Green Room - Week 6 - Weekend Edition

[clauderainsrm]

 Good Morning.  

The results from the Write Off are here: therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1155402.html

The deadline for the new prompt is TODAY, earlier than usual and here is the link: therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1154191.html

We are still missing the majority of entries.  :O 

***

But for those who have already submitted, and for those reading this after you've done your work. There was a question asked in that Write Off results thread that deserves more attention. So I'm copying and pasting it here.  It's from our own emo_naut/aggisnal :

"Idollists!! I'd like your opinion on a professional writing thing!! I know many of you work in writing or writing-adjacent industries and even those of you who don't will have valuable perspectives here.

So, I am the editor of a beekeeping magazine in Australia. We run, with permissions, articles from American and UK beekeeping magazines. While laying out one of these articles I stumbled upon the realization that this article, by a prominent professor run regularly in a prominent magazine, appears to be entirely plagiarized. 🤯🤯 Its blowing my mind 🤯🤯🤯🤯. Anyone who might be willing to read my entry summarizing the situation and proposed email to the editor of that magazine I'd really greatly appreciate it! I want to make sure I'm absolutely right about this and handling it in the absolute best way so I really want some other opinions!

Most of you should have access on my original LiveJournal

It's mirrored on my Dreamwidth journal, but for obvious reasons it must be friends-only and it seems my 1000 access tokens are already distributed -- but if you're having trouble getting access let me know I'm sure I can easily find someone inactive to take a token from and give to you! Thanks!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏"

You can obviously answer his questions in detail over on those journals, but for a more general question, I remember when even the accusation of plagiarism was enough to derail a career. I think a big cultural shift happened with sampling and remixing when the idea that you could take something and make it into your own.  Then of course you started seeing more and more general acceptance of taking larger passages... and of course AI is just one big plagiarist device on a massive scale.  :D  (which none of these are directly related to the question at hand, but since when did I let THAT stop me!!! :D) 

Comments

[pixiebelle]

Wait, I thought the deadline was on Monday for some reason?!? I’m so glad I saw this. I’ll try to get my entry written, here’s hoping I can finish in time. My brain is a mess these days. If I bye out, that’s why.

Yesterday I got on the wrong train going the wrong direction and not just for a stop or two - I was in it for the long haul. I went to the suburbs of the other side of my city before realizing my mistake. All because I was arguing with someone on the internet. My ADHD is much worse these days, I swear. I worry about myself sometimes.

I’ll try to look into the plagiarism once I have my entry submitted.

[tonithegreat]

You did it! Nice work on getting your entry in. This has been such a bizarre week. I did a wrong-turn coming home from kid drop off earlier this week, but I didn't lose that much time over it. It was just a "wow, Toni, you drive this way tens of times over the course of a month- how did you not turn correctly" kind of moment. But I am worried about Covid brain fog right now. I don't want to wish it into being for myself but it does sort of seem to be a thing.

[pixiebelle]

Thank you! I started an entry the other day and thankfully had more than I thought.

That is exactly something I would do (have done). This train thing, it’s the same station I use all the time. It’s really easy to see which direction you’re going. The scary thing is, I don’t even remember the walk to the train. I don’t remember the ticket machine. I just remember sitting down on the train. I heard the next station but I got confused because it’s also one I go to a lot so didn’t think anything of it. Then I zoned out again but at least I remember doing it. But that’s ADHD and possibly still some chemo brain , I was really into my argument 😂

[muchtooarrogant]

Best of luck getting your entry in on time. I enjoy reading your words. :)

Dan

[pixiebelle]

Thank you. I made it. I had more of an entry written than I expected (I started the first day).

[muchtooarrogant]

Yay!

I always try and post at least one or two days ahead of time now because Idol deadlines have burned me in the past. I also tend to recheck Gary's initial post, because I too frequently think it's on a different day than it actually is. LOL

Dan

[pixiebelle]

I usually check multiple times too but I didn’t this time for some reason lol it almost got me.

[reidharriscooper]

The ADHD getting worse or the functioning we learned no longher being enough is something I feel so hard.

My ADHD gets most aggressive in auditory and nose sense issues, but i have also noticed thinking I can read an email and not miss my stop a few times. I have been lucky to either JUST realize and RUSH off before the bus/trains leaves the station or notice one stop/station later... but other times I have ended up back at the actual stop I got on and one cause someone didn't do their job of checking I fell asleep and ended up in a depot.

[pixiebelle]

I can relate to that so much. I often think I can do this one thing and I’ll be okay to get off at my stop… and then I come close to missing it. My life is a mess. I texted my husband that I was in the suburbs on the other side of the city and he didn’t even question it, so I think that says a lot 😂

[flipflop_diva]

Got my entry in with a whole hour to spare! I've had the idea for a few days, but this was the first week of school so my brain is all over the place. It's crazy how many apps and accounts we need to set up for kindergarten!

aggienaut, if you see this, I added you on LJ since we're apparently not friends on either platform, so if you add me back, I can read your entry. That sounds insane, though, what you've just described!!

[aggienaut]

Added on LJ! Thanks

[hafnia]

yeah I am not getting an entry in. currently waiting to find out if it's COVID or one of the flu strains.

Good luck to everyone!

[aggienaut]

Thanks for the repost! Also lol at emo-naut / aggisnal. I'll tryyy to resist the urge to make more accounts matching those names ahahaha (I already have on LJ emosnail, emo-snal, and emo-snl ahaha)


Speaking of AI, an interesting conversational angle about this I've had with a few people is I think it actually would have been LESS bad if he had used AI to rewrite the original sources. In that case he wouldn't be plagiarizing the original authors any more. Obviously it would still not be HIS own original work but at that point it's more fraud than plagiarism?

But believe you me I'm also always scanning potential articles for signs of AI authorship. They can be hard to spot, especially if a human has smoothed them over, but the usual signs are (1) paragraphs that repeat the same information as prior paragraphs in completely different phraseology; (2) chipper opening paragraphs rephrasing the question and saying something like "lets delve into this interesting topic!" (3) overly chipper closing paragraphs concluding with polyanna generalities reiterating what an interesting topic it is; (4) and very specifically usually ends with cheerful cautionary note that "while X, keep in mind Y" generalities; (5) obviously anything specifically weird no one in their right mind would say. Anyone have any additions to this list?

I get a lot of exercise spotting AI writing on quora, which sends a daily digest of stories one might find interesting but I often spot things with all the above traits. To positively confirm it is AI I usually click on the author's name and see tehy've posted 100+ answers in the last hour that are all like 1000 words long. Then to be a good citizen I downvote their answer.