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we have a strict policy in place to make sure this doesn't happen. If it does, and it really shouldn't have beyond a year ago (when we really clamped down on i

we have a strict policy in place to make sure this doesn't happen. If it does, and it really shouldn't have beyond a year ago (when we really clamped down on it with our authors)... we fix it. If it ever does happen, I assure you that all it takes is one email to office@thenextweb.com and we'll have it resolved. But I assure you that this "care free" image you might have of us when it comes to posting other peoples images just isn't reality.

potch 14y ago
Have you considered not personally flaming the original authors in public?
jacquesm 14y ago
You really don't get it do you? > If it ever does happen, I assure you that all it takes is one email to office@thenextweb.com and we'll have it resolved. I'm sure it does. But the point is that you should ensure through process and not through policy that you do not end up with other people's stuff on your site without attribution or compensation. The fact that you'll take it down to avoid further damage is not enough to put you in the clear, this is not 'user generated content', these are people with who you have a relationship where you have them create works on your behalf. You're responsible. One way in which you could do this - consult your local legal eagle - is to ask your authors to sign a release stating that they are the original creators of all the content they submit, and that they are within their rights to re-sell this content to you.
- zeedotme 14y ago
  We do have processes AND policy in place to make sure this doesn't happen. But it can still happen unintentionally and when it does, we react activity and proactively.
  - drewblaisdell 14y ago
    This was not unintentional, though. The writer clearly took a screenshot of someone else's work and made no effort to even credit work that should not have been used in the first place.
  - jacquesm 14y ago
    > we react activity and proactively. That does not parse but I think you're confusing aggressively with actively and proactively with defensively. All at once. And you look pretty silly in the process. Just apologize to the guy, make sure you'll never do it again. As long as you keep spinning this will make you look worse and worse. It's obvious that you don't have a process in place because then this would not happen. This was not unintentional, there is 0 chance of that. Nobody copies a chunk of text like that unintentional, nobody behaves like you did in this thread and elsewhere unintentional. The cover-up is worse than the crime, if you had been a responsible adult about this in the first place it would have gone away long ago. It was dumb. Only you can stop it.
  - famousactress 14y ago
    Don't be ridiculous, this wasn't "unintentional". Additionally, it's impossible to react proactively.
    - josephcooney 14y ago
      Excellent point re: reacting proactive-ly. At some point you've taken so many action items on-board, uplifted so much capability and re-purposed to much content that all the corporate buzz-words just start making perfect sense.
  - mnicole 14y ago
    By telling the original authors you'll be sure to 'steer clear' of them in the future for being upset that they weren't credited until it made you look like an ass? Yikes.
  - csomar 14y ago
    It's clear that you react to it (reading through the CEO comments)
  - logjam 14y ago
    Quit using manager-bullshit-speak. Here, let me write your entire "processes AND policy" manual for plagiarism: 1) Don't do it; 2) If it occurs, fire the guy who did it; 3) Apologize and try to make it right; 4) Shut up. You seem to find each one of those steps challenging.
    - junto 14y ago
      Actually, the boss should carry the can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_responsibility http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_responsibility
  - dkersten 14y ago
    And spam the guys twitter saying he is overreacting and that its ridiculous that hes getting the slightest bit annoyed at the fact that you ripped his work off? Wow.. Just WOW.
  - icodeforlove 14y ago
    talk about a great way to ruin a company image... just shows that a company can't do this anymore to the masses, the people are not as silenced. Its now actually in a companies best intrest to be legitimate ;)
  - white_devil 14y ago
    You know, we were already convinced you're a sleazebag. Lying to our faces in an attempt at damage control was unnecessary.
  - mwilcox 14y ago
    Proactive and reactive are complete opposites. You cannot 'react' 'proactively'.
  - rhizome 14y ago
    I don't suppose your policies and processes allow for the actual author to receive the ad income from your use of his story, do they?
  - artursapek 14y ago
    You are a hoot.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- jaylevitt 14y ago
  No, he really doesn't get it. From his public "apology"[1]: "The debate on paraphrasing, rewriting and quoting we should save for another post." Zee: THAT'S THE PLAGIARISM PART. [1] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M92qqFrK2zlqCoaQV_l_wuxIjDncLDD-8QMiPbRgJxU/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M92qqFrK2zlqCoaQV_l_wuxI...
ChristianMarks 14y ago
A strict policy that includes insulting the original poster, accusing him of being "too extreme" and vowing on Twitter to avoid him in the future. At least this policy was written down, agreed to in advance and followed to the letter in practice. There's leadership for you. Or chutzpah.
sparknlaunch12 14y ago
Strange that this has been greyed out? Not condoning the act of plagiarism but seems fairer to allow all parties to say their bits?
- aerique 14y ago
  It's because of people downvoting him.
- lotharbot 14y ago
  It's our way of voicing very clear disagreement. Anyone who wants to read his words still can.
  - eli 14y ago
    You think otherwise he might not know people disagree? Voting really shouldn't be punitive to people with unpopular opinions.
    - lotharbot 14y ago
      I think otherwise he might not realize the breadth and depth at which this community disagrees with him. He is not merely expressing an unpopular opinion, he's demonstrated an inability to grasp certain basic concepts. Don't think of it as punitive; think of it as a wake-up call. Also, according to pg, it is and always has been perfectly fine to downvote people for disagreement: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=392347 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=392347 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=658691 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=658691
    - beedogs 14y ago
      Why shouldn't it? The only way to get rid of bad ideas is to shame them out of existence.
      - eli 14y ago
        Really? That's the only way?
cs702 14y ago
Wow, no apology. Wow. Zee, everyone can see the online record, which shows you plagiarized Joshua Gross, publicly threatened him on Twitter, and then publicly denied plagiarizing him. And you're still not apologizing? Wow...
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
aurelianito 14y ago
I up-voted the parent comment because it is quite relevant to the history. OTOH, I find the opinion expressed in the parent comment quite disgusting. I DO NOT think that down-voting relevant content we don't agree with is a good idea. Do you agree with me?
redcircle 14y ago
What's up with the down voting? The score is now so low that you have to play with the screen contrast to read the comment. Does it enhance the quality of Hacker News when we can't read a side of the argument? This is judgmental crap, not mature debate.
- SourPatch 14y ago
  I just highlight with the mouse.

potch 14y ago

Have you considered not personally flaming the original authors in public?

jacquesm 14y ago

You really don't get it do you? > If it ever does happen, I assure you that all it takes is one email to office@thenextweb.com and we'll have it resolved. I'm sure it does. But the point is that you should ensure through process and not through policy that you do not end up with other people's stuff on your site without attribution or compensation. The fact that you'll take it down to avoid further damage is not enough to put you in the clear, this is not 'user generated content', these are people with who you have a relationship where you have them create works on your behalf. You're responsible. One way in which you could do this - consult your local legal eagle - is to ask your authors to sign a release stating that they are the original creators of all the content they submit, and that they are within their rights to re-sell this content to you.

zeedotme 14y ago
We do have processes AND policy in place to make sure this doesn't happen. But it can still happen unintentionally and when it does, we react activity and proactively.
- drewblaisdell 14y ago
  This was not unintentional, though. The writer clearly took a screenshot of someone else's work and made no effort to even credit work that should not have been used in the first place.
- jacquesm 14y ago
  > we react activity and proactively. That does not parse but I think you're confusing aggressively with actively and proactively with defensively. All at once. And you look pretty silly in the process. Just apologize to the guy, make sure you'll never do it again. As long as you keep spinning this will make you look worse and worse. It's obvious that you don't have a process in place because then this would not happen. This was not unintentional, there is 0 chance of that. Nobody copies a chunk of text like that unintentional, nobody behaves like you did in this thread and elsewhere unintentional. The cover-up is worse than the crime, if you had been a responsible adult about this in the first place it would have gone away long ago. It was dumb. Only you can stop it.
- famousactress 14y ago
  Don't be ridiculous, this wasn't "unintentional". Additionally, it's impossible to react proactively.
  - josephcooney 14y ago
    Excellent point re: reacting proactive-ly. At some point you've taken so many action items on-board, uplifted so much capability and re-purposed to much content that all the corporate buzz-words just start making perfect sense.
- mnicole 14y ago
  By telling the original authors you'll be sure to 'steer clear' of them in the future for being upset that they weren't credited until it made you look like an ass? Yikes.
- csomar 14y ago
  It's clear that you react to it (reading through the CEO comments)
- logjam 14y ago
  Quit using manager-bullshit-speak. Here, let me write your entire "processes AND policy" manual for plagiarism: 1) Don't do it; 2) If it occurs, fire the guy who did it; 3) Apologize and try to make it right; 4) Shut up. You seem to find each one of those steps challenging.
  - junto 14y ago
    Actually, the boss should carry the can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_responsibility http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_responsibility
- dkersten 14y ago
  And spam the guys twitter saying he is overreacting and that its ridiculous that hes getting the slightest bit annoyed at the fact that you ripped his work off? Wow.. Just WOW.
- icodeforlove 14y ago
  talk about a great way to ruin a company image... just shows that a company can't do this anymore to the masses, the people are not as silenced. Its now actually in a companies best intrest to be legitimate ;)
- white_devil 14y ago
  You know, we were already convinced you're a sleazebag. Lying to our faces in an attempt at damage control was unnecessary.
- mwilcox 14y ago
  Proactive and reactive are complete opposites. You cannot 'react' 'proactively'.
- rhizome 14y ago
  I don't suppose your policies and processes allow for the actual author to receive the ad income from your use of his story, do they?
- artursapek 14y ago
  You are a hoot.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
jaylevitt 14y ago
No, he really doesn't get it. From his public "apology"[1]: "The debate on paraphrasing, rewriting and quoting we should save for another post." Zee: THAT'S THE PLAGIARISM PART. [1] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M92qqFrK2zlqCoaQV_l_wuxIjDncLDD-8QMiPbRgJxU/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M92qqFrK2zlqCoaQV_l_wuxI...

ChristianMarks 14y ago

A strict policy that includes insulting the original poster, accusing him of being "too extreme" and vowing on Twitter to avoid him in the future. At least this policy was written down, agreed to in advance and followed to the letter in practice. There's leadership for you. Or chutzpah.

sparknlaunch12 14y ago

Strange that this has been greyed out? Not condoning the act of plagiarism but seems fairer to allow all parties to say their bits?

aerique 14y ago
It's because of people downvoting him.
lotharbot 14y ago
It's our way of voicing very clear disagreement. Anyone who wants to read his words still can.
- eli 14y ago
  You think otherwise he might not know people disagree? Voting really shouldn't be punitive to people with unpopular opinions.
  - lotharbot 14y ago
    I think otherwise he might not realize the breadth and depth at which this community disagrees with him. He is not merely expressing an unpopular opinion, he's demonstrated an inability to grasp certain basic concepts. Don't think of it as punitive; think of it as a wake-up call. Also, according to pg, it is and always has been perfectly fine to downvote people for disagreement: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=392347 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=392347 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=658691 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=658691
  - beedogs 14y ago
    Why shouldn't it? The only way to get rid of bad ideas is to shame them out of existence.
    - eli 14y ago
      Really? That's the only way?

cs702 14y ago

Wow, no apology. Wow. Zee, everyone can see the online record, which shows you plagiarized Joshua Gross, publicly threatened him on Twitter, and then publicly denied plagiarizing him. And you're still not apologizing? Wow...

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

aurelianito 14y ago

I up-voted the parent comment because it is quite relevant to the history. OTOH, I find the opinion expressed in the parent comment quite disgusting. I DO NOT think that down-voting relevant content we don't agree with is a good idea. Do you agree with me?

redcircle 14y ago

What's up with the down voting? The score is now so low that you have to play with the screen contrast to read the comment. Does it enhance the quality of Hacker News when we can't read a side of the argument? This is judgmental crap, not mature debate.

SourPatch 14y ago
I just highlight with the mouse.