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This is theft that gets around a copyright loophole. Don’t steal recipes.


It's complicated.

Where is the limit ?

For me it's just a web browser optimized for recipe websites. It's basic scrapping. Google does it, why can't I do it ?

Are "reader mode" browser extensions theft ? Are ad blockers theft ?

Is using Lynx as a web browser theft ?

If your business depends on your content never being scraped, you are screwed.


It's not that complicated. Copyright was simply never intended to apply to recipes. The fact that there is nothing copyrightable about a mere list of ingredients and basic preparation instructions without any creative elements is not in any sense a "loophole".


Also that.


It's obvious to everyone that content producers who write, format, publish and promote recipes usually have a revenue goal. Any tactic that defeats that is theft, whether you want to point to fineprint somewhere or not. You know that someone made something and you have decided not to give back.

Ad free recipe sites are already handled, you pay a subscription fee instead.

That being said, the final format of an onlyrecipes scrape is very attractive! It would make for a nice intentional feature of recipe website, so the producers can still get their impression revenue and the readers can enjoy such a pleasing format


Merely defeating someone's "revenue goal" is not theft. Your definition is so overbroad as to include competition. Or simply not buying every good on offer at whatever price is asked even if you have no interest in it whatsoever. To qualify as theft the supposed victim must be deprived of something they already owned, and that is not happening here.


Sure, because it's just a comment on hackernews and I expect a higher understanding of the basics of the online world here. Did you write and create a piece of content, did you format it, did you host it, did you skip out on going out with your friends because of a deadline?

Specifically creating products to damage these people's returns because of your inability to scroll, use page down, ctr f to move quickly to the information you need is your own weakness and it doesn't give you a right to someone else's labor. You know that without a long ethics conversation. Most recipe writers will fail hard and most who try to create revenue through the ad model fail hard. You want unrestricted access, pay a subscription fee, just as you would expect for your own efforts.

There is no Grey area here, you know and understand the problem and the excuse of laziness or the importance of your time for a 30 second operation wouldn't hold up with anyone.


There is no stealing when it comes to recipes. There is no loophole it's a very special feature of copyright. One of the few sane ones




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