*The Chuck Lysaght ("messenjah") Plagiarism Mini-FAQ*

Version: 1.1
Last updated: 2008-02-23
Reason for update: Fixed/updated some links.


/Question 1/:
Reading the poetry newsgroups, I notice that people keep saying that
Chuck Lysaght is a plagiarist. Why is that?

/Answer/:
Because it was discovered in July 2001 that he had been copying poems
by other authors and posting them to the newsgroup alt.arts.poetry.comments
and to other places as his own work.


/Question 2/:
Do you have any proof of that?

/Answer/:
Yes, lots. Try these links for a few examples:

Baffled By Your Casablanca Kisses, by Andy Baron:
<http://web.archive.org/web/20061113202411/http://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/ppa201.html (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209ml (Who's computer is this?) >

Baffled By Your Cassablanca Kisses, allegedly by Chuck Lysaght:
<http://groups.google.com/group/alt.arts.poetry.comments/msg/762a75c91398ed7f (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209mn (Who's computer is this?) >

Dirty Dishes, by Michel Cicero
<http://web.archive.org/web/20061113195223/http://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/ppa161.html (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209mp (Who's computer is this?) >

Dirty Dishes, allegedly by Chuck Lysaght
<http://groups.google.com/group/alt.arts.poetry.comments/msg/6f6bf37b7bfa8379 (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209mr (Who's computer is this?) >

Einstein's Brain, by Mark Wakely
<http://web.archive.org/web/20061113201254/http://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/ppa167.html (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209ms (Who's computer is this?) >

Einstein's Brain, allegedly by Chuck Lysaght
<http://groups.google.com/group/alt.arts.poetry.comments/msg/ec317825c59cd8b1 (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209mv (Who's computer is this?) >

He Makes Me Smell Him, by Alan Kaufman
<http://web.archive.org/web/20070819232334/http://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/ppa61.html (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209mx (Who's computer is this?) >

She Makes Me Smell Her, allegedly by Chuck Lysaght
<http://groups.google.com/group/alt.arts.poetry.comments/msg/ba143177b144f22a (Who's computer is this?) >
or <http://snipurl.com/209my (Who's computer is this?) >


/Question 3/:
I'm convinced. So presumably once he was found out he was so ashamed
that he was never seen online again?

/Answer/:
No, he's still posting to the poetry newsgroups. Currently (February
2008), he's mostly posting as "the messenjah", but he occasionally
uses other transparent aliases.


/Question 4/:
So what should I do if I see a poem in a poetry forum attributed to
Chuck Lysaght?

/Answer/:
You might like to use a search engine to see if the poem has been
stolen from an online source. Whether you find the true author or not,
please contact the FAQ maintainer by email (peadar.ruadh@gmail.com).
Lysaght has a long history of harassing people who take issue with his
unline behaviour, and it's best not to approach him directly unless
you're amused by receiving death-threats and viruses in your inbox.
Note that there is no need to report poems posted by Lysaght in
alt.arts.poetry.comments or rec.arts.poems, where he is already
closely watched.


/Note/:
Lysaght won the Usenet Kook of the Month award for October 2003, and
his persistent plagiarism played a part in securing his "victory". He
has subsequently won many other Usenet Kook awards. Those whose poems
have been plagiarised may take some satisfaction in this evidence that
Lysaght is reviled and ridiculed even outside poetry forums.


--
PJR :-)