I had this idea for a different kind of resource pack submission.... Its called a public domain resource pack file library.

In a public domain setting, neither the author or the person using it can claim copyright, or use it to create a new work to copyright from it. In fact any copyrighted material is negated when it incorporated with anything that is declared public domain. A public domain setting also negates any issues of plagiarism and also benefits the community in the idea of sharing by contributing.

An advantage of a public domain based, resource pack file library, instead of having an entire resource pack as a zip - is that you can create a list of individual files (i.e. .png files) and use them to create your custom resource pack by file substitution of whatever vanilla blocks you choose these individual blocks to replace. PNG(s) ( or OGG(s) ) can be organized by a program ( such as a database ), where an ID# is given to whatever set of files are uploaded and organized into categories by their image ( e.g. cobblestone ) , and resolution size ( 16 x 16 , 32 x 32 , etc. ). As the person who is downloading them , you can create a list of these files to to download and later use them customize a resource pack from a vanilla setup. Please note that in this system, there is no need to set up another category for specific versions of minecraft, since most .png formats are cross compatible with legacy versions.

An example of a resource pack listing :

Lets say there is a member on here who posts a list to create a theme, that is used to make worlds built with castles to look more haunting to the player. That member would create a list of the specific files that define this resource pack, so that anyone else could copy and paste it into the downloading list.

So, my idea is to have a public domain library of resource pack files, such as.png(s) for blocks, items , or whatever for someone to download to customize a vanilla texture pack into the desired resource pack they want. In fact, someone could just download whatever files they want to experiment creating a resource pack with. Not only does the person who creates the .pngs, and the person who defines the list - that defines a resource pack have this freedom, the community is involved with defining the resource pack well.

Someone could post a message :

" if you want to have green slimy looking water in your swamp biome, download this file, and substitute it with the one in the listing that the OP posted."

Everyone gets to have their say as to what files would do this theme listing to make it look better, in their own version. They could even supply their own .png files that they have created. No one is right or wrong - this is art work. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Minecraft is no longer just computer game that you play - it is modeling tool for artists, and it may even have other uses - such as in the fields of architecture.

A website, such as this, would benefit from a public domain system so that members could define and submit their own resource pack blocks using the existing public domain library rather than looking for someones resource pack.

Currently, any kind of resource pack that someone submits here, has problems....

What if you don't like most of the .png files that someone has defined in their resource pack , except for maybe two of them that you would like?

Did you download an entire resource pack just to have two files?!?

OR vice versa.....

What if you have a resource pack that has all the files designed in a way you
like , but there are two files in the resource pack that you want to replace?

Again...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder who defines the resource pack, but you might not see it that way. Rather than scrambling up someones resource pack , just download the files using a list, and you could create a resource pack that represents best of both worlds. That's what the benefit of public domain system would allow - and it would definitely help the minecraft community between the artists and the people who use and appreciate their artwork. You give members the chance to invent without a restraint, and encourage them to share what they create.

The issue of originality changes to, the issue of what is unique. What is unique is that a member can take a public domain .png - and make it look better and resubmit it as a new public domain file that everyone can choose to have or not. As long as its unique, - that is , it does not look like what it was, the minecraft community benefits by having choices over controlling differences in variation, not just having choices over different kinds of resource packs.