I used to know this kid (#1) who would basically copy/paste what his friend (#2) told him (online via msn, AIM, etc) into wikipedia, correcting grammar and whatnot whenever necessary. Then he (#1) would proceed to ask a mutual acquaintance (#3) to ask the friend (#2) a question that would provoke a response similar to what was originally told to #1. Now before he would tell the mutual acquaintance to speak to #2 he would inform him (#3) that #2 is notorious for copying/pasting information directly from wikipedia when he is asked a question over AIM/MSN.
Once he plants the idea that #2 is a liar into #3's head, he tells him to ask the same question and asks to be informed of his response. Of course the guy (#2) is going to give a response similar to the one given to (#1). After all it was only days earlier, sometimes the wording may even be 90% exact because he was asked the q so recently. When #3 then informs #1, he laughs and appears surprised. He (#1) then fakes looking up the wikipedia entry for the first time and notices an uncanny similarity between whats posted online and what was said by #2.
They both laugh with only one of them actually thinking someone committed an act of plagiarism. #1 then continues with this strange act several more times both with the same person and with new folks.
I know this because #1 used to tell me to ask #2 questions all the time. When I ended up confronting #2 about the wiki article he was fairly surprised (as expected). To prove to me that he wasn't lying and was actually coming up with the answers himself he tried to trap #1 in the act. The next time #1 asked him a question he would copy and paste his answer to me before #1 got a chance to post it on wiki. Comparing the article at the time to the next day and the standard skit put on by #1 gave me all the proof I needed.
My question: What sort of motivation fuels this pathetic and shallow behavior? It reeks of guilt and resent. Maybe #1 feels inadequate and needs desperately to falsify someones intelligence in order to show to others that he may not be the only idiot out there?
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