Shouldn't this be treated as an obvious plagiarism case?

[Rikafip]

Week ago @hosseinimr93 started topic in reputation board about suspicious merit transfers, and one of the accounts he mentioned was bitcoinermatt. Since those merit transfers indeed looked shady, I checked his post history. One topic he started caught my attention, in which he claimed to make bitcoin themed painting.

Hello everyone, I made a Bitcoin Drawing a while back and kind of forgot about it. Let me know what you think about it. Here it is:

Since painting looked really good I did some reverse image search which immediately yield results. Turns out painting is work of reddit user Coaster89. That painting is shared on the Instagram account of the same user (@coaster89) and he is selling his art through rarible. Additionally, same painting was shared almost a year ago in WO thread, and user who shared the painting also shared the original source (Instagram account of Coaster89). Link to that post.

@bitcoinermatt didn't bother to answer my question what's going on there, who stole from who, so I decided to contact the person that I thought is the original creator, coaster89. I sent him messages both on Instagram and reddit and few hours later I got reply via reddit, confirming my suspicion that @bitcoinermatt is not the original creator of that painting.




After I got confirmation that he is not the creator of that painting even though he claimed that he is, i reported him for plagiarism



Week later, that report is still unhandled. Based on previous reporting experience I know that chances of report being handled after one week decrease significantly with each passing day and if report stays the same after two weeks, it will stay like that most likely forever.

I know that we don't have to provide sources of images we share here in fear of plagiarism, but what about those that explicitly claim ownership of painting/photo, like it happened in this case? Shouldn't this be seen as an obvious case of plagiarism since he took someone else's work and claims to be his own?

[actmyname]

Plagiarism at worst, spam at best. I'm not sure why they wanted to pretend like they drew it (merit, post count, buy offers) but none of the reasons I can think of are good.

Interesting how the thread is locked...

[hosseinimr93]

It's definitely plagiarism.
Below is definition of "plagiarizing" in Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source

bitcoinermatt used the idea and a production made by someone else as his own.

[UserU]

Good catch, now that's gonna warrant a permban as well as the boot from the campaign

Perhaps for future submissions, the host should make it compulsory for participants to add some evidence, like a paper with the username.

[AB de Royse777]

bitcoinermatt used the idea and a production made by someone else as his own.

bitcoinermatt did not use any idea. He downloaded the image, uploaded it in imgur and posted it and said

Hello everyone, I made a Bitcoin Drawing a while back and kind of forgot about it. Let me know what you think about it. Here it is:

We see everyone of us copy images from other websites or image sharing sites but once we add I / my / me to create an illusion that we are the owner of the image then we are trying to get an unfair advantages. Whether it could be to have some talk about it to look us great or earning some merit or increase our number of posts/activities or to fill up our signature campaign quota - this kind of work should not be appreciated.

There are no such rules about it, so I think bitcoinermatt will getaway with it very easily which is sad of course.

[Rikafip]

Plagiarism at worst, spam at best. I'm not sure why they wanted to pretend like they drew it (merit, post count, buy offers) but none of the reasons I can think of are good.

If I have to guess why he did it, it would be merit fishing. But as you said, there is no  legit reason why would someone claim ownership of painting which is not his, and even made topic about it.

It's definitely plagiarism.
Below is definition of "plagiarizing" in Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

I thought so too, that this is textbook example of plagiarism case, but guess I was wrong.

We see everyone of us copy images from other websites or image sharing sites but once we add I / my / me to create an illusion that we are the owner of the image then we are trying to get an unfair advantages.

Yep, that's the issue here, he claimed not only once, but three more times after his opening post that painting is his own work. He had the chance to confess and explain that he just took picture from someone else but instead he went on with the lies.

Thank you very much for the tips! I put something like 2 weeks of work in it! How do I participate in the art contests?

I didn't make this artpiece to make money . I think I'm gonna put it in my room or in the living room. Thanks for the words!

Thanks. I may sell it later. I did a bit of thinking and afterall, it may be worth it to sell my artwork. I could make decent profit I guess.

There are no such rules about it, so I think bitcoinermatt will getaway with it very easily which is sad of course.

If admins confirm that's the official stance on cases like this, so be it. I just wanted clarification because report is still unhandled, and I don't waste my own and admins time reporting if I stumble upon similar case in the future.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Here, by the decision to ban each forum member, if any incidents occur, the moderators approach individually.
But this case, in addition to the explicit assignment of someone else's drawing, also contains facts of transfer of merit, which suggests an idea of alternative accounts. And also the fact that one of the "favorites" to whom the merits were transferred is already banned.
If you link all the negative cases that speak of reputation, bitcoinermatt already violates the rule of evading the ban.

[Lucius]

I know that we don't have to provide sources of images we share here in fear of plagiarism, but what about those that explicitly claim ownership of painting/photo, like it happened in this case? Shouldn't this be seen as an obvious case of plagiarism since he took someone else's work and claims to be his own?

I have to admit that I don't remember anyone getting a perma-ban or any other punishment for presenting someone else's painting/art as their own - so it's possible that cases like this aren't treated as classic plagiarism. Maybe the administration doesn't want to set a precedent, because it's much easier to prove classic text plagiarism, than this is the case when you had to contact a possible real owner and wait for an answer, and in some cases there may not be an answer.

I hope that some of the staff will clarify this situation, because it is logical that there should be some kind of punishment for such behavior - otherwise we send the message that this is allowed.

[Iron Fist]

There are no such rules about it, so I think bitcoinermatt will getaway with it very easily which is sad of course.

If admins confirm that's the official stance on cases like this, so be it. I just wanted clarification because report is still unhandled, and I don't waste my own and admins time reporting if I stumble upon similar case in the future.

In my opinion it should be treated as plagiarism in its worst form.
With this kind of mindset, nothing positive can be expected from such a member.

Just as I thought, here's another example of what kind of member he is (seeking partners to abuse the suspected flaw on the gambling website):

Hey guys! I found out that the cryptoo.me microwallet has a slots game which is built with php and javascript, i am already able to change my win percentage just by doing inspect element and i know it is possible to set the minimum win! Help me and serve yourself in Bitcoin! The link for the game is ~snip~ Thanks

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5259316.0

The post has since been deleted, but you can see quotes from other users below or the archived version here.

[dkbit98]

This is plagiarism and even worse case of plagiarism than we usually see with sentences being copy pasted like we usually see in forum.
Some other guy spent much more time in creating this image, maybe hours or days of his life, and than some scammer comes and claim it's his work.
Pathetic... and he should be banned for plagiarism for doing this.

[Little Mouse]

It’s certainly a clear plagiarism, user should be punished according to the forum rules. However, have you PMed the accused user? Because a probable situation is you can fake the chat. So, let's hear his opinion, what explanation he has.

[lovesmayfamilis]

It’s certainly a clear plagiarism, user should be punished according to the forum rules. However, have you PMed the accused user? Because a probable situation is you can fake the chat. So, let's hear his opinion, what explanation he has.

Do you think that he is not aware of the creation of this topic?
He created two new topics next to each other, absolutely useless.
At the time when he was accused of transferring merits, he deftly got out, completely not taking the blame on himself. It will be the same story.
He silently waits for the decisions of the moderators, trying in every possible way to show his usefulness, and also referring to inexperience. Although you can always distinguish between ignorance and cunning.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I'm not sure why they wanted to pretend like they drew it

I have no clue either, but I've learned that people will do very strange things for their own internal reasons.  Think of Munchhausen's Syndrome, for example.

I don't know if this falls under the plagiarism rule or not, since what he stole wasn't the written word, which is what plagiarism is defined as (AFAIK).  It's certainly dishonest if true, and if he doesn't get banned for this (which he may very well not be), it surely would be grounds for some negative trust.  

Props to OP for sniffing this out and contacting the person who apparently created the drawing first.

Although you can always distinguish between ignorance and cunning.

Not always.  Sometimes it's difficult, actually.

[Rikafip]

I hope that some of the staff will clarify this situation, because it is logical that there should be some kind of punishment for such behavior - otherwise we send the message that this is allowed.

I hope for some answer too, as it doesn't make much sense to me that you can get perma banned when you copy two sentences while you can open a topic and claim ownership of someone else's work without any repercussions. @Coaster89 probably spent days making it, and then @bitcoinermatt came and just nonchalantly pretended that he made it and even came up with the bullshit story around it, for the reason only he knows.

He silently waits for the decisions of the moderators, trying in every possible way to show his usefulness, and also referring to inexperience. Although you can always distinguish between ignorance and cunning.

As a matter of fact he did contact me (by some strange coincidence exactly at the time I was making this topic) because I left him negative feedback. I told him that he can give his explanation here. Let's see whether he shows up but I don't think that he can say anything that will make me change my mind.

I don't know if this falls under the plagiarism rule or not, since what he stole wasn't the written word, which is what plagiarism is defined as (AFAIK).  It's certainly dishonest if true, and if he doesn't get banned for this (which he may very well not be), it surely would be grounds for some negative trust.  

Well, according to Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is "The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own". That's what he did; he took someone else's work and then went on about spending two weeks making it, hanging it on the bedroom wall etc while it was all lie.

[bitcoinermatt]

I would like to clarify something first. I understand that what I did is very stupid and I regret it. I am sorry to the Bicoin Community and to the Coaster89 from which I took the artwork and posted it on BitcoinTalk without thinking about the consequences. The reason I posted the artwork is because I was eager to earn Merit. Again, I am deeply sorry to the Community for doing this.

I hope that I will be forgiven. Thanks

[RapTarX]

No. Forum has never stated any such rules for image. A lot of people are posting images here without sources. In the case of bitcoinermatt, he has lied. While he copied, he is guilty but according to the forum rules, he isn’t. I would rather use the feedback system since he lied to the community.

[Rengga Jati]

Image plagiarism simply means image theft. This happens when someone copies your photos online, like copying images from your Instagram, Flickr, Facebook, your blog, or any online platform, and then reuse them somewhere else without properly citing those pictures, often in a way that disregards you as the copyright owner and shows as if the photos were their own.

What I took from the definition above taken from this artilce about image plagiarism (and we can also find more sources about this), it is part of plagiarism, as in a common way (regardless of whether this forum allows it or not).

There are some notes:
- Copying and pasting an image without any source (some images may have a copyright and we must include the source of that copyright image)
- Showing or claiming the image as their own. If @bitcoinermatt did it, showing and claiming the image as his own, it is surely an image theft/plagiarism.

[AB de Royse777]

I would like to clarify something first. I understand that what I did is very stupid and I regret it. I am sorry to the Bicoin Community and to the Coaster89 from which I took the artwork and posted it on BitcoinTalk without thinking about the consequences. The reason I posted the artwork is because I was eager to earn Merit. Again, I am deeply sorry to the Community for doing this.

I hope that I will be forgiven. Thanks

It's hard to believe your words after all these.

Thank you very much for the tips! I put something like 2 weeks of work in it! How do I participate in the art contests?

I didn't make this artpiece to make money . I think I'm gonna put it in my room or in the living room. Thanks for the words!

Thanks. I may sell it later. I did a bit of thinking and afterall, it may be worth it to sell my artwork. I could make decent profit I guess.

There are no such rules about it, so I think bitcoinermatt will getaway with it very easily which is sad of course.

Do you see how many times you have lied? Above are maybe just a few examples of your lies about this painting. For some merit (I believe) you have done all this?

Anyway, everyone deserves a 2nd chance. Stay around for one more year from today. Write me after one year that you have not made such a mistake again. I will remove my feedback although it's a neutral one. Do we have a deal?

[marlboroza]

Forum has never stated any such rules for image.

User said "I made this..." and they didn't so it is plagiarism. This rule should apply then:

33. Posting plagiarized content is not allowed.

- Copying and pasting an image without any source (some images may have a copyright and we must include the source of that copyright image)

No, not really, if picture is copyright protected you will need permission from author(or whoever is holding rights) to post it and then you will have to give credit to author.

[Pmalek]

No. Forum has never stated any such rules for image.

There are no rules for text either. Rule #33 says that plagiarized content isn't allowed. That could mean written text, images, movies, music, books...

A lot of people are posting images here without sources.

The image you post is the source. Its location points towards the source. Unless you download it and post it on an image hosting site like Imgur.
Unless the owner of the image doesn't allow for it to be shared, you are free to use it.

If I want to post this image below with the original link I found when I searched for bitcoin logos, I don't think it's needed to post the source. It's right there when you quote my post (https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/c5/af/cac5af954a16f01409a4d61d79b5a540.jpg).
 

Someone correct me if I am wrong.
I am nowhere claiming to have made the logo or that it originates from me. But what the accused user did is totally different. He claimed it was his work several times.