I asked if using a WordPress theme to emulate the Svbtle theme was unethical.

The results were mixed - you can see some of the discussion on HackerNews and AppDotNet.

Broadly speaking, people fell into four categories.

• People who had never heard of Svbtle and didn't see a problem with using a similar theme.
• People who had heard of Svbtle and didn't like the ethos behind the platform, so didn't like the theme.
• People who were vociferous in their hatred of anyone who tried to impinge on a design classic sent from the gods themselves.
• People who just couldn't give a shit.

As I said before, I didn't realise that Svbtle was such a big deal in certain circles. Some online communities tend towards the perpetual drama of high-school. I can't be bothered with that - it's the same reason I don't get involved in Wikipedia and other cliques.

So over the next few days, I'll be changing my theme to something that keeps the simplicity of Svbtle, adds some features that I felt were missing (like archive), and - hopefully - prevents anyone from having a hissy-fit online that I'm betraying the brotherhood and that they've been deeply mislead by my style-sheet.

Recently though, I've had a few people on HackerNews and Twitter criticising me of "ripping off" Svbtle and accusing me of trying to defraud readers into thinking I was part of the Svbtle network.

While nothing could be further from the truth, I think an explanation is in order.

For those who don't know, Svbtle.com is a "curated collection of great people who have things to say." It was created by Dustin Curtis as a self-written blogging platform, which then morphed into a network of bloggers.

I had no idea of this when I first stumbled upon the Svbtle look and feel. As far as I was aware, the various blogs I were seeing were all just using a common theme - Svbtle.

So, I searched Alta Vista for "Wordpress svbtle" and found GravityOnMars' Svbtle theme along with several other clones.

As long time readers of my blog know, it's gone through many reincarnations - but its most recent designs have leant towards simplicity. Svbtle almost makes a fetish out of simplicity. As a devotee of de Bono's book on the subject I decided to use the theme.

It was only after I received some complaints, that I took a better look at the original Svbtle blog post. It says:

The goal is simple: when you see the Svbtle design, you should know that the content is guaranteed to be great. Network bloggers are encouraged to keep quality high at the expense of everything else.

Some people think that an invite only network for bloggers is somehow an evil conspiracy, I don't. It's perfectly acceptable to restrict access to you network - I don't have a problem with that.

A lot of words have been spilled on the issue of whether it's right to so blatantly copy another person's design. See, for example:

• Svbtle vs Obtvse (and on copying)
• Chris Shiflett's Commentary
• Don't Steal Ideas, It Is Discouraging
• Copy my idea, not my design (or what I learned from Obtvse/Svbtle)

I don't count myself part of the Silicon Valley "scene" or blogging "set" - so I don't feel that I'm well qualified to talk about the culture of building upon others' work and how it relates to the hacker/blogger ethos.

There are three broad points I want to make.

1. I am not trying to make it look like I'm part of the exclusive Svble group. For a starter, I had no idea that it existed as an entity when I first used this theme. Furthermore, I doubt most people - except the most obsessive blog followers - are aware of the Svbtle "brand". I do accept, of course, that to those people it may look like I'm trying to pass myself off (despite the obvious differences and the large wp-svbtle banner on the page).
2. Svbtle as a design builds on lots of other blog designs. There are hundreds of simple WordPress themes which strip out all extraneous fripperies for a distraction-free experience - nanos gigantum humeris insidentes.
3. All that said, the Svbtle design is evidently recognisable and - while I would never want to be part of a club which would have me as a member - some people obviously think I'm up to something fishy.

So, here's my quandary. Do I continue with wp-svbtle (to which I've provided some minor contributions) and ignore the critics - or should I take it on the chin and find another radically simple WordPress theme?

You thoughts, dear reader?