Who can join this clique?:
     Anyone can join this clique. Feel free to take a banner or button (more to come) and put it on your site. Tell your friends and get them to put up buttons and banners . . . make your own buttons and banners . . . I really don't care if this idea is copied, so long as the word gets out. Links back my main page would be greatly appreciated too.

http://animecow.terrashare.com/hitomisama/index.html

     You don't even have to email me to tell me that you've joined the clique, though I would like to hear if you do. You aren't obligated but it'd be nice to see how many people are taking a stand against plagerism. And if you email me, I'll put your name up on a special page to show everyone that you're standing against copyright violators.
 

What you authors should know:
     Even though you write fanfiction (which is already technically treading on a few copyrights) you have copyrights on your work. Anything you write that is original and in your own words, is yours.
     What does this mean? Well, it's simple really. This copyright you have entitles you as an author to place a copyright symbol on your work along with your name and even the date if you like. You can actually put the symbol or the word "copyright" or even just a "(c)" though it's recommended you put at least two of these, one being the actual word "copyright."
     Your copyright also allows you to have control over your work. If you do not authorize duplication of your work or agree to have it posted somewhere and it happens, your copyright has been violated.
 

How can you protect yourself against plagerism?:
     Post your story in at least two or three places, preferably sites that belong to someone else. Make sure they post (in their updates or somewhere else) the date they posted your fic. Post the date you finished writing the story in the text (maybe above or below the actual fic). If you have your story in html format, embed the date there as well.
 

What you can do if you've been plagerized?:
     It's a rather tedious process that can be quite frustrating. However, the end result is worth it. Email the operator of the site where the plagerized fic is located. Explain to them that the person violated your copyright. Here's what you should include in your email:
     Your name. Your email. The reason you're emailing them. The name of your fic. The name and email of the person violating your copyright. The URL of the story on their site. The URL of your story. At least one other URL that proves the story is indeed yours. Any dates on sites that can confirm you posted the story before the violator did.
     You really have to do your homework before you email. But if you come up with all that information, you'll have proved your case already. Just be nice in the email and don't forget to thank the administrator for their time.
     If you have been plagerized in a large site such as Fanfiction.net, join the site if you can and then take recommended action. At FF.net, they have a message board where you can post violations.
 

What you shouldn't do:
     1. Don't email the violator using swear words, threatening them, etc. That's just not a good idea. It might get you in trouble later on.
     2. Don't email the person who runs the site using swear words, threatening them, etc. They didn't do anything. They probably aren't even aware of the violation.
     3. Don't post the person's name and email on your site, in your fics, etc. telling everyone to flood their inbox with nasty emails or the like. That also could get you in trouble and furthermore it looks petty.
     4. Don't MST them. See my rant on MST's if you aren't sure what they are or why they are bad when the MST is about a fanfiction or author.
 

What you as readers can do:
     If you suspect that a fic has been plagerized, definitely do some research. Put the title in a search engine (Google, Lycos, Yahoo, Go2Net, etc.) and see what you come up with. If the name in the author spot does not match with others, take a tally of who's name appears the most. Also look to see if you can find any dates that confirm one author had the original posting.
     When you have a fairly decent case, email the administrator of the site you think the plagerized fic is located. Relay your concern and let them handle the rest.
     This kind of thing is tricky because you really aren't sure who wrote it. However, if you know for a fact, definitely email the site. It was the same thing at Fanfiction.net. Someone knew for a fact the story wasn't the violator's and even said that they had read it on another site . . . yet, to my knowledge, they didn't report this . . . Be a responsible reader. If you know for a fact something has been ripped off, do your part and report it. I promise you the original author will be very appreciative of this.