That's not your pattern!

Exactly how many versions of the same pattern can there be?
I love Ravelry. It is one of my favorite places to start looking for something new and fun to make. And then when you find it you can see all the different projects made with that pattern. You get pattern notes, yarn suggestions and people's opinions about those patterns.
It is a great source of information and inspiration for me.

Having said that first, people need to realize, just because you took a pattern and changed the color of the yarn, or used larger needles to make it more "drapey", or went from five stripes in the original pattern to two tone, does not make it a new and wonderful pattern.
You can not take that and post it as your own pattern. It's not.
You can post it as a revision to the original pattern. An upgrade even. But it's not your original pattern. Even if you do post it for free. (thank you tho! I love free!)
Using Grandma's Favorite as an example, there can only be one.
I have found plenty of "Another ...." or "Just one more....." stop it!
It's not an original idea. It's Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth pattern.
It doesn't matter if you did yours in stripes or with a different kind of yarn besides cotton. It's not a new pattern. Not that we wouldn't all love to see your notes on just how you did that.

I did see one that inserted a heart in the middle of the cloth. Yes! That's a new pattern. The writer had to sit down and figure it out, chart it even, and then knit, and possibly tink the pattern until it became doable. Now you have a new pattern, and Thank You! by the way for sharing! It's awesome!

And please don't take said pattern variation and sell it! There are unsuspecting new knitters out there who have no clue that exact same pattern has been around for years with different yarn.

Ravelry is not a police state, they don't check every pattern and say "Hey, that's just like the pink striped garter st. scarf, now it's purple." 

I have a lot of things that I change a little thing here and there, and I make notes, post notes and talk about it, but I never claimed my differences to be a new and exciting pattern.
If I add ten stitches to the beginning of a mitered square instead of twelve, no it's not new, just a note.
I can tell you exactly what pattern I am using and then tell you, "this is what I did" but I can not take that difference and write it up as my new pattern. It's not. 

Now having vented, I am off to search projects  before someone sees this and banns me from Ravelry for life.

Remember when? Ravelry

Remember when Ravelry first came on the scene?
Remember how totally wicked AWESOME! it was?
It was a great idea, by great people.

An online notebook for all of your knitting projects. People could follow your project along as you went, and in my case, probably wonder what the hell was taking me so long to mark a dishcloth as "FINISHED".
You can organize all of your patterns, yarns, and needles, if you were so inclined.
You can chat, join groups, KALs and "hangout" with all your knitterly friends.

Now........
Ravelry is still the best idea for any crafter.
Anytime I am going to start something new, I look on Ravelry, at completed projects to get yarn ideas, pattern adjustment ideas, just about anything you need to know about a project before you start.
But......

Ravelry has become a designer showcase. There are more designers selling on Ravelry than there are just plain old knitters, and hardly any crocheters.
People have gotten away from what it was all for in the beginning.
Now, if a project gets listed, it's because the designer wants you to "prepare" for it's debut!
No more pages and pages of new projects being worked on and finished by crafty friends, just more 'designs'.

And on that note....WTH is up with all these people changing a stripe sequence on an item and renaming it and calling it a 'design' and then selling it?

If you take a basic fingerless glove pattern, change the color of the yarn you used, add a stripe around the thumb, rename it and then list it as new pattern for sale, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, you are not a designer. You just changed a color, and honestly, most of us have probably already done it years ago and have a pair that look just like yours in our drawer somewhere.

I think what Ravelry has turned into is absolutely awesome for the people who started and run it.
It was supposed to grow, become it's own entity, and it has accomplished that very well so far.

But I miss the old Ravelry, where you could look through and share patterns for hours, and no one tried to pull a stripey color change over your eyes!