And That's What It's All About

It pains me when blogging's credibility gets a shot in the arm, especially with a needle from the haystack. God knows why Stephanie Klein plagiarized a children's storytelling exercise (now that is a tragedy) or how someone (in comments) even discovered it. But let's try to put this all in perspective. Is her offense so wrong? Someone noted earlier, "Having read the post, it is obvious the Fierst excercise is being performed by the characters in her post. Would it be plagiarizing if she said "They told me to put my left foot in then take my left foot out"?

I dunno, would a monkey shine your shoes if you stuck your foot up his ass? Precisely. Your point doesn't make any sense either. Fierst's exercise is no "hokey pokey" and doesn't fall under public domain. It's just so weird he wasn't credited. But don't take it from me, let's hear from the injured party himself. He commented here earlier too:

"I am astonished to discover that not only would someone plagiarize my study guide for creative dramatics, but that someone else would recognize the words as mine and pull that paragraph out of a whole book. Beats me how Stephanie Klein got to use my words for fantasy play. I don't even know who she is. I guess I could be flattered that my words are worth stealing. Considering what I get paid and what I understand she gets paid, I think I have been underestimating my talents."

I have since communicated with him via email and he genuinely wonders how this happened. (He's also available to be a celebrant/storyteller at your wedding, a commitment ceremony, a house warming, a baby naming, or a death.) At the very least, Ms Klein owes him and her readers an explanation. Not just for his sake, but most importantly because she has come down so hard on people plagiarizing her own work, and not just in the recent Tale of Two Sisters affair. In past entries titled, "stephen or stephanie?" and "flattery" she sharply pokes at others:

nycplagiarist just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

Come now, copying people should cease after the age of three. Give it up for Lent, or hand it over with your Peter Pan Syndrome tights. "You. Are. Beautiful." Is a nice way to flatter. "I steal your stuff" is soooo ba-donka-a-donk.

It's also rama-lama-ding-bat-shit, but give her credit for the youthful thinking. Her readers responded then as well:

I prefer to neologize and call it PLAGUErism, because let's face it, it's a filthy disease distributed by hosts with minds as hollow as sewerage pipes, and lined with worthless shit of their own.

Wow! How hard would it have been for this person to have just posted "I did not write this, but I wish I did" and link to your post?

Theft is theft-- ideas are intellectual property and they, whether or not they make money, belong to the person who wrote them. It IS a big deal. It's not cute, or funny, or something that someone should "lighten up" about.

I'm unclear exactly when someone should "lighten up" about something but I do know that hypocrisy almost always darkens the mood of a situation.

UPDATE: Subtext Whore has pointed out that within the last 24 hours the plagiarized text has been removed from Klein's post with nary an explanation. No defense is often more offensive but everyone knows the Internet is a giant rug without an anti-slip lining and it's very easy to lift it up to see what's been swept under. Ready gang? Push 'em Back! Push 'em Back! Push 'em Waaaaaaaay Back!