I was shocked when I saw a segment on the USA channel while watching TV ("Ready for the weekend movie" at the Magic Castle). After a magician did a card trick, they taught you how it was done. Afterwards the host said (not an exact quote) "to learn how to do magic tricks go to How to do magic tricks dot com". I was interested in what the site was so I logged on during the commercial.

The website teaches different card forces, the card on ceiling, the Balducci Levitation and other's. They advertise Bobo's Modern Coin Magic as a great starting book for coin magic. There are many links on the site such as Thetrickery.com, Magictricks.com, adds owned by Ellusionist.com and sites that belong to Michael Daniels including a message board where people are trying to trade magic secrets and learn about advanced magic books. (The Art of Astonishment books are mention'd as a good starting point).

I didn't see anything about this on the Café, and have to ask; is this good for magic? Basic secrets and techniques are being given away to lure people into stores where magic is sold. I know that this isn't new but many people have spent good money to get the information that is now being given away free to anyone who can click a mouse. Whether its legal or not, I don't agree with these sites and feel betrayed that they are now being freely offered on TV; where will it end?

Is there anyway that we can stop the dilution of magic?

Dear Friend, I wish I could say " yes we can stop it ". But I am not sure. There was even a site which revealed David Copperfield's secrets and David Copperfield could not stop it. I think, internet is a two edged weapon; it may destroy as it can build. If we can find a final solution to terminate this exploison, it would be great, though I do not have any hope about this...
Thanks for informing us.