Thanks for everyone proposed helping the guy I mentioned in the post with their comments in the post I had to delete.
Isn't this unoriginal?
Yes, in the same way svbtle is unoriginal.
See the original ["inspiration" for svbtle].
I certainly don't agree with that.
I've stood up for Dustin on other matters, but I think he's in the wrong when he tries to call out people for stealing what essentially amounts to border-radiuses and an original, albeit poor UX, like button. That said, there is a brand aesthetic here and a reputation that goes along with it, so I do think it's pretty tacky for people to use the theme and misguide people reading their blogs into thinking they're a part of this internet cool kid's club, whatever your thoughts on invite-only blogging platforms may be.
All things said, there are so many better looking minimalist WP themes out there for me to believe most folks chose this one at random. If it trended on lists and blogs, it was because enough people who recognized the potential made it so.
Svbtle is a killer design. A true innovation, and it's impeccable. The writers aren't meeting the same standards though.
Just a thought.
EDIT: Add alpb to your network. He's good.
I know many will argue it shouldn't matter, but it really makes me subconsciously think less of the blog author and the post's content.
> This is getting ridiculous: the Svbtle design is not open source, and I have never given permission for anyone to use it with Wordpress.
Dude. Without trademarks, patents, or copyright, there's not much you can do. There is no permission for you to give or not give, unless your actual code is being ripped off. There is no "open source" license that the Svbtle design could be licensed under even if you wanted to do so. You could probably get a patent on the design. Apple has patents on rounded corners and page turning, for example. Once you publish something or offer it for sale in the US, you have one year to file for a patent. You still have time, but of course, IANAL.
They're blatantly, outright, misleading. I had no idea it was a clone until now.
Also IANAL but I think it's more likely to be protected by copyright than a patent, which means there's no short-term limit like that.
Software and hardware cloning has always been at the heart of the tech industry.
It's one thing to clone hardware or software, but another to misrepresent it as being from the same source as the original.
He holds the copyright to the html code, css, etc, the moment he writes it. He holds the sole right to license his work. You (figurative "you") don't see a license? That means it hasn't been licensed to you and your re-use of it constitutes copyright infringement.
Did a view source. Yes the author is using Obtvse but I don't think the DESIGN BY @DCURTIS thing is from Obtvse.