Quick Summary of this article…<p>Whenever a successful person recounts how they got that way take note of it. When you start something new go over the list of things you took note of and use your own judgment to decide what will and will not work for you. But don't copy anything verbatim.<p>There, I just saved you like 3 minutes of life. You're welcome :)
I have found it is really beneficial to copy somebody else, but ONLY if you take the extra step of completely deconstructing the solution to understand exactly what makes it work. Once you've identified the inner workings of it you have gained the ability to change it to fit your needs and take it far beyond the original design. In short, learn the principles behind the design and you can apply it anywhere.
I thought the link would point here:<p><a href="http://huddlechat.appspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://huddlechat.appspot.com/</a><p>With the implied answer to the headline being: because we'll bust your knees if you even think about trying it.