Copy and Pasting rules on Mahalo?

There's another concern about copying and pasting other than plagiarism. Search engine ranking penalizes pages that have duplicate content, so that even if you have permission from the author to post a large quantity of text, you place quotes around the text, and have attributed it it...you may be okay legally - but the page won't rank as highly as if you created original content. Mahalo-managed pages all adhere to both guidelines.

If you are a page manager who's interested in driving traffic to your page, you'll want to avoid excerpting more than small portions of text from other pages.

I think there needs to be a publish button for the entire page, not just the section, or something that declares you have officially completed the page. Some people or researchers copy and paste information to get the facts right, then rework the work, and it is not plagiarism. It's important to understand that a lot of pages need to be sourced, or come from other sources on the Internet, and similar work is bound to be found, yet it's not plagiarism as the wording is changed around, but the facts must remain the same.

I do not know how Mahalo guides are seeing pages before they are complete, yet sometimes guides will see a page before it is complete, yet there is really some work that needs to be done to the guide note before. Also, sometimes the site says it best, and I don't see a problem if you quote a line or something from the site or place the information came from, as long as you add a source to it. Most of the pages on Mahalo does not have truly original content, as there are pages that already exist on other sites.

Not saying that we copy them verbatim, yet sometimes rewording or reworking these pages so it fits a Mahalo style is probably recommended. I think there could be a problem with getting too creative as well, as this might make a page way too long, and nobody would want to read the page.

I will be the first to apologize for my error regarding this. I just started with Mahalo a few days ago, and perhaps it was my training as a guide with other companies on the web that developed my bad habit of copying and pasting when it comes to answering questions. Thank you very much for clarifying this issue here, as well as on the full page.

Thanks for bringing this up. I know in the earlier days of Mahalo Answers (starting in December) this was something that came up in various questions fairly frequently. Once in awhile I'll comment while voting that this isn't really acceptable, knowing that newbies probably don't realize that.It might be worthwhile to have another round of "what makes a great answer?

", as has been done a couple of times in the past, to teach newbies what kinds of things will win them Best Answer. I know it's got to be frustrating to join and try to answer a few questions, only to never get best answer ever, not realizing texting-style spelling, answers of just a few words, answers without sources, humor that doesn't translate, unfriendly attitudes and copy/pasting aren't going to do it. I think people who are new to the site don't realize that it's very closely monitored, unlike most other question/answer sites.

As someone who had to learn about citation rules and "fair use" in graduate school as part of the publication process, to me this is old hat. On the answers, it's a bit tricky because we need to summarize our answer in 90 characters if possible and then still maintain citations. I've been using (link 1) type notes in most of my answers to distinguish literature review from opinion.

On the pages, it's not clear how to add a reference to the references part except from the Fast Facts section. Ideally, we should be able to do something such as double bracket the citation number and have it link to the bottom.

I'm glad Mahalo takes this issue seriously. When I first joined here in 2008 I remember flagging a number of answers as well as discussing the issue with Jason. Commitment to quality and responding to user's concerns is what makes Mahalo a great place to hang out.

Let me also take this opportunity to shamelessly self promote a legal research paper I wrote on plagiarism (the link is in my bio).

I received an email from Lon Harris, the editorial director of Mahalo, about this and he helped me fix things up. My page Boston Red Sox is doing so much better (traffic wise) and its Google rank has gone up. He told me to feel free to email him about any questions or concerns I may have in the future.

I am new and am just starting out. I did not realize that there were copywriting issues on this board. I think a statement about copying and pasting and quoting sources should be made available while signing up.

I believe the rules will be clearer as a result.

I'm wondering (and have been for a while), if it would be possible to add to the 'Report' function on answers a choice for reporting plagiarism. And, by the way, I don't think it's ok to soft-pedal this. Quoting other works without attribution is plagiarism plain and simple.It shouldn't be just "frowned on".

It's theft, and it's wrong. And being a newbie here is no excuse. I think most people here are at least in high school, and quoting without attribution will get you a failing grade (or at least get you a forced rewrite of your paper) in every school I know.

IMO, an answer reported as plagiarism (and confirmed as such) should be ineligible for Best Answer, and possibly should have any points rescinded. For Mahalo pages, after warnings and an opportunity for correction are given, the page should be taken away from the offender. Sorry for sounding so harsh, but I'm married to a Language Arts teacher, and it's a constant problem with her students.

Plagiarism is a hot-button issue around our house.

While I don't disagree on the Copy & Paste rules, I do need to mention that I've had some content on my pages changed because it was too close to that of the Site it was about. This happened because the owner of the site Gave me this text to post here. How exactly does that fit in?

I think that a little bit of leniency can be given to the newer members like the several yellow belts on here. However, it's important to get the message across early on. Plagiarism isn't allowed.As for green belts and above, it should already be obvious that plagiarism is breaking the rules.

We shouldn't have to refer them to such a Mahalo page, but it seems as if this is what it's coming down to.

I believe that as long as credit is given to the original person who wrote it copying and pasting is fine. I have copied and pasted on my page but I try to add a link to where I got the information from or if it has a writers name I have the writers name and a source from where I got the information from. And as long as people do that I think that people should copy and paste.

I definitely agree that answers should not be simply copied and pasted. People should either just give the link to the content, provide their own opinion, or quote the content as you would do in a research paper, then give credit where credit is due.

While Mahalo prohibits such conduct and content on its Site, you understand and agree that Mahalo cannot be responsible for the Content posted on its Site by members, and you nonetheless may be exposed to such materials and that you use the Services at your own risk. " This means that Mahalo, since they've opened it to the public, is just like any other forum and is isn't liable for what the members talk about, etc? *** This is great that you've opened a page like this to help members become more aware.

You are right and I think everyone needs to know this but the only thing is if they keep doing this we cant help it because its just imposible to know if they copyed/paste.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.