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The aftermath.

October 5, 2010    |    0 COMMENT(S)

It's an unpleasant surprise to suddenly see someone blatantly rip off something you've written based on a genuine emotion or situation. I guess some people will never see it the way I do, and will never understand why it was such a big deal, but I am glad that there are people who do understand where I'm coming from. It is only after all a blog, and you can argue that in the Internet, there are no clear lines to be drawn as to what is bizarre and simply just wrong.

But this blog, more than anything else I own or have, has been a constant, tangible presence in my life that having anyone else take something from it just really crossed the line. At 18, this is probably one of the few things I can truly be proud of, because it's something I've created, put together, and invested an immeasurable amount of time in (hello, 6 years) and so having someone just take my words away from me definitely hit me hard.

This may only be a blog, but it's a collection of so many of my thoughts, ideas, feelings -- it's got so much more of me than anything else I have. This blog isn't just about me entertaining an audience, it's about me finding an outlet for myself. It's personal. And so, I don't believe I'm overreacting on this. It went too far.

I posted an entry here and in my Facebook, I told my friends, and I sent her private messages to let her know what I feel. I didn't fight with her and passed up the opportunity to blatantly point out all her embarrassing grammatical errors in her other non-stolen posts (even if my friends were tempting me to do so, haha!) because I don't believe in stooping down to her shamelessness. Thankfully, she did delete her posts in Tumblr (I eventually found out she had Tumblr and a number of her entries were mine as well) and also her Multiply site. Hopefully, she's realized her mistake.

(Of course, I am forever grateful for my friends, both offline and online, who were there to back me up yesterday, and even today. You all know who you are, and I love you, guys.)


Plagiarism is just plain wrong, that's something we should all know and understand. It's no easy feat creating something out of nothing -- be it a novel, a song, a movie, a painting, a piece of literature. It entails putting a part of you into something and that takes hard work and effort. Being appreciated is certainly something to be grateful for. But more importantly, it's being given credit that also counts.

That being said, Niqui, I will give you credit for making me feel like my thoughts matter not only to myself but to strangers as well. Thank you for making me want to blog more, because if anything, that only means my words can mean as much to others as they do for me. But your being unoriginal? No, thanks. The blogosphere Internet world does not need sad, pathetic copycats like you.

I hope you learned your lesson.
(1) Plagiarism is never cool, and more importantly..
(2) You don't mess with the Bombastarr.



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