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I've seen a few posts on HN complaining about people copying their sites, but I'm not sure I sympathize. Websites are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, all of which i
by Osiris 14y ago
I've seen a few posts on HN complaining about people copying their sites, but I'm not sure I sympathize.
Websites are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, all of which is open text and easily copied. You shouldn't have any illusions that your design and code is copied and reused somewhere else.
In this case, the websites that are using the design aren't competitors and aren't taking away business from the original developer. What are they expecting to get out of it? An additional revenue stream of HTML templates?
I agree it's a problem if they are hot-linking to assets on someone else's server, but that's a problem in that it's consuming someone's bandwidth and server resources.
I say, call it flattery and be proud that you made a design that other people want to copy. If you're really paranoid (I don't see why), ask for attribution like "Site design by ..." at the bottom of the page.
- lysol 14y agoIt's because it's a lie. Many times the copied sites have copy asserting that so-and-so is a great firm, make great products, when they haven't made anything. If isn't such a big deal, why don't the copied sites say 'We copied this entire website, minus copy changes, from X.'?
- keithgabryelski 14y agoThis is more akin to copying someone's math test and not having enough understanding of the English language to avoid copying the "Name: Keith Gabryelski" in the upper right hand corner Stealing a design/style or color scheme would yield a "boo hoo" from me. Get over it -- pretty things are pretty and people will build on them. Whole-hog copying code so that you copy the Google Analytics javascript deserves ridicule and if they removed the authorship comments I say "hang em high".