This platform is attracting new users with a breakneck speed and as the user base is growing, so does the number of plagiarists and cheaters. When money is involved, people show what they are really capable of.
Some of the users caught plagiarizing are new but we've seen a few users with higher reputation caught lately, which is a real shame as they knew very well what they were doing and what the consequences are.
What Is Plagiarism?
Copypasta
The most common form of plagiarism you see on Hive is copypasta. It's the easiest way of creating content and 99.999 times out of 100 those caught with their hand in the cookie jar say it was a mistake, which obviously it is never true. This is stealing as they knew very well it's not their work but they did it anyway. Monetizing something that is not yours it's even worse.
Transcribing videos and posting the text falls in the same category. It's not your work, you don't have permission to do that.
Translating From Another Language, Without Mentioning The Source
The other form of plagiarism that I have seen quite often lately is translating texts from another language and posting it without mentioning the source. This is also theft, no matter how you look at it.
These users may think people don't speak the language of source and their plagiarism can't be detected. Very wrong! There's no such thing as can't be detected!
Self Plagiarism
Self plagiarism is reposting the same text without mentioning the source, or that the content has been posted before. Some users prefer to delete the old posts and post the content again, thinking the text can't be traced. Well, the beauty of the blockchain is that you can't delete anything as it can be traced back.
Rewriting Texts
This is also common here. Some users think by changing some words, adding a few words to look different can be sold here. Well, that is also theft as you are rewriting someone else's work, without permission in order to monetize it.
Consequences
When caught, these users usually go to Hivewatchers Discord and say it was a mistake, they forgot to add the source. Please people, do yourself a favor, be honest and tell the truth as it's better for you. No one believes these lame excuses anymore. Playing the victim, throwing tantrums and threatening to leave won't help either. The door is open, whoever whats to leave, they are free to do it.
If you're lucky, you get a second chance, which means you have to do an apology post, post original content for 30 days, after which your work will be reviewed and you may have a chance to be taken off the blacklist.
There are other consequences you need to think about, before you start plagiarizing. Community admins have the freedom to ban abusers, which means your post will no longer be visible in the community and you may never have a second chance. No one likes cheaters and thieves.
What is even worse, once you are caught cheating, you may lose the support of those who have trusted and supported you and the only one you can blame for it is yourself.
The most valuable asset you can have on this blockchain is your reputation, which means not only the number next to your name, but also your credibility. Once you lose credibility, you have nothing. Trust me, you can not do much on your own.
Last but not least, here's a post I recommend you to read and learn from it!
It may save you from getting in trouble!