Here’s a good one: The Daily Sucker has found 300+ organizations using a legal statement containing the phrase, “Wow You actually came to this page.”
Highly professional, that, along with “Our lawyers made us include it and made us use a precious link on our home page to get you here.” Which isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, but the fact that it’s been copied over and over is…interesting to say the least.
It does make me wonder who originated the statement, though.
Hello,
I put some text into the Goggle search engine, on a whim to see if there were other sites using the text:
“Wow! You actually came to this page. Our lawyers made us include it and made us use a precious link on our home page to get you here. . . “And, to my surprise, there were literally hundreds!
I am a writing major, and in college or, in grade school rather, one of the first rules about writing we learn is about plagiarism. This is what I thought had happened between two sites and was ready to inform both sites as to the copied text.
However, I have learned something new today, and that is the idea of using ones own words or words generated by a computer program, or other individual, is actually for SALE!
Where is the pride in using someone else’s words?
As an English major and practicing writing, I take a lot of pride in every word that I commit to the page, I expect people in my life to be as adamants as I am when writing a paper, essay or even a blog that is posted on the internet.
I would have never guessed that an entire paragraph has been generated and regenerated to post on several sites the meaning is lost. I refuse to take part in a site that cannot spend the time necessary to come up with their log line, or catch phrase. If they will (not quote the source) then to me, it is nothing more than plagiarism, a complete lie. If they will lie about their words, what else will they lie about? How can we trust sites that use recycled paragraphs?
I cannot, and, I will not.
Thanks for posting this article.
I think that people have become too lazy with this new technology, and the purpose of the internet was to increase communication, to learn, share, and become more creative in our thinking.
A lesson for all on line businesses, write your own material, you will benefit from it. f
Katina M. Woodruff
Ohio State University
English & Disability Studies Major
katinawoodruff740@yahoo.com
PS. If you use any/all of my words in this post, I expect you to quote this site, and who wrote the words. Steal my words and reap the consequences–in a courtroom.