Mindcrack is changing

Mindcrack is changing is the title of a blogpost that was published to MindcrackLP.com on 3 April 2015. It announced the departure of BdoubleO100, Etho, generikb, paulsoaresjr, and thejims from the core Mindcrack group. The page is no longer available but its content has been archived:

TL;DR: Mindcrack wants to go someplace. There are members whose best interest is not suited by that. We do not resent that they don't want to come along, and they don't resent us for the decisions that we've made. Also we still want to be involved with them on a professional level.

The goal of Mindcrack has always been to provide a framework for members to create entertaining videos, but the mission has evolved to include aiding members in reaching a larger audience. We honestly believe that the strength of Mindcrack is as much within the group identity as that of the individuals, and we are seeking to expand the reach and exposure of Mindcrack to the benefit of the members involved.

This is a two pronged strategy. The first aspect of this features an increased involvement in Mindcrack by the individual members. This includes an increased public presence through booths and events, a stronger commitment to collaborative content, and a focus on promoting the group as often as possible. We want to build ways for all our members to regularly spend time together, both online and in person. We want to build events and host public appearances so that fans can meet and know the members of Mindcrack that entertain them. We want to build enthusiasm outside of the group by increasing the enthusiasm within it... To the benefit of both Mindcrack and its fans.

The second prong of our strategy involves building a legal entity that can offer resources to members that increase the quality of their work and the audience that work receives. This includes creating a trademarked identity that can negotiate for its members and license to outside entities. We want to seek out sponsorships and promotions from other companies, combine merchandising efforts to produce materials more efficiently, and utilize the power of the group to get exposure to even our smallest channels. We want to build a group fund so that each member, no matter how successful, can regularly attend our events and connect with their fans and other Mindcrackers. We want to empower each member with tools that ensure they have more time to create video.

Sadly, this change in course is not necessarily in the best interest of all our current Mindcrack members. Many of the larger channels will find the structures that Mindcrack is trying to build redundant, and some of the smaller channels don't have the time to commit to some of the group-building goals. Some members are less interested in the business that Mindcrack wants to become, and some feel their individual focus doesn't quite match where the group is going. To add to this difficult situation, certain legal efforts have inflexible standards for what our members can or cannot do. This means that even though we would like to keep all our members on the roster, we are legally unable to move forward without losing some as official Mindcrack members.

After extended group and personal discussions, we're sad to announce that TheJims, GenerikB, BDoubleO, Etho, and PaulSoaresJr will not continue as official Mindcrack members in the future.

It is important to note that not all Mindcrackers were interested in continuing with Mindcrack as a business. For reasons inherent with the new group strategy, these members agreed that continued membership was just not in their best interest. All are interested in a continued relationship with Mindcrack and its members, and all have expressed that these changes are natural choices to make to advance the group's legal and public identity. These are cherished and invaluable individuals whose actions have been instrumental in making Mindcrack what it is today. We were lucky to have had them within our ranks for as long as we have.

To help ensure we maintain close ties, we have negotiated with the departing members to ensure they retain many of the things they loved about Mindcrack. Even if they could not join the group officially for the next steps, we are all eager to maintain the positive relationships we have built over these years. In each case we have discussed what Mindcrack could offer to keep them close to the group, and we have welcomed the idea that we could find new ways to keep ties with those departing.

Here are a few things we have proposed:

1) Mindcrack is opening membership on our group servers to include departing Mindcrack members as VIPs on the whitelist. Those who are enjoying building on the vanilla Minecraft server can continue doing so, and barring any logistical complications, other group servers will always be open to them.

2) Departing members will be VIP guests at future Mindcrack events, signing sessions, and parties.

3) Departing members will be invited to participate in many future UHC sessions, and may be invited to participate in charity events if they are available.

These are the least we could offer to those whose paths diverge from the group, and we look forward to any opportunity to create new content with them.

Immediate response

OMGchad explained simply that Mindcrack has created an enforceable trademark, and the departing members were not interested in legal business, Mindcrack members reiterated that they were still in good relations with departing members, and that there wouldn't be any major changes for viewers. In the week following, /r/mindcrack lost 584 subscribers. An unofficial subreddit, /r/leftcrack, was created by fans to discuss content from former Mindcrackers. It gained 344 subscribers in its first week.

During a channel update vlog, BdoubleO100 said he still considers all of Mindcrack as friends and family; he just "[wished] it didn't have to happen". He confirmed that his Mindcrack Server Let's Play would not be continuing. Etho shared during a livestream that he was "not super happy about leaving", but was uncomfortable about being involved in the expanding business side of Mindcrack and thus decided to leave. He revealed "they were kind of looking to get rid of anybody that felt like they didn't fit in anymore". He said he remains on good terms with Zisteau, Docm77 and AnderZEL, among others. generikb mentioned in a Facebook post that leaving Mindcrack "changes nothing about [his] channel, who [his] friends are, and who [he] make videos with", adding that his participation in future UHCs is 'unlikely'.

Subsequent information

In a June 2015 Facebook comment, generik said that the departing members were "removed from [the group] because [they] did not wish to sign certain legal agreements." BdoubleO said during a August 2015 livestream that "[he] was told that [he] was not allowed to be an official member anymore." Reflecting on the announcement, Guude said on 3 April 2016 that "the year has been great for Mindcrack and was certainly the best decision moving forward for the group." He says the 2015 Mindcrack Marathon in San Francisco and the Superfight card pack would not have otherwise been possible. Guude mentioned that he has stayed in contact with Etho, Paul, and thejims.

In September 2016, Guude mentioned the contract being used as a way for BdoubleO and generik to leave the group because of disagreements related to them focusing on money, including forcing annual server resets to make more money from YouTube views. Guude would later reveal that the contract was used to prevent BdoubleO and generik from being a part of the group as a result of videos they had made with undisclosed advertising illegal under the FTC, saying that the entire group was worried the illegal activity would cause legal issues for Mindcrack, as well as those paid videos targeted at kids being a moral issue that would damage the group's image. He listed the two actual reasons for the contract being created as preventing BdoubleO and generik from being members of the group; and providing a way for the group to prevent others from using the Mindcrack name as a result of the TheMogMiner Incident. He gave the reason for others not continuing with the group as Etho being afraid to put his real name in writing and Paulsoaresjr feeling the group was too much of a commitment.