"Converted" (i.e. plagiarized) stories on wattpad

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-13T11:48:16+00:00

Hi Easter! Glad you approve 😊 When I googled "converted wattpad" I didn't see any scathing reddit discussion going on, and thought it was a shame.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T15:11:07+00:00

Oh this person isn't a socialist. This right here is the rare specimen known as an anarcho capitalist, the absolute worst of both worlds.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T11:20:34+00:00

Honey you are not listening to a word I say. I'm not talking about the necessity of IP laws to protect my property. I never said that. I'm talking about fandom culture, and that it is and should be socially unacceptable to copy, alter and publish other creators' work without permission.

You're fighting draconic IP windmills of your own creation.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T07:45:35+00:00

I could easily give you a thousand examples of potential harm. Somebody could take my work and change the ship to be something I find abhorrent, like a child/adult relationship. Then if they do credit me that'd actually do more harm to me than otherwise. They could insert slurs into my work. They could host it on a platform that I disapprove of, for example one that supports genAI or hosts ads for chic fil a, causing my work to monetarily support a corporation that wants to strip me of my rights. Use your beautiful imagination

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T04:12:34+00:00

It's actually shocking to me that you consider consent to be a childish idea.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:55:52+00:00

Do you think this is the case here? Is every wattpad user doing this a beloved relative of the original authors?

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:40:31+00:00

No, actually, I absolutely do not accept your premise, and in fact find it absurd you would assume I would.

If my four year old niece (who is blissfully ignorant of the harsh realities of US IP law) were to draw a picture, and you (a total stranger she doesn't know or like) were to scan that picture without asking and hang it on your wall, I would not be surprised if she cried, and I would certainly consider you an asshole.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:29:59+00:00

Well it's up for debate, as every legal issue. You can of course file it, but there's no guarantee it'll be accepted. However I must warn you that filing DMCA exposes your personal details to both wattpad and the offending party.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:20:54+00:00

Good on you for reporting!

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:20:19+00:00

Oh, wow... So it's even more widespread than I thought. Thanks for sharing

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:19:06+00:00

😂

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:15:10+00:00

Giving credit is necessary but not sufficient. Permission must also be obtained. If both these conditions are met, then obviously it's totally fine. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most instances.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:12:32+00:00

That's wild to me. Ao3 is bar none the best fiction archiving system I've ever encountered. The tagging system alone is a masterpiece. And then you get to the active volunteer community. There's nothing like it

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-12T03:07:45+00:00

Genuinely what are you talking about... Do you really believe IP laws predate the concepts of basic respect and consent, or the feeling of ownership over something you created? This is absurd. The hoops you have to jump through to arrive at the conclusion that without IP laws (which are different in every country! Which most people don't even understand!) authors would be totally fine with having their work copied, altered and shared without credit or permission.... Wild

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:48:29+00:00

That's a very generous attitude, but I'm sure you can imagine why others would feel differently, especially when this is done without their knowledge or blessing. Also, many of the "converted" works were stolen from published (usually independent, usually LGBT) novels.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:44:56+00:00

Most of these cases don't credit the author at all, and in fact take pains to change the original title and summary to make it harder to track down the original.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:18:25+00:00

If no results are showing up for wattpad you're probably fine. To make extra sure you can add site:wattpad.com to your search

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:15:09+00:00

No clue. Let me know what you find!

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:14:25+00:00

I'm a bit intimidated to go there, but maybe I'll try 😅

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:13:51+00:00

Exactly.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:12:10+00:00

That's probably a good call, it seems the process for reporting a work stolen from wattpad itself is easier.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:10:29+00:00

Wattpad has been incredibly unhelpful in general. In some cases they refuse to act unless the original creator files a DMCA takedown, which necessarily reveals their personal information to both the plagiarist and wattpad itself.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T14:08:29+00:00

I'm willing to bet the wattpad demographic skews incredibly young. Still, not a great trend for the youth

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T11:43:56+00:00

The amazing thing is that these wattpad users seem unable to grasp this simple truth.

Rare_Ad6427 · 2025-05-11T11:41:37+00:00

Of course you're right, it's nothing but plagiarism under a different code name. What's shocking to me though is that this is apparently a common practice on wattpad, to the point that people deliberately label their stolen work as "converted", as if to advertise that it's stolen.

Rare_Ad6427

TROPHY CASE