Mylot to dump copy and paste ability !

I never have used that feature. I usually just type the whole thing from one of my books and list the title it came from. It is way too easy to copy and paste articles. If we are getting paid for the discussions then maybe we should put more effort in and not just copy and paste. It just shows that the person is in a hurry and can't be bothered. I think if they want to keep the feature, then raise the number of posts to 1500.

No matter how you look at it, it's hard to control the post quality on a large forum like Mylot because the member base is so big. I don't think that getting rid of the Copy/Paste ability would really up the quality any. I do think that a limit on how many times you can copy/paste in a day is a good idea though. Then for those who DO rip off that ability can only do that so many times. I think it will weed out those losers looking to make a quick buck, or those who don't read the full discussion. You should send a message to Mylot with your suggestions. I do know they like getting feedback from their members for ways that they can make the site better for all of us.

hard to say, I don't think the problem is only ripping off other users, but also those that just copy and paste a wikipedia entry into a barely related topic. They do a wiki search on the topic title and paste it without actually reading the post. I for one rarely use copy and paste, what I would like to see is a limit on how much someone can copy and paste, a per word limit or something would be ideal. Or even a 5 copy and paste uses per day. Not sure how practical that is though.

Hi Impervious! You gave me quite a start! Whew! Hope they really aren't considering this. There is probably a much easier way to detect the cheaters. I know how I looked forward to reaching 500 posts and the ability to cut & paste, and would really be disappointed to see it taken away from everyone that uses it properly. So far, there has only been one discussion that I copied & pasted from another MyLot members discussion. The main reason I did it was because, it was right after the MyLot upgrade and, my response was actually the first time I had put my impressions down in print. It was also one of the few times I jumped straight to a response after reading the original post, so in a way, I was just taking a copy of my thoughts, before they were influenced by anyone else's replies. I did at least ask for & later received permission to use the discussion and made sure to give credit appropriately when I pasted it in. It's so easy to ask for permission, I'm surprised more people don't try it. Most people are willing to share their ideas as long as they get credited too. Let me know if you'd like to see my copied & pasted discussion and the note of approval from the member I copied it from as an example. :) I think the 500 posts were intended to give new members time to get used to how things work here, especially since it's a combined figure of started discussions and replies. I think a users rating my be a determining factor to MyLot as well. Members that know how to follow the rules will be giving negative ratings and I'm pretty sure MyLot can tell who the cheaters are after a while. ;D ps. It sure would be a pain to rewrite everything just because of a time out error. I've learned to make a copy of any long replies that take some time to get down. It's not fun to start all over again. :P

The only time I can think of the feature being particularly useful is when you want to cite a URL as a reference to back up your facts. Some of those things can get long and complicated and retyping them is a good way to mess them up. And it would have been nice the other day when the discussion was about great movie and book quotes since it would have saved some typing. It's handy, but it's not something I can't live without.

I can't even do it yet but I think it would be a real drag if that feature went away. There have been so many times I wanted to grab a little chunk of information or a definition from another website, but of course, I can't eyt. If I was one of the people who was having my stuff ripped off, I would be really upset. Maybe they should raise the numerb past 500.

I am most times using the copy and paste possibility to copy interesting links from the Internet or from my own discussions and paste them to my posts. I hope they keep this service, it saves a lot of time.

Do you mean mylot has plan to stop copy and paste facility. Then it would be inconvenient to me. Because I am slow typer and I always made mistake like misspell words or missing some word. So I use an editor to type my entries first and examine them to check for mistakes. When everything seemed ok, I copy and paste the content to the box. But if people think this is good. I have no objection to that. But my response may contain some gibberish like sentences.

I have heard other members complain that other members are copying and pasting discussions and responses that other members made. I don't think it is right at all or fair. I think everyone needs to start their very own discussions and they need to respond with their own words instead of using someone elses words. I, personally, don't use the copy and paste feature. I like to create my own discussions and type my own words in it. I do not want to take the chance of posting something, someone else already posted. I don't know if Mylot should take away the feature or not but I am sure they will do so if alot of members are abusing it.

Maybe a solution would be to only allow copy and paste to start a discussion. Then it couldn't be used for copying responses. It wouldn't help for those who rip off other discussions but those are easier to spot. This way people could still start discussions using those long articles but people couldn't get away with just ripping off others own thoughts. I don't think raising the 500 post limit would have much of an impact. If they're committed enough to get to 500 just to abuse the system, they'll be committed enough to reach 1000 or more.

To be honest, the limit is good to prevent spammers but maybe they should lower it a bit since it's widely used by many people. It's useful in many other ways than just copying the owner's post and pasting it. Like when you answer the questions in the owner's posts and pasting it into your own post, or quoting other people's comments. Sure, some people will abuse it but the report button is always there to help. I don't think dumping the Copy and Paste ability would be a good thing though. Copy and Paste is too commonly used to be get rid of.

The only reason I would like to have it is so I could copy and paste some web addresses. Some of the addresses for MSN stories get too long and complicated to enter by hand. I guess it would be difficult to manage how the copy and paste is used - an "all or nothing" proposition.

I think I know which one you are talking about. I think no matter what we do, it is hard to control the quality of the posts, it is even harder to monitor the copy and paste of article from other members. May be the only way is to remove this feature so that no one can copy and paste anymore, but by that time ,we may have some trouble to post some good and long articles or recipes,there are both upsides and downsides for it.

There will always be people, in any program or business, online or offline, who rip other people off. It's just a fact of life, a certain percentage of people break the rules. But the question always is: should we create more rules or safeguards to protect us from those people? I believe that the majority of people follow rules, if not out of conviction, but out of habit. Successful businesses for example have decided to implement as few rules as possible for their employees, because again, most people don't need rules, they know automatically what to do. So creating new guidelines is always an imposition on the majority. And those who cheat will break the new rules, too, so it doesn't really make a difference.

Yes I am with you on that one I do think they should get rid of it as it is causing to much anger and upset now

In many of my discussion speople had copy & pasted material that barely if at all related to the discussion I started. Yes some people start a discussion just to post but other actually post to stimulte conversation. I do not like that you can't copy & paste because when you are trying to share a recipe it takes a very long time to type but, I do get the whole plagerizing thing and I would be upset if someone did that to me. SO, to answer your question..... 500 seems like a good number to keep it at. That's too much work for the moron posters to handle.

I never actually use this feature, since I think it's unfair to copy and paste someone else's work. Even if you upload pictures that are copyrighted, it's still wrong unless you and the image maker have a legal agreement. Instead of copy and paste, I would just attach the link to some news sites to support my topic. I wouldn't mind if they get rid of this feature, but others might.

Every thing can be abused, not matter what. I also think that myLot is doing the best possible job in these situations, but of course they can't be on top of everything that happens, so the people affected should get in touch with myLOt administration. I haven't copied an pasted anything else that my own responsed in case they are lost as it happened before. Or sometimes in a more complex discussion, to paste de question on my answer box so I can answer it point to point. THen I delete what I pasted, it was used just to help me responsing. Still I feel this is a good feature and should stay.

YES YES YES!!! if you can't be original in your answers and discussion, then you shouldn't be on here!!!

yes.. i definitely agree with it.. although we can copy and paste after 500 post.. it's not fair.. what if they copy and paste it from other websites? unless mylot did it on purpose. wanting us to get more traffic here.. it's still not good to copy and edit others post.. what if the post is copyrighted.. right? i strongly agree they should get rid of it :)