EBaum's World

eBaum's World

File:EBaums World Screenshot.png
Type of site	Entertainment website
Owner	Eric Bauman
Created by	eBaum's World Inc
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Optional

eBaum's World (subtitled "Media for the Masses") is a popular website featuring entertainment media such as videos, Flash cartoons and web games. It is highly controversial for many reasons, primarily due to the true allegations that content on the website is taken from other sources without permission and rebranded with the eBaum's World logo. The site, which is owned by Rochester, New York, native Eric "eBaum" Bauman ranks in the top 500 [1] sites on the Internet according to Alexa. It is co-owned by Eric's secretary and father Neil Bauman.

Features

File:Ebw.JPG

eBaum's World Logo.

The site features individual celebrity soundboards, where users can click buttons to hear notable words or phrases spoken by that celebrity. By pressing certain buttons in an organized order, users can simulate the celebrities saying unusual things. In this way, the soundboards are commonly used in prank phone calls. These calls are often recorded and subsequently re-submitted to the site.

eBaum's World has a very large forum community, with thousands of members and over one million posts that often include pictures, videos, etc. There are also games and animations as well as a chatroom and a store which sells eBaum merchandise. Since the site receives many emails suggesting content to add, there is a section called "Moron Mail."

Controversy

eBaum's World has garnered significant controversy in many Internet communities over the years due to numerous accusations of content being taken from other sites without attribution, especially from websites such as YTMND, Something Awful, Albino Blacksheep and Newgrounds. Companies such as Viacom [2] [3], 20th Century Fox [4], and Sega have all claimed that Bauman had infringed on their copyrights. Eric Bauman denies critics' claims that the site's content is stolen, citing research done by site editors and the consent form that must accompany uploads of material. He claims to honor all requests to remove unauthorized material. [5], but this is contested by some content creators, In particular, web artist and animator Jonti Picking, ("Weebl", creator of the Badger Badger Badger animations) was only able to have his animations removed at the beginning of 2006 [6]. Bauman has claimed that he formerly worked with Picking, though Picking has stated that this is false [7] [8].

Due to the unpopularity of the website in some communities, links to eBaum's have been filtered on various forums that have yet to come into conflict with eBaum's. On some forums instead of the members commenting on the link that has been posted they post ebaumsworldsucks.com link or insult Eric Bauman. Users can end up being flamed by users or even banned.[9][10][11][12][13]

There are numerous other examples of stolen and rebranded content, including features such as "Disturbing Album Covers" [14] which involve rebranded content from other sources. [15] [16] [17] The fact that a Google search for "album covers" returns these sources discredits the claim by eBaum's World representatives that any credible research is performed by site editors.

On May 26, 2006, several images from the Something Awful forums were displayed on the eBaum's World website. [18] The images on eBaum's World were cropped to remove the Something Awful watermark. The page was removed later in the day following multiple complaints being expressed on the eBaum's World forums.

A web site, eBaumsWorldSucks.com, has been set up by Neil Cicierega (Lemon Demon),supporter of Newgrounds, Shawn Vulliez (AltF4),supporter of Newgrounds, and Abi Rendon (LegalCondom, a former eBaum's World employee), in order to document the ongoing controversy between content creators and eBaum's World. The site hosts a page containing statements from content creators claiming that some of their works appear on eBaum's World without permission. The site also details cases in which eBaum's World has allegedly taken bandwidth and launched denial of service attacks on other sites. There are allegations that eBaum's World's Funbar toolbar may install adware. [19]

On February 23, 2006, Michael Parker, an eBaum's World representative appeared on G4's Attack of the Show, during which Kevin Pereira asked him explicit questions about the alleged infringing. [20] Michael Parker, the individual representing eBaum's World, claimed:

There aren't any written rules or regulations. We're trying to do our due diligence and do the things that we feel are right by not taking other people's material without crediting them or contacting them first. We try to...we contact all these people. Like if we something we like (sic), like a game, we don't just put it on our site. We contact these people. And if you notice with all our new flash games, we have our own intro in them, and it's done by the creators and we pay them for that.

Critics affirm that infringing content continues to appear on the website. Albino Blacksheep has recently threatened legal action and claim that other websites assert difficulties with Eric Bauman in the past. On June 12, 2006, Steven Lerner of Albino Blacksheep explained in a post that he felt that eBaum's World took the animation, 'Animator vs. Animation' and that the creator of the flash animation, Alan, will take legal action against eBaum's World. The post also explains that the flash animation is protected by both the MochiBot Flash tracking tool and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

eBaum's World on TV

On January 24, 2006, USA Network made a deal with the Fox Television Studios to create a show based on eBaum's World. Producers intend it to be a late-night companion special to air with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Monday Night RAW featuring clips from the website as well as new and exclusive content including interviews with former and current eBaum's World subjects. The show is being executive produced by Simon Andreae through his production company, The Incubator, in association with Fox Television Studios. The cease and desist letters from this company were removed when this show was announced.

On February 27, 2006, a researcher named Bradley Scott from eBaum's World TV show contacted the webmaster of Albino Blacksheep, asking the webmaster to sign over the site's content while refusing to admit what show it was for. The producer of eBaum's World television show finally admitted who he was but did not directly acknowledge the content that appears on eBaum's World, including Albino Blacksheep's. The webmaster recorded samples of these calls for their message boards. [21]

Trivia

• The website was started as a project in Bauman's junior year of high school.
• In 2005, Bauman had gained enough money from his website to sponsor a professional boxer. He has also purchased an $850,000 office building and a $150,000 home.

External links

• eBaum's World - Official Website
  • USA Network Announces eBaum's World Reality Series
• eBaum's World Sucks - Site critical of eBaumsWorld.com.
• Albino Blacksheep - Animator vs. Animation Controversy