Zigbook Is Plagiarizing the Zigtools Playground

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Allegations and License Violations

  • Thread centers on claims that “Zigbook” copied the Zigtools playground (including identical wasm artifacts) without attribution, violating the MIT license.
  • Commenters emphasize that MIT still requires preserving copyright and attribution; treating it as public domain is incorrect.
  • A PR that cleanly fixed attribution and license issues was reportedly mocked, retitled dismissively, then closed and later disappeared when the repo went private / was removed.

Legal, Trademark, and Enforcement Options

  • Distinction drawn between plagiarism (moral) and copyright infringement (legal).
  • Some argue the Zig project’s trademark could only be used against clear confusion (e.g., malware, incompatible forks using “Zig”), not against an unofficial book named “Zigbook.”
  • Others note Zigtools likely has legal standing on copyright grounds, separate from any Zig trademark issues.
  • Possible angles mentioned: fraud or false advertising if donations or value are solicited under “no AI” or misleading branding, but jurisdiction is seen as a major factor and remains unclear.

AI Use and “No AI” Claims

  • Strong skepticism about the “Zero AI” / “no AI” claims; many see the content as obviously LLM-generated.
  • “No AI” disclaimers are likened to clumsy, suspicious denials; some compare it to well-known idioms about over-specific denials.
  • Several accept AI use in principle but see lying about it, especially when selling or soliciting support, as the core ethical problem.

GitHub Behavior and Moderation

  • Serious concern over the maintainer editing other people’s GitHub comments to insert insults or self-deprecating text, seen as abusive and ableist.
  • This triggers a broader debate about GitHub’s feature allowing repo admins to edit others’ comments:
    • Supporters: useful for formatting, clarifying titles, maintaining long-running issues; edit history is visible.
    • Critics: easy to overlook “edited by” markers, open to abuse and misrepresentation; calls for clearer UI or constraints.
  • Multiple users reported the account; GitHub is said to have found ToS violations and taken action, with the account and repo ultimately disappearing.

Perceptions of Zig and Community Impact

  • Some express disappointment and embarrassment, having initially thought Zigbook looked like a solid learning resource.
  • A few non-Zig users perceive “constant drama” around Zig; others counter that this episode is about a random grifter and not the Zig project or its core community.
  • Several commenters praise Zig’s official learning materials and Zigtools, resolving to use those instead.

Broader Reflections

  • Suggestions appear for a community “blacklist” of egregiously unethical developers, though concerns about witch hunts and enforcement are raised.
  • Some worry AI plagiarism and license dodging will push projects toward closed or “restricted source” models, while others argue that increased friction would damage open source more than it helps.