For example, if you copy something that is still in its infancy because you are privy to some insider talks from the creators. I don't think they would take it as flattery.
See my other comment elsewhere on this page [0].
What I was trying to argue is both reactions are valid and felt forced to take the other side. I was doing it in the hope that anybody that read this thread would find her reaction in a similar situation legitimate and offer it to us whatever that reaction is. I didn't want them to be inhibited if they were going against the grain.
And since I am interested, I replied to every answer that was interesting, like yours :)
By the way muzani was the first to offer a first person account of a similar situation. Now re-reading the original post, I probably didn't make it obvious enough that I was interested in "subjective" opinions based on first person experience ! I sincerely hope this reply doesn't read like it's combative, it's really not my state of mind.
Edit: I had those kind of stories in mind when asking the question https://www.folklore.org/