The Alex Mauer Situation

Neverhoodian

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I originally wasn't going to make a thread about this as it initially appeared to be reaching a quick resolution, but given recent events I thought it would be worth discussing. For those not in the know:

Alex Mauer is a video game musician who worked with Imagos Softworks on a game called Starr Mazer: DSP. Apparently they had a falling out, as Alex claimed she was never paid and, despite a written contract stating otherwise, that she owns the copyright to the soundtrack. Mauer decided that the best way to deal with this was to file hundreds of DMCA takedown notices against YouTubers and Twitch streamers featuring Starr Mazer and other games she has worked on.

Mauer claimed that her actions were an attempt to raise awareness and support for her cause but, considering that all it takes is three such takedowns to shut down a channel and potentially ruin people's livelihoods, she only succeeded in garnering anger and scorn towards her. It didn't take long before prominent YouTube channels like TotalBiscuit, Jim Sterling and SidAlpha took notice and began covering the story, along with offering assistance to those hit by the strikes. Mauer then proceeded to throw more fuel on the fire by expressing disdain for the people she was affecting, claiming that YouTubers didn't have a "real job" anyway. While all of this was going on she was also sending cease and desist letters to her previous employers, including media giant Turner Broadcasting. With no sign of her backing down, Imagos Softworks hired copyright attorney Leonard French to prepare for the impending legal case.

Because this is the internet, it didn't take long before some people began sending death threats Mauer's way, despite repeated warnings and reprimands by those covering it not to do so. This only further exacerbated the situation, with Mauer doubling down and sending increasingly unhinged messages that ultimately resulted in issuing death threats herself. Her perceived mental condition became so tenuous that her family eventually placed her into involuntary psychiatric care. However, she was quickly released and seems hell-bent on picking up where she left off. Not only has she issued hundreds more DMCA takedowns, but she has also cast her cease and desist net further to include representatives from Valve. Currently, that is the extent of the ongoing situation.

So much of this could have been avoided of course, had YouTube decided to be proactive for once and actually looked into the sudden slew of spurious DMCA claims all by one person. However, in typical YouTube fashion, they have not lifted a finger and seem content letting the unhinged psychoses of one person potentially ruin the livelihood of dozens, if not hundreds of YouTubers.

(NOTE: This was before Mauer's release)​

TL;DR: Video game musician Alex Mauer issued DMCA takedowns over dispute with contractor, blows up in her face. Ugliness ensues, Mauer has an apparent breakdown, is briefly institutionalized and, upon release, continues down self-destructive path. As usual, YouTube doesn't give a rat's ass despite being in a perfect position to defuse the situation.
 
Jan 19, 2016
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It's quite the saga and it seems like it will take a while longer to play out (at least until Leonard French can get a restraining order against Mauer preventing her from launching any more DMCA takedowns; which I believe is going before the court later this week). Mauer has dug herself quite the legal hole and it remains to be seen if any of the many people she has chosen to piss off decide to pursue the matter and bury her in said hole.

In any case, it's pretty absurd it reached this point and it graphically illustrates both how shit YouTube's systems for dealing with claims like this are, and how ineffective the US mental health and legal systems are at dealing swiftly with a clearly unhinged individual.

All we can really do from here is sit back, cook up some popcorn, and enjoy the ride.
 

CritialGaming

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It's a shitty situation. I find it interesting how easily these indie-creative types seem to be so quick to epic meltdowns. We've seen it before from Youtube creators, indie developers, indie musicians, it all seems to come from a deep belief that their work is far greater than it is given credit for. And they react to anyone not showering them with praise, violently and often self-destructively.

Guess that's the price of being raised in a world where EVERYONE is told they are special, and gets a trophy win or lose.

*shrug*
 

Dornedas

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Just more proof how transphobic the gaming culture is.
If Mauer was a cis-man none of this shtistorm ever would have happened.
 

CritialGaming

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Dornedas said:
Just more proof how transphobic the gaming culture is.
If Mauer was a cis-man none of this shtistorm ever would have happened.
Because the cis-men of Digital Homicide didn't go ballistic on Jim Sterling and every single poster in the Steam forums? Don't make slandish claims for no other reason than to stir up shit.
 

Hades

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Dornedas said:
Just more proof how transphobic the gaming culture is.
If Mauer was a cis-man none of this shtistorm ever would have happened.
Actually the news she's Trans is usually either left out or brought with some reservation. Part of this may because its not important to the situation in the slightest.

But You may have been sarcastic there.
 

TheMysteriousGX

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I'd say something like, "wow, YouTube dropped the ball", but I think this whole situation shows that not only does YouTube not even have the ball, they don't have the slightest interest in picking up the ball.
 

CritialGaming

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altnameJag said:
I'd say something like, "wow, YouTube dropped the ball", but I think this whole situation shows that not only does YouTube not even have the ball, they don't have the slightest interest in picking up the ball.
What's a ball? Is that the thing those big guys in high school used to play with before beating me up for my lunch money?
 

CritialGaming

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undeadsuitor said:
CritialGaming said:
Dornedas said:
Just more proof how transphobic the gaming culture is.
If Mauer was a cis-man none of this shtistorm ever would have happened.
Because the cis-men of Digital Homicide didn't go ballistic on Jim Sterling and every single poster in the Steam forums? Don't make slandish claims for no other reason than to stir up shit.
Honestly, I think DH is a bad example because everyone knew about their shit and let them continue until they went after Jim. It's ONLY because they went after a popular youtuber that they suffered any repercussions at all. They'd still be making shitty games none-the-wiser otherwise.
Yeah but the point wasn't the fact that they make shitty games, the point was that they went ballistic much like this Alex person did. They got just as much, if not more news (though their blowup was bigger), than Alex did. I'm just saying that her behavior being brought to light has NOTHING to do with her trans status and everything to do with her just being a asshole and trying to ruin other people's shit because someone made her unhappy.

Her actions are her actions. They have nothing to do with any LBGT status she may hold. Though I'm sure she'll wave the "transgender" card like a get of out jail free.
 

Chimpzy_v1legacy

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I've been following this story via SidAlpha. It's an ... impressive meltdown.

It both amazes and horrifies me how someone can so willingly lay their own head onto a guillotine like this, regardless of their mental health. How seemingly at no point do they realize just how deep the pit they're digging for themselves is.

However this turns out (let's face it, extremely unlikely to be in her favor), she'll be picking up the pieces for years to come. Her professional credibility is ruined. She'll likely never work in this industry again. She's faced with litigation she has no hope of winning, let alone the possible consequences of having poked sleeping giants like Turner Broadcasting and Valve through her actions. Not to mention the mental health problems.
 

vdweller

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Chimpzy said:
It both amazes and horrifies me how someone can so willingly lay their own head onto a guillotine like this, regardless of their mental health.
People are known to kill themselves or others because of a variety of mental problems, so killing your career is...less dangerous, I guess?
 

Neverhoodian

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Hades said:
Dornedas said:
Just more proof how transphobic the gaming culture is.
If Mauer was a cis-man none of this shtistorm ever would have happened.
Actually the news she's Trans is usually either left out or brought with some reservation. Part of this may because its not important to the situation in the slightest.

But You may have been sarcastic there.
Agreed. I intentionally left that detail out of my post because of this reason. The fact that progressives like Jim Sterling are criticizing her actions reinforces the fact that her gender has no bearing on the issue. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the death threats she's received from anons attacked her for this, but she was going to get threats regardless given the predictable stupidity of wannabe internet vigilantes (this doesn't excuse her own threats and harassment, of course).
 

sanquin

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I wish this would be a wake up call for Youtube. To fix their damn broken DMCA system so youtubers aren't treated as guilty until proven innocent for the first two weeks. And also to fix their stupid hard line three strikes and you're out system, which puts a ton of undeserved pressure on youtubers as well. But that won't happen of course. I already thought youtube would slowly go to shit once google bought it back in the day. And I was right, sadly. Sure, the videos on it have improved in quality. And it's great that such a job as 'youtuber' can exist today. But youtube has still become a commercialised shell of it's free former self owner by a big company that has to deal with investors and the like.

That being said, of course not nearly all the blame should be put on Youtube. A large part should also be contributed to big companies and people like Alex Mauer who abuse the system's VERY obvious and EASILY exploitable flaws.
 

Neverhoodian

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The saga continues. Mauer has expanded her DMCA takedowns to include River City Ransom: Underground videos as well. SidAlpha has received confirmation that at least one YouTube channel has been taken down due to all of this. On the flip side, Mauer has been served court documentation, whereupon she has decided to forgo a lawyer and represent herself.

It's like Digital Homicide all over again.
 

NiGHTSJOD

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Dornedas said:
Just more proof how transphobic the gaming culture is.
If Mauer was a cis-man none of this shtistorm ever would have happened.
Thats odd. The first i've heard of this person (and the ensuing saga) is the OP at the top of this page. I can tell just from the summary that this person is batshit insane. No mention of this Alex Mauer person being trans until you showed up. As a result of this, am I one of the transphobic "villains" of gaming culture? If not, what category should I be filed under in your opinion?
 

Erttheking

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For anyone asking about the transphobic stuff, a lot of the abuse sent her way was transphobic. Jim Sterling was directly shining a light on Alex and called her out for shitty behavior, and even he uploaded a video where he basically said "just fucking stop."

https://youtu.be/1qHIfb8vphM
 

klaynexas3

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erttheking said:
For anyone asking about the transphobic stuff, a lot of the abuse sent her way was transphobic. Jim Sterling was directly shining a light on Alex and called her out for shitty behavior, and even he uploaded a video where he basically said "just fucking stop."

https://youtu.be/1qHIfb8vphM
To be fair though, she's not getting more hate because she's trans as was suggested above. She's getting hate because of her shitty actions, and trolls use whatever they can to tear people down. I'm not saying it's okay, nor am I saying those trolls may not actually be transphobic, they likely are, I'm just saying that she's getting coverage because she's doing some terrible things right now, and asshole individuals, herself included, decide to be petty and drag the fact that she's trans into the mix.
 

direkiller

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erttheking said:
For anyone asking about the transphobic stuff, a lot of the abuse sent her way was transphobic. Jim Sterling was directly shining a light on Alex and called her out for shitty behavior, and even he uploaded a video where he basically said "just fucking stop."

https://youtu.be/1qHIfb8vphM
Her twitter is just reposing all the transpobic/death threats she is getting.
Although some of it was court documents, which probably need to use her legal name, so some of it is just down right silly in my opinion.