“ I honestly believe that a lot of plagiarists don't even know that what they are doing is wrong.”

This is a key point. When I was in college one of my core classes required us to write a short thesis of a place. It was mostly busy work so it wasn’t being graded as seriously as my composition classes, so I played it fast and loose with the encyclopedia.

By the end I realized I had pretty much just copy and pasted my entire report, as there really aren’t that many things one can say about, say Japan, if you’ve never been there or known anyone with experience of it. At least not from a personal point of view.

So, concerned, I spoke with my instructor about it, which led to basically getting permission to plagiarize all I wanted (for that specific assignment).

The point is when presenting an opinion it’s easy (easier, anyway) to be original, even if one is just regurgitating something they heard from someone else. We still tend to put our opinions in our words, but when it comes to listing facts, they’re the same regardless of who’s presenting them.

Looking at a place like Hive, where everyone is an amateur blogger it’s not surprising people end up crossing those lines once they blur so much.

I believe plagiarism should be called out, and rewards should reflect intent to some degree, but that’s a decision each of us must make on our own in each moment we encounter it.