3 ms·

So proof of original authorship is a big issue in academia? You could easily create timestamped proof of having created a particular document, so is the issue m

• ldjb 10y ago
  That would rely on everybody creating timestamped proof, otherwise you could claim ownership of any paper that hasn't been timestamped by timestamping it yourself. Not all cases are clear-cut, especially where a plagiariser restructures the document, changes the wording, sources, etc.. So I don't think this is a problem that can be solved practically, or even theoretically. But there are certainly things that can be done to better counter plagiarism.
  • whiteandnerdy 10y ago
    You could post a hash of the paper to a trusted host like Twitter at the point you submit it, and you could then refer to that for proof of authorship and priority at a future date.
    • ldjb 10y ago
      You could, however what happens if an author does not post a hash? If I found someone else's paper without a hash, I could generate a hash of my own and claim authorship. This idea would only work if everybody started securing some form of proof of authorship before sharing papers with anyone, which I don't quite see happening.