¿Is it ethical to do this?

Question

My question is: Is it ethical for a user to copy your web code, and take credit in the html file and in the css file and the JS(empty) file give you credit?

Answer 1

Copying code in order study it is a great way to learn.

However, when republishing copied code it is important to give credits to the original creator – whether it is a fellow sololearner or a person on another platform. One can of course highlight their own contributions and efforts when they have modified the original code.

Personally, I don't see a good reason to republish copies of other's codes without any own contribution. But if someone can think of edge cases in which that's fair, I'd be happy to hear/ read them.

Please keep in mind that sometimes users accidentally publish the copies when trying to save them.

Answer 2

Bob_Li
I don't think that anybody here doubts that we build on other people's efforts.

The point is that one cannot copy someone else's game or website, put his/ her own name on it and expect to get away with it.

The conversation here started from an example case like this.
If that code bit had been published intentionally (which I don't know), this would be a case of claiming false ownership and mere plagiarism.

And just because others can plagiarize, that does not mean you can't call them out for it when you catch them.

Answer 3

The original question was about moral and etical point, and I think it is important to distinguish from the legal side.
When you publish an open-source software, for example on Github, you are automatically entitled to its intellectual property rights. For this reason, the authors must also add licencing terms, such as BSD, CC, GNU or Apache licence terms, to their code, so that other developers are legally allowed to use it and build it into their own software.
Copyright and IP issues are really difficult in real life, as an example there was a lawsuit between Oracle and Google about the code and API used by Android, that dragged on more than 10 years, and made it to the US Supreme Court.

Anyway we are only talking small here about the moral obligation of Sololearn users to attribute their sources properly, and to not commit plagiarism by pretending they have written a particular piece of code themselves.
My suggestion for all is to follow the guidelines of Bunny
https://code.sololearn.com/WjKS36hKsCoE/?re

Answer 4

⭐ⓗⓐⓟⓟⓨ⭐ a lo mejor, puedes hacer un footer en tu código con js en el que ponga que lo has hecho tú y encriptarlo,¿qué te parece la idea?

Answer 5

Tampoco es solución, cómo bien ha dicho Mirielle, si no quiero que lo copien, no lo público aquí, sólo público los que, en teoría, no me importa demasiado. Aunque a tenor de mi indignación (me importan un poco. )

Answer 6

It's not a solution either, as Mirielle rightly said, if I don't want them to copy it, I don't publish it here, only public those that, in theory, I don't care too much for. Although according to my indignation (I care)

Answer 7

⭐ⓗⓐⓟⓟⓨ⭐
I can sympathize with your indignation.

But take it with a grain of salt.

This is the world we live in and opportunists are everywhere.

Trying to protect your code is a futile effort, imho.

Just do what you do and improve your skills.

I share my code so people can improve it or learn from it. I hope they can use it to solve a problem and I don't expect anything in return.

I always believe that knowledge should be free.

But taking other people's code without that person's knowledge and claiming authorship is a dick move.

At least you know that person's true nature. You can report the incident to the mods, so posers are weeded out.

Answer 8

Copiar códigos (en mi opinion) siempre está un poco feo, y mas si intentas quitar créditos al autor original.
Pero contando con que se le ha olvidado al que copió tu código modificar el css y el js, en teoría sigue dando créditos, por lo que creo que no se puede reportar.
Lo siento :(

Answer 9

No me malinterpretes.
Tu puedes reportar el código que quieras en el lets stay safe together, pero

Answer 10

Como el codigo tiene credito (en CSS y JS) los mentores no van a eliminarlo. Sé cómo te sientes, también me ha pasado.

Answer 11

Gracias por tus respuestas. He obtenido soporte.

Answer 12

Copying code is a form to study, but if you earn money with that code, yes, it isn't ethical but each person is different...
I advise you include a CC register or something to protectbyour intellectual property...

Good luck...

Answer 13

Playing the devil's advocate here...😈

When it comes to code, or anything, really, how do one define ownership?

Whatever we do, what we actually are doing is just rearranging things we have, ideas and concepts we learned, etc. What about the google searches and code references we used and modified, or algorithms we learned? Also, are we absolutely sure the code we wrote was not written by somebody else we are not aware of?

So we rarely, if ever, come up with anything really original. 99.99% of things around is just rehash.

True, people simply taking something that we spent a lot of time and effort on as their own is a dick move. But staking our ownership on something is not a simple action.

In an ideal world, sure. But it is rarely that in the real world.

You can also see the dark flip side of this situation...

If ownership is implemented as absolute and inviolable, we would all be in the mercy of copyright corporations.
The music industry would be a good example.

Answer 14

Entonces, si yo copio tu código:How to make great sololearn questions, en el html, me doy crédito a mi, y a tí te lo doy en css y el JavaScript vacío, sería feo pero no lo reportarías?

Answer 15

I was beginning to consider encrypting code... although I understand that doing so precludes the option of studying it. Thank you Mirielle!

Answer 16

that's why you should use licenses

Answer 17

Mirielle
Absolutely.

Plagiarism is intolerable and should be called out.

My point is building walls around codes is inherently impossible and possibly unethical.

Victor Ciuta
License need $.
Fine if you have the $.
If you plan to earn $ from your code, spend $ to protect and implement the license and be the one who goes around making sure nobody is using your code, fine, go for it.

But it is a big commitment to make. And people view you as the dick instead.😅

This also brings my point about code being privatized and controlled by the select few, who have the $. In the end, it protects the opportunists who very possibly plagiarised the code in the first place.

Licen$e does not guarantee fairness or ethicality.

Answer 18

Thank you all for your answers. Sometimes I forget that I am in the jungle and not in my little mental universe. I considered not posting but I really enjoy pushing my brain to the limit. Thank you all for your opinions. They have been very important to me, to see it with another perspective. I also love the internet, I love "freedom" and I want to stay with the good people in it Universal jungle.❤️

Answer 19

Bob_Li but you can license your project on VMS like Git for free and then you have legal grounds if you need them

Also, for covering your website with copyright, here is a guide:
https://harperjames.co.uk/article/how-to-protect-your-website-copyright/#section-2

you don't need to follow all of the steps right away as trademarking can be a bit more costly. But most steps in the guide are free, such as copyrighting, terms and conditions...

Answer 20

Victor Ciuta as I said, it's a big move, so your code have to be worth the high maintenance cost and effort.
And you're playing with bigger players.