Bizarro, I think this may be a good idea. I think it is going to take someone who is maybe better known than I (which is not at all, lol) They may be able to demonstrate the injury to their livelihood.
I don't think of myself as "old-school", but I don't think being edgy and cutting-edge also means being unprincipled and having no respect for the work past magicians have put into our craft. There are people out there like Dan Hauss who are "edgy" and also very respectful and protective of his craft.
Although contacting YouTube may sound like a good idea, in principle it will never work. Why? Because the people posting the videos are in no way breaking any copyright laws whatsoever.
Now, know that I am definitely NOT condoning such horrible behavior as exposing magic. I'm just saying, contacting YouTube will not work. I know, because I've tried.
So, I would like to suggest a way to fix this. You see, I went around to several exposure videos to test a thought I had. I realized, almost 98% of the people performing in the videos could be classified as two things. One, as being very young (under the age of 16 usually), and two, as being "babies" in magic. As I thought more on this, I realized why.
These people have no mentors, not helpers or anyone to guide them in what is right. If you have a child and do not tell them not to stick a screw driver in an electrical socket, then they will do it without knowing it is bad. But, if you tell the child, if you guide them and let them know it is bad, and the consequences of their actions, THEN they do not stick the screw driver in the socket.
Hopefully you understand my analogy. They don't know they are doing wrong because no one has told them so. Now you might say, "Well, I commented on their video telling them it was a disgrace!". But, how did you say it? Was it kindly as if you wanted to help them, or in a way that would anger them and cause them to actually rebel against you, instead of listen to you?
After thinking so long and hard about this, I actually contacted by message, a YouTube magic exposer. I was kind, didn't reprimand him, but simply told him I would help him along in magic. He then started to rely on my guidance and that opened up the avenue to explain why exposing magic was bad. Guidance is the key.
Most of the kids on YouTube have never heard of
Card College or the
Royal Road to Card Magic. If you talked about Dai Vernon with them, they would not know who he is! They just start out at Ellusionist and know nothing else. They do not know about the do's and don'ts of magic. They do not know the past of magic. They really don't know anything.
So, next time before you slam someone for exposing something, take the high road instead. Message them, talk to them kindly, explain that you want to help them in their journey in the wonderful world of magic and THEN explain why exposure is bad. So, in a way, the internet is ruining some "new" magicians, because they receive no guidance or mentors, just DVD's with tricks on them. Once again, mentoring, not slamming, is the way to go. That is the way to truly help these "babies" of magic. Peace!
Tyler
P.S. Also, after explaining that exposure is bad, don't drop them as a mentor. (lol) That would just be cruel.
P.P.S. As for David J. Castle, he's just a spineless wimpy nerd with bad hair. (lol)