5 ms·

This whole situation seems very strange to me. In the left corner we've got someone claiming their GPL'd code was stolen and sold on Codecanyon by someone else

This whole situation seems very strange to me. In the left corner we've got someone claiming their GPL'd code was stolen and sold on Codecanyon by someone else who subsequently filed a DMCA request against the original author. And in the right corner we've got the person who supposedly is accused of stealing the script code and selling it posting here in this thread saying it's the other way around and the blog post author stole the code. I've made some strange observations here about the situation: 1. The original author didn't post any copies of the DMCA request, no copies of emails, no links to the offending item on Codecanyon nor any links to the original repo that contained the code. 2. The person accused of stealing the code commented on this submission and claimed the situation is the other way around and the blog post author stole the code that was being sold. How did the accused know about this submission? There's a chance that maybe he frequents HN, but no links were provided in the post, so how does this commenter know it's even his plugin being spoken about in the post? 3. Why have neither sides of the fence provided any evidence whatsoever? Both the defender and accused have provided no links, no emails, nothing and it's been a word against word situation. While I could be wrong here, it feels like this whole situation could be fake. I am not saying that it is, but it feels a little too weird that neither side have made their case clear with actual evidence. Is this a publicity attempt to get sales for a Codecanyon plugin? I hope my suspicions are wrong and that it's just a case of the original author wanting to give the supposed thief a chance to take his item down which given the situation would be unusually generous.

code937 13y ago
I'm happy to explain! Upon finding my code on his site i emailed him. He didnt reply, i commented on a post, he didnt reply so i sent him a notice. 4 hours later he sends me the same notice back + to the marketplace and my host. The blogs about it! I click the tweet button on the blog to monitor why and what he does, i come across this blog, i send him an email warning him to remove my code, delete the blog and move on. He hasn't done so and continue's his story so i'm happy to provide all my evidence to show this person is lying. still, I've absolutely no idea why he would take a lie this far, but i have all the proof which i will be providing on this thread very shortly!
- pudquick 13y ago
  On the balance, both of your accounts are new on HN - I can see both possibilities for this post of "I will rally the technically savvy in a false flag operation and nuke the person I stole from off the internet" and "I am informing my fellow community of something that is not right, looking for support / warning others". However - your account does have one advantage in this: Codecanyon's project pages list the date the project was created on Codecanyon, not a date of the author's choosing. Additionally they do not make it simple to completely re-write some older project on there you might have already had to re-use the timestamp to mask devious deeds. So far your timestamps win over his. Unfortunately, I still have no access to the code of your project to vet whether one is a copy of the other. Given that your code is sold for profit, it would be hard to verify this without your code getting out without going to trial (or I guess I could give you some bucks on codecanyon to find out what's hosted there). Edit: On review of the code in your live demo at https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/ https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/ I definitely agree he ripped you off. That's an unfortunate danger when it comes to selling client-side scripting. Good luck taking him down.
  - consonants 13y ago
    This is a very common tactic in the grey-market internet realm. A dishonest proprietor raises "concerns" about the other's business on an open community forum, creates FUD. Then the other comes on with a new account, and accuses the accuser of xyz. Whoever has a better standing in the community usually wins out. It's brilliant because it works. It also only works in a market that is shielded from making informed decisions about the service/product/behind-the-scenes shit because the information isn't easily accessible or understood. Given that this is a business that isn't hiding in the shadows, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. edit: I should add, it works because eventually it becomes a contest of personalities and the argument drifts away from what started it into some other territory. The FUD is never resolved so it winds up being True to the market. It's also scary because of the amount of forged information, like official documents, lab reports, inventories, invoices, messages etc are forged by the hands of the dishonest proprietor. Honestly, if it isn't resolved file a civil suit for libel. The internet will not resolve this and will make it worse.
code937 13y ago
Also! Why would it be a plug - if you can download my code for free off of his website!? ... and give him a donation for him using my code.
- ccozan 13y ago
  Look, code937. I will simply say that all that what you say is a lie and was cooked up cleverly. You don't provide a name of yourself, a history about you, nothing. while the guy who wrote the code, has publicitly a name, a history behind ( http://www.class.pm/about/ http://www.class.pm/about/ ). He has a reputation to hold, and because he is a professional, i doubt that he would do such a thing, like appropriating code. He is keeping it quiet, while you have the big mouth.
  - pudquick 13y ago
    > i doubt that he would do such a thing, like appropriating code Writing javascript for a living is a funny thing considering it's usually client-side code that's downloaded by the user, meaning it "escapes" into the real world for anyone to copy / slap their name on it. Just because someone is "a professional" doesn't mean that they're ethical. It just means they have a public image. And so far, the evidence everywhere else in this thread is pointing towards code937 as the original author.
    - ccozan 13y ago
      Any data can be faked. Just because of some release dates, you name that evidence? Maybe the classic.pm guy wrote the plugin ealier, had it on a site, this 937 guy got it and put it up for sale. There is no way to prove it, but I do think that classic.pm is the real author, based on his profile. And still because I simply don't see the reason to do it ( copying, that is ). Also take in account the blog post: he thinks is strange to get a DMCA take down for a GPL-ed code, why would anyone take the effort to write that post, unless, is very close to the truth?
      - code937 13y ago
lunixbochs 13y ago
Quick investigation suggests the original poster here is in the wrong. This is a diff of the CSS file from both projects: http://paste.roguecoders.com/p/2f703b39668f1b85ee071ec42ed523b8.txt http://paste.roguecoders.com/p/2f703b39668f1b85ee071ec42ed52... CodeCanyon clearly puts the release date for the paid version at June 2012, while the supposed open-source version has multiple dates pointing at December 2012. I temporarily forked the repository on GitHub for posterity. Compare the feature list between https://github.com/lunixbochs/jquery-classyedit/blob/master/readme https://github.com/lunixbochs/jquery-classyedit/blob/master/... and https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/features.php https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/features.php
- code937 13y ago
  I'm happy to provide you with the original codecanyon download too, tell me where to send it!
- lunixbochs 13y ago
  Looks like he deleted his GitHub account: https://github.com/classpm https://github.com/classpm I changed my fork of his repo to private. Let me know if you need it for anything.
  - code937 13y ago
    Thank you very very much! Sorry I haven't replied earlier, because I'm such a new account it stopped me from posting for a bit. Really appreciate yours and everyone else's support during all of this.
    - nilliams 13y ago
      Here's another suspicious plugin to look into: On codecanyon for $6 under the name 'jQee' http://codecanyon.net/item/jqee-keyboard-shortcuts-for-jquery/1930338 http://codecanyon.net/item/jqee-keyboard-shortcuts-for-jquer... On class.pm as 'ClassyKeyboard' http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classykeyboard/ http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classykeyboard/ Edit: And another On codecanyon for $6 as 'RollBar': http://codecanyon.net/item/rollbar-jquery-scrollbar-plugin/2113353 http://codecanyon.net/item/rollbar-jquery-scrollbar-plugin/2... On class.pm as 'ClassyScroll': http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classyscroll/ http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classyscroll/

code937 13y ago

I'm happy to explain! Upon finding my code on his site i emailed him. He didnt reply, i commented on a post, he didnt reply so i sent him a notice. 4 hours later he sends me the same notice back + to the marketplace and my host. The blogs about it! I click the tweet button on the blog to monitor why and what he does, i come across this blog, i send him an email warning him to remove my code, delete the blog and move on. He hasn't done so and continue's his story so i'm happy to provide all my evidence to show this person is lying. still, I've absolutely no idea why he would take a lie this far, but i have all the proof which i will be providing on this thread very shortly!

pudquick 13y ago
On the balance, both of your accounts are new on HN - I can see both possibilities for this post of "I will rally the technically savvy in a false flag operation and nuke the person I stole from off the internet" and "I am informing my fellow community of something that is not right, looking for support / warning others". However - your account does have one advantage in this: Codecanyon's project pages list the date the project was created on Codecanyon, not a date of the author's choosing. Additionally they do not make it simple to completely re-write some older project on there you might have already had to re-use the timestamp to mask devious deeds. So far your timestamps win over his. Unfortunately, I still have no access to the code of your project to vet whether one is a copy of the other. Given that your code is sold for profit, it would be hard to verify this without your code getting out without going to trial (or I guess I could give you some bucks on codecanyon to find out what's hosted there). Edit: On review of the code in your live demo at https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/ https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/ I definitely agree he ripped you off. That's an unfortunate danger when it comes to selling client-side scripting. Good luck taking him down.
- consonants 13y ago
  This is a very common tactic in the grey-market internet realm. A dishonest proprietor raises "concerns" about the other's business on an open community forum, creates FUD. Then the other comes on with a new account, and accuses the accuser of xyz. Whoever has a better standing in the community usually wins out. It's brilliant because it works. It also only works in a market that is shielded from making informed decisions about the service/product/behind-the-scenes shit because the information isn't easily accessible or understood. Given that this is a business that isn't hiding in the shadows, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. edit: I should add, it works because eventually it becomes a contest of personalities and the argument drifts away from what started it into some other territory. The FUD is never resolved so it winds up being True to the market. It's also scary because of the amount of forged information, like official documents, lab reports, inventories, invoices, messages etc are forged by the hands of the dishonest proprietor. Honestly, if it isn't resolved file a civil suit for libel. The internet will not resolve this and will make it worse.

code937 13y ago

Also! Why would it be a plug - if you can download my code for free off of his website!? ... and give him a donation for him using my code.

ccozan 13y ago
Look, code937. I will simply say that all that what you say is a lie and was cooked up cleverly. You don't provide a name of yourself, a history about you, nothing. while the guy who wrote the code, has publicitly a name, a history behind ( http://www.class.pm/about/ http://www.class.pm/about/ ). He has a reputation to hold, and because he is a professional, i doubt that he would do such a thing, like appropriating code. He is keeping it quiet, while you have the big mouth.
- pudquick 13y ago
  > i doubt that he would do such a thing, like appropriating code Writing javascript for a living is a funny thing considering it's usually client-side code that's downloaded by the user, meaning it "escapes" into the real world for anyone to copy / slap their name on it. Just because someone is "a professional" doesn't mean that they're ethical. It just means they have a public image. And so far, the evidence everywhere else in this thread is pointing towards code937 as the original author.
  - ccozan 13y ago
    Any data can be faked. Just because of some release dates, you name that evidence? Maybe the classic.pm guy wrote the plugin ealier, had it on a site, this 937 guy got it and put it up for sale. There is no way to prove it, but I do think that classic.pm is the real author, based on his profile. And still because I simply don't see the reason to do it ( copying, that is ). Also take in account the blog post: he thinks is strange to get a DMCA take down for a GPL-ed code, why would anyone take the effort to write that post, unless, is very close to the truth?
    - code937 13y ago

lunixbochs 13y ago

Quick investigation suggests the original poster here is in the wrong. This is a diff of the CSS file from both projects: http://paste.roguecoders.com/p/2f703b39668f1b85ee071ec42ed523b8.txt http://paste.roguecoders.com/p/2f703b39668f1b85ee071ec42ed52... CodeCanyon clearly puts the release date for the paid version at June 2012, while the supposed open-source version has multiple dates pointing at December 2012. I temporarily forked the repository on GitHub for posterity. Compare the feature list between https://github.com/lunixbochs/jquery-classyedit/blob/master/readme https://github.com/lunixbochs/jquery-classyedit/blob/master/... and https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/features.php https://pure.codeworks.org.uk/features.php

code937 13y ago
I'm happy to provide you with the original codecanyon download too, tell me where to send it!
lunixbochs 13y ago
Looks like he deleted his GitHub account: https://github.com/classpm https://github.com/classpm I changed my fork of his repo to private. Let me know if you need it for anything.
- code937 13y ago
  Thank you very very much! Sorry I haven't replied earlier, because I'm such a new account it stopped me from posting for a bit. Really appreciate yours and everyone else's support during all of this.
  - nilliams 13y ago
    Here's another suspicious plugin to look into: On codecanyon for $6 under the name 'jQee' http://codecanyon.net/item/jqee-keyboard-shortcuts-for-jquery/1930338 http://codecanyon.net/item/jqee-keyboard-shortcuts-for-jquer... On class.pm as 'ClassyKeyboard' http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classykeyboard/ http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classykeyboard/ Edit: And another On codecanyon for $6 as 'RollBar': http://codecanyon.net/item/rollbar-jquery-scrollbar-plugin/2113353 http://codecanyon.net/item/rollbar-jquery-scrollbar-plugin/2... On class.pm as 'ClassyScroll': http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classyscroll/ http://www.class.pm/projects/jquery/classyscroll/