| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Profile plagiarism on Proz. Thread poster: ToFrench
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ToFrench 
France
Local time: 22:48
English to French
Hi all,
I had my profile plagiarized on Proz. This happened to me many times on various platforms and I have always successfully managed to have those platforms taking action after I reported the facts. No big deal.
When I reported the case to Proz however, I was told that they can't do anything about this since Proz members are allowed to write what they want in their profiles, as long as it doesn't violate Proz rules (... See more Hi all,
I had my profile plagiarized on Proz. This happened to me many times on various platforms and I have always successfully managed to have those platforms taking action after I reported the facts. No big deal.
When I reported the case to Proz however, I was told that they can't do anything about this since Proz members are allowed to write what they want in their profiles, as long as it doesn't violate Proz rules (http://www.proz.com/rules/). And indeed, by reading the rules I can see that plagiarism is not prohibited.
I must say that I was baffled at first. I can see that portfolio plagiarism is not prohibited neither, so I guess that any Proz member, me or somebody else ,may end one day with their entire portfolio stolen by another member. I am not really comfortable with all this.
If a translator cannot write a profile for himself and just copy/paste from another translator, what does this mean about the integrity of this person? And if Proz think it's ok, what does this mean about the integrity of the whole website?
Now I am really not that excited about Proz anymore. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:48
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Portfolio plagiarism *is* prohibited. | Aug 24, 2015 |
ToFrench wrote: Hi all, I had my profile plagiarized on Proz. This happened to me many times on various platforms and I have always successfully managed to have those platforms taking action after I reported the facts. No big deal. When I reported the case to Proz however, I was told that they can't do anything about this since Proz members are allowed to write what they want in their profiles, as long as it doesn't violate Proz rules ( http://www.proz.com/rules/). And indeed, by reading the rules I can see that plagiarism is not prohibited. I must say that I was baffled at first. I can see that portfolio plagiarism is not prohibited neither, so I guess that any Proz member, me or somebody else ,may end one day with their entire portfolio stolen by another member. I am not really comfortable with all this. If a translator cannot write a profile for himself and just copy/paste from another translator, what does this mean about the integrity of this person? And if Proz think it's ok, what does this mean about the integrity of the whole website? Now I am really not that excited about Proz anymore.
Hi ToFrench,
Portfolio plagiarism is prohibited. Someone called Edward Mahana copy/pasted my entire portfolio of translations onto his own Proz profile, and his profile was deleted from the site.
Profile plagiarism is harder to control though. You can at least shame the person who did it by mentioning them by name (and Proz profile) here in the forums.
See: http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/264089-edward_mahana_the_translation_thief.html
Michael
| | | | | Misrepresentation and impersonation are forbidden | Aug 25, 2015 |
Dear all,
I'd like to clarify that misrepresentation and impersonation are prohibited on ProZ.com. Instances of this are reported and evaluated through the site's support center, and action is taken if there is evidence to support that this rule has indeed broken. This policy is ... See more Dear all,
I'd like to clarify that misrepresentation and impersonation are prohibited on ProZ.com. Instances of this are reported and evaluated through the site's support center, and action is taken if there is evidence to support that this rule has indeed broken. This policy is described in general site rule 6: http://www.proz.com/siterules/general/6#6
Best regards,
Maria ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 22:48
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Who is the other person? | Aug 25, 2015 |
ToFrench wrote:
I had my profile plagiarized on Proz. This happened to me many times on various platforms and I have always successfully managed to have those platforms taking action after I reported the facts.
I searched ProZ.com for various phrases in your profile page, but could not find any other profile similar to yours. Since we're not talking about an outsourcer, I think it's safe for you to tell us the URL of that person's profile page.
Or, can you please tell us which parts of your profile page was copied?
Samuel
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 16:48
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| The description section on my profile has been copied several times | Aug 25, 2015 |
I was forced to periodically change it. Right now it has been copied by someone whose ID is Zhang w. on Elance. I looked at his or her job history on Elance and I found he had never been assigned any job there. So I guess those who copy profile information from another linguist without even being able to edit it won't be able to stay in the translation industry for a long time.
| | | | | Building a reputation involves so much more | Aug 25, 2015 |
While I sympathise with your situation, I can't help feeling that "translators" (I use the word loosely") who need to copy other professionals' profiles, word for word, are not going to get very far. Building a professional reputation is so much more than the contents of an online profile - here on ProZ it includes KudoZ answers, forum posts, WWA entries. Elsewhere, it's about your overall online presence - personal website, LinkedIn, Twitter and blog posts.
The "translator" in ques... See more While I sympathise with your situation, I can't help feeling that "translators" (I use the word loosely") who need to copy other professionals' profiles, word for word, are not going to get very far. Building a professional reputation is so much more than the contents of an online profile - here on ProZ it includes KudoZ answers, forum posts, WWA entries. Elsewhere, it's about your overall online presence - personal website, LinkedIn, Twitter and blog posts.
The "translator" in question reminds me of the naked man in the TV adaptation of the Coen brothers' film Fargo, who escapes from the trunk of serial killer Billy Bob Thornton's car at midnight in the middle of a sub-zero, snowy Minnesota landscape. Billy Bob Thornton did not bother pursuing the man. Because he knew precisely how far he would get. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule |
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| Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 22:48
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Strange... no rule was broken... | Aug 25, 2015 |
[quote]ToFrench wrote:
PS: I wrote a post with a link to ed]'s profile since somebody in this thread asked it, but Proz filtered it.
That is strange. Posting a link to a member's profile is not prohibited by the forum rules, unless he's an outsourcer, unless I'm mistaken.
[Edited at 2015-08-25 16:43 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 22:48
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Is this plagiarism, though? | Aug 25, 2015 |
ToFrench wrote:
If a translator cannot write a profile for himself and just copy/paste from another translator, what does this mean about the integrity of this person?
But is this plagiarism, though?
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ToFrench
France
Local time: 22:48
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
No, Proz does not consider this as plagiarism at all.
| | | | | What's the point? | Aug 25, 2015 |
I could take Albert Einsten's biography, say, from Wikipedia, and build my CV around it.
Nobody would sound-mindedly think that I'm more intelligent or better prepared to do anything they want or need just because I said so. Due diligence is required.
Some translation outsourcers turn "native speakers" into a much bigger issue than it is, in an attempt to defuse blame, in case they hire someone who is terrible at writing and/or translating into their very own native language. ... See more I could take Albert Einsten's biography, say, from Wikipedia, and build my CV around it.
Nobody would sound-mindedly think that I'm more intelligent or better prepared to do anything they want or need just because I said so. Due diligence is required.
Some translation outsourcers turn "native speakers" into a much bigger issue than it is, in an attempt to defuse blame, in case they hire someone who is terrible at writing and/or translating into their very own native language. This is also an attempt to conceal the fact that they would be unable to assess prospective translators' skills into the required language.
So I wouldn't care if anyone copied my profile/CV, if that person were truly able to do whatever I can do, and delivered the same quality. Keep in mind that a fake product attempts to look just like the original.
For instance, I have a watch that cost me US$ 15. When I bought it, it looked exactly like a US$ 2,000 TAG Heuer, and was about as accurate in telling the time. It took a magnifying glass to see that the brand read "TG Heavy". Now, several years later, the chrome plating is worn; though it's still accurate, it looks like a $30 fake. Anyone who ever thought of paying $2K for that fake should have first invested 99¢ in a magnifying glass, right?
So people who gullibly believe in self-claiming profiles and CVs deserve what they'll be getting. The proof is in the pudding. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Yes this is plagiarism | Aug 25, 2015 |
Samuel Murray wrote: ToFrench wrote:
If a translator cannot write a profile for himself and just copy/paste from another translator, what does this mean about the integrity of this person? But is this plagiarism, though?
That is plagiarism, and what you show would be enough for a student to be failed in a University course, if discovered (and tools like Turnitin ensure that the plagiarism would be discovered.)
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