# Mysterious "plagiarised" blog comment
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 2, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703 "2006-02-02T18:53:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/1 "2006-02-02T18:53:53Z")
Someone recently posted the following comment on my blog:
> [@](#):
>
> Some of you guys are very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking about.
>
> But trust me… You don’t.
>
> I think you just want to make yourself sound smart, when in reality you dont know what you are talking about.
>
> This is how bad info gets passed around.
>
> If you dont know about the topic….Dont make yourself sound like you do.
>
> Cuz some Dubaians belive anything they hear.
A friend mentioned it sounded familiar, so he [**Googled it**](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=%22This+is+how+bad+info+gets+passed+around%22&btnG=Search). The results as you can see if you click are bizarre - it’s like it has come from some: “Top 10 Reader Comments to Cut and Paste” or something. It’s all over the web in only slight variations, mainly “Dubaians” substituted for something else.
Does anyone know the origins of this phrase/comment?
---
### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/2 "2006-02-02T19:33:32Z")
Well, you know, this is how bad info gets passed around.
I just googled that phrase… that’s one of the oddest things I’ve seen come out of a google search.
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### Author:  [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/3 "2006-02-02T19:51:06Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#):
>
> Well, you know, this is how bad info gets passed around.
>
> I just googled that phrase… that’s one of the oddest things I’ve seen come out of a google search.
I know. It must originate somewhere, but I can’t yet find any references to it even being copied. It’s almost a phenomenon like “O RLY” or something, but I am at a loss to find anything except repeated instances of it.
---
### Author:  [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/4 "2006-02-02T20:09:38Z")
It’s from [Fark](http://www.fark.com)
From [Wikipedia’s fark page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fark.com) about the “I work for” cliche:
> [@](#):
>
> “I work for…” this was originally posted by a Farker who claimed he worked for the US Mint, and complained about other posters jumping to conclusions about the nature of his job; the complaint was couched in painfully bland and vague terms which could be - and have repeatedly been - applied to other subjects by other Farkers. Has arguably reached the status of cliché in record time.
[A link to the original thread](http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1688267)
---
### Author:  [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/5 "2006-02-02T20:16:21Z")
Hit post too soon…
I’ve been on Fark for a quite a while, and this cliche is odd in that it skyrocketed in popularity so quickly, but has managed to stay around. Usually, things get popular for about a week, then die. Somehow this zombie has managed to stay alive despite repeated attempts by several zombie hunters. I’m betting that if it’s use is continued, a filter will be instituted to remove it from our brains.
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### Author:  [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/6 "2006-02-02T21:28:53Z")
> [@St\_Ides](#):
>
> Hit post too soon…
>
> I’ve been on Fark for a quite a while, and this cliche is odd in that it skyrocketed in popularity so quickly, but has managed to stay around. Usually, things get popular for about a week, then die. Somehow this zombie has managed to stay alive despite repeated attempts by several zombie hunters. I’m betting that if it’s use is continued, a filter will be instituted to remove it from our brains.
Aha - so it’s a Fark thing. How odd that something so longwinded and dull caught on in this way.
---
### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/7 "2006-02-02T22:02:17Z")
Somewhat related, but the U.K.'s Daily Mail has been [caught lifting](http://coppersblog.blogspot.com/2006/01/wot-got-me-nearly-in-soup.html) from a blog. Not sure if it counts as plagiarism, though.
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/8 "2006-02-02T22:15:27Z")
> [@istara](#):
>
> Aha - so it’s a Fark thing. How odd that something so longwinded and dull caught on in this way.
In soviet russia, Fark things _you_!
Let’s not be the first throw stones, here. We have our embarassing share of longwinded and dull, too.
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### Author:  [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/9 "2006-02-04T15:29:39Z")
> [@Quartz](#):
>
> Somewhat related, but the U.K.'s Daily Mail has been [caught lifting](http://coppersblog.blogspot.com/2006/01/wot-got-me-nearly-in-soup.html) from a blog. Not sure if it counts as plagiarism, though.
Not plagiarism, because they quote him (ie they’re not passing it off as their own writing). But possibly a breach of copyright, if they didn’t seek his permission first to quote such a substantial amount.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/10 "2006-02-04T15:58:23Z")
Hmm. Are we sure? I remember reading that thread; that was only like four months ago. Any way to determine if there are any earlier examples of it? Maybe the fark thing was a cutnpaste?
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### Author:  [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/11 "2006-02-04T16:13:37Z")
Maybe we should perpetuate it, after making a few prominent changes. For example, here’s an edited version:
\*\*Some of you gimps are not very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking to death.
But trust me… You don’t wiggle your ears very well.
I think you just want to make yourself sound squeaky, when in reality you don’t know what you are honking about.
This is how bad foie gras gets passed around.
If you dont know about the biopic….Dont make yourself sound whiny like you do.
Cuz some Cubans believe anything they wear. \*\*
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### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/12 "2006-02-04T19:40:22Z")
> [@AskNott](#):
>
> Maybe we should perpetuate it, after making a few prominent changes. For example, here’s an edited version:
>
> \*\*Some of you gimps are not very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking to death.
>
> But trust me… You don’t wiggle your ears very well.
>
> I think you just want to make yourself sound squeaky, when in reality you don’t know what you are honking about.
>
> This is how bad foie gras gets passed around.
>
> If you dont know about the biopic….Dont make yourself sound whiny like you do.
>
> Cuz some Cubans believe anything they wear. \*\*
We have to be close to the original then:
> [@mikey-mop](#):
>
> I work for the U.S. Mint.
>
> So I am really getting a kick out of most of these replies.
>
> Some of you guys are very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking about.
>
> But trust me… You don’t.
>
> I think you just want to make yourself sound smart, when in reality you dont know what you are talking about.
>
> This is how bad info gets passed around.
>
> If you dont know about the topic…Dont make yourself sound like you do.
>
> Cuz some Farkers belive anything they hear.
Part of the humor comes from changing the work title, like for example: “I work at Mc Donald’s” ending with a rude term to the target and an extra line like “Do you want fries with that?”
---
### Author:  [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/13 "2006-02-05T01:26:12Z")
> [@lissener](#):
>
> Hmm. Are we sure? I remember reading that thread; that was only like four months ago. Any way to determine if there are any earlier examples of it? Maybe the fark thing was a cutnpaste?
I’m 99-100% sure that the linked thread is the origin of that phrase. I don’t remember seeing it before that thread at all, and I’ve seen it many, many times since then. There also doesn’t seem to be any other explanations as to the origin of that quote.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2006, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/14 "2006-02-05T10:08:51Z")
> [@istara](#):
>
> Not plagiarism, because they quote him (ie they’re not passing it off as their own writing). But possibly a breach of copyright, if they didn’t seek his permission first to quote such a substantial amount.
Umm… no. If you read the article and the original, they post it just about verbatim. I’m sure that any of the academic dopers here would call that plagiarism. And they didn’t seek his permission, and I have not read of any payment having been paid.
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### Author:  [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/15 "2006-02-05T22:36:41Z")
> [@Quartz](#):
>
> Umm… no. If you read the article and the original, they post it just about verbatim. I’m sure that any of the academic dopers here would call that plagiarism. And they didn’t seek his permission, and I have not read of any payment having been paid.
I understand plagiarism to be passing someone else’s work off as your own.
Posting large amounts verbatim is copyright infringement.
Of course it is possible to do both in one fell swoop. But here (albeit without permission) they very clearly state where the material comes from. They are not claming they wrote it.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/16 "2006-02-06T23:32:25Z")
That counts as plagiarism to me. Again, I think the academic examiners would agree.
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-plagiarised-blog-comment/342703/17 "2006-02-07T04:16:08Z")
Just be sure you unplug the bad info before you pass it around.