E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World-Chapter 49 - Episode 49 Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism 11
Chapter 49: Episode 49 Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism 11
Chapter 49: Episode 49 Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism 11
After the barbecue gathering ended, Zhou Xueyin looked at Wei Jingzhu, whose mood seemed to have lightened, and for some reason, slapped his shoulder and said, “Dude, don’t get discouraged. Although our company doesn’t hire male employees, you could join us as a special technical support, how about that?”
“Er, do I look that discouraged?” Wei Jingzhu was amused by Zhou Xueyin’s words.
“Yes… very much so!” Several people chimed in unison.
“You’re right. Since I can no longer win back Xiang Yue, I need to look ahead! Thanks for the invitation, and feel free to ask me anything if you’re confused!” Wei Jingzhu replied with his usual bright smile.
“Girlfriend, there is something I’d like to ask…” Li Ranxu said with a grin, looking at Li Jiniang.
“Hm?” Li Jiniang looked at him puzzled.
“Have you ever considered me for the role of your men’s fashion consultant?” Li Ranxu shamelessly self-nominated. “Actually, most of your content is from a girl’s perspective, about what girls look good in. If you add a guy’s opinion…”
“Believe me, I’ll hit you?” Li Jiniang gave Li Ranxu a cold look. “Whatever we girls wear, it’s to make ourselves happy, not to be seen by you lords! If you want to please a girl, just buy what we recommend, and you can’t go wrong!”
“Let’s pretend I didn’t ask. But seriously, have you considered starting a men’s fashion section? It might help guide people like Xiaojing who want to change but don’t know where to start?” Li Ranxu suggested another idea.
“Hmm… that might be worth considering…” Li Jiniang nodded thoughtfully, then her eyes lit up as she looked at him, “Why not just be our model instead of a consultant?”
“Cool! Call me whenever you need.” Li Ranxu gestured obediently. “Shall I take you all back?”
“No need, we four can take care of ourselves. You better take Xiaojing home. We’ll keep in touch!” Zhou Xueyin hailed a cab and bade farewell to Li Ranxu and Wei Jingzhu.
I wonder if contacting Ya Rui did the trick, or if Luo Haojun switched his targets, but the online trolls stopped harassing 51buy.
Even though registration was reopened, there were still various verifications as thresholds to prevent disruptions.
Though there were still occasional posts on Little Pink accusing their website of plagiarism, discerning netizens spoke up for them, and soon this inexplicable plagiarism controversy passed.
As for losses, there were indeed some. They could have seen a surge in registrations just before the school season, but they missed the opportunity due to those baseless plagiarism accusations.
Ever since Ya Rui learned that Luo Haojun was actually a plagiarist, she started paying extra attention to him.
Even though Luo Haojun still wouldn’t let Ya Rui meddle with the content, she hired Dong Ling, the deputy editor who had been following Wang Xin, to help keep an eye on Luo Haojun for her.
She also leveraged her connections in the magazine industry to cast a wide net in investigating Luo Haojun.
At the same time, Ya Rui also informed the manufacturers, who had previously agreed to place ads, that the magazine was facing a transition and its circulation might be impacted. To ensure the effectiveness of their ads, it would be best to resume advertising after the transition was complete.
The manufacturers all expressed their understanding and agreed to pause their ad campaigns for a few issues.
With all the preparations in place, the October issue of Fashion Xinrui hit the shelves as scheduled.
As expected, upon the magazine’s release, the second wave of online trolls followed, launching another plagiarism campaign against 51buy.
This time, they moved to the Little Pink forum, frequented by more female users, and began slandering 51buy and its team even more wildly.
However, it wasn’t just Zhou Xueyin and the others who were afflicted this time, but also another forum dedicated to translating Japanese magazines into Chinese.
“Does Luo Haojun have no shame? It’s clear that he’s the one plagiarizing, and now he’s turning the tables, accusing us instead? I don’t know what Mr. Yu’s plan is…” Zhou Xueyin, looking at the forum in chaos, felt her head swell.
“I have a premonition that Luo Haojun is about to get his just desserts,” Li Jiniang said mystically.
“If he’s about to get his, I pray it’s soon. Hurry up and let him and his pack of Wumaodang die out!” Zhou Xueyin uttered her prayer.
“Yinyin, Yinyin! Tiger said it’s been confirmed that Luo Haojun hired a navy to spread rumors that we were plagiarizing!” Kang Siyin said excitedly.
“Tiger? Can he be trusted?” Zhou Xueyin doubted.
“He’s alright, I guess. Didn’t Senior Brother Yang say? Even though Tiger might not be as good as him, he’s still above the average person. We should be able to trust him!” Kang Siyin confirmed.
“If we could get more concrete evidence, we could overturn him in one fell swoop on the forum!” Zhou Xueyin asserted confidently.
“Yinyin, come look! It seems that even before we take action, some people have already started to rally against Fashion Xinrui…” Yao Shanshan excitedly called everyone over to her computer.
‘A deep dive into how Fashion Xinrui’s new chief editor climbed to his position step by step! For the sake of all original creators on the internet, it’s time for a clearance!’
‘Luo Haojun, male (second chair). Claims to be the savior of print media and shamelessly poaches users from online media.
Let’s talk about his despicable tactics: after moving to print media, he laid down a military order, vowing to double the circulation of print media within 3 months!
In reality, he plagiarizes articles from online media platforms, then turns around and hires Wumaodang to maliciously frame these platforms.
Then, unsuspecting crowds would buy the magazines that the Wumaodang advocated for, since issues are released a month in advance. These mindless masses would then lambast the victimized platform, joining Luo Haojun’s crusade.
Meanwhile, the online media platforms, being weak and isolated, don’t have sufficient evidence to prove their innocence and often end up closing or transforming.
Generally, after three months, the sales of the print media do indeed increase, but as for their reputation… tsk tsk tsk…
By the time sales begin to decline, Luo Haojun would have already found his next target, moving on to plague another unsuspecting print media and find the next online media to prey upon…’
“Hold on, if this bastard’s tactics are so despicable, then why do the leaders of these print medias still value him so?” Zhou Xueyin, pointing at the screen, was bursting with anger.
“After all, they’re print media and they never care about what happens online. Just look at those print media leaders on TV. Which one isn’t holding a cup of tea and reading the newspaper? They only care about the results and don’t pay attention to the process!” Li Jiniang said empathetically, “My cousin works for a local print media… as long as the sales are good, nothing else matters.”
“But… don’t they worry about running out of content in the future if online media editors stop creating original work?” Zhou Xueyin was even more baffled by these people’s logic.
“If they can’t copy from domestic sources, they’ll copy from abroad. Isn’t it said that everything under the heavens is but a copy?” Kang Siyin said, spreading her hands in resignation.
“Hmph… ha…” Zhou Xueyin chuckled sarcastically, “Keep copying; sooner or later, this originality environment will shatter on them!”
“Originality environment… it’s been gone long ago. Once people start idolizing a habitual plagiarist, any good environment for originality is already lost…” Li Jiniang said with even more resignation.
