That's nice, but shouldn't you copy and paste the blog posts somewhere else, for maximum effect? I'd rather not send traffic to his 'new' site.
(Plus, I wonder if it isn't just a publicity stunt) posted by delmoi at 2:16 PM on February 2
Couldn't have happened to a nicer asshole. Too bad he still (presumably) has all the money he made from ripping people off. posted by dead cousin ted at 2:16 PM on February 2
How did he, being fully subject to copyright law, get away with ripping off so much content off the Internet without any real consequences? It really dimmed my views on how much copyright is worth. posted by crapmatic at 2:17 PM on February 2 [3 favorites has favorites]
He still has a shitload of money so I don't think he cares; lord, I hate him. posted by Optimus Chyme at 2:18 PM on February 2
Guy creates site amalgamating "user submitted content," most of which is stolen wholesale from other sites.
Guy sells site, undeniably built on the backs of everyone but himself, for a cool 17M USD.
Purchaser realizes they can steal content on their own.
How did he, being fully subject to copyright law, get away with ripping off so much content off the Internet without any real consequences?
All copyright gives you is the right to demand people stop distributing your stuff. Presumably ebaums would take down stuff if someone sent a DMCA notice. posted by delmoi at 2:19 PM on February 2
~I'm sure there's supposed to be a decimal point in there somewhere, dunkadunc.
And don't be fooled, they are continuing to post content in my name and other previous users/staff on the site to make people think we are still there.
It's hard to get lulz out of this when Bauman already pocketed $15 million in cash for selling the business. But I'm trying to nonetheless.
All copyright gives you is the right to demand people stop distributing your stuff.
Well, it gives you the right to sue for damages before that point too. But I think that would be a money-losing proposition for most of this content—the cost of the suit would be far more than the damages. posted by grouse at 2:28 PM on February 2 [1 favorite has favorites]
I don't care about the money hey may have made, I just love the fact the biggest douchebag on teh webbernets feels humiliated, frustrated and violated. posted by krautland at 2:30 PM on February 2 [1 favorite has favorites]
i don't often get violently angry, but thinking about eric bauman being a millionaire is one of the few things that does it. posted by shmegegge at 2:31 PM on February 2 [3 favorites has favorites]
I had managed to completely forget over the last couple years that Ebaum's World existed. Now I'm going to have to do that all over again. Thank you Metafilter. Thank you so VERY BLOODY MUCH. posted by happyroach at 2:36 PM on February 2 [6 favorites has favorites]
Umm, I never visited ebaumsworld and don't know anything about it. Can somebody please give me a brief description of what this is all about? posted by Afroblanco at 2:46 PM on February 2
"On the Ebaumsworld website: Average eBaums User IQ = 122"
That wouldn't surprise me; 122 isn't particularly high. posted by orthogonality at 2:48 PM on February 2
Umm, I never visited ebaumsworld and don't know anything about it. Can somebody please give me a brief description of what this is all about?
psst! check the links! posted by shmegegge at 2:49 PM on February 2
On the Ebaumsworld website: Average eBaums User IQ = 122
Uhhh, I think someone typo'd that second '2'. posted by spirit72 at 2:51 PM on February 2
Afroblanco: "Umm, I never visited ebaumsworld and don't know anything about it. Can somebody please give me a brief description of what this is all about?"
If the future holds any justice, he will become an internet meme all on his own, where people take his image and digitally insert it into videos that it has no place in.
Darwin award stuff, where every candidate has their face replaced by Bauman's. Once this unwanted celebrity is thrust on to him, he can then spend the remainder of his fortune trying to have all the videos removed. posted by quin at 3:17 PM on February 2
Pirating music = good.
Pirating movies = good.
Pirating software = good.
Pirating stupid internet memes for your website = KILL HIM. posted by Justinian at 3:24 PM on February 2 [12 favorites has favorites]
ericb, it ain't where you're from, it's where you're at. posted by ctmf at 3:31 PM on February 2
Screams fake. Just learned he sold the site for X millions of dollar. Now screaming. posted by cavalier at 3:40 PM on February 2
So, the guy who made millions by putting his name on things other people created has just sold his company for millions to people who will make millions by putting their name on the company he created.
If Eric Bauman was an animated .gif, he'd be a cross between the Hasselhoffian Recursion and Goatse. posted by mattdidthat at 3:44 PM on February 2 [1 favorite has favorites]
Eric Bauman eBaum's World posted by mattdidthat at 3:45 PM on February 2
That wouldn't surprise me; 122 isn't particularly high
Wouldn't that put you in like the top 15-20% of the population? I mean, by definition, that's over 1 SD from the norm, and that's technically in the "gifted" category. posted by absalom at 3:48 PM on February 2
I think the saddest thing is the characters praising Bauman on the comments links - before the sensible people speak. Oh and afroblanco? Welcome to the internets. posted by panboi at 4:24 PM on February 2
Pirates don't appreciate pirates pirating from pirates, don't you know? But since it's copyright violation all around, I think we should be calling 'em copirates. Actually, that sounds more like two pirates that are piloting a pirate ship. Copypirates. Hmmm... no, sounds too much like "copyrights."
That's weird. I get the same mouth jumbly mess with stuff like "IP Pirates." Lets call 'em "Net Pirates", then, and ship pirates "Ocean Pirates." Or "Water Pirates." Well, I guess you could actually illegally copy music in other ways than the net. Like remember when people copied tapes? That'd be a tape pirate.
Anyways, Eric Bauman, I never did care for his world. posted by Mister Cheese at 4:30 PM on February 2
digg comments
reddit comments
nobody fucking cares about you, ebaum. good riddance.
Pirating music = good.
Pirating movies = good.
Pirating software = good.
Pirating stupid internet memes for your website = KILL HIM.
The difference here is that Ebaumsworld slapped their huge watermark on everything and didn't even give credit to the original creators. posted by dunkadunc at 4:32 PM on February 2 [7 favorites has favorites]
panboi, it seems the sensible people left soon there-after, and were replaced by angry, racist, homophobic and sexist people. Don't worry, the internet isn't going to change. posted by filthy light thief at 4:34 PM on February 2
The difference here is that Ebaumsworld slapped their huge watermark on everything and didn't even give credit to the original creators.
People who create content generally aren't looking for credit, they're looking for money. posted by Justinian at 4:41 PM on February 2
People who create content generally aren't looking for credit, they're looking for money.
But it's not "people who create content generally" who are mad at eBaum's world. It's people who are looking for credit rather than money. posted by grouse at 4:43 PM on February 2
You know what I think about content creators who say giving their product away for free takes away their incentive?
Screw them. Appreciation should be good enough. posted by dunkadunc at 4:47 PM on February 2
Screw them. Appreciation should be good enough.
Are you serious? How do you feed your kids with appreciation? posted by Justinian at 4:52 PM on February 2
karma's a bitch. 'nuff said. if the whole thing is true... posted by kuppajava at 5:12 PM on February 2
It's called a "gratitude suppository". posted by turgid dahlia at 5:18 PM on February 2
"On the Ebaumsworld website: Average eBaums User IQ = 122"
That wouldn't surprise me; 122 isn't particularly high.
100 is average. 80 is borderline "special". So in your estimation "122 isn't particularly high."? I don't think I would agree with you there. posted by P.o.B. at 5:20 PM on February 2
That video really is great.
It's not that he's steals stuff, it's that he steals things and then puts his name on them, as if he was somehow involved in creating them. It's as if I created torrents of all of an artist's music and replaced their name with "by graventy" in the tags.
It's not that people were going to profit from their dumb videos and photoshops, it's that this asshole shouldn't have either. posted by graventy at 5:56 PM on February 2 [1 favorite has favorites]
You know what I think about content creators who say giving their product away for free takes away their incentive? Screw them. Appreciation should be good enough.
Hey everyone, Eric Bauman dropped into the thread! posted by dhammond at 5:56 PM on February 2
Pirates don't appreciate pirates pirating from pirates, don't you know? But since it's copyright violation all around, I think we should be calling 'em copirates. Actually, that sounds more like two pirates that are piloting a pirate ship. Copypirates. Hmmm... no, sounds too much like "copyrights."
Hm. And here I thought copirates were just maps from the set of pirates to the base field.
Please don't turn this into another fucking tired debate about piracy. This has nothing to do with piracy. Remember that "Legend of the Lost" game or whatever it was called, where those guys took a bunch of screenshots of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Diablo II, called it their own "game" and then tried to sell it? That's analogous to what Eric Bauman did. He took other people's work, put his own name on it and then made money off of it, and that's why people hate him. posted by DecemberBoy at 7:14 PM on February 2
So, you're saying that he's suddenly out of a job in the middle of a recession, with a ton of time on his hand and only $15,000,000 to his name?!
People who create content generally aren't looking for credit, they're looking for money.
SomethingAwful had a long-standing beef with them. Their users will often make drawings or Photoshops or something with the hopes of being published on the front page of the site, with the work attributed to them. They don't get paid, but the money from the ad revenue goes back to maintaining the site. It's a community thing. So, when ebaum stole stuff from SA, yeah, people got mad because they WERE doing it for credit and not money. posted by showbiz_liz at 7:34 PM on February 2 [2 favorites has favorites]
Copirates sounds like a neat new exercise regimen. posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:43 PM on February 2
"On the Ebaumsworld website: Average eBaums User IQ = 122"
That wouldn't surprise me; 122 isn't particularly high.
100 is average. 80 is borderline "special". So in your estimation "122 isn't particularly high."? I don't think I would agree with you there.
I hate IQ tests. The fact that someone willingly identifies as a ebaum fanboy speaks volumes more their ability to match colored shapes or finish logic puzzles. posted by JimmyJames at 8:22 PM on February 2
Isn't the 122 just the number they always put on those idiotic "Take the IQ test!" ads? I remember during the election browsing various politics-related websites that had ads saying, "Barack Obama/John McCain's IQ is 122! Can you beat that?" posted by Scattercat at 8:56 PM on February 2
Some thoughts:
First - what a dick! Like we didn't already know that beforehand, but this one quote really seals it for me:
We do know however that he has a team of 4 developers; one of them being a secretary that was trained to be a developer.
Now I understand that he's pissed off and all, and that these aren't his guys coming in there, but making the point that one of the new devs used to be a secretary just shows a level of bullshit smugness and (almost certainly) sexism that it blows my mind. "Who is that?! Isn't that your secretary?!" "Well, she used to be, but she's been trained in development, and is a developer now." "What?! That secretary?!"
(In my mind, Bauman uses a lot of interrobangs. This is not meant to disparage the Mefite Interrobang, but rather to suggest that Bauman stole the idea from said Mefite in an attempt to claim it as his own.)
Second- Well, it gives you the right to sue for damages before that point too. But I think that would be a money-losing proposition for most of this content—the cost of the suit would be far more than the damages.
This is what class actions were built for. Any one person suing for damages would be facing a losing proposition, but a determined attorney putting together a large (and it would be large here) class of netizens whom Bauman has stolen from would be quite profitable for the lawyer in the case of a victory (and the victory seems probable to me - Baumans team is probably better versed in ways of intimidating the small guy than in actually defending Bauman's practices) and the damages would be divided properly amongst the class.
I've had the idea for about a year now that this would be the first thing I'd want to do after getting admitted to whatever state bar association I end up going for. That's still 18-20 months in the future for me, but for anyone who wants to try it before I get the opportunity, it'd all be a matter of legwork in finding the class, really. You could try it in almost whatever state you chose (though that's just a matter of jury selection, really, as the Federal Copyright Rules would apply) and the larger the class, the more systematic and pernicious the offenses, and the better shot at a large victory.
Moreover, the fact that the site just sold for 17 million or however much means that the buyers both (a) possess and (b) believe the site to be worth, more than that. Bauman himself isn't the only guy you can go after here, though I think his pockets could stand to be lightened significantly.
About nine years ago I went to a show at a tiny little black-box type bar in SoHo with no sign and no obvious door, named Void. I was dragged there for a show by a guy I'd never heard of named Momus. The only thing I remember about the show, aside from how weird it was and how I didn't have anywhere to sit in this normally comfortable haunt, was his song, "Finnegan the Folk Hero (of html)" It wasn't until I joined MeFi that I understood how one could possibly attain that title.
If no one else does it in the next two years, my shot at html folk heroics will be to take down Bauman, and to get not just injunctive or declaratory relief for his offenses, but also to get the goons and everyone else he stole from some sort of compensatory and punitive damages as well. If anyone wants to try it before that point, please do.
It really dimmed my views on how much copyright is worth.
Uh-huh. It was always worth nothing. As it should be. Free the world, quit selling information and culture. At least that's what I say. Then everyone "employed" in any kind of media, or creative pursuit would have to buck up and get a real job, like those of us not lucky enough to end up in their shoes. If it was simply about talent, I might feel differently. I am kind of misanthropic though, so my opinion should be taken with that in mind. posted by IvoShandor at 12:34 AM on February 3
IvoShandor: People create things, and then often sell those things to those who are willing to pay for them. If a person creates something physical, like a nice chair or something, and someone else wants it, it sells for however much the market may bear. If a person creates something more ethereal, like a song, and other people want it, it also sells for however much the makret will bear (or more truthfully sells for about the same rate as every other song, and however many people want it purchase it.) The difference between physical and more ephemeral properties does not mark an logically obvious or necessary dividing line between what can be sold and what cannot, particularly when one considers the effort and labor put into creation, and the nature of service industries based in information expertise, which we would not consider to be valueless.
New adventures in technology have led to the market price on most IP being roughly zero, in terms of dollars at least, and at least for the time being. In turn, content creators on the new technology have continued to create content, but with the value being attribution. At it's most basic, this is what copyright grants. "I came up with this, and so you will know that I came up with this, even if everything is 'freely shared.'"
That is also what ebaum's world repeatedly took away from whomever they chose, and what makes it worse than all of the other copyright violators. The fact that Bauman also turned around and proved that there was a non-zero market value for these things is just the icing on the cake. Imagine a kid making friendship bracelets and giving them away to her, you know, friends. Then imagine the school bully stealing her bracelets one night, selling them at a flea market, and then claiming that the fact that she wasn't making any money off of them anyway meant that they had no value. That's Eric Bauman.
Being a cook or a waiter at a restaurant is a "real job," but the cook and the waiter arent paying for any of the sunk costs, they're just supplying a service to those who get more enjoyment out of life through it and are willing to pay for it. They could buy their own food and make it at home. Those same people could buy their own instruments and make music at home, but they choose to partake in the fruits of the labor of others who do so. That's not a price tag on information or culture, especially in the realities of our current world, but just paying the person who's cooking it up for you and bringing it to your table.
Unless you'd tell the cook and the waiter that freeing food is for the benefit of the world. They might agree with you, but they sure as shit aren't going to serve you while doing so. posted by Navelgazer at 12:52 AM on February 3 [7 favorites has favorites]
Justinian: "People who create content generally aren't looking for credit, they're looking for money."
While this is true generally, it's much less true in the world of internet content. While a few lucky people can turn their popular web creations into cash cows, most are just satisfied with gaining a reputation for their skill or their creativity or their sense of humor. That's how sites like YouTube, ytmnd, and even Metafilter work. People don't contribute for money, they do it for the kudos -- the good feelings one gets from creating something funny or cool and getting acclaim for it from an audience you respect.
Given this, it's not that outrageous that Bauman made his millions by stealing content. I suspect most content creators on the web don't care who profits off of their material -- they don't seem to mind when hosting platforms like YouTube rake in the ad revenue supported by their work. It may be somewhat frustrating to know that someone succeeded in monetizing your stuff when you couldn't, but that's not the real issue.
The real issue is when Bauman, on top of undercutting the creators' ability to make money off their creations, also denies them any credit for what they did. No names, no logos, no links back to the source. Everything is branded with his watermark. Everything looks like it's his.
If Bauman had styled his site as more of a content promotion tool, as a place for great material to be found and placed in the limelight, he wouldn't have garnered 90% of the outrage he did. People aren't offended when their funny videos or articles make the front page of BoingBoing or Digg, they're flattered. But that's only because they're being recognized and lauded. eBaumsworld contravenes that driving, bedrock principle of internet content creation. That's why people hate him.
It's also telling to look at Bauman's reaction to this coup. He has his millions, so theoretically, he should be satisfied. But what does he complain about? The fact that the usurpers own his site. The fact that they'll be posting in his name. The idea that the space he built to glorify himself (eBaumsworld) is no longer his to inhabit. He wants credit for what he's done. He wants to oversee forums full of acolytes. But now he's just some dude with a blog. A very rich dude. But that's not what's driving him, at least not entirely.
As a kid, Bauman stood on his front lawn in Rochester with a python around his neck and charged people 75 cents to pet the snake. A hardcore gamer, he bought every system he could, then invited the neighborhood kids to come over and play – for a quarter a round. In high school he carried a universal remote, stealthily turning off TV sets or cranking up the volume. He blazed through the halls hurling stink bombs into classrooms, once causing an evacuation. Most infamously, he and his buddies terrorized a teacher named Mrs. Barnes because "she was too nice," recalls Jason Martorana, Bauman's former classmate and now chief operating officer of eBaum's World. They'd hum in harmony or blow their noses wildly until they reduced her to screaming fits. Then, in a move that would launch his career, Bauman secretly tape-recorded her histrionics and posted them on the Net. posted by Rhaomi at 4:20 AM on February 3 [1 favorite has favorites]
So basically Zeus and Thor finally got around to it? posted by Pope Guilty at 4:33 AM on February 3
That's how sites like... Metafilter work. People don't contribute for money, they do it for the kudos
Speak for yourself! I'm hoping to parlay this into a lucrative speaking career. posted by inigo2 at 6:55 AM on February 3
I for one thrive on a heady diet of favorites and memes. posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:24 AM on February 3
Hardly. Ebaumsworld slaps their watermark on everything and doesn't give credit to the original creators, so you can't even find out where it originally came from.
Besides, if I was Eric Bauman at least I wouldn't be broke like I am right now- but I would also be a choad. posted by dunkadunc at 1:11 PM on February 3
People who create content generally aren't looking for credit, they're looking for money.
But it's not "people who create content generally" who are mad at eBaum's world. It's people who are looking for credit rather than money.
People who create content generally aren't looking for credit, they're looking for money.
people who steal content and republish it while obscuring the original creator are usually looking to steal both credit and monetary gains. posted by krautland at 4:13 PM on February 3
people who steal content and republish it while obscuring the original creator are usually looking to steal both credit and monetary gains.
Of course. Eric Bauman is a giant tool who deserves to be in the poorhouse.
I'm pointing out that a lot of the people who defend pirating other things are simply Eric Bauman writ small. Is "a smaller douchebag than Eric Bauman" really the goal people want to shoot for? posted by Justinian at 4:21 PM on February 3
Eric Bauman is a giant tool who deserves to be in the poorhouse.
Awesome, glad everyone seems to be in agreement on this. posted by grouse at 4:37 PM on February 3
This response is so late to the thread that I doubt anyone will read it, but Justinian, let me start off by saying that I don't generally pirate things. In fact, I've probably bought more physical copies of albums in the last year than ever before in my life. Still...
The ubiquity of pirating comes on the heels of a rapidly changing market. This was always there - tape-recording songs off the radio, burning CD's, etc, and now the technology has simply gotten to the point where the RIAA has to take notice because their previous salable model is now obsolete, and they don't have anything better up their sleeves aside from DRM, which can also be disabled and which they've lost the war over anyway.
This is okay. In fact, this is probably good, in the long run. At the very least, we can be sure that it's not hurting any of the "content generators." The content generators aren't getting any of the money from the record sales, realistically. All of it is going to the RIAA while they try to find new ways to contractually obligate the content creators into greater debt. The content creators (I hate typing that phrase by now, so instead I'll just say "bands") ... the bands get they're money from concert revenue, just as they always have.
To make this clear - the RIAA, who are the only ones with any cause to complain about music in the digital age, add absolutely nothing to the process. They hold up the radio stations to get them to play whatever the RIAA is trying to promote, and they use that leverage to coerce promising bands into contracts of indentured servitude. The only thing is that, now, the bands can easily self-produce and self-distribute their work, so the only thing the RIAA brings to the table at all is the fact that they've blockaded access to the radio stations. So fuck the RIAA. It's not often we get presented with an industry that is both in its death throes ad also 100% deserves to die, but that's what we have here.
Movie industry version - pirating is a little bit worse because it takes away from the back-end percentage that the content creators are recieving, but it's also much less prevalent. People still like to see movies in the theaters, and prefer to watch at home on DVD. SO kind of a non-starter there, for the most part.
Software industry version - I don't know enough about it to comment.
eBaum's world version - content created for community and personal attribution. eBaum takes that away for financial gain. Christ, what an asshole. posted by Navelgazer at 11:00 PM on February 23
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Yeah, right.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:14 PM on February 2