Why do we have the copy/paste feature? REALLY?

I honestly think it needs to be removed. I have just spent 30 minutes reporting ONE person's 30 odd discussions/replies that were ALL direct copy/pastes from Wikipedia. I have been reporting this individual for days and nothing is being done. He isn't new, he has 1300 posts...many of which got 'best response'....his 'best responses' (every single one!) were direct copy/pastes from Wikipedia. We need to do away with copy and paste. If someone can't type a URL, they need not be on myLot! I may not stay around any longer if the cheating isn't addressed...as I am tired of following the rules why others make money by cheating.

You couldn't have asked this at a better time especially when cheaters are popping up day after day. Before when this option was allowed to all there wasn't much talk about it but of course cheaters and spammers misused it a lot. Maybe that's the reason mylot brought in the after 500 rule. I don't see why 500 was chosen as the limit because there are many who've gone past 500 and are cheating blatantly. And there are some genuine users who are at 100 and wonder why they can't copy/paste. All said and done, it is difficult to curb the use of the feature. I personally use it to copy my responses right before submitting them, because many a time the responses just disappear and we have to retype it all over again. I keep it in the copy mode and paste only if my response disappears. I do the same with personal messages. I didn't have much use for this feature so when it wasn't allowed (I was at 300 posts then)it didn't matter much to me. Now I use it when I need it. It is a pity not everybody uses it judiciously.

It is nice for adding links. I know I can't be arsed to type out the whole link especially if it is a long one. Sometimes to quote the poster if you are only responding to a certain point of the discussion. Mylot withholds this function to new users under a certain points. To help prevent newbies from cheating. I suppose they hope that by the time people reach a certain score they will know better. I guess that they allow the function because it does have legitimate purposes.

I only use copy and paste on good emails I get that I think go good in here other than that I do the links. The only way to cheat is have 2 windows up of the same thing to copy and paste from that I can see and that is a waste of time

I use it for quotes, in addition to links, but I agree that it seems to be misused more often than not. I don't hope that it will go away because then I'd have to type out all those scripture passages I write about (and some of them are wordy) but I think it would probably cut back on the copyright infringement if they'd take away the option.

Beanie, I use the feature for practically every response I write-- partly because I'm a singularly bad typist and it allows me to write the response outside the input box and spell check before submitting, and partly because I like to write my responses "as I go along," sometimes reading multiple pages of earlier responses. Could I write decent responses without copy/paste? Absolutely! But I would forget half of what I was intending to say, since many of my responses are triggered not just by the original question, but also by what others have said. So I just find it easier, with cut and paste.

I can only type with 2 fingers so I love copy and paste if my friends on line have sent me a really good email , I think the people who cheat by copying other peoples work should be kicked out on their backsides , I hate cheating in any form xx

Because I am too lazy. I always give the link where I have taken part or all of the text from.

copy and paste is the basic feature in windows. we have to decide whether to use it for a goo or to mis use it.... normally i use this feature to manage my data in the computer.

I use mine to copy from my files, like my recipies and so forth. I think that it is there for referecen reasons and to make sure your vocab. is proper.

I think the copy and paste feature is fine if not abused..Like I have poetry I have written and if I want to post it..It will save me time instead of re wrting it..But I only did that twice I think..usually it is for links I will use copy and paste and for the odd article to backup my discussions..very sparingly though..

copy and paste is great if you have found some info that someone is after and you can just copy it for them, you can source this by giving the page link as well. I think you are not supposed to copy and paste the same thing over and over or copy and paste other peoples posts but I don't think there is an objection to copy and paste of information etc that could take ages to type out.

you are right .. i think many are doing that.. copying resources from other sites and pasting it in the discussions...the worst part is its impossible to find them out...why mylot is allowing such feature...i guess mylot trusts everyone here...

I definitely think that this feature is important for myLot. I often type my posts in Word, not just because of the spell check feature, but also because my internet connection will crash from time to time or the site will freeze up. This way my answers are saved and all I have to do is copy and paste, rather than retype the whole thing. Also, sometimes I am interrupted in the middle of a post, especially at work. This way I can leave it and come back to it later without having to keep the webpage open for hours. It's sad that people feel the need to cheat and copy and paste fraudulent and stolen answers, but I don't think taking away the copy/paste feature is the answer. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of us who follow the rules. And if they really wanted to cheat, they'd still probably type in copied answers, although they obviously wouldn't be able to do it as quickly. I don't know why anyone would try to cheat on this site - it's not like we're writing for hundreds of dollars here - I don't see how it's even worth it for them! I have yet to see any copied answers, but I read about it in every third discussion or so, so cheating must be a pretty big problem on this site. I wish that there was a better system to catch cheaters - I think there's just too many people on this site for myLot authorities to keep tabs on (or else they don't care?)

It's a privalige bestowed for the purpose of being a regular here I feel. I type a lot of my stuff in anothet program then copy/paste for the ease of mistakes etc. I have a heart on my web pages for favorite places. I can drag that heart into the box I type in here for links & it's there so I don't need the copy/paste for that option. As long as these cheaters that use it to post fast etc they will be reported and caught then dealt with accordingly I understand. Thanks for this discussion also. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!

Copy and paste is very helpful sometimes especially when you have a slow connection in the internet. Sometimes slow connection can make some problem like slow loading and deletion of some of your posts. With copy and paste feature you can easily recover lost paragraphs you have just made. I don't think copy and paste has a big disadvantages here in mylot. There's nothing wrong if we retain this function in Mylot.

Not having reached the magical 500 yet, I can't use the cut and paste feature yet. But when I can, I'll probably just use it for copying links. The ability to put images into discussions will be more useful to me. I generally use Firefox to look at Mylot because of the spell check which is built in. I use IE as well, but I'll be drifting off topic if I talk about the reasons for that.

I mainly use it to quote bible verses to back up things it is much easier than having to type them!

I believe it's good to be allowed a certain amount of copying and pasting here, but I think it should be a maximum of a couple of lines at a time or at most a paragraph. You guys also keep talking about running discussions thru a spell checker. My Firefox has one built in and works in most forms and text boxes. This might be a great help to those of you that have a little trouble with spelling.

Actually, I find this feature quite useful now. myLot doesn't load fast enough for me. So while I am waiting for the tab to finish loading, I can already finish a few lines in notepad. So when the tab finishes loaded, I just paste over and submit straight away... very handy for me. Another thing is what you mentioned about pasting links. I think it is fine to paste an except from a referenced articles. Maybe a few short paragraphs even - if it is done right and neat and relevant. ;-)