I looked up the accusation itself

So, one of my favorite authors was accused of plagiarism... by Hamburger Time on 2011-01-19 21:41:00 UTC Reply

I want to know if there's anything I should do in this situation. I LOVE this guy's stuff, and from what I recall, the accuser didn't produce any evidence, so I've stood by the author before, but thinking about it now, I'm not so sure what I should do?

Should I feel bad that I like his stuff? Should I do more research into the matter? I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me.

Who is the author? by caddy-shack on 2011-01-20 21:25:00 UTC Reply

I've seen a story that was plagiarised, it was in the iCarly section of FF.net, I didn't know it was an entirely copy pasted story, with only the characters names changed. Though the person slipped up and got sloppy and forgot to change some. They tried to explain that they were writing a Twilight fic and sometimes got mixed up. I go to check one day, and another reviewer of it PM's me saying that it's been taken down. They even emailed me the original.

Though your's might not be copy pasted, I might check it out for some writing that looks like it was from another fic. Although it could just be a spat between friends.
Definitely do research. by Sedri on 2011-01-19 21:47:00 UTC Reply

There's no way to make any sort of reasonable stand on the topic without knowing what you're talking about first. There's nothing wrong with liking a story that's plagerised - if nothing else, it means you'd like the original, and clearly it was good enough to copy, even if it's amoral. So go and look into it, read the stories they've supposedly plagerised from, and decide for yourself it the accusations are true. What you do next is up to you.

I looked up the accusation itself by Hamburger Time on 2011-01-19 22:03:00 UTC Reply

As I mentioned, the accuser didn't cite any evidence, not even the stories of his he believed were ripped off. The only thing I could think of doing would be to pick over every story of both of then wrote for copied lines, and I'm not sure I have the time or the willpower to do that.

The most interesting thing I noticed, though, was that the accuser was someone described in an author's note of an earlier story by the accused as the accused's "partner in crime," so I think they must've been friends at one point and had a falling-out. Hmm...

Hmm. by Sedri on 2011-01-21 02:51:00 UTC Reply

It'd certainly be a lot wiser for any accuser to show evidence right away, but I suppose they could've just forgotten. L'homme_Arbre has an interesting point, though - it might be worth looking into.

I can't blame you for not wanting to check all the fics for copied lines. You might have an easier time of it if you take some of the more distinctive lines and Google them, restricting the search to FF.N - you'll get a lot of rubbish links, but you should find out if there are any direct copies quite quickly.
I'm pretty sure you're right, and I have a theory... by L'homme_Arbre on 2011-01-19 23:09:00 UTC Reply

You might want to try messaging the accuser and get some more details about it. If they talk to you, you'll get the information you need, and if they avoid you or start being vauge, that's generally a sign that the attack is baseless and they're being bitter.

However, I have my own theory about the matter. It's a (sort of) old story. Two friends start writing a story togeher, using one of their pre-established accounts. They have a falling out, maybe over the story, but one of them keeps writing it, using material they both devised. One accuses the other of plagiarism, they bicker, and generally, the story gets dropped out of petulance. It would't be the first time, and it seems fairly likely.

That's just what it sounds like to me. However, you should still keep checking things out. Plagiarism is one of the most serious accusations you can make on a site like FF, and if the author you like is lying about their work, you really should keep looking into it.

Togeher should be together, sorry... (nm) by L'homme_Arbre on 2011-01-19 23:10:00 UTC Reply