
Welcome to masterWiki: stolen from MasterClass, republished as wikiHow - whereistimbo
https://masterwiki.how/
======
ealexhudson
Looking at the bottom of the page, this is part of some overall large
marketing campaign. A lot of the other stuff is also labelled "theft" : I'm
not totally sure it is; the point of the project appears to be to commit
almost-IP theft, but in most cases they seem to go right up to the line but do
not cross it. (E.g. shirts with corporate logos / brands cut up and barely
recognizable, that kind of thing).

There's an app, there's a FOMO "drop" list, there's some larger thing at play
here. Can't tell if it's something authentic / art-related, or if someone is
just trying to build another brand.

Edit: indeed, this is some new brand / business: "WHO WE ARE MSCHF Product
Studio is an internet company. We operate online store(s), create content,
communicate with our fans and customers through texts, email and social
channel(s), and occasionally promote our products and services both online and
offline"

MSCHF (presumably 'mischief') is just another edgy shopify stunt.

~~~
adwi
As others have pointed out, this is a pro(ject/duct) of a creative studio
called MSCHF

[https://mschf.xyz/](https://mschf.xyz/)

Their work satirizes art and commerce, usually simultaneously, often while
still being both.

To me this project is about the absurdity of gatekeeping celebrity branded
common-sense for $180, when it can more effectively be conveyed in the low-
rent wikihow style for free.

~~~
soneca
If it’s just _”common-sense”_ there is nothing to _”gatekeep”_. I (edit) don’t
see in absurdity in Masterclass product. It is not worth for me, but not
absurd in the least.

~~~
lioeters
Well, many people seem to lack "common sense", of which everyone has their own
definition. And absurdity is in the eye of the beholder.

I don't agree with what this company is doing, stealing content from a
commercial product and making it free. But I can see they're making a point,
as a kind of perfomance art and social criticism. They're brazen about its
controversial nature, and perhaps the free content will benefit someone who
doesn't have the means to access this knowledge.

It also makes me question, how will such knowledge production be funded, if
not as (highly priced) commercial products? If everyone started stealing and
giving away knowledge for free, how can it be sustainable? Is it even possible
to "steal" knowledge? Well, yes, in the form of information/data - but, if
it's digested and re-presented, as they have done here, does copyright extend
to such works?

Perhaps their goal is to raise such questions in the audience.

------
sevencolors
For anyone confused, this a parody from MSCHF.

> MSCHF isn’t a sneaker company. It rarely even produces commercial goods, and
> its employees are reluctant to call it a company at all. They refer to
> MSCHF, which was founded in 2016, as a “brand,” “group” or “collective,” and
> their creations, which appear online every two weeks, as “drops.”

> Many of those drops are viral pranks: an app that recommends stocks to buy
> based on one’s astrological sign (which some observers took seriously), a
> service that sends pictures of A.I.-generated feet over text, a browser
> extension that helps users get away with watching Netflix at work.

[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/style/millennial-
entrepre...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/style/millennial-entrepreneur-
startups.html)

~~~
acomjean
To me the name seems like an abbreviation for “mischief” aka “playful trouble
maker”

~~~
jedimastert
That's exactly what it is.

------
xyst
I chuckled at the "How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs" with Gordon Ramsay.

Who adds sea urchin and white truffle to their scrambled eggs?

~~~
ChicagoBoy11
Dunno about white truffle and sea urchin, but I can attest that using good,
actual truffle oil on it can be an inexpensive way to REALLY add to the flavor
of it.

~~~
evo_9
Agree with this, it's pretty awesome tweak.

I also use a bit of whole milk instead of butter to get a nice fluffy, creamy
scramble.

~~~
hinkley
I'm always surprised when people _don 't_ use a little milk in their
scrambles/omelettes.

------
NateEag
Isn't this copyright violation?

Or am I just misunderstanding what copyright applies to?

~~~
kd5bjo
Despite the branding, this isn’t actually a copy: it attempts to summarize
each hours-long course into a handful of bullet points. That probably changes
the expression enough that it’s original in the eyes of copyright law, and the
underlying ideas are not subject to copyright.

IANAL, but I suspect they’d have a larger issue with using all of these
celebrities’ names and likenesses without permission.

~~~
mittermayr
It's odd, because the content itself isn't actually very useful or any sort of
"good" summary like a true cliffnotes type of thing — which should give them
enough leeway to stay up and be fine. Yet, they're putting themselves right
back in front of the gun: "We stole MasterClass' content..."

Props to whoever drew all those illustrations, they really took the time,
that's probably 99% of the effort there.

~~~
lapinot
> Props to whoever drew all those illustrations, they really took the time,
> that's probably 99% of the effort there.

Most likely the same freelance contractors as wikihow.

[https://onezero.medium.com/we-finally-figured-out-who-
makes-...](https://onezero.medium.com/we-finally-figured-out-who-makes-
wikihows-bizarre-art-6c5d69b71347)

------
yuchi
Before you cite copyright violations, I seriously think there’s a huge amount
of over simplification in those content. The presentation is fantastically
parodistic

------
quercusa
The "How to Write a Thriller" guide, by renowned author 'Dan Brown', is spot-
on:

[https://masterwiki.how/courses/how-to-write-a-
thriller/](https://masterwiki.how/courses/how-to-write-a-thriller/)

~~~
DataGata
Having taken some of the classes, they summarize them exceedingly well.

------
joshspankit
This actually makes me re-interested in the official Masterclasses

~~~
Niksko
I'm an enthusiastic home cook. A friend of mine has a subscription and let me
watch one of the cooking masterclasses from Massimo Bottura. The quality is
pretty garbage. You're getting a very surface level look into a smattering of
a chef's dishes, with really very little added in terms of commentary,
technique or otherwise interesting content. If all of their other
masterclasses are as shallow as that, it seems like a waste of money.

~~~
joshspankit
One important thing to know is that each masterclass is essentially it’s own
thing. _Especially_ the early ones. They seem to have approached high-level
people and said “we’ll do whatever you want”, so some people said they wanted
to make garbage.

If you get the chance again, check out some of the other chefs to see of
there’s one that really provides value.

------
jedimastert
Of course this is a MSCHF project. The instant I heard it I thought "this
sounds like some sort of meme high art project."

------
desireco42
First I want to point out, what is obvious, the point of MasterClass is those
famous people taking to YOU. I don't think this in any way takes away from
experience of MasterClass.

Did you see how fast site loads? With all slow-poke sites, this is refreshing
to see and you don't see it every day.

------
thih9
This looks like an out of context marketing stunt.

Could someone link or describe the context?

~~~
lioeters
From another comment: [https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-
shoes...](https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-shoes-puff-
chicken-office-business)

------
30minAdayHN
This is similar to rage marketing. By using the word 'stolen', though they are
technically not stolen, you are raising attention.

I remember White Moose Cafe giving outrageous replies to unhappy customers
which lead to cult following and people just checking in for fun. Looks like
they pivoted to a restaurant from a hotel since I last saw them couple of
years ago:
[https://www.facebook.com/WhiteMooseCafe/](https://www.facebook.com/WhiteMooseCafe/)

------
bovermyer
This... has to be copyright violation.

~~~
robjan
Looks like satire to me

~~~
bovermyer
That's arguable enough that a lawyer would find a case here, I'd wager.

~~~
me_me_me
A lawyer would agree that the longer both lawyers talk the richer both of them
get.

------
solarkraft
They can republish stuff all they want imo, but these are _not_ wikiHow
articles unless you are cooperating with the company WikiHow (it's a brand).
I'd be most afraid of _their_ reaction .

~~~
ForHackernews
Does wikiHow have a patent on ugly clipart and low-effort content?

~~~
solarkraft
Probably not, but they definitely have a registered trademark.

