Comments on: Repackaged or Respun, It’s Still Theft

By: Amelia Ramstead

Amelia Ramstead — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:35:17 +0000

When I was first sending out feelers and trying to figure out the whole "freelance writing" thing, I did some writing for a content mill. I do want to emphasize that I NEVER spun or rewrote someone else's article. My work was done primarily from research, which was sourced, or from my own life experiences. I did find one of my pieces somewhere else on the web, with the holy heck spun out of it. What I really hated was that they had (for some reason) left my name attached to it, and it was barely legible since it had been clearly run through spinning software. I tried very hard to get the thing taken down, but no luck.

By: Lori

Lori — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:15:47 +0000

You're too cool for a full name, Devon. You're the Cher of the writing world. LOL

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:00:29 +0000

I don't know why the comment came up with only my first initial. It's me–Devon– but "D" will do, I guess!

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:09:43 +0000

Ashley, it's exactly why I think content mills are so dangerous to a writer's career. Even if you come up with original articles, there are "writers" working for those places that simply spin other articles. That's not right.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:08:01 +0000

No writer who is concerned about reputation would do this. At least, we can only hope. What makes me especially sad is that I see this attitude daily even outside the writing world. Maybe people have always been this way and I've been missing it, I don't know. But I frequently see people do the bare minimum of work and try to get away with it. Many times they succeed. Sure, you might be able to pull a paycheck that way, but I always want to ask why they are OK with living a life based on mediocrity. I would be embarrassed about myself. Ashamed, even. I certainly wouldn't want to brag about how much I could make living that way.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:51:42 +0000

Damn right, Paula. Someone mashes up mine, I might have to do my own kind of mashing up.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:28:50 +0000

I don't know any real writers who would even be tempted to spin, but I have seen some supposedly professional writers (well, bloggers who claim to be professional writers) brag about how much they earn by doing "mash-ups," that aren't far removed from spinning. Mash-up a few of your own articles, sure, but not someone else's, and certainly not mine.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:47:24 +0000

Wendy, that's because you're a professional. Professional writers don't touch what smells that badly. :)

Thank you, Jenn and D. I appreciate the clarification. I wasn't certain it was legally defensible. Glad to hear it is!

That's a scary thought on the spinning of several at once. That may be the only way around litigation. Too damn bad, too.

You're right, D. Writers do need to take action. If we vigorously defend our rights, we stand a better chance.

By: D

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:16:27 +0000

It's theft, and if people see it being done to their work, they need to take action.

Some will argue that it's simply "slanting" to different markets -- but you "slant" your OWN work for markets. You don't take someone else's unsourced work or works and try to pass it off as your own.

That's why legit publications always want your source list -- so they can fact check.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:01:34 +0000

Spinning is definitely theft (at least in the U.S.). Our copyright laws are pretty clear on the issue of derivative works. It's infringement if you don't have permission from the copyright holder of the original. Any time you take one article and spin it, it's a derivative work. Without permission, that makes it theft.

Where it gets really sketchy is when spinners pull multiple articles together. Technically they're still creative derivatives rather than using them as true sources, but it would likely come down to how much of each article was used. I can't imagine spinning would be effective pulling a paragraph from here and another from there though, which is probably why this style isn't well automated yet.