In the wake of Harris Bomberguy’s new video “Plagiarism and You(Tube),” writers everywhere are talking about stolen work and how important writing is. Just after the video was released, people have been discovering plagiarism left and right. Many writers have been forced to confront the possibility that they, too, have been plagiarized by some horrible mid-tier video essayist who doesn’t even know how to spell “supervisor” correctly.

We here at Hard Drive take this topic very seriously. Internally, our staff has been having vulnerable, insightful conversations about what this means. These conversations have included topics like “why the hell should I watch a 4 hour video essay, this isn’t school”, “I haven’t heard of any of these people,” and “Wait it’s wrong to do that?”. We decided that it would be prudent to share these thoughts with you, the public, so that we can contribute to the greater discussion at hand.

The following entries consist of our writers at their most open and honest. While we discuss this, we encourage you to look at this playlist of people who have probably had their work copied as well. – by Max Schuhmacher

I’m just happy someone agrees with me

In this modern world of constant debate and hot takes, it’s hard to find anyone who unabashedly thinks you’re in the right. Someone ripping off my work means they think I know what I’m talking about, or at least can’t be bothered to do the research to check if I’m wrong. It’s like your own custom built echo chamber. If anything, more people should be plagiarizing me and my very good opinions. – Alex McMillan

These assholes aren’t even crediting Fidentinus!

I mean, how can you be a plagiarist and not give credit to the inventor of the craft? – by Max Schuhmacher

That’s fine, I’ve been stealing from unknown YouTubers to get back

Wow, talk about full circle! There’s a small gaming enthusiast on YouTube I’ve been stealing from word for word for years. My name isn’t even really Matt. That’s his name. – Matt Saincome

There’s going to be hell to pay as soon as I get my iPad privileges back

Mom says I’m only grounded until Friday, and then I’ll make these thieves wish they never turned their YouTube comments on – Parker Addison, age 11

I actually met my plagiarist to tell him how I felt

I first learned of my plagiarist when I found one of his videos in my YouTube recommendations. His video essay on the game Mother 3 included five minutes of him reciting verbatim a forum post I had written seven years ago on Starmen.net. There was something arresting about his eyes and the way he moved his hands. His voice seemed to make my words come to life. I emailed him, and we started a regular correspondence that eventually migrated over to text messages and late-night video calls. We met for the first time at a coffee shop. “I know I’ve said this a million times by now, but I’m sorry for plagiarizing your forum post,” he said, looking bashful. “I was just so insecure about my own writing. But you’ve made me want to become a real writer, one who doesn’t steal.” I smiled, took his hand, and leaned in. – L. Li

I’m of two minds

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. – by Kyle Duggan

I would choose my words carefully

“Hi [Their Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I recently discovered that some of my work has been used without my permission and attributed to you. It’s disheartening to realize that someone is profiting from my efforts without giving proper credit.

I understand that mistakes can happen, but it’s crucial to respect the intellectual property of others. I worked hard on creating that content, and seeing it used without acknowledgment or permission is both disappointing and concerning.

I would appreciate it if you could rectify this situation by providing proper attribution for the work and, if applicable, compensating me for any financial gain you’ve received from it. Open communication is key, and I hope we can resolve this matter amicably.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best,

[Your Name]”

Feel free to adjust the message to suit your tone and the specifics of your situation. It’s essential to maintain a respectful yet firm approach to encourage a positive resolution. ChatGPT 3.5™ — Julien Perez

Everyone plagiarizes everything these days anyway

As long as they keep their paws off my antique beer steins, have at it. –Chris Bowen

It makes me want to ship out to sea

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. – by Kyle Duggan

Eddie Guerrero would be proud

I’m a terrible liar, I’m too competitive to cheat, but sure as hell I can respect someone for stealing my god awful takes. I am also sending you a court order so we can have a ladder match for the custody of my intellectual property. – El Gimpador

If they’re plagiarizing my stuff, they better be prepared to stay unknown

I write for an online gaming satire site, not the Washington Post. At least steal from someone with talent. – Sean Mullee

Wait a second, I’m a Wikipedia editor too!

James Somerton reading the entry for formalist film theory gave me a stroke. – Max Schuhmacher

Consider a career in music

The Venn diagram between Led Zeppelin and YouTube essayists comes together with plagiarism, which is really all you need if you want a successful music career. Study applied entertainment business law, look for loopholes, and you now have a hit record because you took melodies from others and nobody even knew. Best case scenario, you sound just like everyone else. Worst case scenario, you’re Vanilla Ice before he went Amish. – El Gimpador

If you’re going to plagiarize me, at least wear the mask too

Imitation is a sincere form of flattery. However, I don’t think you’re imitating me enough. You don’t take

Shame in plagiarism but you take shame in your fashion choices? Have some confidence and wear this four pound chainmail coif and let it weigh upon you like my thoughts weigh upon me every night. – El Gimpador

Oh man, I hope they don’t find out I just ripped off Catcher in The Rye

Seriously, I just ran out of ideas and said, “ahh who even read this book?” Actually would that even mean they plagiarized me, or J.D. Salinger? God I hate Holden Caulfield, I hope he’s in a ditch. –Daniel Heller

I’ll be mad next week when I have time to watch the video

It feels horrible to be plagiarized by someone I don’t know on YouTube, I imagine. I just haven’t had time to watch Hbomberguy’s video so I’m not mentally there yet. I actually feel pretty relaxed right now. – Matt Saincome

Finally, someone thought I was clever enough to copy my work

But now I’m spiraling. Did you steal because it was good? Or steal because it was okay enough to serve your purposes, but not good enough to ever become popular on its own? Why are you waging this war against my self esteem? How many other lives will you ruin in your pursuit of internet fame, you monster? – Johnny Amizich

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagiaris the Wise?

I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagiaris was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life… He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful… The only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic, he could save others from death, but not himself. – Garrison DeSieno

I’ll Take What I Can Get

Look, freelance gaming-oriented-comedy-writing is a criminally under-appreciated art form with many moments of unsung brilliance. All of my moments are those such moments. So, you know what, I’ll just count every plagiarizing YouTuber as a fan of mine. – Nick Lundquist

I would get really existential

It was as if that great rush of anger had washed me clean, emptied me of hope, and, gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its signs and stars, for the first time, the first, I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe. – by Kyle Duggan

I’d feel better if my plagiarist could get a single goddamn view

I didn’t think if someone plagiarized my stuff they’d become Mr. Beast overnight or anything. But my plagarist is using my work word for word and it looks like he can’t even get his immediate family members to watch. His whole channel looks like a cry for help and nothing he says makes any sense. What an idiot! – Matt Saincome

I get it, the culture is all about that grind

And by grind I of course mean grinding levels in the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV which has an expanded free trial that you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award-winning HEAVENSWARD and STORMBLOOD expansions up to level 70 for free with no restrictions on playtime! Soon to also be available on Xbox Series X & S!

So there’s simply no time to make original content when you’re busy with that which is why all of my stuff is also plagiarized. – Matt Fresh

I don’t get it

You do the work, someone takes it, profits from it, and gets all the credit? That’s every job I ever had. Welcome to the 90s, Zoomer! – Dan Bookbinder

Have Higher Standards

If you are plagiarizing me the only thing I have to say is, please have higher standards. I mean seriously, I’m not even good at this, why are you copying me of all people? There’s much more talent people to steal from, why would you scrape the bottom of the barrel? I should give credit however as it does take a certain kind of lazy, uncreative, and sad individual to stoop so low as to consider stealing my work to make yourself look better. My work doesn’t even make me seem good, in fact, most times it makes me seem actively worse as a person. Yet for some reason, you would be so low as to consider using it. Frankly, I am not mad at you for stealing my work, I even feel a bit complemented, but that is underlined by a deep feeling of just disappointment. – Myles Conlon

I’ve actually been plagiarizing the Nostalgia Critic for years and no one’s cared

Hello this is the Reminiscence Reviewer, I remember it so you don’t have to. You know what’s better than accidentally plagiarizing some YouTuber you don’t know? Knowingly plagiarizing an extremely well known YouTuber. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last 8 years on my hit YouTube channel and no one seems to have cared at all. I keep waiting for some internet troglodyte to call me out on the thousands of instances of blatant plagiarism on my part, but nothing. I thought my hit videos “Mervin, sister of the Joker” or my hour-long, entirely-musical parody review of “Stop Making Sense,” the Talking Heads concert film, would have elicited some call for justice, but nope. After years of plagiarizing without consequence, I had planned to retire the Reminiscence Reviewer character for good. Unfortunately after the failure of all my other creative endeavors, I begrudgingly donned my famous cadet cap and red tie once more with the knowledge that, even in death, I shan’t be free from the infernal uniform that will decorate my corpse. – Trevor Hazell

I haven’t even had a headline pitch approved yet

My dream is to be plagiarized, especially by a YouTuber, so my kids might actually see my work. – Dan Katz

I’d remind them that Santa doesn’t give gifts to plagiarists

Do they want coal in their stocking? Everybody knows that Santa knows when you’ve been bad or good. It’s their funeral if they wanna end up not getting the cool Lego set they asked for on Christmas Day, but I at least want to give them a chance. Nobody deserves the disappointment of Santa not coming. – C.J Clement

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one’s own original work.[1][2] Although precise definitions vary depending on the institution,[3] in many countries and cultures plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity and journalistic ethics, as well as social norms around learning, teaching, research, fairness, respect, and responsibility.[4] As such, a person or entity that is determined to have committed plagiarism is often subject to various punishments or sanctions, such as suspension, expulsion from school[5] or work,[6] fines,[7][8] imprisonment,[9][10] and other penalties. – TJ Main

Fisticuffs

My first, primal instinct would be to demand a duel of the fists, one on one, for the sake of all the credit and glory. Sure, the rest of my mind will actively use “logic” and “reason” to dissuade me. But in the moment? I’ll want that duel between fighters to reclaim the glory of my writing. – Andrew Fields

Future Nostalgia

Oh, wow, a person ripped me off. This might be one of the last times this happens before machine learning plunges us all into the Shitbag Singularity, where the Internet turns into an auto-fellating Ouroboros of copyright infringement. In a weird way, I’ll cherish this. – Thomas Wilde

What, Again? *YAWN*

I’ve been plagiarized, you say? That’s just another Wednesday. The very first thing I ever pitched and had published on Hard-Drive was ripped-off. On. The. Day. Not once. Not twice. But three times! Granted, the latter two were some kinda unsophisticated AI operation lifting the former’s rework entirely with some rudimentary synonym script applied, but hey, it was all the product of this beautiful mind, baby.

If there’s some YouTuber out there, whether up-and-coming polliwog or multi-millionaire content farmer, swiping my 3-6 hours of work for YouTube’s $5 CPM, then I say: more power to ya bro, ‘cuz I sure as hell can’t be bothered to crap my pants with the fickle medium and capricious platform that is YouTube. Let’s hope you don’t get content strike’d (content struck?) by some kid gaming the system while pretending to be the copyright owner of your retrowave intro theme. What goes around comes around. C’est la vie! – by Michelle Pereira

They’d Only Be Stealing From Themselves

You can’t steal my work, I’ll steal your identity. – James Somerton (Rev Foster)