I'm looking into it right now......

moshi -- Like I said, the icons aren't the same, and I make no claims to them being original. They're certainly derivatives of Microsoft's look.

It's the layout and overall look of the skins that concern me. Without delving into the details, the two skins look and function identically side-by-side. And the design and function was not done by Microsoft.

Ugh. I didn't really care about the Americas Cup skin. The guy at least cared enough to credit the skins, and it was just duplicated Microsoft icons he borrowed from me anyway.

I find this very disturbing, since the screenshots alone are enough to see how similar the two skins are. I feel like if I say something, I'm being a real baby about it (especially since Microsoft is the original inspiration anyway). But if I say nothing, then anyone could just create their own versions of at least half my skins, since they're inspired by 3rd-party sources.

Two Windowblinds skins that both look like Windows XP are understandable. Two Dashboard skins that look alike usually aren't coincidence.

Not as much alike as these two. Look, you're obviously welcome to do whatever you like, and I'm entitled to my opinion and little else. I'm just disappointed, and not optimistic that much else will be done about this.

At any rate, I posted a side-by-side comparison over on Lotsofskins, to try to gather some more opinions. Like I said at the top, maybe I am just imagining things.

Thanks for your efforts, moshi. But I'm not claiming this guy blatantly took my skin and just swapped out a few icons. Believe me, I'd be a lot crankier if I thought that.

Right now, I'm just letting this go and allowing the greater minds than my own to sort things out. Probably the worst thing I'll do is update my own skin -- even though all it's missing is a mute icon -- just to make me feel like I have some sort of control. It's weaselly, but I've never claimed to be otherwise

And if nothing else, I can take comfort in the fact that my skin truly looks better and is more functional. Now, I'm taking my ball and going home.

I'll have a look, but I don't use Dashboard, nor do I specifically look at their submissions [for that reason]...but when a skin is effectively a 'port' of an OS you must expect repetition of 'similarity'....BeOS in both WB and LiteSTEP is a good example.

If they are 'too alike' because one was created from the other, then the 'copy' will go....

Well...from the screenshots....and considering they are both XP 'clones' they look sufficiently different to be justified to co-exist.
Graphical differences are clear and obvious.
In fact, there appears to be no two images or icons the same, and the layouts are alike in the same way as Win 95 and XP are 'alike'.

I really don't think that, on the basis of the screenshot images that they could genuinely be considered 'copied', or 'ripped'.

Glen, if you are intent on controlling original author-ship on a skin then steer clear of OS 'ports' or styled skins, and create 'genuine' originality....

If a Dashboard-using Admin can shed any more light on the subject and show genuine connectivity between the two works then the situation may change....

Bangkokboy....this is a problem endemic with OS-related ports...and the only 'real' way to determine whether one is in fact a 'copy' of another's work is to find specific graphic details that are truly original to one author being re-used by another.
If two separate themes 'happen' to both use generic details/icons such as the taskbar-expanding arrow, as these two do, and they are identical, [which these two are not], and the first artist has a particular 'quirk' on his icon that does not exist on the original OS, but DOES appear on the second 'version' then a 'rip' may be evident.

Unless I'm looking at the wrong two skins, these appear to be a 'poor' example of a 'ripping' as no two images are alike in a 'derivative' sense, and the only 'similarity' appears to be an approximation of layout which could easily be construed as interpretations of the same OS, ported independently....

heh - should've refreshed before I posted, Jafo covered it all again even better...

Nope.. never claimed he did use my graphics. And I'm going to just let this go now, because it's wasted effort. But I do want to take a minute to try and explain myself. I don't want anyone thinking I'm just being a big, bitter baby about this

1. It's difficult to call any Dashboard skin a "clone" or "port" of XP or any other OS. Dashboard isn't an OS and doesn't operate like one. The best you can do is replicate a program running under XP, or just a PART of the OS. (My WinTabXP skin, which duplicates an XP tabbed dialog box, is about as close as you'll come to a "port.") Dashboard is a somewhat unique skinnable in this regard, hence the confusion.

2. Not once did I claim any specific graphics were taken from my skin. If graphics had been taken from my skin and arranged differently, I might have contacted the author, but it probably wouldn't have bothered me. After all, they ARE just copies of MS graphics. To me, that was never at issue.

3. The one and only thing that bothered me is, despite the changed icons, if you look at these two skins side-by-side, they appear nearly identical at first glance. They have a nearly identical background. The icons are all arranged identically, and use the black-and-white to indicate which aren't active. And while they're both DERIVED from a part of XP, the concept of what parts of XP to use, how they should be arranged, and how the skin should function was mine. I have a hard time believing that choosing which parts of XP to piece together was just a coincidence.

So that's that. I trust that the admins have made the right decision, and I'll live with it. (Worse than that, I actually LIKE the admins here ... damn, that's frustrating! ) The only annoying thing I'll do now is update my skin to include the missing WISBar mute button, then call it a day.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to look at the skins (and/or read my rants here). And feel free to just delete this thread if you think it's going to cause any "uprising" or whatever!

Glen, a rip by definition is the stealing of another artist's graphics to create a new skin and taking credit for them. I too have examined these two skins side by side and apart from some similarities in layout (and only small similarities at that, given the constraints of the medium), I can see nothing that constitutes a rip. That is, unless you consider your own skin a rip of Windows XP?

As the others have said, if you don't like 'imitation', steer clear of OS-themed skins. Although I would argue that at most this person has simply taken inspiration from the layout of your skin and several other similarly laid out skins, and tried to make his own XP port with his own modifications.

Plenty of people use the same layout as my skins for their own, but you'll never see me calling them rips in a public forum. A rip is an act of stealing, not an act of inspiration. You should just be pleased that someone considered your way of doing things good enough to use as a starting point for their own creation.

I do find it slightly ironic that you're accusing someone of ripping your rip. That is, unless you made all of your graphics from scratch?

Glen...quite a bit is gained from leaving this, as it is an open discussion on a specific example/problem with the use, and/or modification of an OS-based design becoming a 'port', for want of a better word.
The only sure-fire defense against arguments of coincidental creativity is to steer clear of Porting, and make absolutely certain that all of the work is 100% your own [not modded/restructured/redrawn OS-bits] so ANY AND EVERY 'similarity' can be 'quaranteed' to prove 'theft of copyright'.

I know it's hard, especially when you believe that your layout or 'placement' was truly original, but to others it could be seen to be simply 'logical', given the OS-base, and therefore very likely to be replicated independently. This happens often with LiteSTEP themes, for example....when there are only 4 sides to a screen to put a proggy bar, 25% of all skins will have the same 'location/layout' as mine.....and when Themers regularly cut and paste portions of Step.rc coding to enhance functionality, whatever, then often the specific layout of the bar can be similar....but if the actual graphics are used as well then we've entered the distinct realm of the 'rip', and easily definable...

Now, all this dissertation is for general public benefit.....to assist in the day-to-day management/understanding of how to handle/avoid issues of Ports and/or rips.....as we are all skinners here, dealing with skins/ports/rips/digital images/copyrights....every day.

The topic is important to us all, hence my unwillingness to remove the thread...