4 ms·

Took me until I saw the Disqus comments at the bottom to realize this blog was not on svbtle.com. The theme is here: http://github.com/gravityonmars/wp-svbtle

by Smudge 14y ago

Took me until I saw the Disqus comments at the bottom to realize this blog was not on svbtle.com. The theme is here: http://github.com/gravityonmars/wp-svbtle http://github.com/gravityonmars/wp-svbtle From the github readme: > Isn't this unoriginal? > Yes, in the same way svbtle is unoriginal. See the original "inspiration" for svbtle. (link: http://drawar.com/ http://drawar.com/) At that, I raise an eyebrow. Yes, dcurtis' svbtle does look like it may have been inspired by drawar, or any other blog theme with a persistent left-hand column. It's certainly not nearly as original as it is simply well-executed. But wp-svbtle copied the style & spacing of svbtle down to just about the pixel-level. Legal or not, it's pretty blatantly ripping-off the brand dcurtis is trying to establish, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

lelandbatey 14y ago
Indeed, the wordpress theme's author is not operating in the way he alludes to in that quote. Svbtle is actually inspired by the design of Drawar; it is easy to see the root ideas, but it's also plain to see the changes and evolution of Svbtle that make it distinct from Drawar. Contrast this with the WP theme and an actual Svtle blog: Svbtle: http://dcurt.is/ http://dcurt.is/ Svbtle WP: http://www.lylemckeany.com/ http://www.lylemckeany.com/ If you alt-tab between the two, most of the page is exactly the same. The Svbtle-WP theme is not "inspired" by Svbtle, it is a direct copy.
- mark_story 14y ago
  It still looks like an inferior clone. The typefaces are all wrong, the kudos button has a wonky shape. Its differences are just enough to hit the uncanny valley for me.
da_n 14y ago
I have never really taken to the whole 'exclusive' Svbtle invite-only blogging platform bullshit, but I do agree it is a pixel for pixel copy and so does degrade the brand. No matter what my personal opinion of Svbtle is, copying (and open sourcing the results) is not justified.
- ImprovedSilence 14y ago
  meh, I think it's just a simple style. Yeah, so it's imitating some other blog network, but really, I didn't even know Svbtle was a thing until a minute ago. It's not exactly a super well recognized brand outside some small SF circles...
  - TechNewb 14y ago
    Sounds like an analogy to the iPhone vs Android debate.
Timothee 14y ago
Beyond the problem with stealing pixel for pixel, to me, it's sad: Svbtle does have a distinct look that implicitly indicates you're part of the network. Using a copy in turns implies that you would like to be part of the network, but you can't because you're not friends with Dustin Curtis/don't have enough clout. Because if you're really just interested in a clean blog design, it's really not that hard to make your own. (I say that as someone who doesn't really like the Svbtle "elitism", though I give Dustin Curtis credit for picking great writers in general)

by Smudge 14y ago

lelandbatey 14y ago

Indeed, the wordpress theme's author is not operating in the way he alludes to in that quote. Svbtle is actually inspired by the design of Drawar; it is easy to see the root ideas, but it's also plain to see the changes and evolution of Svbtle that make it distinct from Drawar. Contrast this with the WP theme and an actual Svtle blog: Svbtle: http://dcurt.is/ http://dcurt.is/ Svbtle WP: http://www.lylemckeany.com/ http://www.lylemckeany.com/ If you alt-tab between the two, most of the page is exactly the same. The Svbtle-WP theme is not "inspired" by Svbtle, it is a direct copy.

mark_story 14y ago
It still looks like an inferior clone. The typefaces are all wrong, the kudos button has a wonky shape. Its differences are just enough to hit the uncanny valley for me.

da_n 14y ago

I have never really taken to the whole 'exclusive' Svbtle invite-only blogging platform bullshit, but I do agree it is a pixel for pixel copy and so does degrade the brand. No matter what my personal opinion of Svbtle is, copying (and open sourcing the results) is not justified.

ImprovedSilence 14y ago
meh, I think it's just a simple style. Yeah, so it's imitating some other blog network, but really, I didn't even know Svbtle was a thing until a minute ago. It's not exactly a super well recognized brand outside some small SF circles...
- TechNewb 14y ago
  Sounds like an analogy to the iPhone vs Android debate.

Timothee 14y ago

Beyond the problem with stealing pixel for pixel, to me, it's sad: Svbtle does have a distinct look that implicitly indicates you're part of the network. Using a copy in turns implies that you would like to be part of the network, but you can't because you're not friends with Dustin Curtis/don't have enough clout. Because if you're really just interested in a clean blog design, it's really not that hard to make your own. (I say that as someone who doesn't really like the Svbtle "elitism", though I give Dustin Curtis credit for picking great writers in general)