Identity Theft 3.
So it's done. I just checked, and his blog is empty. It appears that Dave or his host or both got the message that plagiarism is unethical and perhaps more importantly, illegal.
Regardless, I'm glad he did the right thing. Dave, thank you.
And thanks to all of you who have shown your support. I love you all.
This was an eye-opening experience. When I first found the site, I was angry when I thought he had just ripped off a poem of mine. But I could deal with that. But as I read entry after entry pulled word for word from my life, the stories of my family and friends, my travels and observations, my loves and loves lost, I felt furious. I felt disgusted. And frankly, I felt violated.
It was like a rape of my story and voice.
What I can't understand is WHY. The beauty of weblogs is it gives all of us a voice. Our own voice. A way to be heard. A way to be published. Use that voice. If you can't find inspiration in your own life, make something up. It's the internet afterall. Half of the stuff on it is pure bullshit anyway.
Just don't take it from someone else. It may well be bullshit, but it's still my bullshit.
Addendum: Dave and I have finally communicated and he apologized for his judgement. He sounds like a good guy who made a mistake, and I'm glad he had the courage to contact me directly. As I mentioned before, I harbor no ill will toward him. I'm glad he made the right decision, and I do honestly hope he finds his own voice for his future digital adventures.
Comments
I looked earlier and the latest post was May 2003. But now, it is totally empty -- as you said. Good. I hope he starts creating his own content and finds his own voice.
Posted by: Nicole | January 6, 2004 12:47 PM
The good guy won! :)
Posted by: AVERAGE JOE | January 6, 2004 01:00 PM
Yay! Good for you. That was weird, I must say. It must have taken him just as long to seek out posts, choose ones to steal, edit them and repost as his own as it would have to just write his own damn stuff. Why such effort? Maybe it's a strange form of blogger stalker flattery. Maybe he wants to be you in a Single White Male kind of way. Spoooooky. (*rink*rink*rink*) (<- Um. Psycho stabbing music.)
Posted by: Xdm | January 6, 2004 01:01 PM
Good, Jimbo ... now I can stop visiting this site every few hours for updates. That happened with one of my dog articles but I found out quickly about it. Several readers brought it to my attention. I am glad this worked out for you.
Posted by: Noggie | January 6, 2004 01:53 PM
Good for Dave for contacting you (that can't have been easy) - and hats off to you for handling this in such a graceful way.
Posted by: Janece | January 6, 2004 03:10 PM
you know, i dont care if he sounds like a good guy. he has a tiny dick. also, if someone steals my shit i swear to christ and all that is holy I will find you and shove your head in your ass and call you a fucking popple.
Posted by: sabrina_c | January 6, 2004 04:18 PM
i'm glad that's all settled...the people at xanga aren't all bad (meaning the people who run it as well as the people who write there)...i'm glad he wrote to you too...at least he had enough balls to do so...how on earth did you discover it though??
Posted by: azure | January 6, 2004 09:37 PM
how very odd this all was. glad it is over.
Posted by: tassy | January 6, 2004 10:46 PM
i did a random google search for one of my old stories to find the link. and i found his. just dumb luck.
Posted by: the mighty jimbo | January 6, 2004 11:02 PM
I'm glad everything worked out! Fantastic; he's still an ass though!
Posted by: Kim | January 7, 2004 08:14 AM
You're much too nice and forgiving. I still think a baseball bat to his knee caps is in order.
Posted by: Your Lil Sis | January 7, 2004 10:20 AM
Glad to hear this was resolved. Now I'm all paranoid and feel like I should check to see if anyone stole my stuff, but I doubt they would since your writing is like 9,472% better than mine.
Also: Remind me never to piss off sabrina c or your younger sister.
Posted by: Kat | January 7, 2004 10:51 AM