When cloning goes awry...
henning
September 25, 2008, 06:06 PM posted in General DiscussionAlthough those cloned sheeps, cows, and dogs looked identical to their genetical blueprints, they all had some more or less severe health issues. Now we learn that the same holds true for website clones:
These guys stole everything they could carry away from here:
- The design
- The approach
- The icons
- All texts on the UI
- The comments policy (sic! word by word)
- The style sheets
- The lesson ideas (sort of)
And now comes the best part:
- The pricing
Yes, they are not even trying to differentiate themselves by price.
If you take a closer look you quickly learn why it is important to have native English speaking hosts & web-editors.
Or good actors for the dialogues.
Or somebody who can write a decent lesson script.
And you learn why it is so easy to turn video into a nightmare.
Welcome to China*.
* Should CPod do a lesson on this?
vikram
September 28, 2008, 08:17 PMthieving little c****
jamestheron
September 26, 2008, 12:59 AMQuite interesting. I recall when japanesepod101.com came out, the web sute was everso slightly different than ChinesePod at the time. Even the subscription price and details were the same. I recall at the time, Ken not only didn't have problem with it, but he welcomed it.
I'm sure things might be different now.
bababardwan
September 26, 2008, 01:31 AMSome people must have no shame,but I'm sure that it will die a natural death.
"Mandarin on Mao's terms" made me laugh;thanks for brightening my day calkins.
calkins
September 26, 2008, 03:26 AM:)
light487
September 26, 2008, 03:36 AMhaha.. when I first read the topic I thought it said "When clothing goes awry.." :)
henning
September 26, 2008, 04:53 AMGoing by the amount of involuntary humour we see here, I wondered for a while if this wasn't in reality some really nifty guerrilla marketing for CPod. Presidental campain style.
henning
September 26, 2008, 05:11 AM(deleted by the author; reason: wrong thread; sorry!)
excuter
September 26, 2008, 12:37 PMhmmmm... it seems they have the same lessons again and again on different levels ... but I like the idea of Gong fu / "Kung fu" lessons. If it´s martial arts it´s a good idea, as long as it´s not always the same... ;-)
calkins
September 25, 2008, 07:36 PMHa ha, nice find henning! The one thing they have going for them is the name.....OleChina. What the heck is that about?! Hmmmm......."Learn to speak Mandarin like you live in OleChina - Mandarin on Mao's terms."
I'm sure CPod could sue them, given that the design of CPod's site is copyrighted, but it probably doesn't matter...this OleChina company isn't going to go very far!
I'd also love to see a lesson on cloning, copyrighting, DVD pirating, etc.
kimiik
September 26, 2008, 01:04 PMSebire, The Daily English Show of last tuesday is much more typical :
bababardwan
September 26, 2008, 01:25 PMexcuter,
I agree with you.I can imagine several interesting scenarios such as:
-someone enquiring about joining a school
-a typical class
-a couple of martial arts students from different schools discussing/debating the merits of their style [and why theirs is the best]
-a discussion about favourite kung fu movies;etc
Actually ,I'd like a series on it ,as I find the series quite entertaining.
changye
September 26, 2008, 01:27 PMHi kimiik,
I can see "NISEKO JAPAN" on the clapper board in the video. NISEKO is the name of a small town in Hokkaido, Japan, which is well known for its large ski resort. Why?
changye
September 26, 2008, 11:50 PMHi kimiik,
Tks, I got it. The speed of the Internet connection was very slow here last night, so I could see only the first few minutes of the video. It seems that these English programms are targeted for Japanese. The mountain that appears at the end of the videos must be 羊蹄山 (Mt.Yo-tei), which is very close to Niseko.
excuter
September 28, 2008, 03:16 PM@ bababardwan, yes that would be fun. But for which style is the best (for you)... that depends on your personality.
And to quote grand master Chen xiao wang:
it's all right, if the principle agrees ^_^
henning
September 28, 2008, 06:03 PMThey actually had the guts to answer my harsh mail (which basically carried the content of my initial post here + some more...).
Here is what they wrote:
[...] First of all, we appreciate your opinion. We are seriously studying it and ready to change ourselves formally.
Actually, our core content of video courses is created by ourselves. We just learn a lot the expression of the form from the others. And we also appreciate it.
Anyway, we will change our expression in the pleasant way. And we hope to keep in touch with you and look forward to your opinion.
Sincerely
Stealing Intellectual Property = Learning?
Did the CPod crew know they are also in the business of teaching poor copycats how to imitate their business?
tinyrock
September 28, 2008, 07:33 PMWow, that's pretty low... Any official statement by PraxisLanguage on that issue?
Apart from the fact that they nicked CP's design, the quality of the audio is just abysmal... The integrated forum is nice though, something that might be a useful addition the conversation section.
sebire
September 26, 2008, 12:57 PMkimiik, it makes me realise I don't know anything about how my own language even works. Very random programme.
urbandweller
September 25, 2008, 07:04 PMa ya!! dont be fooled by bad imitations like this people! CPOD IS THE REAL DEAL ALL THE WAY!!
Can Cpod sue these guys for ripping them off?!!!