Last update: March/April 2013

More recent developments after April 2013: see main page of this web domaine, http://zfitter.com.

Also for the references to

the new blog "Friends of ZFITTER" http://friends-of-zfitter.blogspot.com,

the old blog "GfitterPlag" http://gfitterplag.blogspot.com,

the new, since June 2013, DESY webpage on Gfitter01, http://fh.desy.de/projekte/gfitter01/ Gfitter01.htm, a derivative of the software which had been used by Gftter from 2007 to 2011 ("integrating" ZFITTER's Standard Model library). This webpage on Gfitter01 is not covered by search engines like Google.


Some facts on the ZFITTER - Gfitter negotiations 2011 - 2013






Personal Statement

On 20 March 2013, the employer of the ZFITTER spokesperson performed a disciplinary measure against him, by issuing a written notice of warning (Abmahnung).
This disciplinary measure has been performed as part of the negotiations of the ZFITTER and Gfitter collaborations. The negotiations concern the copyright violations claimed by ZFITTER since March 2011.
If a necessity is seen by the employer, a next step is the dismissal of the ZFITTER spokesperson from the employment.
As a signal of good-will, we slightly edited this webpage, although it is not part of content of the written notice of warning.
We do so in order to safely ensure that this webpage will not contain any material which might damage the reputation of the employer, its employees, and/or its/their cooperation partners.
To damage the reputation of any institution or person was not and is not our intention.
In case you, as a visitor of this webpage, find any need to improve the contents further in this respect, please send an email to tordriemann@googlemail.com.

Today, after more than two years of negotiations, one may develop the opinion it would have been appropriate to stay silent.
In this specific case.
Even in view of evident plagiarism.
We did not stay silent, and after careful consultation with relatives, collegues, and friends we come to the conclusion:
"When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie." [Yevgeny Yevtushenko]

Dr. Tord Riemann, ZFITTER spokesperson, April 2013, Königs Wusterhausen




"When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie."
- Yevgeny Yevtushenko




ZFITTER news as of March to April 2013

A service to the community: List of Gfitter publications deserving a revision due to lack of reference to the "integrated" ZFITTER texts and/or lack of reference to the usage of ZFITTER software "integrated" into Gfitter software

Here it is, with status of 16 March 2013: gfitter-publications-to-be-revised.pdf
The list is not yet completed.
A completion is performed trivially by everybody, based on gfitter-publications.html.

How to treat a situation in academic research, where one party feels not appropriately respected by another one?

There are many answers, in principle.
We understand us as part of academic basic research, where proper citation of the scientific achievements of the others is mandatary.
This tradition goes back hundreds of years in Europe.
Proper citation is a reasonable demand, because it guaranties the equilibrium of competition and cooperation, two essential elements of basic, academic research in natural sciences.
Scientific carriers depend on scientific achievements of the actors in the field, and on their recognition by the scientific community.

The most central factual question is: What is proper citation?
On the background that the non-authorized copy-paste-adaptations by Gfitter authors cannot be denied seriously, the estimations depend crucially on that.

In the course of the last two years, the conflict got concentrated at a German institution, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG.
So, the second most central factual question is:
How should a research institution in Germany proceed when there is a suspicion of scientific misconduct?

An answer to the first question may be found in the following findings of a German court, in German language:
VG Freiburg Urteil vom 23.5.2012, 1 K 58/12
Rücknahme der Verleihung des Doktorgrades - hier: Plagiatsvorwürfe
Urteil der 1. Kammer des Verwaltungsgerichts Freiburg vom 23.5.2012 - 1 K 58/12 -
The explicit link: http://lrbw.juris.de/cgi-bin/laender_rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bw&GerichtAuswahl=VG+ Freiburg&Art=en&Datum = 2012 - 5&nr=16297&pos=1&anz=4

An answer to the second question may be found in the following findings of the German professor of law, Klaus Ferdinand Gärditz [Lehrstuhlinhaber für Öffentliches Recht an der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn], who estimated the treatment of the accusations against Professor Dr. h.c. mult. Annette Schavan at Universität Düsseldorf.
The document "GUTACHTLICHE STELLUNGNAHME ZUM VERFAHRENSABLAUF IN DER SACHE BETREFFEND PROFESSOR DR. ANNETTE SCHAVAN" dated 16.2.2013: http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/home/fileadmin/redaktion/Oeffentliche_Medien/Presse/Pressemeldungen/Bilder/Gutachten .pdf

Of course, everything depends on the question whether the community considers scientific text written with latex as "scientific text" and software in general as "scientific achievement".

ZFITTER news as of 7 March 2013

Today begins the third year of the ZFITTER-Gfitter negotiations.

Gfitter

7 March 2011: Two years ago, one of the Gfitter authors was confronted with the observation by ZFITTER authors, that Gfitter authors had integrated scientific results of ZFITTER into Gfitter as if they were their own invention.
The reply was unexpected and sounded strange:

"I never have seen Gfitter, I never used Gfitter, and I have no responsibility for Gfitter."

Much happened since then, and at the same time not so much.

28 April 2011: Soon later, we could read in a decision of the Board of Directors of DESY:
"Das Direktorium benennt für zukünftige Fragen in der Sache als DESY-interne Kontaktperson zu Gfitter, Herrn K. Mönig.
In google translator English:

"The Executive Board shall appoint, for future reference in the matter as DESY internal contact person to Gfitter, Mr K. Mönig."

So, this issue was settled, finally.
The last official words by Gfitter seem to be the following ones:

ZFITTER

ZFITTER authors look at the facts, and they deviate from the official Gfitter statements.
This webpage contains sufficient original material, so that everybody may come to his/her own estimation. E.g.:
  1. 10 May 2011:
    gfitter-uses-175-functions-of-zfitter.html - List of the known 'integrations' from ZFITTER v.6.42 into Gfitter/gsm (on request).
  2. Since 3 August 2011:
    zfitter-code-in-gfitter.html - Samples of the 'integration' of ZFITTER software in Gfitter/GSM software.
  3. Since 10 August 2011:
    gfitter-publications.html - Informations on publications of Gfitter where the use of [next word was misprinted until 24 Oct 2011] ZFITTER software is not quoted. Last update 19 September 2012 by adding several items.
  4. Since 24 October 2011:
    zfitter-text-in-gfitter-publications.html - Samples of [latex source] text, found in the main Gfitter publication and also in a diploma thesis, taken from latex source files written by ZFITTER authors.
  5. Since 28 Oct 2011:
    gfitter-gsm-patches.html - Patches of misprints in Gfitter/GSM arising from the `integrations'.

Facts, ethics, legality, expectations

Our factual findings and opinions were expressed on several occasions in the last two years.
Let us mention:

Why are the ZFITTER-Gfitter negotiations a hot matter until now?

The situation is uncomfortable for the ZFITTER people for several reasons: Sanctions are foreseen, of course.

4 February 2013: Quotation from a letter on behalf of the Board of Directors of DESY to the Work Coucil of DESY:
"DESY wird sich im Zuge dessen auf der Grundlage der Prüfungsergebnisse positionieren... zu der Frage der Aufrechterhaltung von Anweisungen an Herrn Dr. Riemann im Rahmen seines Arbeitsverhältnisses zu DESY."
In English, approximately:

"DESY will position itself on the basis of the examination results ... to the question of the retention of instructions to Mr. Dr. Riemann as part of his employment at DESY."


ZFITTER news as of February 2013

[15 Feb 2013 - 27 Feb 2013 (20:47), under construction yet]


Just released at zfitter.com: