5 ms·

Ask HN: is it ethical to copy ideas from a similar site?

• mgrouchy 17y ago
  I don't think its unethical at all. I think you did more than most would in trying to contact the buildItWith me guys and that is certainly commendable. I also don't think there is any confusion between the two products(From a look and feel perspective) so no harm no foul. The internet is filled with people taking "inspiration" from other sites and products. This can be evidenced simply by the number of websites that look like http://www.campaignmonitor.com http://www.campaignmonitor.com .
• tortilla 17y ago
  Honestly, I think your (original) site looks better. It (updated site) has a similar layout, but that's about it. You didn't copy their look, maybe their layout. But if you asked someone on the street, I doubt there would be any confusion. edited: in parentheses to clarify
  • KWD 17y ago
    I agree. The original site was better in my opinion. The other site that inspired you is a nightmare to view. Design is as much about function as it is style.
• overgard 17y ago
  From a philosophical standpoint, I don't think you were wrong to borrow interface ideas. (I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds to say though, that while copying some of their better ideas, I think you may have also copied some of their worse ideas. The way scrolling works on both sites is very confusing -- your original site was better in that regard. )
  • PebblesRox 17y ago
    I agree about the scrolling problems. I can't see the entire description for an app because I can't move anything in that panel on the right. I can zoom out to view all the text, but then it's too tiny to read.
• oneplusone 17y ago
  It's fine to steal interface ideas. However, I think you took a step backwards in doing so. Yes, what you had wasn't very good. However, what you have now is even worse. Your original implementation was on the right track and just needed some refinement.
  • gommm 17y ago
    I agree, the old version gave more information on what positions were needed at a glance and was a bit more clear...
• mattmaroon 17y ago
  It's not only ethical, it's dumb not to. It's what businesses have been doing since time immemorial. To watch your competitor improve and not do anything to compete is stupid. Ask Yahoo or KMart. From the legal angle you're probably alright. We recently built a game largely based on another game (sort of the way omgpop built blockles, which is really just Tetris) and I've spoken to attorneys about this extensively. Other than crossing certain lines (trade dress, trademark infringement, etc.) you're probably safe. If you're using their art, or their branding, you may have trouble, but they certainly can't claim to have invented AJAX and a better UI. You should seek legal counsel of course if it ever becomes a problem.
• carbocation 17y ago
  We have had people inform us that they were going to mimic the core idea of our site (and now they have, with venture backing). I wouldn't be worried about borrowing an interface.
• felideon 17y ago
  Obligatory quote? "Good artists copy, great artists steal." - Attributed to Picasso
  • steveklabnik 17y ago
    Then there's this: http://www.myconfinedspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/the-bad-artists-imitate-the-great-artists-steal-banksy-500x333.jpg http://www.myconfinedspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/th...
    • cschep 17y ago
      yes yes yes, love bansky.
  • roc 17y ago
    "Ideas are a dime a dozen and worth what they cost."
  • fizx 17y ago
    I'm sure he stole the quote from somewhere....
• gte910h 17y ago
  Yes, it's called competing.
  • pierrefar 17y ago
    And someone will eventually do the same to you. Be flattered when it happens.
• hxa7241 17y ago
  Yes, copying is fundamentally moral/ethical. (Although where it conflicts with a law, like copyright, it is another question -- does the law have precedence?) (As I have written in other places:) To evaluate something morally, we can follow Kant (in 'Groundwork For The Metaphysic Of Morals'), whose fundamental moral rule is: Act only if the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law. That is, we ask: would we want an action to become a general law? If a digital object is good, then copying it duplicates and spreads that good. And the incidental cost of copying is practically nothing. We can certainly wish this were a general law: if everyone copied freely and widely, we would all benefit – we would all receive very much more good, and at negligable cost. You might say there is a loss to the originator, in losing an exclusive advantage. But that really has a hidden presupposition of some social or legal construction like copyright: there is nothing intrinsic in the actions or materials that suggests or requires exclusivity. Abstracts are naturally copyable. Everyone knows and expects that. And ultimately everyone benefits from it. The copyability of things is like a free natural resource. It should be exploited and used as much as possible. That is the message of the ethical argument. The sad thing is that the copyright/patent/IP attitude has become so inculcated that many people no longer see the underlying truth.
• jamie_ca 17y ago
  Seriously, that's a step backwards. I get no overview, can't just browse, and with my browser window at 1024x768 your non-scrolling sidebar sometimes doesn't have a more info button at the bottom.
• Tawheed 17y ago
  Blatantly copying is a bad idea. Understanding why they're different, and figuring out the motivations behind their (different) choices and then reflecting on the choices you've made for your product is a good idea. Jason F at 37Signals wrote about this a while back: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1561-why-you-shouldnt-copy-us-or-anyone-else http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1561-why-you-shouldnt-copy-us...
• apsurd 17y ago
  Aren't you supposed to be developing your users? In other words, what does it matter what their site does? Your users are on your site are they not? This builditwithme "looks nice"; it has 129 people; what are you worried about? Get some feedback from the people on your site. Talk to them, find out what, how, why, where they are looking for and (not finding) help with their project. It makes the farthest sense, at least in my opinion, to try to answer those questions by looking at some other guys site design.
• imp 17y ago
  IMHO I hate their interface. That flashy Ajax is too overwhelming. Your plain list is easier for me to read. Have you tried doing user testing with your two pages and then also test how users interact with your competitor?
• makeee 17y ago
  What are you copying from builditwithme? I don't see much of a similarity. Anyway, I think your original site is much better than the new one.
• TrevorJ 17y ago
  I find that it is important to not just blindly copy something, but to truly unpack the principles behind it and attempt to improve upon it. This allows you to be inspired by great work but to (hopefully) take it even further and polish it even more. If you can't change or tweak anything about the original inpiration then it's a good bet you don't fully understand why it works or how, so you aren't going to grow in the process.