkway leading upwards, towards the top of the castle. Nigel began to ascend, muttering to himself “Whoever built this should get around to inventing bloody elevators.”
Knockoff's:
By the time I reached the center of the city I stopped at the castle, it was being supported up off the ground by four struts and from what I can see each one has a set of large double doors. This castle is almost like the Eiffel Tower in France but made of crystal, looks a lot better than the Eiffel Tower and also there are no annoying tourists all over the place. There are no guards or sentinels outside or inside of the castle, it almost seems that this place is lifeless or deserted.
Mine:
King Sombra was having a good day. Having escaped from the banishment that was imposed on him by those wretched Equestrian Princesses, he had returned, his Empire of slaves returning with him. It had been easy regaining control of the empire, the citizens all fleeing from his presence, hiding in their pathetic excuses for homes. A few were not so lucky, however, a multitude of Crystal Ponies were chained up in his throne room, reminding him of the good old days. He glanced down at the six young mares chained to his throne, all of them huddled together as far as possible from him, another twenty ponies chained to the walls surrounding the room, black crystals locking their chains in place.
Knockoff's:
For King Sombra today has been a good day, the magic that has been holding him hostage within the deepest abyss of the Crystal Empire has been weakened to the point that he was able to escape, and with his return came his precious empire also. Once he left that abyss in the ground he stormed the castle and reclaimed it along with several of the citizens that lived there, reinstating his reign of terror.
Glancing down at his throne Sombra saw the several imprisoned ponies that he had captured and removed from their homes, all of them chained to where they are, unable to escape and unable to resist his advances on them.
Mine:
Sombra eyed one of the mares, his former personal servant by the name of Sparkling Scroll, the mare having functioned as an assistant back before his banishment. Sombra flashed a grin before levitating Sparkling up in his magic, the Mare beginning to thrash around, the chain attached to her neck clattering as she tried to escape. Sombra levitated her closer, stopping only when her face was right before his. Her eyes were clenched shut, tears streaming down her face before Sombra once again used his magic, forcing the mare’s eyelids open, revealing dull purple eyes. SLAM!
Sombra jolted back, his magic dissipating, the mare falling down, colliding with his armoured body before coming to rest at the foot of the throne, her head bleeding from a gash above her right eye.
Keep in mind the mention of the wound from Sombra dropping her.
Knockoff's:
One particular pony caught his eye, it was his old captain of the guard, one he thought he had exiled from his kingdom when he took power away from its original royal ponies. Igniting his horn with a dark and insidious glow, he removed the old guard from his chains and brought him up to his face, it has been several centuries since he last drained the life force of a pony to keep himself young and powerful.
As he brought the exiled pony to his face to be drained by connecting his horn to the old one's forehead he was interrupted when something opened the giant oak doors, the loud creaking noise coming from the unoiled hinges and with it came the appearance of an unknown being.
CREEEEEEEEEEEK
Jolting up from the sudden loud sound Sombra dropped the old stallion in his magical grasp, the old pony falling down on the black crystal stairs, cutting his forehead one a corner as blood started to seep down.
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, but it's already pretty clear that the mods who took down the story weren't just making stuff up. This shit is outright stolen.
Dropbear. You're the greatest.
im sure you are prepared for the pitchforks and torches right? XD
Your burn don't work :D
3830521
Yep. About the worst thing they have shown themselves capable of is veiled death threats.
I'm an Australian Shitposter (the most dangerous form of the Shitposter species).
They haven't got a chance.
3830525
The flames are low now, but they will grow into a glorious glow.
Soon.
Wanna know what happens metaphorically to stories that are plain copy-paste of other, better stories? the same thing as what people in video below experience: Being eaten alive.
On the other note: the horror of Crystal Wolves is back. So..... Death to all Displaced stories
Eh, even though I started writing 2 Displaced fics, Displaced stories got tiring really quick.
Lol
So all he would have had to do was give credit to you for the ideas or would he have still needed to get permission from you?
I don't mind displaced story as concept. It's typically awful writing and overuse of crossovers that annoys the shit out of me.
Related question: did you have any say in the deletion of the story in question? If yes, in what capacity? If no, why is this still a topic of conversation?
The drama surrounding this is beginning to make me chuckle. You're amazing Dropbear
...but isn't Chalmers a human displaced to Equestria with powers based on the costume he is wearing. And wasn't he also turned to stone for a few hundred years?
Personally I avoid all displaced stories for phrases like "Stop me if you heard this before." I do. Then I walk away.
That being said, I find it funny how few people understand the difference between copyright and plagiarism. We're all using copyrighted materials by writing these stories, but as long as no money is being made, there won't be much, if any, action taken against you. It's not worth it.
3830690
I second this shit, this is beginning to turn into one of my favorite shows of all time.
Hey dropbear you should challenge them to come at you bro I wanna see how many die by koala bear ingestion.
383053
This will grow faster than tentacles in a yandere hentai manga and will definitely violate more orifices.....bring on the flame wars you neckbeard autismo lords.
3830529 Yep.
This comment is a placeholder until I can think of something funny and/or original to post.
Also Sngry needs to be, just... More.
3830617
Neither. The fimfic mods are so tired of people trying to argue their way into getting away with plagiarism that they've banned directly including bits of other fics in your fic, even with permission.
(That's why RealityCheck threw a tantrum about the mods being tyrants taking away his rights and then took down all his fics.)
The same events may happen (though, depending on how same they are, you may have issues), but it has to be your own writing. You can't just copy-paste someone else's text and change some words.
What is the name of this story? I would like to read it, for my amusement.
Does anyone still have the original plagiarized text? I really want to see how anyone could possibly work it into a shitfic.
3831195
Good.
10/10 would put him and his family in a gulag again.
Acoording to APA, is not plaguiarism as long as the perSon tell the source of where the idea came.
3831729
Not quite. You have to be properly clear about who did what. If you "tell the source of where the idea came [from]" but don't mention that you copied the text verbatim, it's still plagiarism because you're implicitly trying to take credit for turning the idea into words.
3830617
It wasn't the ideas that were the issue (after all, there's a large number of fics that are usually Displaced that have heavily borrowed from mine and that's fine), it was the copied and pasted text, the re-named characters, and in one case a character with the same name. Long story short, the mods decided that it was plagiarised.
3830675
I have no say in taking it down. The investigating mod contacted me to verify a few paragraphs (he found a lot of copied text) and then I was asked to kind of limit the incoming shitstorm. He even interjected on the story comment page because the readers of that fic were of the belief that I had the 'Mods in my pocket' and that I had 'Ordered the fic to be taken down' like some kind of mafioso boss.
The fic rewrite prompted a number of people to restart their whining about it being taken down for 'Copywright' (lel). A few are engaging me (and the mods) over it (usually in broken english) so I'm making fun of them.
3830694
A funny comment, but Displaced is set with a bunch of requirements:
1. Must be a normal human (Chalmers is anything but normal) in a costume from a popculture show/game.
2. Displaced characters are given an item by the 'Merchant' who teleports them to equestrian.
just to name two.
Also, Chalmers was around well before Displaced was even a thing.
3831409
Someone already named it, 'The Crystal Wolves'.
3831600
I have a copy because of the whole 'Mod asking me questions about it' thing.
3831729
There's a difference between citing sources for uni study, and copying fanfiction.
3831931 Pls PM a copy or link...
I'll find you a nice picture of a horse or something if you do.
3831990
I'll try to find it.
3832064
Spasiba.
Here's a horse in advance payment.
derpicdn.net/img/2015/3/2/840385/medium.png
There's more where that came from.
Are you getting paid for this?
I'm paying for a old record?
For real, it's sad that on my short time following you, it's the second time that you are forced to bring the same issue.
Edited
3832230
The issue was solved and dropped, until some people decided to bring it up again. If you don't like it, you can just not read the blogs.
You're welcome to leave, no loss for me.
3832238
I read your blogs because they are interesting to read.
And it's free.
3832251
And its bloody glorious to watch dropbear find a sperglord and command his koala bear minions to devour them when they threaten him with death!! Hahahahaha!!! YES!!!
3832238
I believe again my lack of culture in English writing has caused a misunderstanding, I have corrected my comment and I offer you an apology if you were offended.
3832295
Would be better to force them to read my story, their reactions to the horror of a really bad grammar
, that would be hilarious
I am not going to read the comments but ill just say you know how to start a fire....wonder if we will get a firestorm in a few hours
Does anyone actually have any portions of where they word-for-word copied Dropbear?
3832700 Crystal Wolves story used to be pure copy-paste, as was couple of others.
3832238
I haven't really got anything to say to that.
So here's a question. Why do you write? Is it so you can improve your writing? Maybe it's so you can entertain random strangers?
Or it is possible that you write to entertain yourself, and the only reason you even both to post them online is to see other reactions to you work. Because it entertains you to see others fight and argue over conflict you caused, and it brings you even more joy that they could never see that you orchestrated it all.
3832700
Added a few examples into the blog. Didn't add all, as it's a huge amount of words. Still, it's already pretty damning.
3832906
I lost a bet during a game of Civilisation V against a brony from Britain.
So... you're saying that I magically coerced Dreamon into copying parts of my fic? And then magically coerced him to confront me with his 'better fic' on a blog completely unrelated to his story save for me jokingly asking people to cease making Displaced clones of my fics? And after the issue had been resolved, I magically coerced his followers to bring the issue up again in my blogs?
Then again, a lot of people also seem to think that I have magical god-like power over the site mods so it's not too much of a stretch.
3833301
You are a god amongst men already. Nigelism, the religion, shall never die. Huzzah!
In all seriousness, I hope more of them come. This is hilarious.
3833494
Just go onto the fic's latest comments page and take a gander. The level of rabid fanboy-ism is just at hilariously high levels.
3833301 Who the hell is Dreamon?
So you write the story's that you do because of a bet with some british dude? Damn, I was way off.
3833994
The guy who copy-pasted the fic, and who's followers are now starting shitstorms over the mods making him rewrite it.
The type of story wasn't specified, only that it had to be 'MLP fanfiction'.
wow this again?
I was hoping this was dead for good some people are too quick to defend and not to check for facts others just want to win an argument no matter what it seems.
also Displaced are humans turned fictional characters that teleport to AU MLP to fit the displaced better so in other words they are zero planing anything goes fics so the fact that Crystal Wolves is considered highly similar to another fic is clearly pointing itself out as a copy paste fic with little edition, I hope the other author make things right with his fic so everyone can move on but-
hoist be your own petard anyone?
static1.fjcdn.com/comments/Here+_eb206bbfc58c64b9eefe28649f5da559.png
This contract is sealed. The meme will be borne unto this world.
3834104 Yea I was only taking a stab in the dark at the reason for why you write. Then the lights got turned on, and instead of hitting the piñata I ended up stabbing a party guest.
3834104 God bless that random Brony.
3834104
So I just realized that most of those that liked his original story can barely type a legible form of english because their too busy being Sngry over not being able to type English.
Anyone feel the irony in that statement?
3833791
Dremon will never splooge again, I'll make sure of it Senpai.
3834104 thy are nothing alike, as skolos he was he was drooped in the snow, most of this describe basic scenery, yes thy are similar but not similar, when i read this it looks like he was looking back to the scene in the show with all the ponys their, and of coarse thy would be scared of him, i strange creature with a large flaming weapon and easily dwarfs them walks into town, and who is not going to compare the castle to the Eiffel tower, every one who has heard of it has made the comparison. and a wound above the eye and the forehead are two different things, after that if i was holding you in telekinesis and drooped you and and you hit your head on something crystal i would be surprised not to see a gash, these are but coincidences, and only the first page out of so many.
3840776
Wow, the level of fanboyism in this post...
Look, I get that you don't want to accept that the author got done for plagiarism, but, well...
He got done for plagiarism after the site mods saw what he had wrote. If you really look at those comparisons and go, 'well, hey, they're not that similar' then I suggest you get your reading comprehension checked.
3842664 thy are similar but definitely not plagiarized, he appeared in the snow, he made his way over to the city, he noticed the ground and speculated it, than he noticed the houses and the slaves within them, he noticed a building that stood on four legs and looks like the Eiffel tower, he went up and into it and sombra was picking up the leader of the gourds and was about to devour his life, considering that his thrown is about one to two feet away from the stairs leading up to it, if i went and drooped them and thy fell, most likely thy are going to hit their head and hitting it any whir on the stairs is going to leave a gash considering that thy are at a 90 degree angle and are the hardest things to find. your guy went into town and noticed fortifications, did not really notice the houses, noticed the building that would be impossible to compare to anything but the Eiffel tower and went inside to see that, now knowing that the hermit is a dick, he drops people off at the worst moments, their are many displaced story's that the protagonist ends up at the crystal empire or so on, the question is why did your human walk up to a castle and walk inside of it uninvited, humans would be afraid and avoid it, skolos is an alien obsessed with power and being in control so his first goel is to challenge the local authority. if two people described them selves going to the white house to see a speech, and wrote down what thy saw and felt, it would basically be the same thing from seeing the surrounding buildings to trees to the Greek architecture, thy would also notice the side walk, your going to say thy could do it differently but lets face it, its only similar because he wanted to add some detail and the prospective of anyone walking in at the time is going to be the same, your like the hundredth person to have your guy walk up to it right after it came back, just that most people don't included detail or forget that sombra rather stay in the castle and watches from above. after all he is 24/7 expecting to be attacked and whir else to be than is the luxury of a crystal palace
3842681
Ouch, your typing is so horrible i can barely understand what you are even trying to say. Still, I'll try to communicate some of these basic points to you.
They are plagiarised. The few examples provided are more than just similar and the mods who investigated the fic found that it was plagiarised enough to be taken down. I fail to understand how you continue to grasp this simple fact. Are you saying that the site mods (a unbiased third party) took down the fic without due reason?
He also happened to do this with near-identical descriptions and a strangely-similar order of events. Huh...
"The buildings around him at first looking like they were empty, however on closer inspection Nigel could see frightened eyes staring out at him through closed windows, shades and blinds covering those who dwelled within. The majority of the buildings seemed to be residential dwellings, with a few smattering of shops in a few places. The buildings possessed smaller doors than what he was used to, more and more evidence pointing to the possibility that whatever lived in this city was not human."
Lel.
Yeah, and all of them took either a large amount if inspiration from my fic or other Displaced fics based off of mine. A few even acknowledge this and one guy even asked me for permission.
Funnily enough, only one of those fics (so far) felt the need to plagiarise. Guess which one?
Because there wasn't many other options at the time and no-one was around?
It's clear you actually have no idea about the character then.
And happens to currently have the mind of an american teenage Destiny nerd who somehow is already adapted to his foreign body. Right.
Maybe. But when the second person says this (and I quote): "Ya, I sorta wanted to do my on type of spin to it but without a lot of things that I thought was wrong or strange," in reference to what the first person said while pretty much keeping his description of the White House the same, then it's certainly raising alarm bells, no?
No, it was the same because the author was too lazy to come up with his own starting plot, his own descriptions, and even his own supporting characters save for some colour and name changes. Once again, the evidence for this is pretty much obvious. At least in his rewrite he's gone down an original path that even he acknowledges is better than his first attempt.
I can't even decipher what point you are trying to make here. Please rephrase this when you've completed your basic English classes.
Or, alternately if English is not your first language, please feel free to post in your first. I'm sure even the butcher that is google translate could make more sense than your current ramblings.
To sum up:
1. It was plagiarised according the opinions of many readers, myself, and the mods who investigated the fic. Dreamon even admitted to taking a very hefty dose of 'inspiration' from my fic himself.
2. You sperging out like a twelve year old on my blog is not going to change that fact. Deal with it.
3. You are barely understandable. Please return when you are able to communicate properly.
Easy enough to understand?
3843274 what is he going to do, walk all the way down the rode and not notice the houses? in my assumption of the show, everything is largly down sized and shorten for simplicity, i think that the empire is much huger and what is he going to notice first, the tower or the houses and if he noticed the tower, than why would he not notice the houses. and why would their be no pony's in the houses if he looked to the, i guess he could have done it in a much different order but you tend to notice the little things first.
it would take some time before thy noticed that the empire was back, hell, its hundreds of miles maybe thousands of miles away from civilization,
personal i really don't see the point too this. all it is is some descriptions of the empire and so on i understand that your just annoyed at this point that everyone is bothering you about this and the mods came to you them selves and it could have been solved peacefully but lets be honest, its a few descriptions, the equivalent to this is someone inventing cake and trying to clam ownership on anything that resembles a cake.