Well, I'm sticking to my original thought in spite of Angie's chiding. I'm not saying that copying and imitation never work--just that, for me, the odds are rarely in my favour. Others, of course, may have a completely different opinion.
But what bothers me is the insidious lure of imitating, FOMO, and herd mentality, and the realization how much it has cost me in time, energy, and money. The tricky part is these things OCCASIONALLY work--just often enough to make me want to take another chance--but the odds are almost never in my favour. The jacket which was a forum darling ends up in a consignment bag a few months later because It never feels quite right on my body or works with the rest of my wardrobe. The "insurance" duplicate hangs in the closet for a year or two until it looks dated, or my body/style mrphs into something different, and thus meets the same fate. And that gorgeous dress that actually fits and looks as good on me as it did on its original owner hangs in my closet because I have to invent occasions to wear it.
I'm not saying everyone has my odds, or that others can't be bigger risk-takers, just that forums like this can have a downside as well as a plus side. I think it's this sort of discomfort that makes people feel the only solution is to sign off the forum permanently. Maybe "outing" this underside might make it easier for some of us to pause before we leap onto another bandwagon. Fun with fashion doesn't have to have a bad aftertaste.
ETA: just wanted to add this clarification: in my mind, there is a clear distinction between copying and imitating, and being inspired by someone or something. To me inspiration is an internal, personal response to a stimulus, while copying and imitating puts its effort on creating a facsimile of the orginal.