Reddit User Plagiarizes Ideas and Titles of Phoronix Stories

[slacka]

It seems that user itisOmegakai is regularly scraping Phoronix for stories with general appeal and posting them on /r/linux. I think it's not a bot because he is picking the most relevant link form the story. Unlike what Michael does, he never provides any background. Just a copy/past of the story's title. This denies your site ad revenue and his post aren't as useful as your stories for more specialized topic where Michael explains the background. Seem really sleazy to me.

Please consider posting your stories on /r/linux before this user can scrape them to get karma. It would be good for your site and good for the reddit users.

Examples:

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/44g9e9/what_systemd_developers_want_to_change_with_linux/

https://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Systemd-2016-FOSDEM

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/44gh9w/amds_marek_ol%C5%A1%C3%A1k_has_begun_exploring_an/czrfz53?context=3

https://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Mesa-OpenCL-Outside-AMD

[Michael]

It seems that user itisOmegakai is regularly scraping Phoronix for stories with general appeal and posting them on /r/linux. I think it's not a bot because he is picking the most relevant link form the story. Unlike what Michael does, he never provides any background. Just a copy/past of the story's title. This denies your site ad revenue and his post aren't as useful as your stories for more specialized topic where Michael explains the background. Seem really sleazy to me.

Please consider posting your stories on /r/linux before this user can scrape them to get karma. It would be good for your site and good for the reddit users.

Examples:

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/44g9e9/what_systemd_developers_want_to_change_with_linux/

https://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Systemd-2016-FOSDEM

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/44gh9w/amds_marek_ol%C5%A1%C3%A1k_has_begun_exploring_an/czrfz53?context=3

https://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Mesa-OpenCL-Outside-AMD

Is it against any Reddit user terms for posting your own links to the site, etc?

[Guest]

Is it against any Reddit user terms for posting your own links to the site, etc?

(didn't read TOS) I don't believe there's a global rule against that. Some subreddits might have a rule about linking back to your own site/blog, but I don't think /r/linux is one of those subreddits nor do I imagine the moderators would mind in Phoronix's case.

If it's a concern, it might be a good idea to post from a different account.

On another note, I'd also enjoy being able to see the news on Voat too. Not sure if you'd feel like doing double work for this sort of thing, but I wouldn't mind mirroring some articles back to /v/linux with permission (copied title; URL link-back to the original Phoronix article).

[Michael]

On another note, I'd also enjoy being able to see the news on Voat too. Not sure if you'd feel like doing double work for this sort of thing, but I wouldn't mind mirroring some articles back to /v/linux with permission (copied title; URL link-back to the original Phoronix article).

I'm not really familiar with Voat, is it very popular with Linux users? Anyone is welcome to share Phoronix links

[bridgman]

Michael, I think the issue here is that the user in question is not linking to Phoronix but rather copying text and titles from your articles without mentioning Phoronix.

[slacka]

Is it against any Reddit user terms for posting your own links to the site, etc?

Every sub has their own policy with their own moderators and bots to enforce them. If you post more than once a day, you'll likely get marked as a spammer, so you'll have to be selective with your submissions. I'd think by now you have a pretty good idea of what generates interest.

Best bet is to message the moderators. You may need to get Phoronix whitelisted for regular postings.

Michael, I think the issue here is that the user in question is not linking to Phoronix but rather copying text and titles from your articles without mentioning Phoronix.

Exactly. It's not right, but I don't know if he's breaking any rules. So best response is to beat him to the punch.

[liamdawe]

That user does it to other sites too, and it's not breaking any of reddits rules, he's linking directly to the source which is what reddit people like.

Submitting your own content more than other content is against reddit rules though fyi.

[bridgman]

It is breaking reddit rules to the extent there is copyright violation going on. Reddit rules are clear about that. I don't *think* this qualifies as fair use but not sure.

If they were just posting with a link to the original item (rather than Phoronix article) and not copying Michael's text that would be OK (in fact would be recommended practice on Reddit). That's why I'm saying the links are not the issue.