07/06/04
17Recycled CSS
Kenichi Design believe in recycling CSS. I love the copyright line in the code:
- All site contents, HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, images, code, and text are copyright © 2004, kenichidesign. All Rights Reserved Forever.->
Forever! Final word! Zip! Apart from the bits I nicked from Hicksdesign…
Updated: Kenichi design have now removed their style sheets. The guy didn’t discuss it with me (I was perfectly happy as long he removed the copyright line), but I guess there’s a language barrier that would make discussion hard. Shame.
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Jon Hicks said 1642 days ago:
I'm going to add on mine: "Until everyone on the entire planet is dead, and even then I still own it!"Josh S said 1642 days ago:
Yikes, that's quite a rip! That's really frustrating when people steal your stuff. Have you emailed him yet? He would probably just take it down for reasons of embarassment. (Also you probably meant "believes" instead of "believe")Marko said 1642 days ago:
Haha! That's neat! Imagine you create website, someone steals it, and protects it forever before you do. One would die of misery... OK, i don't blame him for copying your work, Jon. After all, you're well recognized.Jeremy Boggs said 1642 days ago:
If they're gonna copy your work, they should've at least copied your IE5 hacks for the centered design. The site cuts in half at the top in IE5 because they didn't do that in their CSSI'm curious; How'd you find this site? I'm wondering because I'm a graduate student in history who focuses on history and new media. One of the many arguments I get into with historians about history on the web is the issue of plaigarism. The historians I talk with that are against anything having to do with the web say that the internet fosters rampant plaigarism that goes undetected. My counter-argument is that publishing on the internet in fact makes it easier to find and expose plaigarized work.
The fact that you've found this site, as well as the number of other designers who have found similar copies in the past few months (those that I'm aware of anyways; Andy Budd's Zen Garden submission comes to mind) seems to support my argument. I'm curious how you and others find these copies of your sites.
I apologize in advance if this is off-topic. Sorry for my dissertation-sized comment too!
alicson said 1642 days ago:
does that guy even use movable type? you could yell at him :) about redesigning your site though... i'd be pleased to see another great design by you, but i’d miss this one. this is a very nice site, Jon.Alex said 1642 days ago:
Clearly "inspired" by your site, but not a direct rip off per se.The copyright notice is priceless ;)
Lars said 1642 days ago:
What a jerk.I'd more readily understand the rip-off if it was some 13-year old kid's personal website, but it really bothers me when designers do it.
You'd think they have some sense of pride in their profession, or at least respect for colleagues.
Makes you wonder where he ( it's a "one-man design studio", from what I can tell) gets the rest of his "inspiration" from.
He should be asked to change the design, or at least give proper credit.
Paul D said 1642 days ago:
Funny how the people who are always the most worried about copyrights and such are the people who don't consistently produce anything of real value. Just like all those amateur designers out there who watermark their hideous logo and website "samples" so they won't get "stolen". I, for one, love the openness of sites like Hick's Design - the willingness to discuss and share coding tricks, design methods, inspirations, and so on.Peter Zignego said 1642 days ago:
Hah, great copyright notice!As for the "freshest", it should read: "We only use the freshest redesigns of hicksdesign, so if you want a website, you're going to have to wait until he redesigns again."
Actually, hold that thought...I gotta save all those fancy images you use John and then steal your css and html for this great new website I'm working on...perhaps I'll even leave the title the same on accident;)
Jon Hicks said 1642 days ago:
Jeremy - I'll tell you how I found it. I was tipped of by someone. (I won't reveal the name of my grass, although if I say his site is the safest on the web - I think you'll know). He found it linked to from Iconfactory of all places!Tim - well spotted! Thats quite shocking.
Anyway - I did email the guy a few days ago. I didn't ask him to 'remove the design' , as its not a direct rip. I wasn't particularly bothered, but then I noticed the copyright notice, and I was more irratated.
Anyway - I am redesigning. I have been for 2 months now, and sometime I'll roll it out. It gets a back seat to client work unfortunately :o(
Its time for a change...
Lars said 1642 days ago:
The safest on the web? Jakob Nielsen?! ? Holy crap, Hicks-Nielsen You're the new Zeldman-Bowman/Rubin-Hilhorst supergroup! I'm off to blog this ASAP! Seriously though, didn't know you were redesigning. Can you give us any details? Themes, color palettes, layout types, font choices? I'll even take one of those excruciatingly frustrating, released just before the weekend and then no further news til Monday- type of teaser posts/graphics you did for the logos.Jon Hicks said 1642 days ago:
Lars - no safer than that. Think airship -style safe. Its going to be a while yet. I'm trying out various ideas, but keep coming back to this one! I think I'm on the right track now, but i could change my mind again tomorrow. Don't hold your breath - it'll be a while yet.Lars said 1642 days ago:
Oh well, it figures.When you said 'safe' I thought "hmm, who hasn't redesigned for ages?" and that's the only name I came up with. It's gone that far!
Prediction: Holding on to a design will be the new redesign.
Jeff Clark said 1642 days ago:
Wow - what a blatant rip off! As humbling as it would be, I think I would still be very ticked - especially since he copyrighted it.I modelled my site after the look of this one, but nothing more than how big my main page was going to be. This is just off the charts plagiarism.
But I can't wait to see your redesign!
Marko said 1642 days ago:
Jon, so now is the last chance to collect all details from this design. Maybe someday, when you'll wonder how it looked like before, you're going to reach for these rip offs : ). It seems guys like this one are making you a favor on the long run.OK, now I have to screenshot all of your interesting details here, before you redesign : )
Malarkey said 1642 days ago:
Hey Jon,If you're gonna redesign, what are you doing with your cast-offs? How about a car-boot sale?
I know that second-hand CSS fetches a good price, but font tags are ten-a-penny these days. If you've got any spare, I'll take those off your hands, they might come in handy one day...
spk said 1641 days ago:
Youre redesigning?! But this is the best designed site on the web (in this humble surfer's view: please suggest alternatives!). Forget the content (well, obviously don't *really* forget the content) I visit this site every bloody day just to look at good design!