C + P from my reddit post:
Sad to see that RAMA is pretty much out of the game, as nobody wants to buy from them now. However, I do feel kinda bad for that guy, even if he was a huge jerk. I agree with what is said, but don’t want to add to the fire. Poor rama.
Yea, even if he stays in the keyboard community I’m not supporting someone who sued his ex. The only way I’ll ever own a rama product (even if there was one that interests me) is honestly through mm now.
I hope his reputation and business stays intact enough to ship out all the products he owes customers (e.g. my godamn Thermal already), then it can crumble into the ground for all I care.
Oof, what a mess.
Sad to hear about the animosity / legal squabble. One can only speculate as to the actual details right now, but it’s not looking great. The one mod’s assessment that RAMA’s store is smelling more and more like a Ponzi scheme is at minimum a logical take given the currently available information and environment of customer complaints.
1.) I’d love to see both studios move on from this and do their own thing, whereas I’d hate to see either one (or both) be consumed by the conflict
2.) This situation is a perfect example of why it’s always a good idea to keep in clear communication with customers - sometimes stuff takes a really long time, and that’s okay as long as you stay in touch about it - avoidance (read: shadiness) isn’t going to help 
3.) I also hope RAMA is, at minimum, able to fulfill the orders he’s already collected on
Again, details are obscured - but as someone who once had reason to do a lot of research about non-compete agreements… well my knowledge means bupkis here because this is going down in the Down Under - but in my neck of the woods, there are only a few narrow circumstances where the kind of suit he’s filing has any chance to fly. I hope this ends as well as it can for those involved.
No one’s home but biots will delete inconvenient comments.
No doubt Rama will change course soon and head out of the solar system.
But then RAMA may be named after [d]rama and not Rendezvous with Rama.
I have mixed feelings here. While I have been critical about RAMA’s moves towards the community in the past, and I also feel like RAMA seems to try to distance themself from the keeb community already (NFC cards, bats,…?), I’m hesitant to judge them by what’s happened/happening between them, Wilba and HIBI.
I believe that every party probably has had their good share of foul play in this. But suggesting RAMA to be …
… or saying he’ll be
… seems unfair at this point in time. Even – or especially? – between the close contacts, when things turn sideways, it happens quite often that a third party needs to get involved to settle disputes. While clearly nobody prefers this route, people sometimes end up in a cul-de-sac out of which they won’t be able to navigate on their own.
I don’t know the whole story and the insights of anything that truly happened between the three, and I’d argue that nobody apart from maybe their closest contacts know. It seems that many opinions in the community are either based on hearsay or personal beef with RAMA (delivery times, quality issues, etc.), and it seems that different things are thrown into the same bag: RAMA’s behavior on their own social media channels, their posts on other Reddit communities, and the legal dispute between RAMA and HIBI.
Let’s stay neutral and let’s not throw people under the bus before it is 100% clear that they deserve it.
I hope people who have been waiting to receive their keyboards will receive their keyboards 
That’s fair and understandable. You know, after reading the court filings I really hope she didn’t do what they are alleging as they might have digital forensic evidence to prove it. If I was him, I would have taken the high road and just went back into the lab and developed something so tits it wouldn’t matter.
I see your point, but when it comes to the decision to buy something from a vendor or not, anecdotal evidence and hearsay is basically the only thing that you can base your decision on, and that’s fine (we aren’t in a court room deciding RAMA’s legal fate or anything). In fact, if we discounted this type of evidence then we would have to ignore customer reviews wether they be praise or criticism. I don’t care as much about the relationship issues (though it is factual that he sued his ex, and it’s okay to object to that as a customer), but I am concerned about the lacking project updates, the non-existent published timelines, and customers’ customer service complaints.
Consumers can object to anything, really, of course - however, “suing his ex” vs “suing his former employee for IP theft” does connotate very different responses. Many consumers would expect employers to take their IP claims seriously, but, in this case bringing up the relationship is an appeal to emotion, rather than an honest argument against them as a company, in my opinion.
Edit: Replying more to the “suing” theme than this post itself - the Reply buttons are so close together - but entirely my fault. I think I’m largely in agreement with fatalruin here, especially regarding the project updates and directly company related logistics.
Though if RAMA himself filed the lawsuit(s) out of emotion to be punitive or vengeful (in the hopes of overwhelming a new one person company into financial ruin), then it’s a fair point in a customers assessment of him/the company. I guess the courts will decide if the evidence is there or not, and then our assumptions can be validated against the ruling. Honestly though, I’m probably okay with buying from an asshole (again, if proven) as long as the product purchased is timely delivered and is as advertised, but that’s just me (the soulless).
There is an argument to be made that even if we think he did all the bad things when it comes to the relationship drama, we shouldn’t present it publicly as fact.
If RAMA can prove that the copyrighted design files/templates were used as a base for HIBI’s products, HIBI is sunk. That said, I can see these design files being taken just as a reference for fleshing out a portfolio or resume and not being used as the basis for new work, which I think would be less of an issue for HIBI.
In terms of product delays, I’ve had both a Vega keyboard (TypePlus) and KAM superuser delayed and delayed and delayed but there was no breakup drama behind it. Just good ol’ pandemic and supply chain clusters that completely destroyed the timeline. Fortunately the designer of each (ai03 and FreshFromThe Grave, respectively) took it upon themselves to keep buyers updated of the progress or lack thereof. It’s absolutely vital for good communication when things are going slowly/poorly.
Yup, in hindsight this is sort of what non-compete and disclosure agreements are for I guess. Even if you’re swapping spit with the person.
hah! Especially if you’re swapping spit with the person. I feel like this lesson is only learned the hard way.
For clarity, what I was actually saying is that the people accusing him of running a Ponzi scheme at least have a reason to say it - not that it’s true, or even suggesting that it’s true.
Explicitly, I do not at this time believe or wish to suggest that RAMA is running a Ponzi scheme - just that people aren’t crazy for thinking it, and that RAMA isn’t helping any when it comes to his actions or lack thereof.
I’m saying the situation at least outwardly shares some characteristics with a Ponzi scheme, and that it’s not a far-fetched comparison to make - but my main point is: that perception could be avoided with just a little communication that isn’t happening.
I did go out of my way in the comment to highlight that none of us really know what’s going on (so all we can really talk about is what little we can see) - it’s more about the unfortunate state of things than hate towards RAMA. I have no feelings about the man or his company one way or the other; I do have questions but have drawn no conclusions.
The only behavior of RAMA’s I’m directly criticizing is his radio silence with customers who haven’t received products and whose communications have been ignored.
The other stuff also seems unfortunate, but at least when it comes to what I don’t like about the situation, isn’t material to it. The court stuff will run its course and I’m sure everyone will have opinions about it at that point (myself included), but of course we don’t know yet if the claim that one stole the other’s IP is true; one makes the claim officially, the other denies officially.
If it’s true, that’s a valid reason to sue and protect a business. If it’s not, that’s a pretty messed up abuse of the legal system - in all likelihood actual reality is probably some messy situation in-between. I want to be totally clear I have no opinion on any of that stuff, and that I’m with you on the notion that there shouldn’t be any judgement flying around about it.
The only thing I’m saying RAMA should be doing differently right now is keeping his customers in the loop, and I did mean it when I say I hope this ends as well as it can for everyone involved.
If the most damning evidence RAMA has on Kate is that she took the CAD file for keycap renders he has nothing at all
Very hard to argue these are special confidential assets. You can find open source keycap CAD files on GitHub that are identical
The other claim is that she took business contacts with her. This is believable but I’m not sure if this is a crime (anyone know?). It’s totally normal to leverage your contacts from your previous jobs.
Those are some great points.
It looks like RAMA posted some new intro text on their updates page, emphasis mine:
At our Melbourne headquarters, the design team has been busy with R&D and there are a number of exciting projects coming up which we cannot wait to share! We will also be giving the website a much-needed overhaul to improve end user experience.
The pandemic has had a profound and multifaceted impact across global industries, which has caused disruptions to production lines. Unfortunately, the ongoing lockdowns and material supply shortages lead to a significant backlog, and we are working tirelessly to catch up on progress as we navigate these challenging times.
The company acknowledges the longer than usual lead times our customers have been experiencing and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. We are making headway and anticipate returning to pre-pandemic production capacity soon.
There are also several circumstances surrounding the delays that we are not at liberty to disclose at this stage due to legal reasons. We will be publicly addressing them in due course and look forward to doing so.
Mats, Jars, and Duck switches productions seem to be finished or nearly done too.
This is by far the most interesting part.
A delay they can’t disclose due to legal reasons? Normally delays that we experience in our community are within the scope of manufacturing (taking longer than expected to produce), or logistics (shipping delays).
So my brain is still pre-coffee this morning, but I guess legal reasons could include but are not limited to:
I think this is a solid assessment of the possible scenarios and I’m very curious to hear what legal issue is slowing down keyboard and keyboard accessory production.
