When the thieves come a-creeping

It's been almost ten years since I blogged about plagiarism so I think it's time to say more.

A lot of people in the seedy world of cartomancy just love stealing content and taking credit for it. It attracts the sticky-fingered for some reason. You see it with all the missing books at public libraries that aren't checked out - they're just gone. You see it in published works that don't cite sources - no bibliography or chapter notes, the content could have come from anywhere (and probably did!) People who can't even read cards want to look as if they can. I don't know why. I can read cards and the vast majority of people walking this earth don't give a shit. Thieves: Either learn, or write about something you actually know.

Over the years, I've noticed that the most-stolen content tends to be introductory stuff, especially lists of card meanings. My old Kipper Primer post has always gotten ripped off pretty regularly. Not the text on the top, but the card meanings. You'll want to avoid this kind of format - it makes things too easy for them. I've left it up because the damage is already done - there's a PDF being passed around, FFS. But I don't suggest posting this kind of content. If people want card meanings, let them buy books, translate websites, or pay for tutoring. If they want to share your content, make sure they credit you and link back to the original.

Sometimes it's just crazy and random. One guy stole my Grand Jeu clickable constellations post. He copypasted Didier's list and then linked to all the pages I'd linked to. He didn't steal my writing, but he stole my concept. The DMCA still worked. He was an exception to the norm, though.

I used to want to help newcomers. But after being shit on for my troubles too many times, I developed a noob allergy and drifted away from that. Why should I spoon feed people who could just as easily do the work the rest of us had to, only for them to "go pro" before they're any good and often spam their links in all manner of places that don't welcome self promotion. Ask your group or forum mods how much of this crap they have to deal with. Google works according to algorithms, but also SEO, not quality, and they're gunking up the searches.

I'm not the only one. I have a friend, an exceptionally knowledgeable and talented reader, who takes their blog offline regularly and starts another someplace else. Others, like myself, have stopped posting material for new readers. If you see a blog with card meanings, etc. and it's been there more than six months or so, it's almost guaranteed to be garbage with precious few exceptions. Most of us got fed up a long time ago. Come here for book and deck reviews, readings on current events, observations, or just to read my bitching, lol. You won't see me posting tutorials.

And don't come here to steal. I have no problem sending DMCAs. I especially love posting them to the offending blog's comments. That way everyone can see them.

Oh, and if anyone tries to be slick and thinks they'll get away with plagiarism by rephrasing a bit of someone else's content, Copyscape catches that, too. So bite me.

This dumbass. 😂 They substituted "it can get pretty physical" for "it can get sporty", i.e., "kinky." It's never a good idea to rephrase something if your reading comprehension stinks. The offending blog is part of the ATA's site, BTW. That's the same outfit I called out years ago here for racism and running a sham certification racket. Be sure to check out the comments, they're enlightening.