<3 Happy Bithday! x
The ultimate in plagiarism! Page 4
Thank you! 
If I stole your heart is that plagiarism?
Quote: Aldeem @ May 6 2011, 2:49 PM BSTIndeed Griff.It's simple enough to do and when a big news story breaks I often use an anagram server to see if anything funny and relevant can be generated out any of the main names involved. This time I just happened to hit the spot. Another one I almost used was "Amen, Sandal Obi"
A-ha! So you're trying to take the credit for an anagram created by an anagram server, just a poor, defenceless automaton! I think I see who the real war criminal is here...
My personal feeling is that an anagram is not a joke.
Thinking of a joke that people start using all the time without credit is the writers' burden. When I was contributing to topical shows I had the simple rule that if I genuinely thought up a funny line I'd send it in. If someone else thought of it, too, surely the show's rule would be to use the one they received first.
I also had this piece of homemade philosophy - the difference between me and the guy who nicked my great joke is that I can write another one.
Incidentally, I used to wonder how people had the time to think up anagrams - I had no idea there was an electronic finder.
But an anagram is still not a joke.
Quote: Buddy Sorrel @ May 7 2011, 7:05 AM BSTMy personal feeling is that an anagram is not a joke.
Why not? And if it makes someone laugh, why make the distinction?
Quote: Griff @ May 7 2011, 11:09 AM BSTThis might be a first for me but... I agree with Nogget.
*christ it'll be Tim Azure next*
I wouldn't worry until you get to the point where you utter the words 'I agree with Nick'. Then you are lost.
Quote: sootyj @ May 6 2011, 4:39 PM BSTMy first idea was writing Dan at the end of every one of my posts.
Damn!
You've spelt it wrong.
Over 300 million people speak English, so I think it's more of a surprise when someone does come up with something original. The chances of someone else coming up with the same humourous line as you when everyone is focused on the same topical thing is very high, especially when a formula is being used (whether that be something like 'Then I got off the bus', or - as in this case - looking for anagrams)
A good demonstration of this is listening to The News Quiz and then watching Have I Got News For You - there's no cross over on the gag writing, yet sometimes the two shows will come out with exactly the same line independently.
Anyway, I think it safe to say Russell Howard's show didn't take it from your Twitter Aldeem. They're very good at crediting the sources they have used - I believe, if I remember rightly, Ian Wolf once got a mention in the credits as they used a story from a link he posted.
I have since blogged about the whole episode. http://bit.ly/lt2MwZ An anagram isn't usually a joke but the topicality of the Bin Laden one led to thousands of people copying my tweet from last Monday directly as you will see from the blog and if you try Google searching the exact phrase "Coincidentally, an anagram of Osama Bin laden is "Lob da man in sea". The chances of someone coming up with the same anagram, yes, but for thousands of people to write their whole tweet in exactly the same way? Very unlikely.
PS- there's even a Facebook page for the anagram now! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Osama-Bin-Laden-Anagram-LOB-DA-MAN-in-SEA/143823039023465
Quote: Mark @ May 7 2011, 1:22 PM BSTThey're very good at crediting the sources they have used - I believe, if I remember rightly, Ian Wolf once got a mention in the credits as they used a story from a link he posted.
Yes they did. I'm not sure which story they used as I had sent in two the same week. It was either a Scotsman shouting down a camera "I hate Iceland!" (reference to the volcano) or ITV accidentally showing a Twitter message calling David Cameron a c**t during the first Leader's Debate.
If it's not a big thing Aldeem why do you mention it about 50 times?
Aldeem - I don't think you can ever know if they saw your tweet or not, so there's nothing really you can do about it. Other than: take it as a huge bloody pat on the back, because you're either a) thinking along the same lines as the writers on a hugely successful comedy show or b) coming up with jokes they think are worthy of that hugely successful comedy show. If I've come up with what's turned out to be a similar gag to a comedian's on Twitter, I've taken it as an endorsement, as it means my brain must be working the same way as theirs!
Aldeem, I have no idea if anybody has ripped off your gag and passed it off as their own. Maybe some people have. What I do know is that a lot of people writing gags about topical things come up with the same material independently. And if only some of those people are writing anagram-based gags, many of those are going to be worded "Coincidentally, an anagram of Osama Bin laden is "Lob da man in sea". Because that's how you phrase anagram gags. You say "Coincidentally, an anagram of [topical name] is [amusing and relevant reference]."
I don't know the stats, but neither do you. My guess is some people tweeted your gag having seen it without acknowledging it was yours. But my guess is many more people tweeted it having thought of it themselves. To them, it was their gag. And it was. In exactly the same way that it was yours (though some of them probably didn't use an anagram search engine to help). Let it lie.
http://www.anagramgenius.com/archive/osamab.html
They were making Bin Laden anagrams while he still lived & breathed. Crossword compilers make use of anagram coders every day. Do you honestly believe you were the only, or first person to think of doing this upon hearing news of his death?