So I wrote something that was plagiarized before... I mean, when I was twelve, or something... someone stole a poem I wrote and passed it off as her own. How it felt was a bit complicated. I mean, maybe I can't really explain. It felt like being disregarded really, like this other person did not care that I existed. That's about right. It's not about being credited or . It just feels icky like this person didn't care that they were stealing your , I mean, like a you to the face... you know.

I am writing this because I have reported another act of plagiarism on AFF, but now, moderator say, unfortunately only the copyright owner can ask for content to be taken down... and i know, i know, this is like my being biten down for my last huzzah on reporting plagiarized content that even AFF now is saying sevvy mind your own goddam business. And hahaha, I guess I am kind of pissed off, because I really do believe that lifting a book, copying and pasting is wrong, because you are not only stealing the meager pay of authors (I work at a publishing house. I know.), but you are saying you don't care if she wrote this. You don't care. You want to share it. And AFF saying that they wont take it down until the publisher, or the author ask for it to be taken down is saying they don't really care if they're reposting published material unless they are caught red handed.

I know, it's an iffy thing, especially with demographic here of teens, preteans, and semi-adults... and piracy has always been like the cool thing... But I just... because I am a person who aspires to be an author and who work in publishing, I know that in book deals an author only gets about $1-3 for every book they sell. So it takes ten books for them to make $10-30, and that's really crappy for indie writers... this is why writers have day jobs. I know, as a reader, you don't care. I use to not care either, but seeing as I am now part of the industry, I just feel very strongly about this. This is the same for music. I buy all my music because this is how I support them. Of course, I am not saying that if you're a teen without money, you can't enjoy music you can buy... I mean, it's an iffy thing, but I still think that plagairism is stealing you know. You are disrespecting someone's hard work, and it's also illegal. I just don't understand how AFF can condone this behaviour, and since all of you are all so young, it just seems like they are teaching this generation that if you don't get caught (by the right people), then it's fine. I don't think it's fine. I think we owe other people respect in way that it needs not be policed or be taken to court.

I mean, I did report this to the author and Simon and Schuster, but I dunno, I just feel icky about everything. I mean, I don't even care if AFF bans me, I just have lost faith in AFF, for some reason. AFF is not a platform to share books. It used to be a place where you can share your own work. A place where fiction by fans are collated, not a space to repost your favourite books.

I mean, JK Rowling would probably not care if you filch from her pocket a couple hundred of dollars, but for indie writers that's a living. I know no one cares... it's just a hard truth, I guess I should learn to live with... Maybe I have been clinging to this place that I no longer know how to belong...