Do you get upset?
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
April 24, 2013 10:38am CST
If you see someone has posted an article very similar to your own, on the same topic, would you be upset? What if it were posted on the same day?
It's true, a lot of times this can happen and there are simple reasons behind it. The day of the Boston Marathon bombing lots of people were posting about that. It's easy for multiple people to post about a similar event that happens in their lives like moving, having a baby, getting a pet.. etc...
But I posted on Bubblews this morning about a news article I came across about a 14 year old hamburger, and just now came across someone else's article about the same thing.. is it coincidence that we both came across this interesting article on the same day? Or did they see my post (they didn't respond to it though) and decide to post their own thoughts about it in their own post.. earning them more money of course because on Bubblews you're only paid for views and comments on your posts.. not responses to other's.
A few days ago a friend on Bubblews posted about their typical daily routine when they wake up. Only moments later someone else posted the same exact thing.. their own daily routine in the morning. Was it coincidence that they both had the same idea at the same time? Did the 2nd person steal the 1st person's idea and decide to post their own?
Would you be upset if someone did this? Or would you just assume it was a coincidence and not give it another thought?
1 person likes this
21 responses
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
28 Apr 13
Perhaps.. I found it weird because I came across it while searching for odd news stories.. which I do when I have nothing decent to post about, LOL.
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
28 Apr 13
I think if the same person did it multiple times about something random that they were copying from you. For two different people to post about their day then I don't see it as copying. I post about my day all of the time. I see several people that do that. I don't see how it could be copying. Perhaps I am wrong but something as general as "my day" I don't think is stepping over the line.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
28 Apr 13
No, that's definitely not copying..
The particular posts I was referring to were 2 different people posting about their morning routines.. both titled their posts "My routine" and started with when they wake up and what they do from there. That's just a bit odd.. maybe it was done on purpose, maybe not.. either way.. not a huge deal as both were different.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
24 Apr 13
I would be upset....I can understand several discussions on the bombings but sounds to me like someone is trying to find something to write about and using other peoples idea! I don't read alot of discussion here and I might accidently start a discussion about something similar to others...
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
24 Apr 13
That's what it felt like, though it could have been coincidence.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
24 Apr 13
If it looked like an exact copy, I'd be mad. If it were just a similar idea handled a different way, I suppose I'd be a wee bit annoyed (more at the situation than the person), but I would just shrug it off as a coincidence.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
24 Apr 13
It wasn't even close to an exact copy.. my post was a basic summary of the article I read, her post was all about how disgusting it was that someone had held onto a hamburger for 14 years (although the article clearly stated it was for experimental purposes to prove how bad preservatives were).
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
26 Apr 13
I try to avoid posting topics like that, where there'd be surely a lot of people writing about it. As much as possible, I would try to be unique. But sometimes, I do see some things similar to what I post. And then I would get upset because I was not unique enough.
Unless of course somebody just copied my discussion, in which case I wouldn't just be upset, I'd be angry.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
25 Apr 13
I try really hard to to give people the benefit of the doubt... Sometimes our first reaction is to get angry but like you said it could have possibly been a coincidence. =)
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
24 Apr 13
Most of the time it is just a coincidence. Even the story about a 14 year old hamburger was widely published on many popular media channels (see this search: http://search.mylot.com/search.aspx?t=web&k=14+year+old+hamburger )
It's annoying when it happens and MyLot, at least, provides for deletion of duplicate topics. I don't believe that Bubblews has any such policy except that, when an article has very clear signs of being copied word-for-word from another source (either a News source or the post of another member), it will count against the poster, even if it is not deleted.
It is annoying when someone posts an almost exactly similar topic but it is very rarely indeed that it is done out of spite. Nearly always, it's the result of an unfortunate coincidence (or the fairly predictable ubiquity of a news story).
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
24 Apr 13
This post happened on Bubblews, not Mylot. I hadn't seen any other posts about it before.. I came across the article today while searching my typical news sites.
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
24 Apr 13
It doesn't sound like a coincidence to me. I don't know. I guess I'd be upset because if there are two articles similar then mine might lose views and comments and I would make less money. You are right, on days like the bombing ofcourse there would be a lot of people talking about that. But there is no way someone just happened to come across the same article as you.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
24 Apr 13
As far as I know this person isn't connected with me, I've never seen them before, so might be coincidence.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
24 Apr 13
My friend recently told me about an article he written. After he had posted it he discovered that another person had written an article about the same topic earlier that day and he said to me: "I feel so bad about it. That person is going to think that I stole his idea, but I really didn't see his article at all when I wrote my own"
I think that it often happens that way. If you write about something you have found online every internet user has access to same information and it not so strange that two or more people choose to write about the same topic. If you write an article about common daily activities other people might write about same topics simply because it is something that evertyone can relate to.
In many cases I think that the similar topics are a coincidence, but I don't think that it is true in every case. Sometimes people write things that are directly inspired by the things that another member wrote, but it hard to know if it is a coincidence or if they did in on purpose. I would assume that it was a coincidence unless it happened more than once.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
24 Apr 13
Yes, I would be upset and this has happened to me on Mylot. Plain old fashioned stealing is what I would call it. when this happened on mylot I respinded to the person daying that I had posted the same thing earlier in the day. Well, the person did not respond to me or anyone else. I didn't bother with reporting. Just sent a warning shot over the boom. I don't know what you can do about it if anything. But it is annoying. Even worse than annoying
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
24 Apr 13
I haven't flagged the article because they didn't steal my words.. just my idea, and it could be a coincidence after all.. I was just a bit miffed that I'd already posted it.
@angelarosario (77)
• Philippines
24 Apr 13
I can't believe such things happen here in myLot. It can be considered plagiarism! Copying an idea is a form of plagiarism whether it was written in a different manner. Don't hesitate to report the person. MyLot should be a responsible and friendly discussion site. We have to give warnings to people who are taking advantage of it.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
24 Apr 13
Such things do occasionally happen in MyLot but it is very difficult to prove that an idea - rather than the actual words - was stolen from someone else. Nearly always, the occurrence of two very similar discussions by different people is clearly just a coincidence. Very often, Admin will delete many discussions which simply state the same facts and opinions as previous ones (recent examples might include some of the discussions about the Boston Marathon bombings and the Sichuan earthquake).
@Jyiou7 (83)
• Malaysia
24 Apr 13
Hey there! :) I'm a Bubbler myself and yes, I have been in that kind of situation before. I posted about a poem which I wrote years ago and moments later, another Bubbler posted a poem which she wrote years ago too. I had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, I wasn't very pleased that she probably instantly used my idea for her next post and on the other hand, I thought maybe it was coincidence (A BIG maybe.) In the end, I just ignored it and continued doing my stuff, just Bubbling like usual. On an unrelated note, whats your username in Bubblews? I would really like to read your posts. :)
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
20 Aug 15
With thousands and thousands of people 'writing' online there are bound to be more than two people writing about the same topic.
@airasheila (5454)
• Philippines
25 Apr 13
hi there,
with regard to your query, perhaps, i would really feel upset. however, if the topic being posted is quite famous and familiar, then, i would somehow consider that it was just a coincidence except if the words and terms use was one and the same. most often times, ideas being discussed are the same but the thought on how it was delivered was different. and it should be differ to each other, or else, it is bluntly saying it was a duplicate copy of what has been posted and written.
@lyricmemphis (260)
• United States
25 Apr 13
I think you guys just saw the same article on yahoo because it was trending on my yahoo home page.
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
25 Apr 13
i'm not on bubblews but i do know they have a rule about plagiarism.
when people run out of ideas from their personal life/experience, they usually get ideas from news sites like yahoo news or msn or their local papers so they can post something, whether here, on their blog, or other writing site they're on.
if you reworded the news article while they posted what they think about it then it's two different things. if one person saw the typical daily routine and promptly followed suit, their routines will still be different. the speed isn't really surprising since i believe you only need 400 characters to write an article there.
@inopiratum_a_medio12 (877)
•
25 Apr 13
I won't get upset but I'll probably compare my written article, check it out somehow whose better or how many likes do I have from his/her work. Trending topics are usually written by many people on the different sites and I guess it's just normal since where living in the same world, so it's not impossible to be related to some topics it will just differ on how to deliver the story, construction of sentences or what particular emphasis from that topic
@pauline99 (22)
• India
25 Apr 13
yes i would get very angry as this is equal to cheating one should avoid taking ones idea as this is a crime as well and a person who those that should be punished so that one will not repeat it.
@saif_wasi (20)
•
25 Apr 13
Yes we get upset if some one is stealing our idea ..it happen to me my friend get some suggestion from me and he put one his report and send early to me .. he got good grade but i got less ...its sad if we share n someone share it before .
