Nik, i agree to a certain level with you, however i think the behaviour you describe is of all ages. I guess that is what it means to be popular. How many magazines and websites can you name off the top of your head that contains the word "Windows", "Linux", "Mac" etc, etc. Brandnames like that simply want to state some kind of relationship (formal or informal) with the original brand.
The same goes for the DotNetNuke® brand name .... its built up from DotNet, which is a Microsoft brand name, and Nuke, which might or might not be a brandname, but is at least a clear reference to other Nuke like systems.
So if you say you dont understand people using the DotNetNuke brand name to construct a new brand.... i am not sure how you read that.
BTW, i also have a domain name with DNN in it (dnnlocalization.com), for which i will ask for written permission soon to keep using it...

Hi Erik,

I think you may have misunderstood me. I have no issue with people using the name "DotNetNuke" -- in fact we have worked hard to come up with a program that allows this to be done easily and with very little inconvenience.

My problem is with people stealing the visual identity of the DotNetNuke brand. I am fed up with seeing people creating logos with the triad and gear from the DotNetNuke logo even though we explicitly disallow this.

That's the point I was trying to make about originality. If a person or business can't create an original logo themselves, or get someone else to create one for them either for free or for money, then don't just pilfer the DotNetNuke logo and PhotoShop the site or company name onto it with ugly 3D, rendered text or some lame clip-art. Forego the logo until you can have one professionally created. A logo is just one aspect of your brand -- your product or service and its quality are way more important. If you really, really want a logo, just pick a simple font and color for your business name and go with it. Most famous logos are just that anyway -- simple.

Examples abound -- a recent one that comes to mind is http://del.icio.us/. The company is hugely popular and is already venture-funded. The logo is barely noticeable. Or take the web powerhouses -- Yahoo, eBay etc. -- they retain the amateurish logos created when they were fledgling startups with no money. No worries because the companies have a great product or service.

Copying, cloning, modifying the DotNetNuke logo (whatever the degree) to create your logo sends a very strong message to the intended audience that when it comes to marketing, the person or company behind the logo, are complete idiots. The other, more serious damage it does is reduce the value of the DotNetNuke brand which directly translates into diminished value for the DotNetNuke community.

Which then raises the question, if the person or business does not have the acumen to understand some very simple and clear policy language about not pilfering the logo, what hope does a customer of theirs have of expecting anything but poor judgment in their business interaction. And how are the ethics of that business any different than the vendor on the downtown street corner selling the gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual for $5?

Maybe I will start a blog entry that lists sites that I see that are obvious rip-offs of the DotNetNuke brand. In the best case scenario, the site owner will remove the logo, and if not, atleast the 3,000 or so people tracking this blog will know who the pilferers are as will the thousands of other people tracking the DotNetNuke tag on Technorati.

I am not sure this is a very good idea...I will need to think about it some more. Any thoughts?

Hi Nik,

Fair enough... I think i misread you then. Although i think there is a very thin line (or large grey area) between using a brand name and using part of a visual identity .... Don't get me wrong, I think you are right with your observations, however, i think people sometimes solve their lack of originality with borrowing from someone else ...

I have a somewhat milder opinion about ethics. The street vendor selling a Rolex for $5 can continue doing so because numerous people think its cool to own something with the name Rolex on it, just like others like wearing Nikes better than wearing [fill in any no-name sneaker brand], just because Nike is way cooler. To me thats just human behavior... showing you belong to a group. And using a well known visual identity like that of DotNetNuke (btw, you did a great job creating the new style!), is in my opinion not much more than showing to the world that you want to belong to the DotNetNuke community.
To me, if people are stupid enough to think that if a site acts as if it has any formal relation with DotNetNuke, they have the right to make that mistake and find out on their own.... its my firm belief that we only learn by mistakes :)

cheers,

Erik