So... Plagiarism

Dear Miss Plagiarist,

I regret to inform you that yes, I have foiled your plans and I'm sorry that it's come down to this. I'm not writing this open letter lightly, nor am I malicious person who would publicly name and shame you. I've seen what becomes of those caught stealing content, and I don't wish that upon anyone. But stealing is never a victimless crime and I'm afraid that you need to learn the consequences of that.


I chose to contact you privately, asking for the stolen content to be removed, and essentially for you to provide some form of explanation why you would choose to plagiarise not only myself but multiple bloggers and reviewers. Even if they are unaware. But you've removed your Goodreads account without explanation and chose to close any means of communication, hence this open letter.

Contrary to popular belief, I'm a nice person. I love puppies, rainbows and complimenting others on their new haircut, even if it looks awful. So you've not only stolen from me, but put me in a position where I need to decide whether to tell those involved that you've violated their intellectual rights. And yes, I will be showing them even if your details will be obscured. It's a moral dilemma that I won't be taking lightly as I'm not interested in turning this into a witch hunt. Even if you have now removed the stolen reviews from Goodreads, these same stolen reviews are still posted to your blog and Amazon. These reviews do not belong to you, and since you've shut down any communication we may have entered into, you've left me no choice but to publicly urge you to remove any last traces of your theft. 

I'm not angry, but disappointed that you felt the need to claim my work among others as your own. There is no justification for stealing content. My message to you was in good faith, which most would agree that you probably didn't deserve such kindness. Perhaps another blogger wouldn't have been so lenient on you. But yet again, this is something you've brought upon yourself.

So remove what is not rightfully yours. Please. Or regretfully, I'll need to take the matter further.

Sincerely
Diva Booknerd

74 comments

  1. Oh my gosh! I'm a bit rattled right now Kelly, I'm so sorry this has happened to you! What I am left wondering though, is how you managed to uncover this said person out of the millions and millions on the internet! Still, such a bummer, I hope you find resolve :/

    Claudia @ My Soul Called Life

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    1. Purely by accident Claudia. I was on Goodreads and grabbing the book details for a review I needed to write up and after I finished writing mine, I go and see what friends have thought of it.

      I noticed a review looked familiar and scrolled down to find the same review by another blogger that I visit regularly. Knowing this reviewer doesn't have another blog, and both were on my friends list, I checked out the plagiarized reviewer only to discover one of my own had also been stolen. And unfortunately the ball rolled from there. I'm not angry, but urging this plagiarist to do the right thing.

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    2. Oh gosh, happenstance or not, it's still wrong. Again, I'm sorry this happened to you :/ I really hope you find resolve and that this person just comes to grips with their terrible mistake. Have you heard anything?

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    3. Nothing, but I expect this isn't the end of it either sadly. I hope my post has somehow reached her and she decides to start writing her own.

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  2. I've already told you about this on Gchat, but I'm so sorry that you were plagiarised, Kelly. It must be such a shitty feeling to have worked so hard to churn out the content you create, only to have someone blatantly and disrespectfully pass it off as their own. Even more so to reach out to the blogger privately to settle this very serious matter only to be shoved away. I really hope this would be resolved soon and that she takes off every post she copied, because not only is that wrong, that's completely illegal and immoral and just awful. *HUGS*

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    1. It's more so disappointment than anything. I can understand when you're just starting out, that writing reviews can be daunting, but if anyone is struggling, we're an awesome and tight knit community that you can always ask for help. I hope so too. I've told those involved, the ones I checked anyway and some reviewers are yet to reply. One said how she felt really used that anyone would do this to her, and I completely agree.

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  3. What is this? Someone would actually do this? I can't believe people such are the person who did this would stoop so low as to steal from someone else. I admire you being so open about it, however, and being the kind of person who wouldn't want to wish shame or disgrace on anyone and you're not referring to an actual person. I'm so sorry this happened to u and if there's anything u need for help with this, I'm a shoulder to lean on. This is just wrong and I didn't realize people had the morals and idea to do this.

    With an open heart and arms :D

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

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    1. Thanks Alex, I really appreciate your support. It's a sensitive issue and although I'm disappointed, I still feel as though I need to tread carefully and try to approach this calmly and privately, but there really isn't any precedent on how to deal with anyone stealing your content. I'm just urging her to now do the right thing.

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  4. Sorry to hear you were plagiarised, Kelly. It should never have happened in the first place, but they really should have listened and fixed it when you gave them the chance. Hope this is resolved soon!

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    1. Me too Rebecca. It's a horrible feeling really that I wouldn't wish upon anyone else. By I feel far worse for those I had to let know that they'd had their content stolen as well.

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  5. Oh my god! I can't believe someone would do this. And why?! (What did they have to gain?)

    So sorry!

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    1. I know, I wondered myself Deborah. I think in this case, it might be not being able to construct a review for the sake of publishers sadly. Which we all start out a little rocky and not knowing what to do. But the book blogging community is always willing to lend a hand for those struggling, and she could have simply asked for help rather than steal others work and present it as her own.

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  6. I would be so upset if this happened to me. I work so hard on my content, as do you . . . as do all of us really, and to see someone snatch it from us and use it as their own is pretty fucked up. I commend you for being so professional in the manner, because I'm sure that person may cross someone who isn't so nice. (Myself for example lol). I just wish plagiarism wasn't a " thing " that actually happened in our community. People just need to be comfortable with being themselves, and that means coming up with opinions that are formed 100% by them! Ugh I'm so annoyed by this Kelly, so sorry this has happened to you :(

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    1. It shouldn't be a thing should it. Fortunately we don't see much of it in book blogging, that I've seen anyway. Thank goodness. If anyone is struggling with a review, you only need to put down how you felt about it. It doesn't need to be fancy, or even using elaborate words that most of us would need to Google, but make it your own. Plagiarists aren't welcome in ANY community, including ours.

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  7. What is wrong with people? This is just awful. :(

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    1. I don't know Blessie, people baffle me on a daily basis. I can't say I'm surprised this has happened. I figure it was bound to eventually. I feel more for the others who has their reviews stolen, and horrible that I had the break that kind of news to them.

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  8. I'm so sorry that your content was plagiarized :( I hate it when people do that, and they're aware of it but they don't care for the slightest bit until a notice was given... :( It's very lazy and awful for them to do! This makes me wonder if any of my ideas or reviews were plagiarized without proper credit or anything. This post suddenly made me wonder... Anyway, I hope the problem gets fixed here! So sorry that this had to happen!

    Jillian @ Jillian's Books

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    1. I can imagine quite a bit of it goes on without our knowledge, I just happened to stumble upon it by accident. Even changing a word or two is still plagiarising, as you're still using someones work and claiming it as your own. I hope you haven't been poppet, but if you're worried, you can always take a few lines from random reviews of yours and Google, see if they come up elsewhere.

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  9. So sorry this happened to you, Kelly! I hope things work out very soon.

    x Ely

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    1. Me too poppet. Hopefully this will be the end of it.

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  10. Oh no. ANOTHER one. I thought the Story Siren's scandal had shut them up at least for a while. Won't they ever learn?
    I seriously can't wrap my mind around the reasons why bloggers decide to plagiarize content. We're not in school, for goodness' sake. When we open a blog, it's in order to share OUR opinions with the rest of the world. Is there any satisfaction in copying what others had to say? So what if we can't produce a post a day, or even a post a week? This is not a competition, nor it is WORK. This is a hobby, and last time I checked, OUR corner of the net. For OUR voice to be heard. Dear plagiarists, you are nothing but losers. Deal with it.

    Kelly, you're too kind, really. If this should ever happen to me, names would be uttered aloud. These people don't deserve kindness. On the other hand, maybe your choice only proves that you're a better person than I am :). Good luck!

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    1. I wasn't around, or part of the community when that happened. I don't remember it, but someone mentioned it a few months ago and told me about it. I've seen two more since then though, so obviously the message isn't getting through to some bloggers how seriously the community takes stealing content and posting it as your own. For most of us it's common sense, but for some it clearly isn't. I'm not sure if it's because they don't see anything wrong with it, or just too brazen to care.

      I felt like it. Trust me. But even though the girl claimed to be an adult in her twenties, I didn't want to risk it in case she was a lot younger. I'm not sure it would have mattered either way, I don't think she would have cared who knew. But for my own sanity, I wanted to try to deal with it privately.

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  11. Well I already ranted about my views on plagiarism to you on twitter:) but still this makes me sad.What's worse is that half of the people aren't even aware that their content is being stolen by someone else.And sometimes when you find out,it's too late that you can't help but ignore it:(
    I can totally understand what you might feel like. * HUGS TIGHTLY*

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    1. The ones that I'd come across, they're aware now. That was really awkward to say the least. But I dare say there are so many more still out there that have still not been removed. I can't see this ending well sadly Mishma, but not through lack of trying.

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  12. This really is terrible Kelly, it's horrible that such as thing happens to good honest bloggers just trying to do their best, especially with the time and effort put into reviews. I hope this ends up getting properly resolved and works out x

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    1. I hope so too Eugenia. It's not difficult to ask for help though, I'd like to think we're a pretty tight knit community that helps one another out and sad that she felt the need to steal content rather than asking for help to create her own. We all had to start somewhere.

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  13. O.o Oh, gee, I'm so sorry this happened to you! I'm always so SHOCKED that this continues to happen with bloggers. How can someone think it's OKAY to take someone else's work and claim it as their own? It's terrible. Hope the stolen content gets taken down.

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    1. So far it hasn't, but stupidly, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. I've told those who I found had been stolen from, including one of our Aussie bloggers and have reported the content through the correct channels. Sadly it seems as though even companies like Amazon don't feel that plagiarism warrants being acted upon and is far too slow to remove the content.

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  14. Oh noes! I'm sorry for you and any of the others who have been plagiarized. I hope the person who's doing this actually does remove his/her content soon before this spirals downward - it can't be good if this goes out publicly, especially if you asked the person nicely at first to get their act together. :(

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    1. That was my first thought too Sophia. Because if I stumbled upon it, someone else is bound to and perhaps not be so lenient.

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    2. My thoughts exactly. No one's plagiarized me or any of my cobloggers yet (at least, I don't think so. If it has, I don't know about it yet), but I doubt I'll be extremely lenient after I ask the perpetrator to take their content down. I'll probably give them a time frame. :p

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  15. I'm sorry, Kelly! I don't think this has ever happened to me, or if it has I never noticed, but it's always awful to hear. We put so much work and effort into what we do, you never want someone else to take credit for your work.

    _Lauren

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    1. Me neither before now, or I haven't noticed before either. It's like with art, even writing a book, it's never okay to steal work that isn't your own, so plagiarists need to release that even stealing content from blogs such as reviews isn't on either. It's a horrible feeling.

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  16. Oh Kelly this just makes me mad. Plagarism is something that's all too common in our society and while i'm so unbelievably angry that someone has choosen to pass off your hard work as their own, i;m also in awe of you for handling this matter so well. I hope the posts they copied get taken down and i hope this doesn't happen again to you. *hugs*

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    1. Or anyone else for that matter. Thanks Lily, your support really means a lot and thank you for echoing my sentiments exactly.

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  17. I just saw you guys talked about this on Gchat, Kelly. I'm so sorry your content was stolen from you. :( This totally sucks because you spend so much time coming up with UNIQUE content in your own words, just for someone else to copy and paste and claim it as theirs. :( But I totally admire you for being so civil about this. I hope this gets sorted out soon, Kelly! <3

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    1. Me too Aimee, It's exhausting for bloggers to need to constantly check their content to ensure it's not being stolen. But the sad reality is that it happens all too often.

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  18. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Someone plagiarized a review of mine back in February and it was the most awful thing ever. It's just the worst when you put all this time and energy and heart into writing a good review, and then some immoral person just copies and pastes and calls it her own. It's despicable, and I'm sure you're handling it the best you can. I know it hurts, but you'll move on. It's a good thing you caught it.

    Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

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    1. Thanks Rachel. Can I ask what happened to the person who plagiarised you and was it something that you found yourself? Sadly with no precedent to how to deal with it, I hope I've dealt with it the best that I can. Time will tell I suppose.

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    2. The person who plagiarized was actually an avid reader of my blog and someone I had called a friend at one point. I stumbled across the review link on Twitter because she had the audacity to tweet a link of "her" review to the author. I clicked on the link, read it, and saw red after noticing the same exact points being brought up in the same order, paraphrasing, and blatantly copied sentences. It was clear she had plagiarized. I emailed her explaining and reasoning everything out. It was a bit similar to the post I wrote on it here

      She apologized profusely, took down the review, and we've cut all contact since.

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  19. I'm sorry this happened to you. This bothers me so much because it's completely against the point of blogging. This person could have written their own content and built their own audience. Maybe they don't realize just how rewarding that is. Instead, they stole other people's work, and for what? Book blogging is not lucrative. Is it for ARCs? An audience? I don't know... But I wish this wouldn't happen. I admire how calm and reasonable you're being, I would probably freak out :p

    -P.E.

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    1. It's not. If anything, book blogging is a really expensive hobby, especially with the amount of money I spend on books. I have no clue as to why either, I suspect some might in the hopes it will lead to free books. I remember around two years ago hearing about a very prominent blogger who did this, she still blogs today. The community clearly forgave, but like me, it always makes me aware of how precious our opinions are and how vigilant we need to be as a community.

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  20. Wow, people will really stoop low. Stealing someone's review, which they took their own effort and time on, is disgusting. What is even more horrible is that they have continued to steal other people's reviews and decided to cut those who they have plagiarized off. I hope this person gets called out one day. Your reviews are wonderful and someone out there is green with envy!
    Naomi @The Perks Of Being A Bookworm

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    1. Thanks Naomi. I figure that if I can't stop her, the community will. When you've only got a few reviews posted on Goodreads for an advanced reading copy and two of those are identical, it doesn't go unnoticed.

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  21. Uh ohh, I'm so sorry someone plagiarized a review of yours.. It is rather depressing when people stoop low and copy someone else's hard work. I'm so sorry this happened to you Kelly :( I like how you are being more cool about it though, most people would bite the other person's head off <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections

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    1. I felt like it to be honest, but it wouldn't help anyone to blow up like that. I just hope she does the right thing because the who situation is really started to test my patience now.

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  22. :((((((((((

    I hope everything gets sorted out :(((((

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  23. This is no good to hear, Kel. :( Hope everything gets sorted quickly!

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    1. Me too Sophie. It's disturbing how someone can steal your content and seem to have no conscious about doing so. I can't see this resolving itself any time soon without further intervention though.

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  24. It's definitely an awful feeling to discover all that hard work you've put into your reviewing and your blog has been plagiarised. It's incredible hurtful and invasive. I hope the plagiarist will remove all of their content, and good on you for taking the high road, despite what they've done *big hugs*

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    1. Invasive is probably the perfect description for how I felt Jeann. I'll be honest, it's not looking great when big companies like Amazon don't seem to care either and have yet to remove the stolen content from their site.

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  25. Jeez louise. I never thought this would happen. I'm really sorry this happened to you and now I'm going to go all paranoid. That's awful and you put so much effort and originality into your reviews.....
    On a plus side, LOVE THE NEW DESIGN!!!!:)

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    1. Thanks Faith. Yeah, it really does make you paranoid and wondering if this is the first time you've had your content stolen, or just the first time you've caught someone who's stolen it.

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  26. I do NOT understand why people plagiarise blogs, of all things? What is even the point of that, particularly reviews and things *sigh* I'm sorry this has happened to you, and I hope the person responsible does listen to your warning and removes everything.

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    1. Me too Wattle, but it's not looking good to be honest. I don't get it either. Is it for the hopes of free books? Advanced copies? Or just more followers? I don't know. I'm baffled that anyone would want to use someone elses opinion as their own. I mean, it's an opinion, surely that can string a few sentences together a create their own.

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  27. Really, Kelly, you're so amazing by how you dealt with this. I hope the culprit learned her/his lesson. I wish she/he realized how hard it is to come up with a review that is helpful. Like yours. I honestly don't know why people do this, its kinda sad. :( And I'm sorry it happened to you Kelly!! *hugs*

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    1. Thanks Paula. I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing by handling it privately, but I'm glad I did. It's really not hard to write your own thoughts down, that's what makes a review unique. If anyone is struggling, ask another blogger for help. It's a shame that anyone feels the need to steal content.

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  28. Honestly, what is WITH people doing this? A review is NOT that hard to write. It comes from someone's own mind and thoughts and since we all have those two things, shouldn't it be sort of easy to write a review? Time consuming, yes, but easy!

    I can't believe this happened and I hope you're alright. I'm also glad the person took their page down. Thank God.

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    1. I know Nova, it baffles me too. I'm perfectly fine, thanks poppet. I'm not even all that angry. I'm disappointed that I reached out to her and it was thrown back at me though. It makes me wonder if I dealt with it properly or what should I have done? Unfortunately the stolen reviews are still up on her blog and Amazon too, but hopefully they'll be taken down by those respective websites soon.

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  29. Oh no, I'm sorry this happened to you Kelly. It's sad when people do this. Don't they know that copying something and claiming it as their own would be like throwing an opportunity to have their own voice, especially in the blogging/book reviewing community? I hope this doesn't happen again to you, or to anyone, again. Sending hugs from the other side of world. >(",)<

    Ella @ The Filipina Booknote

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    1. That's perfectly put Ella. It doesn't take long to find your own review style, we all had to work at it. But to see someone blatantly steal your work to use as their own, surely they must realise that not only is it immoral but all bloggers will be in agreement of how angry they would be to have their hard work copied. Sadly some never learn though.

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  30. Man, this bums me out. Sorry friend.

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    1. Thanks Alyssa. yeah, it hasn't been all that great to deal with. But I've done all I can now and if she chooses to keep stealing content, then I can't police her unfortunately. I've reported her, let others know and the rest is up to her now.

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  31. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm a nice person". Omg, you mean people think you're NASTY normally?! WHERE ARE THEY. I SHALL SHOW THEM. I SHALL BE YOUR TOOTHY GUARD DOG. I SHALL DEFEND YOU, MY KELLY.
    Also, this sucks.
    I haven't encountered flat out plagiarism before. I've had some of my book ideas stolen by people I thought were friends (sighs) and I've had post ideas stolen, but how can you claim and fight for that?! So yeah. But not actual content outright. This is uber sad. :(

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    1. That's horrible in itself. Even worse actually. We know how hard it is to come up with the idea of original content, and to have your ideas stolen by someone you considered a friend is terrible.

      I think I might need to be YOUR guard dog smushie.

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  32. Kelly,

    I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you. :( Your blog is one of my favorites (although you already know that xD), and you're such an amazing friend. I always smile whenever I see a notification from you, and everything you type always brightens my day because you have an absolutely amazing sense of humor and are so kind and generous. It is so completely unfair that someone would do this to you - you don't deserve it at all! It's so sad that someone would go so low as to take content from you - that's just unacceptable. :( I hope you're able to settle things out and that you keep holding your head high through the storm.

    DM me if you need something, or if you just need someone to talk to, okay? ♥

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    1. Thanks Zoe, your support really means so much.

      I'm really disappointed, but even more so that I needed to tell the other bloggers and reviews who had also had their content stolen as well. One being one of our Aussie bloggers who told me that she felt used, and pretty angry and rightly so. I'm at the point now where I'm asking, well she's not removing the content so what do I do now? This blogging gig really needs to come with a manual.

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  33. Ugh so disappointing that this issue still isn't completely resolved. Definitely a couple of things I just don't understand- one being why the heck you'd decide to plagiarise in the first place. And then, if you know you've done something wrong why wouldn't you at least take down the content! Damned plagiarists...

    So sorry this happened to you; hopefully it's something that never happens again!

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  34. I'm sorry this happened, and I've seen you struggle on Twitter. I really understand you, because I wouldn't want to lead a witch hunt either. I'm just not that nice a person, though, so I probably would have already called the person out by this point.

    I'm honestly all for giving a chance to let them make amends. But this person has plagiarized from so many blogs, as you've said, and I don't even know why how this can't person see the pressure here. I'm sorry Amazon is being such a useless tool right now; this is plagiarism, it's a crime punishable by law, and Amazon's not even hurrying to check it out.

    Simply know that I'm on your side, and I'll be there to be part of your squad on whatever you decide to do. Even if it means harassing Amazon with you.

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  35. This is such a shame. Why would she do that? Can't she think of her own words? I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sure she's out there hiding every part of her.

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  36. Oh no!! This is horrible. I dont understand why someone would do this. I personally write reviews for myself...so in a few months or whatever i can remember the book and my thoughts......i just dont understand how copying others would be helpful... :/ This sucks, im sorry.

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