this is my revamped segment found in rice’s now deleted manifesto. it is supposed to be a more reasonable and clarifed version

there’s a sentence found in many sites that states, “Copying is an act of love”. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, it completely ignores issues, and how we should be viewing art.

what is copying?

the definition of copying is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as

  1. to make something that is exactly like something else
  2. to write something exactly as it is written somewhere else
  3. (computing) to create an identical (= similar in every detail) version of data, a program, etc. so that you can use it again somewhere else
  4. copy somebody/something to behave or do something in the same way as somebody else
  5. to cheat in an exam, school work, etc. by writing what somebody else has written and pretending it is your own work
  6. (also photocopy) copy something to make a photocopy of something

the definition ill be focusing on is the first one, “to make something that is exactly like something else”, because it’s the simplest and generalized definition.

the nekoweb discord also defines copying a few different ways

to take what someone else did/said/etc and do/say/etc the exact same thing
for example, if i said “man i think [idea] would be super cool” and someone else is like “man i think [idea] would be super cool” and isnt bouncing off what i said
[…] say like. you redrew the mona lisa, posted it, and said “this is my oc” thats copying

in terms of web development i’d say copying is intentionally trying to completely replicate the look of someone else’s site

copying is the act of obtaining someone else’s code, site layout, or even assets, without any permissions or even a credit.

The different ideas of copying are pretty similar to a degree, but they get tricky when we get into other branches such as drawn artwork or in this case, websites. So instead, the reality of how we view copying is based on intention.

intentions of copying

like all actions, there is always intention found within them. Some of these intentions include, but aren’t limited to,

  1. personal or financial gain
  2. educational purposes
  3. pissing off the creator
  4. bring joy to the creator, either because of permission or copyheart
  5. accessibility
  6. for fun

intentions vary, they can be either in good faith or bad faith. however, to put all of them under the idea of “love” does not work in this day and age. if i am trying to piss off the creator, is that really “an act of love”? copyheart thinks so!

copying is an act of theft.

copying doesn’t have any reason to show love. if anything, it invalidates time and effort spent into it. copying comes from different intentions, some show love, and some do not. even if you have permission, what does that show about you as a person? art should be reflective of yourself as a person, do you want to be seen as someone who steals in order to get by?

we could talk all day about “what is art” or “what is copying”, if its mostly good intentions or bad intentions, but i do not believe that the conclusions we come to will work with copyheart. copyheart works on a basis that all forms of copying is love, and as we have stated previously, that is not true. it is not the way we should be viewing it, and that annoys me.

inspiration is the true act of love

Getting inspired or motiviated by an artwork to create your own original work should be the way of how we view art. Seeing a site and its very cool aspects and wanting to something to the likes of that. this is how art is often made, not by duplicating and tweaking some things, but by feeling moved by something to create something great. inspiration shows the true value of an artwork, not by its ability to be copied, but by its ability to motivate people. This is what copyheart should be about, rather than putting all forms of copying on a label of love.

whenever you see something you like, think about what aspects really moved you. then, take those aspects into your own creative spin. don’t copy something and change it’s border color to red, try your own method to replicate it and, if you have to copy something, understand how it works, and what could be changed.

instead of “copying is an act of love”, we should use a different sentence to show our intentions.

copying is an act of theft, while taking inspiration is the true act of love.

special thanks

other segments found on rice’s deleted manifesto
mlg2460 for their segment in the above link
june’s “Neocities, Nekoweb and Originality” article

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