[rolmos]

I will never trust Designmodo for all the spamming they've continuously done on Reddit, where I used to moderate /r/webdesign

We're talking about dozens of dozens of accounts used for the sole purpose of spamming multiple subreddits. I've been reporting those accounts for months, and most are banned, only to have dozens more created in their place.

http://www.reddit.com/domain/designmodo.com

Just click on most user account names. Most are either banned, or submit exclusively for designmodo.com.

That, paired with them ripping off other people's designs for this theme, makes me recommend people to stay away from anything associated with this site.

[andybak]

The spamming thing is enough to warn me off. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Uchikoma]

"That, paired with them ripping off other people's designs for this theme, makes me recommend people to stay away from anything associated with this site."

For such accusations it would be good to provide links and sources.

[nchlswu]

LayerVault issued a DMCA Takedown because of it [1]. They did it because there were some assets that appear to be directly stolen [2] and were subsequently changed after the DMCA takedown.

In the discussion threads, you'll find a lot of discussion about what was legally justifiable and whether something was ripped off or not. I've often found that there's a dichotomy between certain views for those who are more designer versus those that are more developer. Take it for what you will.

As a designer, it's hard for me to appreciate the theme itself, let alone support someone with such a reputation. To me, they appear to lack any ethos characteristic of a designer...but I digress...

[1] HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5331766 [2] DesignerNews Discussion: https://news.layervault.com/stories/1992-layervault-whats-up...

Edited to add the DN discussion link which I seem to have omitted?

[grimtrigger]

Fundamental attribution error? Just because they spam doesn't make their products less trustworthy.

[seivan]

Lack of character, poor judgement. It all trickles down into their work.

Now I am not saying that is the case with the company in question, I'm just saying, the little things matter.

[brandall10]

I agree, it's a signal, but it's not an overall determiner.

An interesting counterpoint is AirBNB spamming Craigslist in their early days.

Another counterpoint is Zynga and their 'scamville'.

With AirBNB, I think all is forgiven - great company thru and thru... one might think it was part of their hustle? With Zynga that DNA was perhaps indicative of something that destined to be very pump and dump.

I hate it, but sometimes a little 'cheating' during a growth phase can make or break the success of a company.

[mnicole]

I noticed there were a lot of designmodo links being tossed around over there too, but let's considering LV's DMCA's "proof" were open-source icons to begin with, I wouldn't call it a rip. That said, it's tacky that this is what constitutes good design right now.