I'm sure you've heard of plagiarism at some point, maybe your teachers tell you not to plagiarize other people's work.

—Not something with which I am familiar, personally, but Potter, didn't you used to copy all of Granger's work?
—Really!? This again? That was only revising. R-e-v-i-s-i-n-g.

And we don't want any plagiarism here. We want everybody to be credited for their own work, whatever it may be. We will do our very best to ensure that, but if by chance you see a fanfic stolen from the original author claimed as property of the current one (plagiarism) or just re-posted without the author's permission (copyright infringement), please let the author know, we will help you reach them!

Here is a direct experience about wild re-posting: this author has clearly lost faith in Wattpad and this is painful to read for people who love this platform, but read for yourself.

"Hi,

Thanks for your message. I'll be completely honest - the only thing I know Wattpad for is that my work and several of my friends' work is regularly ripped off and re-posted on there without our permission. Sometimes the poster is pretending to have written the work themselves, sometimes they claim to be 'just re-posting so the fic gets more reads'. Either way this is grossly disrespectful for the writers themselves and it seems to be a common problem on Wattpad. When I contacted the posters responsible for the plagiarism they were really rude and entitled about it. I've been told that writers should be 'grateful' to have their work re-posted as it was 'flattering' and 'got more reads for the stories'.

Because of my experiences and those of my friends, I would not currently consider cross-posting to Wattpad. I like LJ and AO3 and find those platforms do not suffer from the plagiarism that seems rife on Wattpad.

I am sorry to give such a negative reply to your kind email but honestly, when I see the word 'Wattpad', it just brings really bad associations because of the issues I have had with the platform. My dealings with Wattpad users (not yourself, of course) have been the most negative experiences I have had in fandom!"

So folks, PLEASE, delete all stories that are not yours. Do it as a sign of respect for the authors, because if they don't want to post things around, they have the right to not do so. If you continue to do that, you would not only cover Wattpad's name in mud, but our community too.

You want to share their stories?
ASK them to join Wattpad. Readers are in no place to decide for the author. The story is only theirs and we must show respect, because in the first place, they shared their story with us: a story is a gift out of love, do not abuse that kindness.

The author doesn't reply or is inactive?
That is still NOT a valid reason to re-post. Put an external link to their site, and explain in your story why they should read that work: a review is wonderful way to show your passion for the author's talent, for that they will be grateful.

We want to create a safe environment for authors, so, starting from this chapter, let's work together to achieve that! Or else, Dementors will hunt you down.

Not sure if it is more an invitation than a threat, seen this Dementor though.