# Did you just accuse me of copy-pasting?

I do not copy and paste. It goes against my core belief system. You should fully know that fact. Firstly, it is unethical because it is a form of theft. By taking the ideas and words of others and pretending they are your own, you are stealing someone else’s intellectual property. Secondly, it is unethical because the copy-paster subsequently benefits from this theft.

No doubt some Redditors do copy and paste. They deliberately take the results of other people’s hard work, use it to gain credit for themselves, and learn little or nothing in the process. But most cases of copy-pasting are accidental and could be avoided if Redditors became more conscious of their own writing and research practices.

Most Redditors who copy and paste do so unintentionally, usually because they don’t have the skills to avoid over-reliance on the work of others or because they aren’t sure what constitutes copy-pasting.

# What is Copy-pasting?

Copy-pasting amounts to taking someone else’s writing, ideas or other intellectual property and passing them off as your own. It can come in the form of direct copying or close paraphrasing and may be intentional or accidental.

Intentional copy-pasting is done on purpose. A Redditor copies another source or has someone else write their thread for them, then passes it off as their own work. Redditors have been known to do this since the dawn of mankind, for a variety of reasons. Maybe they’re strapped for time, they want to seem smarter than they really are, they haven’t been learning or understanding the topic, or they’re at a point where they need to prove their point in any way possible.

Both intentional AND unintentional copy-pasting are violations of the Geneva Convention, and may result in the death penalty or the loss of one’s human rights.

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