I love flattery!

[heist]

holy crap i didn't realise that joke had just been used.

i hang my head in shame

For every one of these f*cknuckles, how many more are out there unconscionably stealing other people's work? Stealing YOUR work?

probably a BILLION, and honestly, i'm one of 'em. i started out on the web stealing other peoples work, before i knew that was the wrong thing... and every day i take advantage of other peoples' hard work to help me solve problems.... the difference is in that case i suppose, that it's given freely... blog posts and how-tos and all that. but that just seems like semantics. it's pretty much the same in net effect.

the parts of my work that are visible, on the web, may have some slight value, but it being copied doesn't really cost me anything... i don't get paid for html code and PNGs... i get paid to solve problems, efficiently. to give good advice when it comes to the web. that kind of thing. the code and images is just a byproduct of that.

so there's no damage in "stealing" (copying) ... except perhaps to a brand, if the sites are too similar. and cost to the thiefs client, who believes a company capable of something they're not, because they have a nice looking site that they couldn't hope to build themselves.

and of course, it's just plain uncool.

[Cindy]

I really couldn't believe they copied, and made it such an obvious copy & including text. However, their forgery doesnt stop there, they are selling themselves off by being "green" hosts, which clearly they aren't.

Seems their whole business concept is based on a lie.

[jexley]

Originally Posted by heist

i hang my head in shame

As you should.

Originally Posted by heist

and of course, it's just plain uncool.

Yeah, I suppose that's my main point. It's just so ardently uncool that I want to take people like that and spill cold things in their laps.

Any industry has its sheisters, I know, but it still baffles me how people can be so... unethical. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth like when you eat a banana and then something minty.

[heist]

Originally Posted by jexley

As you should.


Yeah, I suppose that's my main point. It's just so ardently uncool that I want to take people like that and spill cold things in their laps.

Any industry has its sheisters, I know, but it still baffles me how people can be so... unethical. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth like when you eat a banana and then something minty.

haha totally agreed. it's especially ridiculous when it's a web developer stealing another web developer's site to pass off as their own. wiz on their legs J.

[kay]

Bit of creative googling has revealed that the person claiming credit for three starfish sites has ripped her entire site design and copy off another web company in the US (they look legit). If I don't get satisfaction shortly I'll be outing them.

[tuna]

I love a good outing... *gets flaming stakes and bonfires going* a good burnin'

[tealou]

this sucks, man.

It upsets me that there are people in our industry that have absolutely no integrity or ethics - and like Judd said, my guess is that there are more unethical than ethical ones these days.

Ultimately, the people who lose out are our clients, who end up not trusting us, making it harder for all of us in the long run. Bastards. I say out them.

[Franki]

Sending C&D notices seems to be my fav past time atm, best result is to send it to the datacentre, as their sticks are much bigger then the host's.

BAM! and the stain is gone.

[Cindy]

I just did similar with one designers host in the US. They were hotlinking to icons on one of my sites. Didn't even both to save them, just hotlinked them (for some reason Cpanel goofed my hotlink protection). I wrote to the web host threatening legal action, because in their terms it said it would remove anything that was copyright protected. Within a few hours the web host had taken down their account, & within a few hours I receive an email off the designers saying "we were just testing them out". I hadn't checked my stats in a couple of months, he'd been using them for at least 6 weeks.

I'd report them to the web host.

[jexley]

When somebody is ganking your hard work, I reckon s'all about narcing to them who swat the hardest.