Originally Posted by Baby Boy Derek, even though I was the one who asked the question... in my opinion I don't believe its ripping off the design. If I designed the layout from scratch but created a different "feel" for it, I don't believe it could be considered ripping the template off.

it depends on the similarities. things can have the same feel and look totally different. if you look at something and it gives you a new idea, it's all gravy. in terms of a web site, there's a predefined set of expectations/standards so there's a much bigger grey area, but don't just go "i want my own one of those".