Several years ago, one of my staff members was caught plagiarizing a
review. The evidence was plain as day, and he confessed to doing it. He
(and I) happened to be part of a film critics society. After I terminated
the staff member, I presented them with the evidence. They did nothing;
they wanted to see a pattern of behavior, and one obvious act of
plagiarism wasn't enough for them. I wound up resigning; I didn't want to
be part of a group that didn't hold its members to a high enough
standard.
It's not uncommon for enforcement systems to allow lesser penalties for a
first offense. While I agree that "doing nothing" is unacceptable, zero
tolerance on a first offense tends is not usual.
Allowing leniency for a single error of judgment does not necessarily
render the whole process invalid, providing it's accounted for in the
enforcement policy. Not having this set in policy allows for inconsistent
and unfair outcomes, which present their own problems of acceptability.
But it really depends on the nature of the "crime." In professional writing,
I would consider plagiarism of the magnitude at which this offense occurred
(an entire paragraph appropriated, only slightly modified, and from a MAJOR
source that would've sued my site into oblivion had they caught it instead
of an ordinary reader) to be worthy of being stripped of any professional
memberships or certifications. In system administration, I'd consider it
akin to that backdoor example I gave. I wouldn't consider than an error in
judgment - one time or many, that's conduct unbecoming a professional, and
any body that recognizes professionals shouldn't condone it, because if
anyone outside their circle knew they allowed it, their credibility would go
right out the window.
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