Copycats

[Sean Azambuja]

Copying others work/homes/AVs/etc isn't very appealing.  Can you imagine if you went out and bought a green Porsche 911 only come to find out your next door neighbor went out and bought the exact same one the next day?  How about if you paint your house blue with white shutters, then every single corner house in your neighborhood did the same thing?  How about if you remodel your kitchen and look over and your best friend did the exact same remodel to his/her kitchen?

FYI, mimicking someone else's ideas, tweaking them, and calling them your own is one thing.  Ripping items, textures, and  running out and buying all of the decor items your neighbor spent time and effort on finding is blatant plagiarism.

This IS SL, so do what you want.  But be original people.  Copying other peoples stuff only shows your lack of creativity.   And that will most definitely show in whatever you do.  Just my 2c

[Kia Kiyori]

I can hear my grandmother saying, "Listen, imitation is the highest form of flattery - what are you complaining about?"

[Wulfie Reanimator]

15 minutes ago, Sean Azambuja said:

Can you imagine if you went out and bought a green Porsche 911 only come to find out your next door neighbor went out and bought the exact same one the next day?  How about if you paint your house blue with white shutters, then every single corner house in your neighborhood did the same thing?  How about if you remodel your kitchen and look over and your  best friend did t he exact same remodel to his/her kitchen?

It's their money and it doesn't affect me besides being vain. The things you have don't make you unique, unless you've made it yourself.

Hundreds of thousands of the same car exist. Blue paint is everywhere. You don't own your kitchen's design.

15 minutes ago, Sean Azambuja said:

This IS SL, so do what you want.

Unless I don't like it?

P.S. Kind of ironic for you to include a stock photo some other company used to advertise themselves. Not very original?

Edited July 21, 2019 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Kia Kiyori]

I wouldn't call it a 'lack of creativity'; good quality items aren't necessarily plentiful in SL, so if someone asks me where I got such-and-such and what is it called, I tell them.

Copying your decor isn't so much a nuisance as someone insisting on wearing the same hair and clothes as you - twinsies anyone? haha

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

16 minutes ago, Sean Azambuja said:

Copying others work/homes/AVs/etc isn't very appealing.  Can you imagine if you went out and bought a green Porsche 911 only come to find out your next door neighbor went out and bought the exact same one the next day?  How about if you paint your house blue with white shutters, then every single corner house in your neighborhood did the same thing?  How about if you remodel your kitchen and look over and your best friend did the exact same remodel to his/her kitchen?

FYI, mimicking someone else's ideas, tweaking them, and calling them your own is one thing.  Ripping items, textures, and  running out and buying all of the decor items your neighbor spent time and effort on finding is blatant plagiarism.

This IS SL, so do what you want.  But be original people.  Copying other peoples stuff only shows your lack of creativity.   And that will most definitely show in whatever you do.  Just my 2c

Umm what? People can decorate however they like as long as it's in compliance with the covenants. If you bother to read the various photos threads here, you will see many of us GLADLY sharing info about our decor so that others can buy it too if they want to. 

I do the same if someone asks where I got my skin or hair or whatever. I tell them and send them on their way to buy it for themselves. 

Don't police how others decorate. 

[Claireschen Hesten]

Surely imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Much like my skybox on mainland if anyone decides they want to have a nosey round my Bellisseria property they are welcome to, if they like my style of decorating and want to try my ideas in their own property I take is as a compliment that my style isn't that bad

[kiramanell]

The title and tone of your article are a bit misleading, IMHO. Personally, I have set out -- and said so from the get-go even -- that I absolutely did not want to copy what I saw others do -- however beautiful it was. And, trust me, I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate... No wait, I got confused here. 🤤 Point is, that this was just my personal preference. I wanted to create my own idea. I've gone to rather extremes to be original. I even lamented once, that I deemed using Blush's Evening Star addon would be inappropriate for myself, which was kinda silly. But that's the point maybe, that there's really nothing inherently wrong with using great ideas thought of by others. The geatest architects to-date still use ideas and constructs going back to the Roman Empire even!

Getting to the part where the title and tone of your article are a bit misleading, between 'blatantly copying' and 'being inspired by' lies a realm of nuance begging your acquaintance. And what is wrong even with ppl liking your home so much they want to recreate it stone for stone? Personally, I feel endlessly more satisfied creating something no one else has done before me. But I am also of the firm belief that ppl are free to decorate their home as they see fit -- and not just with a nasty caveat of "as long as it isn't more than 50% like mine."

So, how's about you not telling others how to decorate their home, and we will do likewise, k?!

Edited July 21, 2019 by kiramanell
Will I ever make a post without typos?!

[Mollymews]

i can't even

 

 

[Marianne Little]

I bet the OP goes to all the big events and designers stores for new releases, buying what's popular at the moment.

Then, he is so arrogant to believe he is the only one going to the sales and events.

🙄

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

44 minutes ago, Sean Azambuja said:

Copying others work/homes/AVs/etc isn't very appealing.

What happened? Does your neighbors house look just like yours now or what?

[ClariceRose]

Once you start taking away the rights of others, yours should be affected too. 

Why get upset? It's SL. 

If someone copied you then they think that you have good taste. That's a good thing.

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

1 hour ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

It's their money and it doesn't affect me besides being vain. The things you have don't make you unique, unless you've made it yourself.

Hundreds of thousands of the same car exist. Blue paint is everywhere. You don't own your kitchen's design.

A design is unique. Choosing how to arrange your personal home, matching items, this makes your home unique. I enjoy strolling through Bellisseria and viewing how many homes differ depending on the home owners design. Does not matter if they are purchased items another created because each design is different. I see immense creativity going on in Bellisseria from the way a home owner decides what to purchase and in the implementation of their choices.

Edited July 21, 2019 by Kiera Clutterbuck

[Evangeline Arcadia]

I strongly disagree with the OP opinion.  Who gives a **** how someone else decorates their home (unless it breaks covenant or ToS )? Why is it anyone else's business what someone does with their own home? Each person should go about their own business decorating their own home exactly how they like it, and not worry about how the next person is decorating theirs. If they wish to copy, or get inspiration so what?  How is that hurting anyone? Let them, if that makes their SL life happier then great!:) It shows their admiration of someone else's style so much they want to have it around them. And also maybe some people just don't have the flair for interior decorating that others do, so getting inspiration or copying is their way to achieve something beautiful for themselves. It's not like we are taking about copyright infringement.

Edited July 21, 2019 by Evangeline Arcadia

[Blush Bravin]

I think my add-ons are a perfect example of copying at it's best. In order for my additions to look as though they have always been part of the building, I have to copy textures and architectural style, but that doesn't mean I don't add my own ingenuity to the materials. That's the same for anyone decorating their home. We may all use many of the same furnishings but that doesn't mean we don't bring our own uniqueness to the pieces by how we use them.

We all learn by copying techniques. As a teacher one of the absolute best teaching methods is modeling for our students. When someone copies your idea or mine they are in the process of learning. I hope people learn by watching me build or by inspecting my builds in order to learn how to achieve their own goals. So unless someone is actually copybotting, I say copy all you like!

Edited July 21, 2019 by Blush Bravin

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

6 minutes ago, Evangeline Arcadia said:

I strongly disagree with the OP opinion.  Who gives a **** how someone else decorates their home (unless it breaks covenant or ToS )? Why is it anyone else's business what someone does with their own home?

I can comprehend getting inspiration from taking a peek at what a neighbor did and use a few ideas. But to copy it exactly, every piece of furniture, every outside element, the colors of the home, all outside elements placed exactly the same, so that it looks exactly the same as the one you've designed as a kind of cookie-cutter home next to the one you created, well this seems very strange. Not illegal, but I'd be annoyed.

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

1 minute ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

Not illegal, but I'd be annoyed.

Why? Do you decorate to please yourself, or to compete with others? If the former, it shouldn't matter what others are doing. 

[Raspberry Crystal]

14 minutes ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

But to copy it exactly, every piece of furniture, every outside element, the colors of the home, all outside elements placed exactly the same, so that it looks exactly the same as the one you've designed as a kind of cookie-cutter home next to the one you created, well this seems very strange. Not illegal, but I'd be annoyed.

I'd be weirded out by it, especially if it was next door!

Choosing similar things is a different story, we can all be following trends without realising.

[kiramanell]

16 minutes ago, Sylvia Tamalyn said:

Why? Do you decorate to please yourself, or to compete with others? If the former, it shouldn't matter what others are doing. 

 

There is a third option, even.  Which I learned the hard way, from being cooped up on my private island for so long: I want to share! At some point it dawned on me, What is the point of creating something -- even when deemed beautiful in my own eyes -- when there's no one around to see it? I now know this for certain: the human soul was meant to share. I want others to experience what I felt creating it, and be likewise enriched by their works and vision. O Brave New World, that has such imagination in it!

Edited July 21, 2019 by kiramanell

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

Just now, Raspberry Crystal said:

17 minutes ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

But to copy it exactly, every piece of furniture, every outside element, the colors of the home, all outside elements placed exactly the same, so that it looks exactly the same as the one you've designed as a kind of cookie-cutter home next to the one you created, well this seems very strange. Not illegal, but I'd be annoyed.

I'd be weirded out by it, especially if it was next door!

I know, I'd feel like maybe I had a stalker! hehe

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

17 minutes ago, Sylvia Tamalyn said:

19 minutes ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

Not illegal, but I'd be annoyed.

Why? Do you decorate to please yourself, or to compete with others? If the former, it shouldn't matter what others are doing. 

I'd say I decorate to please myself, but that includes the desire to be a bit unique. I think most people want to be somewhat unique in home furnishings or with clothes. Imagine you showed a friend this new outfit you put together and the next day the friend shows up with the exact blouse, skirt, shoes, and even hairstyle.  You would not feel like maybe that friend needed to get a little space from you or something, or wonder if they were turning into one of those Borg people on Star Trek with a hivemind type of thing going on?  hehe

[Raspberry Crystal]

Isn't there some sort of rule about this in (UK) football? Home team changes to their alternate kit

[Aethelwine]

2 hours ago, Sean Azambuja said:

Copying others work/homes/AVs/etc isn't very appealing.  Can you imagine if you went out and bought a green Porsche 911 only come to find out your next door neighbor went out and bought the exact same one the next day?  How about if you paint your house blue with white shutters, then every single corner house in your neighborhood did the same thing?  How about if you remodel your kitchen and look over and your best friend did the exact same remodel to his/her kitchen?

FYI, mimicking someone else's ideas, tweaking them, and calling them your own is one thing.  Ripping items, textures, and  running out and buying all of the decor items your neighbor spent time and effort on finding is blatant plagiarism.

This IS SL, so do what you want.  But be original people.  Copying other peoples stuff only shows your lack of creativity.   And that will most definitely show in whatever you do.  Just my 2c

 

Your kitchen is the third one that comes up in search on marketplace, it is a nice kitchen but there aren't all that many alternatives of similar quality. If I was your neighbour I might have thought mm I don't want the same kitchen as them next door, but it is not like there are all that many good alternatives anyway.

As for the blue outer walls, they are popular everywhere. The reason isn't people copying you, so much as the limited pallet available and it looking better than the other options.

I could understand being upset if they had ripped textures and bought all the same stuff as you, but unless they or you have done extensive rework, they haven't done that.

Edited July 21, 2019 by Aethelwine

[kiramanell]

11 minutes ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

I'd say I decorate to please myself, but that includes the desire to be a bit unique. I think most people want to be somewhat unique in home furnishings or with clothes. Imagine you showed a friend this new outfit you put together and the next day the friend shows up with the exact blouse, skirt, shoes, and even hairstyle.  You would not feel like maybe that friend needed to get a little space from you or something, or wonder if they were turning into one of those Borg people on Star Trek with a hivemind type of thing going on?  hehe

 

I might not like it per se, if ppl copied my interior literally for the full 100%, but I would never say anything, or rally to see such behavor stop. Way I see it, there's really only 2 ways to do this: either we all agree (as per the Covenant, btw) that everyone has the right to decorate their homes as they see fit, or get some silly HOA rules governing who is allowed to do what -- with all the ensuing drama that comes with it. And I say a polite "No, thank you!" to the latter.

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

2 minutes ago, kiramanell said:

I might not like it per se, if ppl copied my interior literally for the full 100%, but I would never say anything, or rally to see such behavor stop. Way I see it, there's really only 2 ways to do this: either we all agree (as per the Covenant, btw) that everyone has the right to decorate their homes as they see fit, or get some silly HOA rules governing who is allowed to do what -- with all the ensuing drama that comes with it. And I say a polite "No, thank you!" to the latter.

There is a 3rd way, and that is simply the discussion that is now happening. The OP simply said it was just her 2 cents worth, and I don't see her calling for a ruling although it is evident what she believes.  Seems she just wanted a discussion about it as we are doing.  Can't you believe one way and me another, and allow this? Do we have to have some sort of rule that encodes one side as the one true way? That would not be the "sharing" that you advocate.

[Ginger Cloud]

Copying an entire parcel would be a legendary prank worthy of admiration, not scorn. I hope someone does it. 

Edited July 21, 2019 by cicelydawn