The channel lasted so long, we started to think it was a permanent fixture. But we all knew it could happen...yes, the giant house of Craig-vids, built on shaky ground, came tumbling down on May 19, 2010 at 2:10pm EST. Little did we know that the little channel Malinky started for shits & giggles would become so big & important.
IT WAS NOT CBS OR WORLDWIDE PANTS. I repeat, it was not CBS or WWP.
YouTube has a 3 strike rule...your channel is shut down after the 3rd strike. Ironically, it was only the last strike that was in itself warranted but still bullshit.
Strike One: 16 second clip of the Sandra Bullock movie "The Blind Side."
Warner Brothers went out of their way to contact YouTube specifically about the video which contained a clip and Craig chatting with Sandra, who was there to promote the film. So I learned about the 7 second rule but I would have gladly accepted an advert for the movie or any other WB movie but it was not offered.
Strike Two: 10 monologues yanked. 20th Century Fox specifically wrote to YT about these monologues because "they MAY contain copyright material belonging to..." After watching the clips with a fine tooth comb, I was infuriated by this as TCF had no appropriate claim for content contained within those monologues. Sadly, with the position I am in, I could not fight those claims as the material I'm speaking for is not owned by me. This incident worried me as it seemed to be the work of something other than copyrights...
Strike Three: Part b of an episode of The Drew Carey Show. Again Warner Brothers specifically wrote to YT requesting the removal of part 2. This by far is the most interesting claim as there are many clips that came before my posting and many came after.
I could have warned everyone once the 2nd strike came in but chose against publicly announcing the news as that would leave the channel open to all sorts of hater nastiness but also panic within the Robot Skeleton Army & Craig fans on YouTube. I could imagine quite a few freaking out and downloading, living moment to moment, not sure if the channel would be there that one day. Instead, there was only one person who had to deal with such feelings. So although I was prepared for it to all disappear, it was not any easier when the blow arrived.
Needless to say I was crushed over the loss of so many great clips, episodes and memorable comments. Like losing any large collection, I am left with images & memories of what it contained but no certainty to remember it all...ever. Like in death, I found myself mourning...still am a bit and probably will for a while longer.
The good news is I have 99.99% of what was originally posted.
The bad news is not every clip & episode will be reposted.
So we can rebuild a library even greater than it was before because the selected clips will be the best ones that stuck in our memories.
I will announce a specific "request time" shortly. It is during this time and only this specific time period announced, will I accept requests...on both Twitter and YouTube. I was bombarded with clip/ep requests on a regular basis before and now there's just a constant waterfall of queries and suggestions. From the submitted requests I will make a list and do my best to find & post with the information provided. So keep in mind, if you have a fav'd clip, the information is still in your favs, despite it not showing on your channel. You can cut & paste said info into a twit or email and send it off to me during a request time. Request times will be announced ahead of time so everyone is aware. I will gladly fulfill requests when I have the time, so you must be patient.
I must admit that although the channel is gone, it is wondrous how it's legacy lives on. I've been seeing links in my bird feeder and the feeling in my heart I get when I see one of my old clips up is indescribable. I can tell right away whether it's a M2S clip through 2 different fingerprints...and it makes me smile. Why? Because all that work did not necessarily go in vain. I was thankful to see peeps posting clips and rebuilding. This made me so happy because my original mission was to spread the word of Craig's humor around the world and it continues on, despite the original channel's demise.
I highly doubt Malinky2Stoatir will ever return. It took almost 2 days for YT to take it down completely, as there were so many clips in it's library to remove...this emotional metaphor still makes me well up.
I can't explain how painful it was to read the sad tweets that blanketed my monitor. At times it was way too much on top of my own feelings of frustration and sadness. I wish I could have responded to all your comments as some hit close to home and others made me giggle in their lack-luster selfishness. With where my head was at during that time, it was best I just kept quiet. I had nothing nice to say...
The idea of Craig or CBS or WWP being able to do anything is lovely but not exactly true. The content on the channel was not all owned by CBS or WWP. And even if they did, I believe there is a bit of legal mumbo jumbo that would get in the way. If the channel were to resurface it would be a fucking miracle...
So tonight we bid farewell to the pleasantry that is the Malinky2Stoatir YouTube channel. In it's 18 month life time, a library was built of 1,965 clips, 16,285 subscribers, 2,999,493 channel views, 27,435,614 uploaded video views. I utilized the channel just as much as any other fan. She was there when you needed a quick fix or if you wanted to spend the entire day on the couch catching up on or rewatching episodes. She leaves behind a blazing trail of memories in Craigy-ness. She will be sorely missed...but never forgotten.
And so, we rebuild... TVsCraigFerguson
Stay tuned!
Very Truly Yours in Craigness,
Malinky I. Stoatir
RSA General
Saturday, May 22, 2010
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