Online portfolios for ad design - stupid idea?

[Deja Q]

Because anything creative I'd come up with could, in theory, be readily copied and I don't dig the idea of my hard work being stolen.

Or where is my thinking wrong; I'm good at thinking wrong... O8)

[Sanity Claws]

1. I don't like it

You can't keep track of who sees your designs. Without that, you don't know whether they've stolen it.
If you're soliciting work, perhaps show the client the portfolio after they've contacted you for information.

[DaveJ]

2. But, most sites are never seen anyway...

You're probably right, but just as a counter-argument, most sites are not even registered in Google's top 100 search results anyway.

Most likely, nobody's going to see it unless they are given the URL. In addition, the site could be password protected.

So, I don't think an online portfolio could hurt, as long as the people viewing it are controlled.