Do you get tired of others copying your content?

How this affects your motivation to create content?

[explorador]

Hi webmasters, I've been creating content since 1998, and my journey took me to literally travel to places and countries to gather information, especially pictures. I had a passion for it (still... somehow... have it... somewhere?)

It's been a long time since I don't post anything on my websites, instead I've been quite active on some forums or groups, I don't hesitate on sharing information, but this is different. Someone asking something, and having me providing an answer, doesn't turn into an article of regurgitated words (mine), and my pictures.

I used to get upset about this, and proceeded with copy right take downs. Sometimes I didn't get upset, but proceeded because it was the logical thing to do.

But now... meh... I find very difficult to write and post. Besides some sort of writers block, or pure lack of interest, I feel some impact inside my being, like... being heavily disappointing and seeing websites copying my content to the point of cropping my pictures to remove the logos and watermarks. It's... quite too much, it's insulting. There is one website with many investors behind doing this, and they provide credits writing the name of your website, suppose it's "webmasterworld", they write "web masters world", with absolutely no link to the website.

I'm tired, upset? minimum, I just feel like "the world is now filled with thieves".

I remember reading several comments here from other webmasters saying they got tired of it, and stopped posting, stopped writing. I'm like, yeah... whatever, I'll take a nap instead (I don't like naps BTW).

I'm having increasing interest over writing a book instead. Yeah, that will be copied as well, I guess, but I believe there is a better chance of benefits and monetization (directly).

Opinions?

[explorador]

I mean, there is copying... and pure stealing.

[lucy24]

“Immature writers plagiarize; mature writers steal” doesn’t have the same meaning it did a century ago, does it.

[Kendo]

plagiarise or steal

There is no difference and the concept of fair use stinks.

Like Explorador, I have been developing web content since 1998. At first it was a website for artists to showcase their work. By the time we were ready to launch many became horrified at the thought of showing originals online where they can be copied so easily... and anonymously.

At the time there was nothing available to prevent copy. But most, including 90% of graphic artists, didn't even know what the PrintScreen button could do. But when I invented "copy protection" for web content that soon changed. Ever since then it has been a battle of wits keeping abreast of a flood of new apps especially designed to copy, download, scrape, etc, not to mention the sellout by browser makers by providing such tools in their web browsers... just to be popular(?)

All of the copy/recording software that you see today is a copy of a copy. So too are all the "copy protection" solutions a copy of a copy. Today most of the visitors to our website and signups for free trial accounts are looking to copy them. So even the solutions for preventing copy and protecting intellectual property are being copied.

I often ask why I still bother? But it keeps me occupied and I have nothing better to do. Also, solace can be found in knowing that my nearest competitors have always been 2 years behind.

Soon after releasing my Bot Protection solution we will see many fakes emerging from the depths of "entrepreneuralism".

[tangor]

It is human nature to copy ... monkey see, monkey do kind of thing. One reason as a species we kind of advance "sorta level" in ability, etc. COPYRIGHT, as a concept is relatively new (couple of centuries) and since humans are equally dense, stupid, and corrupt, the concept has not caught on at a species wide level---who continue to monkey see monkey do (that's genetic!

The web has ALWAYS been a cut and paste nightmare. If one does not understand that UP FRONT then don't put your life work ON THE WEB. Use the more traditional methods of radio, tv, print---and know that even THEN you will get ripped off ON THE WEB. HOWEVER, using those methods will result with a STRONGER court case in going after infringers (and the revenue they have STOLEN).

I'm now in a different kind of place (retired, all my commercial biz sold off some years back) and my HOBBY site is EXPRESSLY maintained to allow theft of content because that ADVANCES interest in my hobby among members of the human race with ANY kind of interest. I've been around since 1996 on the WEB (1983 on BBS and FidoNet) and MANY sites have used my stuff (with permission) and given credit, so there's "nothing new" for the current crop of thieves and brigands to make ka-ching.

Pick and choose battles.

OTOH, I truly do detest thieves, especially those powered by AI and homogeneous lowest common denominator rewrites.

[Whitey]

The reality is: the biggest scraper of all is Google. And now, with AI overviews and answer engines, they’re repackaging and serving up everyone’s work, not just thieves in dark corners, but at industrial scale. That, more than small-time copying, is what impacts motivation.

What keeps me going? A mix of defiance, adaptation, and optimism:

•Direct audience ownership; I’m focused on building personalization , communities, and apps so I’m less dependent on search and platforms.

•Creating content with built-in defensibility, tools, data comparisons, interactive elements; things that lose value when scraped.

•Doubling down on trust and brand, in this AI-flooded world, people seek out voices they can rely on. That’s where the opportunity lies.

Yes, theft (whether by individuals, bots, or Big Tech) is disheartening. But it’s also a signal to evolve and create smarter. The way forward (at least for me) is to make content that’s harder to rip off and more valuable in direct relationships.

How are others here rethinking their strategies in this AI and scrape-heavy landscape?

[Kendo]

I for one am done with AI search. When looking for solutions to problems it has the audacity to try and write code. While that code worked in a couple of cases, most of it called functions that do not even exist for the language in question. But the thing that bugs me the most is how long it takes to render the AI result before showing the rest of the page (the real results).

I am currently looking for options to disable it for both Google and Bing search.

The other day I received an invite to do a survey on Stack Exchange. That was the longest survey ever, and most questions were about AI. By the time I finished I had the impression that they consider developers not using AI to be losers.

[explorador]

I thought I posted already... not sure what happened.

lucy24: “Immature writers plagiarize; mature writers steal” doesn’t have the same meaning it did a century ago, does it.

So true... it hurts.

Kendo:
I often ask why I still bother? But it keeps me occupied and I have nothing better to do. Also, solace can be found in knowing that my nearest competitors have always been 2 years behind.

Copy protection works a bit, but print screen (simple screenshots) can go around it on some cases. I also ask myself "why I still bother?", I know I haven't posted on my websites, but that doesn't mean I won't, I believe some of us just happen to be creators / artists / writers, this means we have the natural tendency to create and share. BUT... share doesn't mean "for others to monetize for free, remove my credits and appropriate my material".

Yeah, 2 years behind. That used to happen around here too.

My main problem is... my sites became authority in their field, this doesn't mean I have millions of visitors per day, no, not at all, it just means I have content (and pictures) nobody else has covered, turning my websites into the "place to go to find information and pictures", stuff nobody else has, or stuff other have in low res, poor quality.

On the other hand, this website stealing my content just won't create content, they just have a ton of people sitting at the office browsing and stealing. Imagine "freshweb-topics . com", and just hiring a bunch of teens to browse and steal, a bit like digg, but directly stealing, at least digg used to post headlines and pointed to your website, these guys literally steal and reword your own articles placing their own credits, it sucks.

tangor: The web has ALWAYS been a cut and paste nightmare

true, but today it's more like... directly stealing, it is.

Whitey: What keeps me going? A mix of defiance, adaptation, and optimism... [... ] How are others here rethinking their strategies in this AI and scrape-heavy landscape?

I don't really feel like doing this for long, I mean, not "websites" as in the past. I'm married and I can't travel as often as in the past, I can, I just... don't wan to. I mean, producing fresh content for a website takes effort, and the residual income is not worth it at the speed of things today, that's for one website, imagine 2, 3. But yes, I still see my head producing stuff and ideas everyday, I'm just too busy to do this as my priority.

To me... it's never been about money, but passion and hobbies. This doesn't mean I'm eager to continue, while others make money with my content.

Strategies? I'm thinking about direct marketing and courses / tutorials. Creating 10 fresh articles with great pictures about... let's say... a set of 10 historical buildings, is not as efficient as creating a guided private walking tour, I don't mean to sell tours, I'm just talking about a random example of how... sort of the same effort can produce better networking, meet real people, guide them, and turn the initial effort into more effective income than just residual income via traffic. I'm feeling more inclined to write a few books, and then create a few articles from there to post on the web... the book itself it's a product and a networking tool with my credits, it sells, and it creates job opportunities for picture related work. I have a new set of ideas, not just that.

Kendo: he other day I received an invite to do a survey on Stack Exchange. That was the longest survey ever, and most questions were about AI. By the time I finished I had the impression that they consider developers not using AI to be losers.

So true. And hat's another one. It's more efficient for me to create and sell a web system to a client, than producing the same amount of original content for the web as in the past, the time and effort are more efficiently rewarded.

[tangor]

Cut-and-paste is direct theft. No bones about that!

Word spinning (back in the day), same thing.

AI homogenized (theft of multiple sources to create a "consensus"), same thing.

Theft is theft.

We have laws that can take care of this. Unfortunately it COSTS REAL MONEY in lawyers, filing, exhibits, evidence, proof, investigation, example, that the thieves win simply because the mountain one must climb makes Everest look like an anthill.

I'm not tired. Merely exhausted, bushed, broken, worn-out, wasted, fagged, hopeless, horrified, DONE. The last is where I am now, after years of fighting for clients, etc. Me, on the other hand, MY hobby web creation was made for theft. Funny thing, however, is that only those interested in that hobby even made the attempt. Most times they got in contact to chat the hobby, to speak their joy to find another, to ask permission (freely granted), and sometimes I returned the love if they were worthy!

Whatever appears on the web will be stolen, infringed, converted, distilled, rehashed, colored, inserted---somebody stop me! What we are complaining about is RESPECT and the lack of that by strangers who do not have the same values, who are crooked by nature, who are lazy and shiftless. THAT is what irritates us most, besides the fact none of us have a bag of cash to sue a pissant in some hovel in a third world country trying to get "rich" by plagiarizing others while having no concept of what that even means.

I suspect, in many ways quite a few of us, even the ethical, still crib a bit here and there to make our stuff look better---without performing outright theft. But that little homage IS a kind of theft... go back to my monkey see monkey do corollary. We are, after all, HUMAN.

[Kendo]

even the ethical, still crib a bit here and there

The images that we use either really do belong to public domain and were shared for free, or are purchased from stock photography vendors.

So I had to laugh the other day when I received a letter of demand for payment for an image that was used in our blog 5 years ago. They even cited the first date of the offence which they would have gotten from file properties.

[IJustWanttoPost]

Hi, I saw this post and had to re-re-register. I posted about something similar before and was like restricted from posting.

Every Niche is different and has different people justifying their reasons to "copy each other".

This issue is hard for me because in my Niche, I have somebody who has been copying me down to minutes and trying to repost EVERYTHING I do on 5 websites in a deliberate attempt to put me out of business.

For years, no matter what I do they basically echo it, including any social media campaigns, newsletters and more. Not only use it as imspiration, but literly copy it with 1 sentence, use stolen copyrighted images that do better than my created images and post it on 5 websites with fans reaching xxx,xxx.

All within an hour.

I'm so happy that others are finally speaking up about this! What in the world is going on here?!?!?! It's literally insane!

The part that makes it the hardest is that it's blatant what's happening and there seems to be nothing you can do. It's like "it's just the internet".

What? Not my internet! I refuse to allow my internet to be this and I think that has allowed it to affect me emotionally and more.

It's like, even if you can show somebody and prove it all it's like ... "so what?" "And?"

Over this time, things just seemed to get worse and worse. I just keep working hard and harder to battle these people and i've made them all super rich... like super rich..

Sorry I had to post this stuff! Please don't ban me! Maybe I could add more info later.

Here's to an internet with more fair businesses that allow actual growth

[tangor]

Welcome back ... I recall your previous posts and struggles with these dastardly villains. Observing a behavior and recognizing it as a cost of doing business on an imperfect landscape is one thing. Moaning and raving and seeking free no skin the game fire and thunder is something else.

The "so what?" "And?" is an acknowledgement that the injured party has to spend REAL MONEY for an attorney, file lawsuits, go to court, show cause, win a judgment and award, collect damages---a year or more after the infringement. THAT'S how you deal with the particular situation you describe. NOTHING can be said here that will solve your issues, regardless how sympathetic we might be!

MEANWHILE, put stuff behind a paywall (and hope the bad guys don't buy a subscription to continue the theft!) and be done. On the other hand, a paywall does get in the way of search engines so damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Kendo]

they basically echo it

I have seen that too. Even with our about us page. They merely changed the company name and used everything else word for word. Their excuse was "that they had to start somewhere".

But the bigger problem is when a "search engine" downgrades your content because it is not original.

I have a client with that problem. Whenever he publishes a new book in PDF format, someone is copying it and selling it as their own. I suggested that he report it to Google, but they came back saying that the copycat was the owner!

[tangor]

I suggested that he report it to Google, but they came back saying that the copycat was the owner!

AND THAT IS WHEN the creator hires a lawyer to get things done. Filing a DMCA these days has little teeth WITHOUT a lawyer to make sure it is addressed properly. There's no "tech solution" to make determined theft cease and desist. Courts, judgments, and enforcement is sometimes required and that is not cheap, easy, or fast.

---and often is not worth it since the true value (monetization) often is not sufficient to justify the expense of protecting one's intellectual copyright with litigation.

WHAT the web is missing is an analogue of copyright offices found in nation/states where the creator can get that accomplished BEFORE publishing on the web. FIX that massive problem and all the copycats will eventually disappear when sent a cease and desist. HOWEVER, that only works if the miscreant can be bound by such (different nations, etc) and would you WANT g (example) to be the sole arbiter of copyright, which means they have YOUR content even before it is released on the web?

Don't get me started on the conundrums upon conundrums in THAT scenario!

[Kendo]

There's no "tech solution" to make determined theft cease and desist.

There is but it is usually used behind logins and not accessible for scraping, with and without DRM and copy protection.

[explorador]

Tangor: Theft is theft. We have laws that can take care of this.

Both things are true. The problem is... creating original quality content is already hard work, and... using the laws and procedures available to deal with theft is a secondary job, but nobody will take care of this, you have to do it, and that's... quite a problem. Then, the more specific and special your content is (rare and uncommon) the faster people come after you.

Tangor: permission (freely granted)

I have no problem granting permission, theft is something entirely different, it is insulting.

In my case, I'm aware of the risks, but being exploited is something else. The whole thing discourages people from putting effort on what they do, and it hurts, yeah, that's right... it hurts because people like us do it for hobby and passion, and it's not funny to see people without ethics just starving for us to create content and try to profit, it's... so freaking easy to just sit on a chair and "steal", no honor. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ranting, the whole focus of the thread is about... not wanting to do this anymore, it hits you, it drains you eventually.

Nah, it doesn't help when people tell you "why does it bother you?", I mean, people who don't create content, ha ha, what the H do they know about effort? they can't even write a single page of decent content.

Kendo: So I had to laugh the other day when I received a letter of demand for payment for an image that was used in our blog 5 years ago

Ha, imagine my surprise (alternate story), when I discovered years ago someone was telling people he was the author of MY pictures.

[explorador]

IJustWanttoPost: Every Niche is different and has different people justifying their reasons to "copy each other".

This issue is hard for me because in my Niche, I have somebody who has been copying me down to minutes and trying to repost EVERYTHING I do on 5 websites in a deliberate attempt to put me out of business.

For years, no matter what I do they basically echo it, including any social media campaigns, newsletters and more. Not only use it as imspiration, but literly copy it with 1 sentence, use stolen copyrighted images that do better than my created images and post it on 5 websites with fans reaching xxx,xxx.

All within an hour.

I remember reading you. What you describe, your case, it's a way far more aggressive stealing than what I'm experiencing, I can understand your reactions and imagine how you may be feeling about this. Stealing so fast can also create issues with Google determining who is the author, and this makes dealing with stolen content more difficult.

IJustWanttoPost: "it's just the internet".

What? Not my internet! I refuse to allow my internet to be this and I think that has allowed it to affect me emotionally and more.

It's like, even if you can show somebody and prove it all it's like ... "so what?" "And?"

Over this time, things just seemed to get worse and worse. I just keep working hard and harder to battle these people and i've made them all super rich... like super rich..

Sorry I had to post this stuff! Please don't ban me! Maybe I could add more info later.

I can entirely understand this, because eventually, it becomes too upsetting, it affects emotionally. Yeah "so what?" well, that's wrong, and even more wrong when others profit from YOUR content. How do you deal with this? in my case, I'm thinking more and more about creating a book, somehow it seems to me easier to get more exposure and reputation as an author (and profit diversity) than just a web, depending on your field you can even educate/train others and charge for your time and expertise. Google is partly responsible of all of this (MFA), and by today standards, traffic and ROI are not painting a pretty picture on the horizon, I mean, you can get way more money with a conference or with 3 students in over a month than with residual income via traffic. Example: my experience in photography looks way more promising applied to courses than creating content for the web nowadays, just sharing ideas.

[explorador]

Kendo: There is but it is usually used behind logins and not accessible for scraping, with and without DRM and copy protection
(Regarding theft cease and desist, Tangor).

Not trying to sell any ideas here :) and I don't mean to have scientific data to back this up, but this also points to writing a book.

I've accumulated tons of hours coming across threads and post of scrappers asking or giving advice on forums, you know!, the Internet is getting filled with people talking about how to make money fast on the web), well, they have many things in common:

- Most are ignorant
- Lazy
- Dumb with money, or literally broke

But mostly: they are lazy, they are not likely to buy a book and then type the text... or scan the book... in fact, they are not willing to go out and buy a book, instead they rather keep searching the web until they find something to just copy paste. And at least with my traffic, numbers, and conversions, selling a book doesn't look that bad compared to traffic (advertising) income, with the benefit of my name building reputation. This may not work for everyone, at least in my case producing a book would be easier due to editorial and printing experience (and equipment). But, just think about it.

[lucy24]

they rather keep searching the web until they find something to just copy paste

... even if that Something is raw OCR. And then if you are only a tiny bit clever, you can find the exact place they copy-pasted it from.

Pure Spam sites used to have a handful of public-domain texts that they copy-pasted over and over again. Still do, for all I know.

[tangor]

Over the same years I have released a number of White papers, pamphlets, even a book or two, and made MORE money with each than if I had put a year's worth of adsense, three per page advertising in place. For all the lazy "I'm too clever to work so hard!" folks living on theft, just know the "new sites" on the web don't get the mythical love of the early days of webillionaires---the few, the shills, the poster kids designed to hook new believers into a dependency class of ad-hangers.

[tangor]

I'm tired, upset? minimum, I just feel like "the world is now filled with thieves".

Want to address this separately, as it is a separate "thing".

Most of these thieves are from third world locations where the daily income is $5/day or LESS. If by cut-and-paste, a low quality internet connection and a phone they can fake a website and earn $10/day they have bettered their own lot. THAT'S THEIR INCENTIVE and, in a way, I can't fault that.

Then again, there are those evil rapscallions who simply think they are too good to actually do work. Theft is a way of life and badge of honor to "do no work"---yet they ARE working, at evil, but probably expending more time and effort on trying to game the system than if they actually got a job.

As they say: "It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round."

[explorador]

Tangor: Over the same years I have released a number of White papers, pamphlets, even a book or two, and made MORE money with each than if I had put a year's worth of adsense, three per page advertising in place. For all the lazy "I'm too clever to work so hard!" folks living on theft, just know the "new sites" on the web don't get the mythical love of the early days of webillionaires---the few, the shills, the poster kids designed to hook new believers into a dependency class of ad-hangers.

Exactly. I never thought of that until this 2025 and it sounds really positive, with future. Thanks for confirming via your own experience.

Many times... diverse creators don't get credit, it's worth thinking about that and getting some recognition.

[tangor]

Real Print is still a thing. Controllable costs, known markets, embedded distribution and outlets. Product and desire will dictate choices made in any of the above. Only thing required is an audience. Just know up front costs are generally yours, but profits on the back side are ALSO yours!

Good luck with future endeavors!

[Kendo]

Most of these thieves are from third world locations where the daily income is $5/day

The dude that copied my website verbatim lived in a suburb not too far away. Anyway, if their income is that low then they can easily hire their own content writers. You can get software developers on freelance sites for as little as $4/hour.

Most of the 404s logged on my main site are coming from downloaded copies of my website. Its not about being poor... it's about cockroaches

[tangor]

Its not about being poor... it's about cockroaches

Welcome to my reality!

Seriously, this kind of banditry just wrecks the web. Users are not stupid. Hitting site after site that is a rip of an authority (creator) site becomes obvious in short order. Also instills, FOR THE USER, a reliance on answer boxes from SERP generators (g, bing, etc) as a shortcut for content ... thus no click through to original sources. Previous commentary re: "third world" is just that as presented. HOWEVER, thieves also reside in the local high school next door ... the same kiddies who break into school computers to doctor test scores---simply because they can.

The OP's question was "Do you get tired..."

My question is "Is anyone surprised?"

Only way to deal with this is vigilance, fight back where you can, as you can, and knowing when and where to cut losses. THAT part is the answer to "do you get tired."

What I post on the "free" web will be stolen, converted, infringed, co-opted, diluted, spun, simply because "they can". So, what I post is want I can afford to be stolen. The BEST part of what I can do does NOT go on the web in the "free" and allegedly "public domain" these cockroaches rely on for their plunder. The really good stuff is locked behind login, subscription, DRM, etc. and damn the SE.

Pick and chose one's battles.

...and expense/reach.

NOTE: this is regarding Intellectual Property (that other "IP") not "free web" presence, adsense, merely commonsense.

YMMV

[explorador]

Kendo: The dude that copied my website verbatim lived in a suburb not too far away. Anyway, if their income is that low then they can easily hire their own content writers. You can get software developers on freelance sites for as little as $4/hour.

I've had multiple content thieves, but 2 in specific have been major problems.

Thieve #1. Teenager living a far away rural town, very active public image of YOLO and "I'm too smart to waste my life having a job", he created a cheap version of my main website using Wordpress, and just copy pasted my stuff along other content from similar sites and from the news. Posted publications lying about his traffic and offering "great deals" on advertising space, he openly asked on forums who was the owner of my main website and what tools were used to make it fast, and then openly posted being offered on buying my website for an amazing amount of cash, amazing in his eyes... because it was absurdly low. He found me on another forum and insulted me because I didn't want to "partner" with him, and then proceeded to aggressively copy paste my content day after day. Then... out of the blue he stopped posting and his websites ended up abandoned.

Thieve #2, he's the worst. I know him (and his brother). His brother used to brag about extreme sports and practiced one in particular that I used to practice. So much for his "experience", he stole pictures of one of my websites to post on his, because despite bragging he had no pictures on his own. Surprise, the configuration of his Facebook account allowed me to post on his wall, so I did, explaining he was stealing my content, so please stop. He got super upset about this and replied right away that he hired some random guy to post content, and that was the guy who stole mine... so, you said it was your content at first! what happened? dude got super mad about this, removed my pictures and then vanished from the web in about 2 or 3 years.

But his brother decided to make a living from the web and created websites for clients, then created his own business. Somehow got investment funds to create a larger business, and has a team of monkeys daily browsing the web to copy and paste. He copied the dynamics of some websites that became famous for stealing content, as far as I know I can't put links here, one is from Spain. Anyway, he literally copied their model. After all, one single person can copy paste tons of content per day. The worst thing is taking credit for other people content. Their website is now quite bit with lots of advertisers, I have no idea how much they charge, and I'm not interested on finding out. It sucks because most clients (99%?) don't have a clue on what's going on.

[lucy24]

Then... out of the blue he stopped posting and his websites ended up abandoned.

Mom confiscated his computer.

[explorador]

lucy24: Mom confiscated his computer.

probably, or... he is probably dead. After his failed attempts to conquer de web, he developed an even more aggressive attitude online, got banned a few times on one specific forum, and used to post pictures hanging around with guns, I assume he tried other questionable lines to make money.

[Kendo]

Thieve #2, he's the worst.

The worst type will be scraping your website using scheduled scripting to report any changes.

[Martin Potter]

I hope this isn't too far off-topic here, but I was just alerted to the "necessity" of each website having an llms.txt file to guide the Large Language Models (LLMs) as to the purpose and design of the website. I suppose it is to make the LLMs' job easier. I have read the proposed structure and content of this llms.txt file, as described at [llmstxt.org...] website, but can't see how to use it in my particular situation. (I don't want the LLMs even looking at my content!)

Does anyone have a practical approach to composing this llms.txt file for those of us who just wish they would go away?