for people to look at a code done from some1 else and editing it to look diffrent in many ways i see is ok otherwise isnt everyone stealing? there might be a lot of diffrent ways to code but the codes have to come from someone before everyone on here, tho this is just me guessing, i understand copying a code and changing the font then trying to sell it on is stealing, but if someone copied one part from a code they didnt know how to do and add it to a bigger code that they have?

 really it boils down to what you can cl*censored* as your own code....because its not like art, art can be done in a number of ways

but i guess this isnt really on topic but i agree code theft should be agaist the rules at a certian extent, like the owner of the code needs to say thats there code plus prove it

but remember everything comes from something nothing is made out of thin air xD

Actually, in my eyes coding can very well be a form of art. I know several people around here who've obviously put a lot of effort into learning to code, just like you have to put the effort into learning any other art. They even have their personal visual styles in coding - Tacos, for instance, has a very recognisable style.

Not everyone does it the way of opening the page source and copying the bit of coding they need. ;o Heck, that's why I ordered my profile code from someone more experienced - so it would look like more than just  jumble of borrowed bits in the hands of a complete amateur. xD 'Cause I really, really suck at coding.

Aaaanyway. I support. ;o I know we've always been pretty clear with the forbidding of art theft, but it could probably do some good to put something like this in the official rules. 'S like how people always used to try to justify advertising more than twice per hour in the Shoutbox, since there wasn't a written rule on it.

support o_o

well i don't know anything about coding but i just pay someone to make a profile for me :P

i wouldn't like someone stealing my profile D< 

I support! it should be an official rule

I support 100%

I see where Darksoul is coming from.

With html and css there's always a basic formula for manipulating the way a webpage looks, etc. All coders read the computer language and manipulate that formula, tweaking it to make it look the way they want it to. With digital/pen & paper art the artists creat their own lines, generating their own "formulas" and "language" so to speak instead of just editing it, which is why art theft is something that can be regulated in such a vigillant way and is also illegal because of copyright laws.

In truth, anyone on Res can code their own profiles if they took the time to from a html or css guide. While its true many coders who sell their graphics on Res do have their own style in appereance, the code they edit comes from a universal computer language that anyone can use and edit themselves.

In essence people who use other people's profile codes are stealing an already created edit of something that's universal--Since html, css, and java are things that anyone on the internet can potentially use. The way I see it, it's kind of like saying drinking from a public water fountain is "stealing" from the Earth's water supply; Its a very grey area.

The problem I see immediately with this rule is determining if someone has actually stolen a code or not. Unlike traditional art, where the widths and weights of lines and such determine what hand drew the picture, with coding that's not quite the issue. The html, css, etc. language is the "pencil" of coders--two different people can make two very unique pictures using the same pencil and not have it be art theft, likewise two people could start with the same basic formula of coding and create something of their own but have it look exactly the same in structure because you're editing a premade formula. For example, because the language of computers is public and anyone can use it, someone could make a code that looks almost exactly like mine in formula because we both used the same guide to build it, not because he stole it from me. Likewise, that could easily be used as an excuse for someone who did steal a code.

While I agree that it is possible to steal the stylistic quality of someone's profile coding and that copying & pasting someone's entire code is a problem, regualting that kind of thing would be a very tricky thing to do. Personally, I don't particularly care if someone steals my code. Like I said before, someone can easily do what I did just by looking at a guide. In my case, I had a very experienced coder help me with mine. That's also precisely why I don't make & sell profile codes to other users, because I don't view it as some I made myself because anyone potentially could make the profile code I did on their own.

All that being said, I do like the idea of trying to create a rule against code stealing, but at the same time it would be a very hair splitting task if staff decided to review support tickets of people who have claimed their code has been stolen by going in and reading each code individually. While I do agree there have been very obvious cases of code stealing, I feel like someone could be falsely accused very easily as well, which is something no one likes to deal with.

I guess in truth I support with many reservations. XD Sorreh for the rant.

I agree with Saru 100%. 

When it's painfully obvious that the whole thing has been copied and pasted from a user who doesn't want it done, Staff already does something about it (or at least they have).  But you can't "copyright" coding.  Everyone learns it from a tutorial somewhere, so there will always be simliarities.  Certain things are real red flags though. Fastest way to prove that someone didn't do it themselves is to "break" it and ask them to fix it. It's pretty funny.  XD

Make a note in your coding that you take things like that seriously, and would really prefer if users asked you about your coding instead of copying it.  At least then someone can't say "But I didn't know that she cared if I took it, other people don't care!"  If you're certain that someone lifted the whole thing, contact Staff.  But unless it's line for line a copy of yours with maybe colors/images changed, you can't prove that someone else didn't just see your profile, think "HEY...I could move that div, or remove that background, or block that" and then did it themselves. Once someone sees that something *can* be done, they're certainly allowed to figure it out for themselves...it's not "your" property.  I don't see how that's a punishable offense.

Again, in some cases it's really obvious: they forget to change a custom name for divs, you code something poorly and they copy it instead of doing it correctly (which is how I can usually tell someone's taken mine), or they absolutely don't change *anything* except colors and images (because they know they can't fix it if they mess it up).  Just because someone else has put their whole profile within a boxed image and removed a block or two doesn't mean that they "took" mine.  Creative input has to come from somewhere, and to me it's plain as day when someone was simply inspired vs someone just took the whole thing without bothering to figure out how to actually do it themselves.  Unless it's really, really obvious, I don't think it's fair to expect Staff to step in (to the other user or to Staff).