Listen, schedule some time and sit down to meditate on what I’m about tell you: You have discovered first-hand an undeniable property of the human dynamic. The

Listen, schedule some time and sit down to meditate on what I’m about tell you: You have discovered first-hand an undeniable property of the human dynamic. There are elements of the human race that do not operate with integrity, and the sooner you digest this, the better. It was hard for me to believe when I first saw it happen to me as well. Humans will copy everything, the career path you take, the side projects you do, the way you dress, the way you talk, the major you pick in college, your style, your values, there is literally nothing beyond theft. We constantly hear how there is a hiring crunch, but the reality is, people are piling into tech the same way they piled into IT in the late 90s. It’s a copy cat culture at best, unabashed ripoff/theft at worst. They will copy you, follow you, steal from you. You won’t ever believe it unless you literally experience it first hand. I may have a million people on HN try to counter what I’m saying, but I know for a fucking fact that, you, OP, will agree with what I’m saying because you just experienced it. They’ll copy and steal from you, down to the very fucking scraps of a USB-C speed tester app. Down to the fucking scraps. Not undermining your product, but these type of people will copy your own personal diary and pass it off. People steal. It’s much more common than you think. I lean heavy left, but I know just how much lying lots of Americans do to get government assistance. Thievery is beyond anything we can make sense of, it’s occurring on a grand scale. Entire personalities and looks are wholesale copied, repurposed, and resold all over social media. There are entire roles at companies that collect money and credit for things no one with any integrity would partake in (project managers, a certain breed of managers, other developers). People cheat through college. People cheat on their spouses. Thieving has gone so far that it’s second nature. No one even bats an eye at the fact that all of YouTube and TikTok is wholesale theft of each others entire persona, act and style. We actually believe this is normal. You’ve discovered nothing short of one of the faces of mankind. All people are not just “good” and all people are not just “trying to do the right thing”. Large amounts of people are flawed and corrupt. Now you know. I’m sorry, truly. Stay safe, keep your ideas to yourself and execute well and try to cover the rat holes these critters crawl through. And most of all, don’t become a thief yourself. —- I actually 100% believe you when you say they even copied the origin story.