When it's your work?

What about when it's someone else's?

Now, before I start - I have been accidentally guilty of this, trying to help out and inadverently giving a little too much away...but, in my defence, I did report my own post to the mods, who kindly altered it...

Anyway - where do you stand on the reverse engineering of other people's work on here? Do you think we should all agree on certain lines we never cross deliberately?

Should the rules, just be one golden one - "if in doubt, PM it..."

You may not care at all and think I should just keep my hairy mouth shut...

So, what do I think? Thanks for asking - I think when a performer has been on telly, we can discuss out in the open how much we liked certain means and ways but only talk in generalities...maybe we could discuss further in the inner thoughts area?

But really, why should we discuss at all out here in the open? Face to face, over the phone, via email - I suppose its human nature - but here? easily searchable via search engines...

if you want to see how eager some are to learn, search in Google: "derren brown the system how did he do it?"

wikipedia lists him in the mentalists section - it doesn't take a genius to come up with certain search terms to start hitting on this place...

Anyway, what else? oh yeah, my final question, and then I WILL shut up (for now) is this:
Imagine you get a great agent, he gets you a great gig, in that gig, someone offers to set up a meet, and you get your own show..pretty soon, you're fondly thought of - you're respected...you wonder what the hobbyist and those in between think of you - so you pop on a forum, a place supposedly dedicated to furthering the art as it were, through networking, hints and tips and so on...

and then you have people deconstructing all your hardwork, just cos...well...they can, or feel as though they should...

shouldn't we be supportive but also clandestine in our responses?

by the way, bevvybevbev, none of this is aimed at you directly, as I think you're a good chap and know yer stuff...

My hairy gob says " we shouldnt reveal at all in any area that non magicians are able to access" , agreed that PM is the best way on forums and only to "known" users ( those in the know...)deconstruct in private.
Respect others ingenuity and keep thier secrets as you'd like yours kept.If you want to share your own stuff then all well and good.
Blimey....

If this is about the Derren Brown thread... then I don't agree. There was nothing exposed in that thread. Most of the discussion was in regards to the method already exposed by Derren on his own show. Some published material that the main prediction routine could have derived from was mentioned. The methods themselves were not. The word 'switch' was thrown around a couple of times. Not much else as I recall.

If someone is interested enough to search the net, find this forum (and each thread is not indexed too well in any case), find the thread, see mention of the materials and buy them.... good luck to them.

How high do you want to raise the barrier to entry? Is this a forum for mentalists to discuss mentalism?

I'm keen to see things moves to inner thoughs. Sadly threads are rarely started there, typically because the initial poster isn't exposing anything but the discussion naturally progresses to methods, routines and presentations.

I admit that visits to inner thoughts are secondy in my visits , more seems to go on in this section . Its not the amount of postings that are required to access inner thoughts as 50 is farly paltry really , so whats the allure of this section do you reckon ? Maybe we should all gravitate to inner thoughts and demand a higher entry rate ?Possibly with strict anti reveal policies......

I'm actually of the opinion that having a higher post count as an entry requirement is useless.

If someone can be bothered to make 50, they'll make 100.

I'm not really convinced there is a problem. Stuff can still be moved to inner thoughts if a thread gets out of hand.

I'm more concerned about those that post to a thread "this should be moved to inner thoughts" yet never actually contribute an inner thought.

Maybe for inner thoughts you could submit a mini routine for entry or answer a few basic questions?

kriskraze, you didn't really have to say you don't agree - I took that as a given...i don't often see you agreeing with anyone...if I do, I take a picture *joke*

it wasnt just about that thread, just in general, as I mentioned at the start of the thread, I say that I've been guilty of saying too much in the past accidently, and it was considering that, that made me spew up the thread..

I think a few basic questions would be a good idea. Maybe a premise for an effect could be given that the person would have to use their existing knowledge to create an effect for.

If I wanted to know how Derren Brown, Criss Angel, or whoever was on last nights TV then Id log into a TV discussion forum not themagiccafe. Noone on there would even consider exposure and will discuss, reverse engineer and guess at what they've just seen all night long. Well I wouldnt but you know what I mean.

Some of the proposed methods are fantastical and others very close to the truth.

The biggest difference between the two types of forum is that in the magic forum discussion is forbidden or hidden away and the TV forum has some people who are adament that Derren Brown et al have genuine powers.

But non-exposure is a good policy on magic forums because noone takes explanations seriously on TV forums but on a magic forum, the explanations hold more weight.