I hate plagiarism.
Because I hate plagiarism, I am distraught that the forum community seems to be collectively ignorant of what plagiarism actually is, why it is bad, and what harm it does. People here call non-plagiarism “plagiarism”, as in
the case of RegulusHR—whom I would have issued a 7-day temp ban on first offence for a copied and pasted one-liner, zero-substance shitpost, but not permabanned for “plagiarism”. And some so-called
“people” absurdly
deny that
definitional examplars of plagiarism are
plagiarism, as in the case of Ratimov.
Because I also hate conceited ignorance, I will now disclose the following:
I have done something that many of the “people” here would call “plagiarism”. I have done it repeatedly—occasionally—for years. I continue to do it—occasionally.What I have never done, and will never do, is this—
plagiarism is the intellectual theft of credit for original work, which wreathes lazy idiots in a glory that belongs to another.
—
to the contrary!Fear not: The sesquipedalian pearls which I have a bad habit of casting hereabouts are my own. I have too big an ego to steal others’ originality, instead of being original myself. I oft spend considerable time and effort crafting a Nullian “artistic” post, all for the sheer joy of being the genuine, original, one and only
me.
I don’t doubt that some of those who hate me must have wasted their time trawling my post history in search of plagiarism. I do not think that they can ever find whereof I hereby speak. It is a puzzle, a literary cryptogram, a secret message hidden in plain sight for a purpose that I deem to be an ethical imperative.
It will not be found in any plagiarism detection database; and I would be
very surprised if anybody could ever figure it out with a search engine.
A university professor applying the methods of textual criticism could discover it.
Maybe.Much of my more serious writing contains cryptic literary allusions. I do hope that someday, professors will apply the proper methods of hermeneutics and textual criticism to find all of the hidden meanings subtly onion-layered into my forum posts. (To be clear, my only lack of confidence is in the hope that scholars will exist in the future.) Thereby, I mostly referred to puns, to subtle allusions, and otherwise to “hidden meanings” which do not directly invoke others’ writings. —
Mostly.
Some considerable time ago, I OTS timestamped some PGP-signed evidence. I will hereby reserve post #2 for that, just in case I ever decide to reveal it; and I will reserve post #3 for additional evidence.
The posts will probably stay as “reserved”. Probably. If I walk into a police station, protest that the cops should not let “people” get away with actual kidnapping murder, and then tell them that they will never find the bodies that I did not “murder”, then I will probably leave it at that.
This hereby is, inter alia, my expression of profound contempt for remorseless plagiarists, and for all who defend them. I will probably not reply here, unless someone says something interesting.