I have nothing but respect for Ryan/Dedicatedpool, we both started around the same time (with CasinoCoin) and chat from time to time. I'm sure I have copied some stuff from him, and I'm sure he will copy stuff from me. It doesn't really matter, all the miners are better off if there are multiple strong pools to go around. Healthy competition between the pools is a good thing!

Pool switcher I came up all by myself, I had not seen it mentioned anywhere, nor had I seen any other pool offer something like it. I have seen something similar on other pools now, so I'm sure it had been done before me as well