The War on Ebaumsworld.com

[George]

Details plz.

It was actually posted here, that's how I got introduced to it. Basically, this guy on a car hobbyist forum ripped off a beloved member of their community in the sale of some gears and was being really smarmy about it. He basically took his money and sent jack shit in return, and then laughed about it on the forum after lying through his teeth.

The guy who got ripped off didn't intend for this huge thing to happen, but the people around him did. Basically, after regular forum hazing and threats the crowd got a little more involved. They found his phone number, the place where his dad works, his personal information, etc. They tore this kid apart, literally. They found yearbook pictures and made photoshops, they called his house and got him in trouble with his folks and the police (He had a history of mail fraud) Other sites reported that they had informed their members of it, T-shirts were made, etc. They destroyed his life within a week, I would say. I can't imagine he got out of it without changing his name or something.

Dude got his money back, naturally.

[Burky]

ytmnd.com
As many of you have noticed by the anti-ebaum sentiment, last night things seemed to reach boiling point.

I tried to stop this all when it was a snowball, but it just turned into an avalanche. I'd like to make an open statement to the community, in regards to DDoS. Don't do it. It sets a whole new precedent and will not end well, it affects a lot more than just ebaum sworld and really crosses the line.

I think there is a general distaste for ebaumsworld in the internet community and things just exploded last night. While I never supported or condoned the attacking anything, I was amazed to see so many communities come together for a vulgar display of power. I think there is something to be said for communities coming together for a common goal, even if it is over something so petty.

This came out two hours ago.

[stormy]

He may be trying to save his ass from a lawsuit

[mollipen]

well, to be fair the watermark doesn't say anything except it's hosted on ebaum's world, which is true. It doesn't say they created it.

Still doesn't matter. You don't brand/watermark something just because you're hosting it. If you feel the need to put something up on your site that isn't yours, then you do that, and you give credit if you know where the credit goes or you just put it up. For example, that "Sam & Friends" Nintendogs photoshop I made a while back - I found it branded with a site's watermark on it, and while I don't really care, that makes it look like they came up with the image.

There's nothing wrong with simply collecting information - look at Slashdot, Engadget, etc. But when Engadget puts up a pic from a story somewhere else, they don't brand the picture, and they link to the source and give it credit.

I think, too, that the bigger argument is that he's making (from how it sounds) a crapload of money totally off of other people's work, where as a site like Something Awful makes their own content.

[WTFer]

any link to that auto guy's picture??

[James]

The guy ripped someone off then bragged about it on the forum, and then they destroyed his life? Excellent. I wish that kind of thing happened more often, honestly.

James

[dakidski]

urls to the forum threads at both boards plz. I couldn't find jack sh**. I want inet drama too.

[napalm]

I spent an entire day reading that thread, but all the pics were gone. I need pics.

[Klonoa]

This came out two hours ago.

I don't think it's something petty. I mean if Eric Baum has been making millions by hosting pics and shit and slapping his ugly logo on it, then it is about damn time someone did something about it. The dude is making money off shit that isn't his, and he's been getting away with it long enough.

pwn his ass till the end of time.

[jonas]

This came out two hours ago.

What's DDos mean?

Is someone gonna beat him up in real life?