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So, I created this open-source project called Outstatic (https://outstatic.com), it's been my pet project for a while. But here's the twist: I just found out someone on HN (https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hoofhearted) took my entire project, renamed it, and has been showing it off all over the internet as their own thing.
I'm not usually one to call people out, but this is just too much. The only reason I found out was because this person was asking for help with my project on our Discord server, and I got curious.
Turns out, they've been pretending to develop this 'new' project since April and have even been warned by the mods here for spamming about it. When I casually mentioned that I stumbled upon their project and that it looked cool, they went on and on about their 'original vision' and even had the nerve to ask me to join them as a co-founder!
I understand that open source means people can use and modify the work, but claiming total credit and denying any connection to the original project? That's a bit much. I did bring up the issue of giving credit and licensing, and the response was a vague promise of 'eventually' doing it.
Just wanted to get this off my chest and see what you all think. It's a weird spot to be in, for sure.
He's fooled a bunch of people into joining and contributing to “his project”. So I feel like I should at least warn them that they are making contributions to a "stolen” project.
Here's a list of posts where this person claims they built everything and intentionally mention all the tech stack but leaves “Outstatic” out of it: https://dub.sh/code-theft
Any recommendations for resources and tips would be very appreciated. Thanks!