Your third point is good, but I know for a fact that you didn't come up with this for yourself because I have defianetly heard that before from one of the people that work here.
I'm believe your referring to jonraiker who said, "Think about how much different magic would be right now if Wayne (Houchin) or Danny (Garcia) never stumbled upon it as kids? The person who buys that Guardian deck could decide to come here, learn magic, and later become your favorite creator." Although, my point had variant difference from his, there are apparent similarities, and thus will give him credit for the quote, which took me a while to find, and its influence upon me.
Just like most of today's magic is based upon the foundation that was laid by the magic of the past, most of my beliefs, thoughts, ideas are based upon the inspiration laid by others -- however, this does not necessarily constitute plagiarism, as we all are influenced by something or someone.
But I like TPA's idea of putting a fake name down, and putting the real name of the trick in the tags box.(but not the website)
Then the viewer will not know the name of the real trick and therefore can't search it.
But, lets say I want to see a trick called Trinity; there would be no possible way for me to see the effect on youtube, as it would be under a false name, thereby eliminating one of the reasons for posting a video.
I'm just trying to make sure that these secrets don't get out. I hate when people find out my tricks by searching youtube, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I'm all for preventing exposure, for ethical/moral and personal reasons. I believe that viewing an exposed effect on youtube, as a way to learn an effect, is tantamount to downloading songs illegally. In both cases, the artist is not benifiting from the creation of their art, whether magic or music, nor are they receiving the deserved recognition. Further, it infuriates me that I pay $30 for an effect, only to see it revealed on youtube for free. Moreover, I am also not pleased that it is possible for my audience for whom I perform magic to just look up my entire routine, whenever they want, and thereby have it revealed. Therefore, I am for preventing exposure on youtube or anywhere, but practically.
And I think I read or heard somewhere on T11 that it's supposed to be ......."hush hush" (for lack of a better word). Going around telling people would defeat the purpose of a "hush hush" website.
Theory11 is a business, and, like all businesses, its survival depends on profit. Ergo, it being a "hush hush" website could prevent it from receiving the aggregate number of customers, neccessary for its continuance. Further, I would not tell laymen about the website, but I would not think twice about recommending this site to fellow magicians, as word of mouth advertising can only lead to better productivity, better products, and a better site, as it is something that all businesses, such as theory11, rely upon.
Do you really believe that some complete newbie to the world of magic, who happens to stumble
upon secrets, will actually contribute something useful? The odds of that happening are astronomically low.
They might not contribute an effect, but they can contribute to magic, by sharing their knowledge of magic, by performing for others, by becoming part of this community, etc.
Cheers,
JTM
