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Posted: 09.28.2002 Steal my sunshine
[Note from Robyn: Since you can pretty much figure out from the comments where my template was duplicated, I'm removing that site's link off the main page now. The site in question has since replaced my template design with the default MT template. Thanks!]
Was my head just buried in the sand all this time? (Stacy's name, for all intents and purposes, and my template.) Yes, I made it in the "credits" (she didn't, however). But it sure would have been nice to have been asked...oh say, like this guy did. I'm really not mean when asked nicely. I swear. Try it sometime. You just might be surprised.  I swear, my head is just going to come off and roll around on the floor, picking up lint and cat hair. ¤ ¤ credit: Sekimori | 09.28.02 at 03:48 AM | link- -this ¤ ¤ i am going to bed. i'm sorry - i did comment on his site. but i'm too tired to do anyzzzzzzzzzzz... ¤ ¤ credit: mike | 09.28.02 at 05:32 AM | link--this ¤ ¤Geesh. What is it with some people. Deary me. ¤ ¤ credit: Jessica Parker | 09.28.02 at 05:49 AM | link--this ¤ ¤*sigh* Why do people do this sort of thing?? It's beyond me, really ... ¤ ¤ credit: ste | 09.28.02 at 08:34 AM | link--this ¤ ¤wow! twice in one week. i'd much rather people think my site and content were lame before they thought of me as a thief or a copycat. ¤ ¤ credit: Camille | 09.28.02 at 09:20 AM | link--this ¤ ¤*mouth gaping open* I cannot believe that this is happening again! I've got a crowbar and a car willing to drive anywhere. Tell me if you need either. I don't belive the shamelessness of some. ¤ ¤ credit: A. | 09.28.02 at 10:11 AM | link--this ¤ ¤well, since he did at least credit you (which is the least he could do, considering that he didn't ask), all i did was rate him a "1" on his Blog Hot or Not. Curious to see how low his rating (currently a 9.8) will be tonight... ¤ ¤ credit: mikey | 09.28.02 at 12:42 PM | link--this ¤ ¤I will allways wonder why people will post a design that is in CSS or what ever and then assume that people will not take inspiration and look at the code and do some cut and paste. I mean CSS is open to all. I am open sourcing all the designs that I have made for my site and offering free templates to my MT blog including the MT templatats. People have been stealing HTML code since the days of Mosaic 1.0. So why is this such a big shock. ¤ ¤ credit: Jake | 09.28.02 at 01:11 PM | link--this ¤ ¤things seem to have changed... ¤ ¤ credit: mike | 09.28.02 at 01:26 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Jake, they weren't "borrowing" CSS -- they were blatantly copying the ENTIRE layout. They admitted they copied my template and were being cute and coy in their entry about it saying people would have to "guess" where they took it from. There is a difference. And it's called asking rather than stealing. Dawson had no problem asking. And I had no problem giving him the layout free of charge. It's no secret that most people lack some serious manners in today's society -- and I don't intend to defend them for it. I, too, view source code ALL the time. It's how I learned HTML. But you will never see one of my creations being a carbon copy of the original when I'm done working with it, either. And this particular design may as well have been one of my skins. You may make your sources open to all -- and good for you. But I am a designer making a very meager living at it. They are stealing food off my table by taking my work, and I don't intend to pat them on the back and say "good show" for it. As mentioned yesterday, there are several other free template sources available out there. And hooray, Mike! For those keeping score this week, Robyn 2 - Thieving Bastards 0. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 09.28.02 at 01:33 PM | link--this ¤ ¤I used to have a nifty little javascript that would only pop up a message box when a person right clicked on your site. A person could still get the code from the temp files your browser creates, but it kept the lazy and clueless from stealing your stuff. Now where did I put that? ¤ ¤ credit: bill | 09.28.02 at 01:34 PM | link--this ¤ ¤I have that code, too, Bill -- but I hate it because you can't even right click to save a link by using it. :-\ ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 09.28.02 at 01:36 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Robyn, As you can see, I have gladly removed any design references that might infringe on anyone else's work. Since I read your blog daily, I know what your wrath is like, :-) and I don't want to be on the receiving end of that. Honestly, I thought I sent you an email asking for your permission(apparently I didn't or you didn't get it), so I removed the layout. Just so you know, I've never taken credit for the layout and have referred anyone who asked me about it to you. As far as the name goes, I didn't rely on any specific "inspiration". Blogatello was something someone at work started calling me when they found out I had a blog. I apologize if Sekimori is offended but I hadn't seen her site until she commented on my blog last night. ¤ ¤ credit: John | 09.28.02 at 01:39 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Thank you for removing my design. I never received an e-mail. In the future though, it's best to make sure the person does, in fact, receive your correspondence -- and respond -- before proceeding without permission. It just. Ain't. Cool. Thanks again. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 09.28.02 at 01:44 PM | link--this ¤ ¤True what you say about not being able to save a link. Also takes away the ability to open link in a new window. Thankfully, you take care of that for me...wish more people did. I also seem to recall seeing some js that would limit the right click menu...but I've never seen it used before. I may be hallucinating. ¤ ¤ credit: bill | 09.28.02 at 01:50 PM | link--this ¤ ¤John, I applaud you for understanding Robyn's position on this. This is her professional work, and your acknowledgement of this, and of her wishes makes me have respect for you. I only wish everyone would be as understanding as you've been about this. ¤ ¤ credit: Annessa | 09.28.02 at 04:27 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Well I make the things that I make for fun open source. The things that I make for a living like my Flash and Director work I keep under lock and key. I don't make any money off my personal site. Quite the opposite actually but your mileage and views may vary. The whole right click thing is useless considering non IE browsers and non PC platforms that it does not support. The whole right click script can only be annoying and come across as paranoid. The only 100% sure way to prevent any content or design from being copied it to never put it on the Internet in the first place. Bad artists copy. Good artists steal. -Pablo Picasso
-this ¤ ¤Come join our visionary army of designers who wants to vibe with eachother at www.provokative.net and talk about design but also current issues like ethnicity and rasiscm and politics, The project represents an army of visionary artists that have truly overcome the boundaries and confinements of ethnicity, language, and time. Our mission is to constantly aim to express positive, creative energy through all forms of media in this stagnant dimension. an artistic empire that promotes the freedom of expression, and embraces any body and soul that may share our ideals. Ofcourse the Boards are here to raise an audience and add interaction, so many project stand still and just keeps adding and adding. I wanted to create something that kept moving forward. something that evolves. ¤ ¤ credit: Jem Blaze | 09.28.02 at 04:43 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Jake, I don't make money off my personal site. I make money off my portfolio. And if someone takes something from my (copyrighted) portfolio -- it's theft. Dali comment or not. Just because someone can, and will, steal something doesn't mean they should. And as Annessa mentioned, the person in question in this post obviously understood my point of view -- and I respect them for that. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 09.28.02 at 04:50 PM | link--this ¤ ¤I am not saying that they should steal it I am just saying that it is an unfortunate aspect of distributed digital media. But I am not sure if Microsoft and Intel's view of a digital rights management based system on future Internet systems is the way to go either. You did what was right by contacting them and pressuring them into knocking it off. I read http://www.pirated-sites.com/ and in most western countries you can convince a pirated site to get taken down by contacting them or their ISP but I am suprised by the number if pirated sites that are based in the other side of the world that do not give a damn about US concepts of copyright. ¤ ¤ credit: Jake | 09.28.02 at 06:03 PM | link--this ¤ ¤For times when right mouse click is "disabled," I like to use another IE shortcut... I press the shift key and then click on the link. Bingo, it opens into a new window -- guaranteed! This probably doesn't work with any of the other browsers, though, but I find it quite useful even when I could use the right mouse click. ¤ ¤ credit: Mariann | 09.28.02 at 08:56 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Viewing the source and just looking up the path of the image is another surefire way around that. ¤ ¤ credit: Sekimori | 09.28.02 at 10:18 PM | link--this ¤ ¤not only did I ask, but I was very pleasantly shocked when Robyn said "sure!" as simple as that. that thieving Jeni is at it again, huh? I got her number, and I'll put the fear of God in the stupid cu*t...if you haven't already. -this ¤ ¤Print-screening is another Seki. Not that I'd know anything about that... ;-) And Todd didn't actually *make* the design. He just walked behind me and said, "Hey two columns might fit there nicely." But yeah, half the credit is his for the "idea"! ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 09.28.02 at 11:26 PM | link--this ¤ ¤I ask this from a purely philisophical standpoint, not to be an asshole: Robyn, I assume you, like most of us, didn't get permission to use the Gwen Stefani and Spiderman and Sweater Girl, etc. images for your site, the same way I didn't get permission to use the squid image I stole from the Smithsonian site to put in my logo. So, why is it OK for you to do that, but not for someone to steal your layout? Looking forward to a good discussion, I hope. ¤ ¤ credit: marc | 10.03.02 at 02:29 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Regarding Marc's post just above... We have been discussing this thread for a few days now and when Marc posed the question above to me I had the following answer. In the case of Robyn using images of very well known celebrities or action heroes two things can be said: 1.It's obvious she is not the original creator of those images and probably hasn't received permission to use them. 2.Nobody is going to falsely attribute these works to Robyn because of reason number one. In the case of stealing someone's blog design and not giving them credit it would be quite easy to pass off the work as your own. This is also the case when the person in question actually ripped off whole swaths of content without attributing them to the original author and actually trying to take credit for it. Its much simpler to steal/borrow from someone if they aren't a large corporation/celebrity. I've been kinda treating this like an assignment for the debating team so please hold the flame throwers as no offense or indignation is intended. -this ¤ ¤Never claimed the images I use in my personal blog (not client's) were copyrighted by me -- but I do take them from public domain sites. The design around it (layout), is copyrighted, however. And by the same token -- the person that swiped the layout was using a Superman comic image. I'm quite sure he didn't have the publisher's permission to use that either. So we were "even" on that count. He still stole my HTML. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 10.03.02 at 03:27 PM | link--this ¤ ¤So, in other words, it isn't OK to steal the pictures, but you've covered you ass by not stealing them, which means the premise of my argument is flawed, and I have also just admitted to stealing my logo. Curses! ¤ ¤ credit: marc | 10.03.02 at 03:42 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Shhhh... I didn't hear anything. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Carry on. ;-) ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 10.03.02 at 03:51 PM | link--this ¤ ¤I'm a "lurker" here but wanted to comment on this discussion. First a copyright is a copyright, whether implied or not. The only difference here is that Robyn got wind of the individual using her template and asked them to stop using it. Apparently they complied. Once information is published to the web, while still technically in an "open source" environment, it is protected by a implied copyright. I've had dozens of my designs stolen and have just learned to live with it, there is the occassional person who asks, and I usually email them the template or whatever. As far as all of us using images ripped from other sites on our weblogs, well large companies and production/record studios just don't have the time or resources to launch a legal battle against the masses, so this is generally considered fair use. I suppose they could come after us if they wanted to as a general copyright on a site is assumed to encompass all content, including code and images, unless otherwise stated. The only question I have with the whole situation is that since 99% of all code has been written, if I were to publish a page similar to this one (or any page for that matter) using different & original code, would that still be infringing because it resembled that page? Just curious. ¤ ¤ credit: Rodger | 10.03.02 at 11:12 PM | link--this ¤ ¤
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