I dont know if we have to work with Turn-it-in per se. Given that most copy-paste is from digital sources, we could start with a program/tool to search the web, which could lessen the burden on editors significantly by itself. (Speaking as a writing teacher, I can tell you this is how I find proof of the majority of plagiarism instances... people are often not-too-smart when they are cheating).
If this works, I bet we could then work with some of the databases to allow the access needed to check, as it would require only excepts from the text, not the entire text... enough to justify a revert. Granted this would not catch everything (no system does) but it would be a very good step in the right direction. > Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 10:15:44 +0200 > From: rupert.thur...@gmail.com > To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Catching copy and pasting early > > hi james, this sounds interesting. the only obstacle i see is that neither > the service nor the software nor the database are open. by using turnitin > we would give up on the principle of opening contents, at least in this > area. this might be perceived bad for opening content, editor retention, > and gaining new editors. > > from a turnitin standpoint this might be marketing until they are well > known. as soon their goals are reached there is danger this will be > discontinued or the terms changed to be not acceptable any more. > > technical and license obstacles do exist. to properly check wikipedia > editors would need access to restricted content. either content is copied > somewhere in the open, permission granted for all, or in the worst case, a > restricted number of editors. > > not to forget is potential link spam. turnitin would put links to a site > not in control of the movement all over the place. they could without > problems put other content behind the links at any time. > > but, i do think one could find a less risky and more open way to do check > for plagiarism. one might find better ways to access wikipedia dumps, > better access to recent changes, permission to automatically report back > issues, nitification of contributors and admins. all in a kind of > standardized way (i.e. well defined interface), and most important, usable > by everybody, for free. > > rupert > Am 21.07.2014 04:05 schrieb "Leigh Thelmadatter" <osama...@hotmail.com>: > > > This is one of the best ideas Ive read on here! > > > > > > > Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 20:00:28 -0600 > > > From: jmh...@gmail.com > > > To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org; eloque...@gmail.com; > > fschulenb...@wikimedia.org; ladsgr...@gmail.com; jorlow...@gmail.com; > > madman.enw...@gmail.com; west.andre...@gmail.com > > > Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Catching copy and pasting early > > > > > > Come across another few thousand edits of copy and paste violations again > > > today. These have occurred over more than a year. It is wearing me out. > > > Really what is the point on collaborating on Wikipedia if it is simply a > > > copyright violation. We need a solution and one has been proposed here a > > > couple of years ago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Turnitin > > > > > > We now need programmers to carry it out. The Wiki Education Foundation > > has > > > expressed interest. We will need support from the foundation as this > > > software will likely need to mesh closely with edits as they come in. I > > am > > > willing to offer $5,000 dollars Canadian (almost the same as American) > > for > > > a working solution that tags potential copyright issues in near real time > > > with a greater than 90% accuracy. It is to function on at least all > > medical > > > and pharmacology articles but I would not complain if it worked on all of > > > Wikipedia. The WMF is free to apply. > > > > > > -- > > > James Heilman > > > MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian > > > > > > The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine > > > www.opentextbookofmedicine.com > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
