I am upset. Really upset.
I have been accused of the worst .. the very worst. Plagiarism. Even the word sound slimy. What an awful thing!

This is what somebody (who seems to be to have a very apt nom-de-plume) posted on Fictionmania's notice board:
"Posted by efindumb® on 07/24/2020 at 04:35:58
Subject: Re: Accusations of Plagiarism
This has irked me for a long time. There is no link to the original work, your entire story is based off of the work of someone else. You include the original caption and that person's name but you don't include where you got the caption from and you don't even bother to actually expand the caption beyond adding one or two sentences more.
You really are plagiarising, without realizing that you are doing it. Sorry, but you never give proper credit. Those captioners work their butts off creating those captions and you take them, use them to "inspire you" but don't give them the credit you should!
You have some nerve complaining about that. You churn out a lot of "stories" but without the hard work of those people you wouldn't have 1/10th of the "inspiration" as you would.
Give people credit, proper credit!"

My reply was:
"Hi Efindumb
I am not sure if your nom de plume has been chosen to demand this, but plagiarism is "the representation of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work. Plagiarism is considered academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic ethics".
When credit is given, that is not plagiarism.
When somebody reproduces the text and says "I was inspired by this" that is the opposite of plagiarism.
Now, is my work original? Take the last posting "Lucky Little Ashley". Becky and I have worked together on stuff and I helped her a little with the story she has been posting on FM. Here she has written a simple exchange between two transwomen, and I am trying to build the characters. I believe that what I wrote first person is very different, with new thoughts and expressions.
The response has been positive (with the exception of the Latin speaker who prompted this thread) and I will go on to write more.
I work my butt off and I have a body of work to prove that. And not just these little tales, but full short stories and the occasional novelette. I suggest that you have a look.
But there is the suggestion that I should provide more links to cap writers and that I will do.
In the meantime please reconsider the accusation that you have made. It is wrong and hurtful, and in a community of writers, very bad form indeed.
Maryanne Peters"

But he did not stop there - moving to strident all caps in places:
"Subject: Re: Accusations of Plagiarism
You see...this is what you don't get. I've ready Becky's work for years. If she has posted here and she worked with you, then WHERE IS HER CREDIT? Where is a link to her works? Where is the acknowledgement to her that she helped you?
There isn't any. You simply say "inspired by" but DON'T GIVE HER ACTUAL CREDIT. None of the actual "inspirations" get it. I highly doubt that you have actually worked with ANY of them, much less ALL of them.
You have gotten positive responses, but if people actually KNEW that you STOLE THE WORK OF OTHERS to get your "inspiration" they wouldn't be so nice in their reviews. And frankly, a large number of positive reception is just nice replies because they feel compelled to say something.
As has been pointed out to me multiple times by "better" writers, quantity doesn't equate to quality. Don't you dare throw your number of works out at me when the total number of words written doesn't hold a candle to the words I post in a single story post. Don't toss that out because your work is nothing like others for a reason- it's easy to churn out a story when someone else has done all of the actual hard work!
But hey- quantity over quality. Those of us who try and actually make something of our stories must be doing something wrong when we can just grab someone's caption, expand it, then claim that it's original instead of spending days and weeks trying to type a 15-20,000 word story from scratch."

I had to reply:
"I will not stoop to make reference to your nom de plume again, because it seems to me that your accusation cannot be put down to ignorance. I see real spite in your words.
As a writer you should know how serious the allegation of plagiarism is. I invite you to consider what I have top say and withdraw it.
I say it again, plagiarism is taking the work of others and passing it off as your own. What I have done is take a caption, attribute it and use it as inspiration for my own words. This is the very opposite of plagiarism. I am saying: "I read that and it inspired me to write this". If you can see any of this that is pretending to be that, I challenge you to identify it.
You use all caps to accuse me of theft. Please withdraw these words unless you can point to a single instance in all my 300+ postings where I have passed off the words of others as my own.
What is inspired by? "Arising from some external creative impulse" - I read, I write. Many would not refer to their source. I respect other writers so I do.
Now, in a Trumpian double-down, you accuse me of lying about working with Becky and other cap writers. I helped her and she has thanked me online, but I have written to Becky and asked her to enter the fray.
Where I help other writers I seem no credit for it. I thought that this was the nature of our community. You seemed to have proved me wrong.
If Becky chooses not to enter this (I would not blame her) you should send me your email and I would be happy to send you exchanges with confidences respected.
If your criticism is that my attribution could be better, I have taken that on board. I will do better. But to say there is no attribution or credit given at all, is plainly wrong.
What is your motive? Are you not getting enough positive reviews? In my experience reviewers don't write in because they are "feel compelled to say something". I think that the praise I receive is hard won.
Clearly your write novellas. I write short stories. It is a different literary tradition. Try reading some.
My little cap-inspired-tales are not even that - some are just musings perhaps, but if they inspire joy or excitement, or anything, that makes them art.
I am no plagiarist. I am no thief.
I respect you as a writer. Please do me the same courtesy."

I am only doing this because I will not accept being called a thief. I have never stolen a word from anybody. When I get an inspiration (which is not words that I then claim are mine) I refer to it as somebody else's and give credit where I can. Plenty don't

What irks me particularly is that I think that my work is (on the whole) very original. I try to make it so.

This whole thing has shaken me. I really don't know how to deal with it satisfactorily.

Any ideas?

Maryanne