On one side: plagiarism is a problem and maybe setting some examples will prevent others from doing the same.

However, there are a few reasons I think it’s not good to punish people forever. First, people make mistakes. They are punished for it. But after they have paid their penalty’s, they are free again. At least in most countries, for most crimes. So you would think that for a (relatively) minor offense like plagiarism, one would not have to pay for the rest of their live.

Internet being more important each year, there’s no doubt that a few bad online stories can hunt you and hurt you badly. Forever. If you’re trying to get a job and potential employers search for your name and keep finding the (subjective, one-sided) negative stories about you, you’re in deep trouble.

The problem is that most people doing the research on you won’t take the time to read on and dig deeper. They see a few headlines and draw their conclusions. You do not even get a chance to defend yourself.

And that takes us to my second point. Justice. Because what we’re doing here is in fact some kind of legal case. But then without the court, an independent judge or a proper legal system. Someone does something and is arrested, judged and punished by an angry mob of civilians (the bloggers). No rules. No honest trial.

Of course, it’s our right to write about stuff that happens. Freedom of speech and freedom of journalism, etc. I’m only saying that one should be careful. And that maybe, even knowing how bad it is that someone copied your article(s), one has to think about the wrongdoers as well.

So, if the people you talk about have apologized and haven’t continued with the practices, I would say remove their names. Just replace them with fictitious names and mention that the original names have been removed.

On one side: plagiarism is a problem and maybe setting some examples will prevent others from doing the same.

However, there are a few reasons I think it's not good to punish people forever. First, people make mistakes. They are punished for it. But after they have paid their penalty's, they are free again. At least in most countries, for most crimes. So you would think that for a (relatively) minor offense like plagiarism, one would not have to pay for the rest of their live.

Internet being more important each year, there's no doubt that a few bad online stories can hunt you and hurt you badly. Forever. If you're trying to get a job and potential employers search for your name and keep finding the (subjective, one-sided) negative stories about you, you're in deep trouble.

The problem is that most people doing the research on you won't take the time to read on and dig deeper. They see a few headlines and draw their conclusions. You do not even get a chance to defend yourself.

And that takes us to my second point. Justice. Because what we're doing here is in fact some kind of legal case. But then without the court, an independent judge or a proper legal system. Someone does something and is arrested, judged and punished by an angry mob of civilians (the bloggers). No rules. No honest trial.

Of course, it's our right to write about stuff that happens. Freedom of speech and freedom of journalism, etc. I'm only saying that one should be careful. And that maybe, even knowing how bad it is that someone copied your article(s), one has to think about the wrongdoers as well.

So, if the people you talk about have apologized and haven't continued with the practices, I would say remove their names. Just replace them with fictitious names and mention that the original names have been removed.

Should these plagiarists be punished forever? No, but they should bear the weight of increased scrutiny of their actions forever, and that can only happen when a record of their actions persists.