"I really don't take kindly to plagiarism, and I'm almost CERTAIN that fellow Ichigo's composer Constaneum, from whom Darksage blatantly stole the "Farewell Song" and renamed as "Sakura," wouldn't particularly care for it either. ><; Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery, so they say, and I probably wouldn't be so wound up had he stolen a lesser piece from my repertoire, but stealing MY magnum opus-- the work I dedicated to the object of my affection-- is simply unacceptable." ~ Taken from the "Pursuit of Happiness" thread on Young Composers. (http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/Pursuit-of-Happiness-t2654.html)

The thread for "Sakura"-- What is REALLY Constaneum's "Farewell Song" according to Shizeet-- may be found here (http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/Sakura-t2683.html). He also stole the 1st and 4th movements of Al's (Alphonse Nguyen's) Piano Sonata. That link may be found here (http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/Piano-Sonata-First-and-Fourth-Movements-t2630.html).

Due to a recent change of heart, I'm going to let the Darksage on Ichigo's Forum off the hook because, though there are quite a few coincidences between the two, there is still chance that he isn't the one who plagiarized me, Al, and Constaneum. I have contacted Darksage with a formal apology, but decreed that I will no longer aid him with FINALE if his desired templates emulate that of mine.

Wow.... and Constaneum just closed his thread down in fear of plagarism.

It just sickens me -- we should call the internet police and have him arrested. And burned at the stake! CRUCIFY!

Thank god my music sucks, no one will take that crap >.<

Heh, I am lucky that not everyone pays attention to what I do. No stealing there. Hah!

Come to think of it, I'm probably gunna close down my music thread too. It's not really active anyway, and I don't wanna loose my work.

Oh wow, hmm . .

For one thing, I'm sure the admins are going to spot this thread--so I doubt you'll have to contact them.

For another, his farewell song wasn't that good. There were better compositionis to steal, buddy.

I really don't care if some jackass tries to steal my compositions. If you're that desperate for internet fame, you have a lot more wrong with you than plagarism.

Lol, sucker.

Uhm, just to let you all know this is NOT me. It's a Darksage on another forum, with a different email address and different IP address. Just because I'm darksage here doesnt mean I'm Darksage everywhere >_> I explained that to you when you Pmed me already

Right, so it's a Darksage from another forum that magically steals from this one. You're a real winner.

I could care less what you say. I've never even tried to compose anything, I'm not about to steal compositions from my friends

You've never even tried to compose anything? Is that why, perchance, your self granted title is "Piano player/composer?"

Well I've made stuff up on my keyboard :P Is that composing? I thought there had to be a score for it to be composed. Unless thats transcribing...

Although it is tempting to point the finger at Darksage on this forum, it is possible that the person who plagiarized the music used Darksage's name so we'd assume it's him. Kinda farfetched but possible.

or how about you just google darksage, see the million results that come up, and realize I dont own them all? >_> seriously

EDIT: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=darksage

Seriously...

Why did you ask me for a piano only template for FINALE that just-so-happened to have the same key signature order as my piece, then? I wouldn't use that piece of evidence against you under regular circumstances, but the key signature order itself-- C#m, DbM, C#m, Bbm, BbM-- isn't exactly common. >>;

Also, I find it peculiar that one of your favorite composers here is Al (according to your sig) and the plagiarist-- whether it is you or someone else, though I'm still convinced that it's you-- claimed not only one, but TWO of Al's pieces as his own. I understand that there is a lot of Darksage's in forums across the internet, but Ichigo's and Young Composers are connected in several different places through several different members.

I hate to say it, but all the evidence still points to the Darksage of this forum.

I did not! Quote from the PM:

Ahh I forgot to put the instruments!!! I'm so sorry T_T
Two violins, a viola, and a bass (acoustic)

Thanks a bunch
I asked for that one. Not a piano (which I'm guessing he took)

And I told Al already how I adored his Sonata, and how learning the 4th Movement of it was such a pain in the ass, so please, stop accusing me and get over it. Of all songs your Pursuit of Happiness was my favorite, I'm not bout to pass off my first compositionn as something that good

Has anyone got in contact with the Darksage from the other forum yet?

To Darksage ~

You can ALWAYS delete staves somewhere down the line; it's not that hard.

To Al ~

I've sent a PM to the Darksage on the other forum, but he has yet to reply.

Well I've made stuff up on my keyboard :P Is that composing? I thought there had to be a score for it to be composed. Unless thats transcribing...

Your semantic points are totally irrelevant since you call yourself a composer in your title.

Although it is possible that he's innocent, Darksage's first reply here made me laugh. I can't prove anything, but I'll tell you one thing; I'm a perfect liar. I can easily without bragging claim that I can lie better than most - and I can always find clues in someone else's lie. You, Darksage, are a liar :)

I might be wrong, but if you really need to know where my suspisions rose, I could tell you -_-

Your semantic points are totally irrelevant since you call yourself a composer in your title.
Right. I have yet to see Ureshii's penguins >_>


Ureshii: Not with the demo version, thats why I asked

Noir7: what?

There aren't enough posts on the other forum by darksage, but I'd say that the posting styles of darksage there and darksage here are quite different...

I shouldn't even be here, I resigned my post as a moderator months ago, but what the hell. I'm not taking this as seriously as I should, and I apologise.. you may ignore me or not, I don't care. I just feel sorry for two of my friends who are the victims of this crap.

^^^

If someone has done their homework, like tan, they would really know how to find your answers, and not pointing your fingers aimlessly...

To all composers:

Don't let plagiarism prevent you from writing music and from sharing it with other people. It may seem like this is a setback, but think of it as an opportunity to move forward and to continue trying your hardest to create the best music you can. If we stopped composing each time our works were stolen, then we wouldn't get anywhere. For all I know, every time a plagiariser is caught, 10 others will spring up. Don't let that stop you! Instead, you can take measures to protect your work. For example, save your pieces in an mp3 format rather than midi, and when you give out scores, write your name everywhere in the background, haha.

To be philosophical, is it still music is nobody's around to listen to it?

and when you give out scores, write your name everywhere in the background, haha

or you could do it one step better. In the middle of the Mp3, just before the song reaches it climax, you edit in "PROPERTY OF ALPHONSE NGUYEN, DO NOT TOUCH THIS PIECE OF MUSIC YOU [insert personal flame comment]" in a very loud voice, then continue the song as normal ~

Good idea, Noir. Wish I would of thought of that! Smart ass. Hehe!

@Al,

Plagarism sure isn't gunna keep me from composing music, but I'm seriously considering removing my music from Ichigo. It's just not worth the risk. If Ichigo blocked the saving of the files and made it so you could only listen and not download, then I would be cool with it. Too many Darksages running around stealing music!

The .Mp3 idea isnt bad. I've always done mine in .Mp3 format. But then again, why couldn't they just post my .mp3 file somewhere and call it there own. That's super plagarism.

I mentioned the mp3 idea because you can't rip the score as easily as you would with midi, that's all. But yeah, it still won't stop a person from claiming it as their own, haha.

Right. I have yet to see Ureshii's penguins >_>

Since you seem so hip on semantics, let's analyze your argument. Ureshii's title is semantically marked as out of place and comical, since this is a music forum. It's supposed to make our brains go "eh?" and then laugh.

When you put "composer" as your title on a music thread, it implies that you are a composer. It's semantically marked as informative. If you were trying to make a joke, it escaped me.

Due to a recent change of heart, I'm going to let the Darksage on Ichigo's Forum off the hook because, though there are quite a few coincidences between the two, there is still chance that he isn't the one who plagiarized me, Al, and Constaneum. I have contacted Darksage with a formal apology, but decreed that I will no longer aid him with FINALE if his desired templates emulate that of mine.

This thread can continue with suggestions on how to combat plagiarism or something, but it should be moved to another subforum.

I'll just change the title.

@Al,

Plagarism sure isn't gunna keep me from composing music, but I'm seriously considering removing my music from Ichigo. It's just not worth the risk. If Ichigo blocked the saving of the files and made it so you could only listen and not download, then I would be cool with it. Too many Darksages running around stealing music!

The .Mp3 idea isnt bad. I've always done mine in .Mp3 format. But then again, why couldn't they just post my .mp3 file somewhere and call it there own. That's super plagarism.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of that idea at all, but I can see where you are coming from with this turn of events. I usually try to post a midi compliment to my mp3 files for the sake of other composers, giving them a better idea of the construction of the piece, and I'd like the same from them. But then again, I don't think anyone can really steal my music and call it there own (or would even want to, ha!) just because I like to think they all have a sort of stylistic watermark.

As for Darksage, I'll try to reserve my judgement, though the details of this event prove very incriminating on his behalf. Hopefully it'll be a lesson to him to not pull this kinda stunt again if he really is the plagurist.

Some quotes I found:


The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. - Albert Einstein


Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats. - Howard Aiken


I don't like composers who think. It gets in the way of their plagiarism. - Howard Dietz


About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment. - Josh Billings


Art is either plagiarism or revolution. - Paul Gauguin

How about, "Good composers borrow, great composers steal"

xD

I noticed this on Young Composers a day or two ago! I was very confused and simply disregarded it, but wow...Considering that song was dedicated to a friend who had died, stealing it was REALLY low. I do not know if the DarkSage here and there are the same or not, but man...Wow...

^The friend's death was apparently faked. (I've noticed that forum people die at a much more alarming rate than people I know in real life. I guess being on a forum is really bad for you.) Also, the piece wasn't that good, which leads me to my next point.

I'd like to address the composers on this forum. I don't like the attitude lots of you have adopted because of this. For one thing, none of you are worth plagarizing in order to make money. The only thing you're being robbed of is "internet fame." And actually, you get a great deal more of that when you catch someone plagarizing you. I hadn't listened to Al's sonata in more than a year until this happened. Quit being ridiculous.

Faked, eh? The whole letter from the mother seemed extreemly farfetch'd (sp?) now that mention it...

This is rediculous how people are acting...It is sickening. :(

Alfonso, though I agree with you and see your point, that's not really what we're afraid of. It's more of a pride thing I think, you don't want someone else to get praise for something you've created. If that's the "internet fame" you talk about, then it's worth more to people than you could guess :\

Perhaps this topic should be stickied? With clear rules on how we view plagiarism?

I think it is obvious how we all feel about plagiarism, and even though it would be stickied Darksage would still have used your sonata as his own on that other forum.

I'd like to point out that I'm posting as "Michael" on the Young Composer's forum. So don't freak out when you see some of my compositions pop up there.

I'd like to address the composers on this forum. I don't like the attitude lots of you have adopted because of this. For one thing, none of you are worth plagarizing in order to make money. The only thing you're being robbed of is "internet fame." And actually, you get a great deal more of that when you catch someone plagarizing you. I hadn't listened to Al's sonata in more than a year until this happened. Quit being ridiculous.

To some, "internet fame" is worth more than money. It makes them stand out more than just a distant memory. And when we are gone, ultimately we only exist through memory, no? I think it's some sort of curious human urge, this wanting of acknowledgement, perhaps the most significant thing that comes from being sentient beings.

I think it is obvious how we all feel about plagiarism, and even though it would be stickied Darksage would still have used your sonata as his own on that other forum.

Yes, nothing changes the fact that someone plagiarised my sonata, but I can move on. The point is, I just want to raise awareness of the issue, and let people of *this* forum know that it's not tolerated, hence the sticky, haha.

I played 'To Zanarkand' from FFX once on piano and recorded it.
I put it on my site, and 2 weeks later I saw this guy having it on his site, under the category: My Recordings.
I was like what the...
When I downloaded it from his site and opened it in Windows Media Player it still said it was played by me and stuff like that.

Anyways, there's a rule against pagiarism. It simply isn't allowed and you can get huge bills for doing things like this oO

o_O someone stole your recording?

Good thing nothing of mine is worth stealing XD