Some people... :(

[Steve Crooks]

If someone asks me for help, if I can I will help them and sometimes go out of my way to look at their servers, plugins etc..

Anyway, how about this for taking liberties. A few months ago I helped this guy with his website and he was always asking me questions about how I managed to do this and that with one of my sites. He even wanted to know the exact colours that I used for my Adsense. He wanted to know how I created my theme, where I got my content from, where I got my backlinks from.

To cut a long story short, the other day I was looking at my competitors for one of my websites when I saw a site indexed a few down from my site that had a similar domain name to mine. When I clicked on it I saw that it was almost an exact copy of my site! Even all the content was the same, the images were the same (in fact when I checked the source they were being accessed directly from my site!!! My bandwidth!!!)

I then did a whois check and found that lo and behold the site belonged to this guy I had been helping.. I just couldn't believe the depths some people go to.

I issued a DMCA request to their hosts to get the site shut down which it now is thankfully but it has upset me to be honest. It won't stop me helping people when and if I can but it will make me more guarded with the information I dish out.

[Terry Kyle]

Hi Steve,

This "taker" obviously took advantage of you, a "giver". The word No is pretty powerful and you do have to listen to your intuition about people.

Your experience also emphasises how people don't value what they don't have to pay for.

The problem was him, not you and try not to take it personally. Easier said than done bud.

[TheWealthSquad]

Unfortunately Steve many people would rather copy and steal the work of others than be creative and add value to the world. He could easily have taken the information you gave him and created something new, different and valuable.

The bell curve applies in all areas of our lives. A very small percentage of people are crooks and thieves. A very small percentage are wonderful and giving. When one from each group runs into each other, its a big shock.

When you meet someone who is close to you in that area, you rarely percieve the differrence. I am sorry you experienced that and hope you continue to have success in your life.

Share value and create wealth to make the world a better place.

[Lloyd Buchinski]

I have been pretty honest for most of my life, although I did start off as a little crook. And being honest it was always a surprise to find out that someone else wasn't. It took a bit of understanding to realize that there are some incredibly low places that people are sometimes in.

Now even if someone wants to borrow a small tool, I have a question. "Temporarily or permanently?" Usually it is just a joke with someone when there is no question at all about getting it back. But there is so much to a human being that it is worth keeping in mind that you really only know a small percentage.

[JayXtreme]

Don't let it upset you, Steve.

It happens, it's not nice... but troubling your mind with this will cost you more than anything...

Peace

Jay

[Steve Crooks]

Thanks fellas, I am over it really but it just irritates me to think that you can help people and almost befriend them and this is how they repay you. I am not going to let a small minority spoil it for the many though and thankfully the DMCA is there to sort out this sort of thing.

[CliveG]

I loved this solution:

How to stop image hotlinking and bandwidth theft | David Airey, graphic designer

[Koos-K]

Hi Steve,

Although I'm just new here on the Warrior Forums, I have seen this behaviour before.
But you should always keep in mind that people who are doing this don't understand IM and how it works. You can't just copy a site from someone and become rich overnight.

People who do this obviously don't get that and asuming they won't change because they're bastards, they will NEVER get it. And therefore they won't make real hard-earned money. That's the difference between us and them.

Koos

[JakeDaly]

Whenever someone purposefully betrays me like that I simply chalk it up to Karma. When you're happy 10 years down the road with a beautiful, loving family and they're diagnosed with AIDs.. they'll reflect on their mistakes and hopefully repent. The weight of the world simply balances itself out.

[Bryan Zimmerman]

Yea, that sucks. I had it happen to me when i showed someone I was helping one of my websites. Copied it exactly.

The good thing is Karma is a bitch! Might not be today, may not be tomorrow, but somewhere down the line, people get what they deserve.

[JoMo]

Originally Posted by Lloyd Buchinski

I have been pretty honest for most of my life, although I did start off as a little crook...

Steve started out his life as a little crooks too.


-joel

[mRamses]

Unfortunately Steve many people would rather copy and steal the work of others than be creative and add value to the world. He could easily have taken the information you gave him and created something new, different and valuable.

It never ceases to amaze me how unimaginative some people are. We take many things for granted, such as creativity. Some people just don't have it. They are incapable of coming up with original ideas.