Some thoughts...

Well, I have to share some thoughts with the authors and staff… first of all I have to say that TF is a perfect machine, everybody here is doing an awesome job and the future of this marketplace will be brillant, no doubts about it.

Obviously, this perfect machine is also a money maker machine… and so, many developers/designers are coming and will come attracted by the big bucks that some are making.

In this scenario, considering the big amount of new files and new authors, the reviewers and the staff in general will have to make an extra effort to grant quality and uniqeness… to attract new buyers, protect the good authors and, most importantly, to give a long life to TF.

I really hope that authors will stop to “copy” each other and that the staff will be very very strict about uniqness from now on… is unacceptable that some files get accepted when they clearly are copies of the top selling ones, that we all know which they are.

In my opinion, also light similarities should be avoided…

Let’s be inspired by new features, new layouts (why not)... but let’s try to revise them at least with our style to offer a new product… a better one… not just a “is basically the same” theme.

Please guys, please staff, please everybody, don’t kill TF!

p&k

Im too scared to try and create a standard layout in case it gets rejected

Phoenix said
Im too scared to try and create a standard layout in case it gets rejected

That should be the spirit… authors should be scared to copy… it’s better to waste time to try to be original than to risk to be rejected

ParkerAndKent said

Phoenix said
Im too scared to try and create a standard layout in case it gets rejected

That should be the spirit… authors should be scared to copy… it’s better to waste time to try to be original than to risk to be rejected

You absolutely have a point there. Only when somebody creates something unique then it won’t sell because all that the buyer wants is a large slider on the frontpage, 3 or 4 text blocks below the slider and a footer that looks like 70% of the themeforest footers.

And since a lot of time is spent on a theme it’s a waste of time when creating something unique and especially when you mention that “light similarities should be avoided”

When that’s the case then no theme will be accepted ever again since almost all themes on themeforest have a slight resemblance.

I think you should leave the standards up to themeforest staff and there reviewers.

Excellent thoughts P & K, couldn’t agree more.

But when I look at your themes “Cadca” and “ArrowHead”, without any disrespect: I don’t see anything unique about them, especially to the degree you are demanding them to be? They resemble hundreds of WP themes here at TF in more ways than one?

Is structural uniqueness the true concern here? Or are you more concerned about blatant structural ripoffs?

I ask because with a platform like Wordpress, some structural similarity is bound to occur. Even with Genres like admin templates.

Blatant ripoffs? I’m with you guys – Reviewers, please nuke ‘em.

The challenge is: given the sheer volume of themes already present on TF, and the sheer volume of submissions, how will a reviewer efficiently ensure that a theme is not heavily copied from another theme? I see that happening only when a person copies stuff out of Kriesi’s, Paralleleus’ or your works…..copying something hugely popular is risky, and will be detected easily.

What if one decides to copy off a lesser know theme?

nova9 said
Excellent thoughts P & K, couldn’t agree more. But when I look at your themes “Cadca” and “ArrowHead”, without any disrespect: I don’t see anything unique about them, especially to the degree you are demanding them to be? They resemble hundreds of WP themes here at TF in more ways than one?

I’m not talking about the layout, I’m talking about copies… you’re talking about my themes… but I can tell you that both have things that none of the other themes here on TF have… (at least that I know).

Arrowhead comes with an home slider and in general an home page that I’ve never seen… also because we made the slider… the cadca comes with portfolios that are absolutely unique…

Then, if you want to tell me that the blog sections look like blogs you’re right

Btw, without taking it personal… that wasn’t my intention… I’m talking about themes that if you don’t look at the author name you would think they are “top themes” reuploaded.

p&k

p&k’s cadca is unique alright.

ParkerAndKent said

Btw, without taking it personal… that wasn’t my intention… I’m talking about themes that if you don’t look at the author name you would think they are “top themes” reuploaded.

p&k

And then there are authors who’ll mod their own themes only slightly and upload them as new themes. Should that be checked as well?

As for my comment, I was surprised because you said “In my opinion, also light similarities should be avoided…”, when your themes themselves have enough similarities with others’. That is NOT a bad thing or something which I stand against, like I said: Similarities are bound to occur, especially structural similarity.

It’s only the full fledged copies that need to be stopped.

Well you know what will happen?

In about two months, a new user with a cartoon avatar will upload the same theme as purevision, striking, etc..

AND become a popular author right away

ParkerAndKent said

nova9 said
Excellent thoughts P & K, couldn’t agree more. But when I look at your themes “Cadca” and “ArrowHead”, without any disrespect: I don’t see anything unique about them, especially to the degree you are demanding them to be? They resemble hundreds of WP themes here at TF in more ways than one?

I’m not talking about the layout, I’m talking about copies… you’re talking about my themes… but I can tell you that both have things that none of the other themes here on TF have… (at least that I know).

Arrowhead comes with an home slider and in general an home page that I’ve never seen… also because we made the slider… the cadca comes with portfolios that are absolutely unique…

Then, if you want to tell me that the blog sections look like blogs you’re right

Btw, without taking it personal… that wasn’t my intention… I’m talking about themes that if you don’t look at the author name you would think they are “top themes” reuploaded.

p&k

You really don’t have to convince me that your themes are unique, they absolutely are. I love them.

Pretty good topic here.

I think author have a responsability to report files that are the same, if enough author report 1 file, it will be remove.

I recently reported a file because the author had the same theme resleased couple month ago but now he just change some style and reuploaded. It’s still there but at least I reported it and feel good about it.