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Plagiarism is the use of another person's words or writing without acknowledging the original source. Obvious, apparently deliberate plagiarism, as defined on this page, is a violation of Muppet Wiki policy.
When a contributor posts plagiarized text in an article, an administrator will post a message on the contributor's talk page, pointing out the source of the text and explaining the policy. A contributor who continues to post plagiarized text after receiving three of these messages may be blocked from editing the wiki for a short period of time, at the discretion of the Muppet Wiki administrators.
Definition of plagiarism
Plagiarism is difficult to define in a project like this, where most of the information that we're posting is from books, websites and other secondary source materials. The best way to define plagiarism may be to use the famous quote from a Supreme Court ruling on pornography: "I know it when I see it."
The essential standard is: If it's obvious to a reader that your text is copied from another source, then it can be considered plagiarism. Copy-and-pasting text from a website into Muppet Wiki is a bad idea, even if you change some words here and there.
The one exception to this standard is Wikipedia, whose license allows other people to copy their text.
Why plagiarism is bad
When plagiarized text is posted on Muppet Wiki, it negatively impacts the reputation of the wiki, as well as the reputation of the contributor who posted it.
Readers have good reason to be skeptical of the information they read on Muppet Wiki. This project carries the double stigma of "fan website" and "free-for-all wiki," and new readers will be looking for clues about whether this information is reliable or not. If they find text on the wiki that they recognize from another source, they may take that as evidence that the wiki as a whole is shady and untrustworthy.
Your reputation as a contributor is also important. Everything on the wiki is subject to edit, and whatever you post might end up changed or replaced by something else. Still, if you're taking the time to add to the wiki, then you'd obviously like your contributions to "stick" for the most part. If you have a shady reputation, then that affects how other people view your contributions, and it may make your additions less sticky.
How to avoid plagiarism
- Facts are free. Specific wording isn't. Nobody owns a fact. Adding facts that can be found in other places is fine; almost all of the information on the wiki is from secondary sources. However, you cross the line into plagiarism when you copy the specific words and sentences from the original source.
- Show your sources. Other readers should be able to verify the information that you post. Cite episode numbers wherever possible, and give sources for quotes. If you find information in a book or on a website, tell us the title or the URL. If it's clumsy to put that information in the article, then add a "References" heading at the bottom of the page. Behind the scenes information is especially important to source; we don't want to spread unfounded rumors.
- Long quotes are okay. If there's a passage in a book or on a website that provides useful information about the subject of an article, go ahead and quote the whole passage. Put quotation marks around it, and provide a link to the source.
- Err on the side of showing your sources. Don't worry if showing your sources makes the page looks messy. It's more important to show the source than to make a polished looking page. You can always edit the page later to smooth out the transitions, or somebody else can.