TootsMcAnus

I was almost Smell Silverstein

If that's the case, then I gotta take an opportunity to plug my site of fart poems (poemsaboutfarting.com). My work includes poems such as:

It hurts like a bitch every time I pass gas
The trouble with having a hemorrhoidal ass
It's itchy and burns and it's sore to the touch
Some say it happened from farting too much
Now when I feel one, I quiver with fear
What I wouldn't give for a healthier rear
This is the worst, it's like a bad dream
But I'm not gonna stop, so where's the ass cream

Hope you like it.

Sony Betamax is great precedent for you, but (obviously) be careful... remember Grokster. I'm not saying to remember Grokster in the sense that you guys promote infringement the way they did (you don't), but I'm saying remember Grokster because the courts used a previously unheard of (and absurd) premise for their holding (why on earth should you be guilty of infringement simply because you promote a service that can be used for infringement? nothing like that is in Title 17, as far as I can tell). My point is, the courts can and may find an absurd rationale to reach an unfavorable holding for you - they've done it before. Make sure your lawyers are diligent in preparing for counter-arguments that may seem absurd on their face. Courts in internet copyright cases seem to not be above legislating from the bench.

By the time I'd thought of Smell Silverstein, I'd already established myself as Toots McAnus. Not only that, but some poems were self-referential (to Toots). Like, in one poem there's the line, "People say Toots oh won't you please train us, to mimic the noises that come from your anus"
In another poem, there's the line "What do I care, farting loud's what I do, I just bet they're glad that I'm not Toots McPoo"
So, changing Toots's name was out of the question.

Solution: I made Smell Silverstein my name for all the song parodies I write. Such as "Anal Spray" to the tune of Yesterday by the Beatles, and "Itch in My Rear" to the tune of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

When SMDS first started, did you do any specific promotion for it? Or did it just catch virally? If you did promote it, how did you initially get the word out? I mean, it's one thing to be funny, but it's an entirely different thing to make people aware that you're there.