Ridiculous!


My Technorati links for Indian Food Rocks showed a new link:

Hmm! That copyright statement looks very familiar but where is the link?

I clicked through to this sad blog:

When she copied my copyright statement, she edited the text but did not edit the underlying HTML. Go on, visit her site, hover over the URL or better still click on it and come right back to my blog!

Even when she copies she can't do it right! Go take a look before she edits it to make it look like her own. Like she did with my Aloo Gobi recipe from 1999 that she copied off AllRecipes.com!

And while you're on that other sad blog, scroll down to see the copyright statement on that blog, too, and hover over the link. And her third blog, too. What a freaking joke. Some people just don't get it!

Why the fuss over a copied copyright statement? Because this takes the cake for being simply ridiculous. Run the recipes on any of her three blogs through Copyscape, you'll know what I am talking about.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Her blog sucks! This reminds of the story my dad used to tell me about cheating --> when the cheater thought he was so smart - he even copied the initials of the original person's work, on his drawing!". It never pays. Sorry it's happening to you. Should I subscribe her to get a massive amount of junk mail..buy viagra, buy diet pills, get a home loan...LOL! *evil* ;-) Kudos to you for even trying to get her to understand copyrighting. -- Preeti

Nabeela said...

that's really sad...I hope nobody visits her blog.
Just ignore it or flag it on blogger...maybe somebody will take notice!

Anonymous said...

that's really bad what she did, her blog this is the first time i am seeing.

lakshmi

Anonymous said...

We should start a new community blog, specifically to out this type of blogs and photo stealing newspapers/magazines.

Anonymous said...

The objective of this post is to create more awareness of copyrights and toward respecting the works of other authors and writers. This particular blogger has a history with copying blatantly and still hasn't quite understood why this is a problem. She stole my copyright statement - which is really hilarious according to me - how much effort does it take to write a copyright statement?!

There are many people who are simply not aware that it's not right to copy blatantly. Indira, I think the community blog is a great idea but I think the focus should be on creating awareness first and foremost. If we can do that, half the battle will be won. Any more thoughts on this?

Preeti, you are funny! I am not sure I would want that for anyone though!!

Nabeela, she has Google's Adwords on her blog. Maybe we should report this to their abuse team? That their ads are showing on a blog that violates others' copyrights.

Lakshmi, I'm glad you agree. Please do what you can to spread the awareness that blatant copying is wrong!

Indira, let me know what you think about keeping the focus of the community blog on a positive note. I'm willing to help out in any way I can.

Anonymous said...

I think this is funny. ROFL !!!!
Did you see guys see that??? I still can't control my laughter. Its freaking ridiculous.. that's all I can say.
I don't think educating would help her - look at her brains.. changing the hyperlink but not making sure where it is pointing to...
Look at her do it again and again and again in the other blogs too.

But I do see Manisha's point. And I support Indira's idea too. I will do all I can to help save the pristinity of our blogs.

Cheers,
Mythili

Anonymous said...

Hi Manisha,
I am leaving the comment for the first time. it's really funny. when i read your blog, i didnt understand, what's going on. (i am not a blogger) but then i clicked on the copyright statement, and came back right here on your blog!!! wow! :-) that's really funny. it almost sounds like a poetic justice. the link pointed to where the credit was really due!
the funniest part was this comment which i found on that blog -
http://konkanivasaree.blogspot.com/2006/11/arbi-raita_09.html

it's the comment about being enlightened that it's not ok to copy the images from other blogs. so she is going to start all over again. - (dated nov 9th 06)

Rajasi

Anonymous said...

Manisha, SHE is so talented she presents her art as is. Kudos to you for bringing it out in the open. Shilpa was too nice when it happened to her. I think all of us should inform each other if we see something fishy. Being blatant helps

Anonymous said...

And she has another blog called "Spirituality and Me!" Talk about 'funny'!

Anonymous said...

:-) I wrote a comment on her blog that copying is like stealing. hope she understands.

Anonymous said...

Girls,
I created a yahoo group. Please email me at mythili@orugallu.net and I will add you all to the yahoo group.

Cheers,
Mythili

Anonymous said...

Sorry again , Manisha! Why are people targeting your stuff to copy?! It's very puzzling to me!

May be they do it to everybody but we do not know about it.Good work pointing out all this to us,darling.I will keep my eyes peeled from now on!!

Meeta K. Wolff said...

What a lame chick that is!! This does frustrate me to getting red and blue in the face. Actually, Manisha reporting her would be the best. I know other bloggers do so when they are violated. I think we Indians think about all the reprecussions etc.. This is a serious issue and we should report her to Blogger and Google Adsense. Or at the very least write a post in the Foodblog Scool. On that Aloo Gobi post on her blog there even is a commnet mentioning that she has stolen the recipe and copyrights.

Anonymous said...

I dont think this blogger has a clue what she is doing! Hilarious and at the same time downright irritating!

I am willing to help in anyway I can.

Anonymous said...

A classic joke! :D I needed this laugh.

I can understand how you feel. Well, even if we try to argue with this girl and make her understand, there will be another one popping out from somewhere. Ignorance maybe the reason. Do you think it is possible to educate them all?

Belated Thanksgiving wishes to you and family.

Sree said...

!!!!!!Such bloggers ought to be exposed!Manisha, we better check if our Flower Fest is under threat!:D

Anonymous said...

Its really sad that this has happened yet again Manisha. The blog world is a newbie in itself with no concrete set of rules governing it and a whole lot of people are unaware of such things as copyrights, plagiarism giving credits and the like. They have been a lot of issues regarding blog misuse lately, and its not just food blogs but even in the political arena, like the recent one in India !!
The best way I guess will be setting up a platform outlining all these rules and guidelines and making it to available to everyone. Every blogger should be aware of how powerful and yet vulnerable this medium is and respect each others freedom.
Like you said the focus should be on educating people about Blog etiquette. I will be glad to volunteer.

Anonymous said...

...reading about the Mahatma has enabled me to modify my lifestyle reflecting on the moral principles like the truth...

Manisha, that is what this lady says on her spirituality blog. It confirms my belief that those people who make a 'hoo haa' of spirituality are always less spiritual than others.
On a different note, I think she is using a fake name too. Maybe so that all those who do a search for 'Indira' on the net, come across her blog too?!
And hey, are you one 'watch-dog'! You always catch them, don't you? I am just too laid-back about this. sigh

Anonymous said...

Did you go into her profile and saw all her blogs and found all copyrights bring you back to your blog even the one that talks about Gandhiji and truth.

-Nandini.

Anonymous said...

bwaaaahaaaaaa. there's a recipe for aloo gobhi stolen from someone else, then a copyright statement at the end warning against plagiarism, with a link that leads right here.

hil-freaking-arious. it's called 'making an ass of oneself, three times over'.

you have a great blog here. keep up the good work.

Unknown said...

Hey girl! Usne kisi ko nahi choda...I see my own Mangoes pic there - http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5978/377397586419622/1600/mangoes.jpg

Attrocious I say!
Should we just flag?

Anonymous said...

Hi manisha
what that gal indra has done is too much
try telling her n warn her abt the copyrights
i guess frm ur case people will come to knwo the objectives of copyrights

Anonymous said...

hey check out this photo
in her link i mean the aloo gobi pic that is also a copy
http://withpotsandpans.blogspot.com/2006/10/aloo-gobi.html
she has copied it frm this link
http://www.netpakistani.com/articles/?4143155

Anonymous said...

Her blogs are great examples of what not to do. Spread the word so that this is not repeated. Plagiarism is rampant, in schools and colleges, too. Schools use the services of companies with bots like turnitin to assess whether the paper was original or copied off the net.

It's very easy to start your own blog. It's not so easy to post genuine content. If you'd like to join forces to prevent this from occuring and to alert each other of infringement on copyrights, please join the Yahoo Group that Mythili has started. My request is to keep the focus positive as it is very easy for it to turn into a witch-hunt. I may sound like a broken record but there are people who genuinely do not know that what they are doing is copyright infringement. And when told in a ;positive manner, they make amends. Then there are others who pretend to start over and continue in the same manner as before, like this person who can't write her own copyright statement on her 4 blogs, one of which is a spiritual blog.

Mythili, great idea and I have signed up. I hope more folks will sign up and we can then put up a community blog or a forum with do's and don'ts and links to more readingon the subject.

Rajasi, welcome! Very ironic, don't you think? That her copyright statement comes right back here!

Anjali, Shankariand Meeta and everyone who cares about this, please join Mythili's Yahoo Group. We're waiting for more members so that the discussions can take off.

Anita, :-D what can you say, eh?!

Ratnavalli, thanks for that. I doubt she will get it. As she claimed to make a fresh start yet only removed those recipes that were copied from other food blogs. She seems to think that copying from food sites that are not personal blogs is just dandy.

Asha, I don't have as much copy-worthy stuff as other more prolific food bloggers. This blogger has a history of copying and this was just too ridiculous. Believe me, it is happening more often than you think and it is very annoying.

RP, I doubt it's possible to educate them all. But if we spread the word, we might be able to at least make a dent.

Sree, that would be a good idea indeed! It's the paintings and the pictures that would be copied from there. We'll find out one way or another, of that I am sure!

Priya, what is happening in the blogging world happens in the world of print as well - take the Kaavya case for example. For now, join Mythili's Yahoo Group and through discussions there we can set up something that helps lay down some basic guidelines.

Vaishali, I found this through my technorati links and the only reason I investigated further was that the copyright statement read like something I might have written! And, it was!!

Nandini, really sad, isn't it? The way I like to think about it is: if a page about Gandhiji links back to me, it is only natural ;-) because we are astro-twins!

Nandita, I knew I had seen that picture before somewhere! For now, I have flagged all her blogs. I don't know if Google/Blogger take any action on it. It is against their ToS but since they do not ask for a reason when you flag the blog, I am not sure it will get anywhere as at first glance, the blogs do not seem to have any objectionable content.

Jaya, this blogger is well aware of copyright issues. She had several recipes on her blog that were copied verbatim from other food blogs. They are no longer there but she continues to copy from other food sites. What she did with the copyright statement was just too hilarious and ridiculous all at the same time. I couldn't let it pass without comment.

Anon, yes, it's really funny. But let's just point to the infringement and leave it there. This makes it really clear how it is possible to identify copied content. Check your links on technorati. Set up metrics (logs) using a third party service - I like Performancing but it looks like they may no longer offer online metrics after December - and check your referrals every now and then to see where your traffic is coming from. Periodically run a check on Copyscape on your pages. Or look for distinct phrases from your recipes on Google. All this is very time consuming. So the best option is to join Mythili's Yahoo Group and make it a community effort.

Anonymous said...

Manisha I just added a copscape banner on my site thanks for letting me know about it

Anonymous said...

Hmm... Ridiculous is the right word!
Unnecessary headache, all this stuff gives you, right?

I also think the people who blindly copy like this might not be aware of the internet much like I.P tracking, techonorati, basic html, google search etc. Because then you will know how easy it is to get caught.

Ashwini said...

Ohmygod!!!!!
Where was I?
Manisha thanks for bringing this to our notice. I really didn't think copying content/ photos was so rampant until I read your earlier post and now this so soon after. *And* if this is not enough Nandita's snaps have been copied too.
I totally agree with you that people arent aware of copyright issues. The general assumption is that if it is on the Net its up for grabs. I agree that something needs to be done. At the same time I dont want to bad mouth a person and shame them from ever blogging again. I DO want to create awareness enough to deter it from happening again.
Mythili - thanks for your intiative on this. Will send you an email.

Anonymous said...

hahaha my first time commenting on your blog although i discovered it a few weeks ago - have been overwhelmed with all the recipes and so many people's food blogs out there.. :) just wanted to bring to your attention that she doesn't just have one blog started off of your template, look at her profile - bechari has started many others too in the hope of getting famous :) anyways, nice work you have going here... good luck with everything.

Ammupatti said...

BTW, perhaps you should know that your blog is being ripped off here:
http://blogs.byindia.com/dhivya

I first discovered that my blog (http://bhagavathy.blogspot.com) was being ripped off by somebody else at blogs.byindia.com. I sent byindia.com a stern letter, and they shut that down. I spent some time investigating and it looks like there are many other blogs being copied verbatim there.

I think at this point that it is byindia.com that is officially ripping off other people's blogs.

Anonymous said...

Kavi, welcome! Yes, there are many many quality Indian food blogs on the net today! I'm glad you found your way back!

Anjali, it's a start although I am not sure how effective it is. I think you still have to watch out for yourself.

Ammupatti, thanks and welcome! Wow! That dhivya is worse than ridiculous. She/He/It has copied my posts verbatim. I wondered if my life was a dream because she seems to live it, too. The good news is that Web2 Corp (NASDAQ OTCB: WBTO - they're listed on NASDAQ, folks!) that owns this unscrupulous web site that is supposedly Built by Indians for Indians, no doubt by copying other Indians, is in the USA. They are begging for a full-fledged class action suit for violation of copyrights. All we need is to find an attorney who will help us with this. Any takers?

Quite honestly at this point, everyone should be checking to see if they are being copied

Ashwini, check out what Ammupatti has to say. It's not just individual bloggers but corporates who are indulging in this. Blogs ByIndia is the latest to jump on the bandwagon. And they even have a picture of their team. Right now, I'd be very ashamed to be associated with them. Check the site to see if you are being copied, too.

Inji, these people are apparently knowledgeable about cutting-edge and thrilling Internet technology. So one wonders what their excuse is!

Anonymous said...

I wrote to Web2 Corp about copyright violations and I received a reply from William Mobley, CEO. He believes it is a rogue spider, not their own, that is auto-creating blogs with copied content on ByIndia. He suspects it may be someone with malicious intent directed at raising the ire of bloggers. I don't have his permission to reproduce his email (yes, that is also something that one should do with permission!) but that is the gist of it. I have asked when the copied content will be taken down. And it's not just my blog that has been copied.

If it is indeed as he says it is, I owe an apology to both Web2 Corp and ByIndia for assuming that it was their spider that was creating blogs that violated others' copyrights.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I was had, I think. The email is one that has been received by others who have complained about copyrights to byIndia and Web2 Corp. My content and the content of several other blogs remains on byIndia. A brief list is available on Got Copy? You Are Being Copied.

Anonymous said...

I just checked Ammupatti's link... I'AM SHOCKED !!!

http://www.copyright.gov/ - check this link for copyrights.

http://cybercrime.planetindia.net/intro.htm - Cyber Police, India. You an also mail them enquiring about blog content copying.

Anonymous said...

Hi manisha,

I had my biggest laugh in some days after reading this post.

Yeah some people dont get it and yes, Indian Food Rocks

Love,
Pankaj

La Gringa said...

Sorry to be commenting on this old article, but I couldn't find an email link for you.

I ran across several of your articles on a site I was checking out that copied some of my articles. Your's caught my eye especially because one of your articles was talking about copyright violation and they copied the whole article!

They have Google Ads so it is easy to report the violation and possibly hit them where it hurts by clicking on the words "Google Ads."

The site is http:// hot-4-t.travel-onblog. com/

The domain owner seems to be
seukhai@gmaill.com
if you would like to contact them. I have. We'll see if they do something about it or not.