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.
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.
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.
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.
They definitely fucked something up for sure. The round 2 Thermal & Thermal+ are past due at this point & no real answers as to when they’ll get delivered. I’ll be super mad if I get burnt on my Thermal+ & I do worry with the legal junk as Wilba may be entangled in that mess also. With Thermal/Thermal+ being a Wilba board it makes you wonder…
I don’t think this kind of wait time for Rama products is odd. I waited about 2 years for M60 Olivia. The lack of communication is also the standard for them. Not sure if anyone has checked out his personal Instagram before but let’s just say Rama is independently financially stable.
I’d like to know if they are also trying to sue whoever manufacturers the Kate keycap bootlegs if those continue to exist, they are taking away a lot more sales than Hibi ever could. I think if this didn’t become so dramatic and Rama just kept doing what they do (hopefully work on turn around time times too) Hibi and Rama would both have plenty of bussiness and many keyboard enthusiasts would regularly buy products from both of them.
Canceling a GB 13 months in is not something you see everyday. Could it imply Oblotzky still had the money because RAMA had not even start production ?
Judging by what the guy has been doing lately, such as collaborating with an NFT scam artist of sorts and failing to deliver products on time, I’m not surprised at all.
Not really sure he’s a scammer though; he doesn’t really need the money, if you have seen his Instagram.
Him being personally wealthy doesn’t mean the business isn’t underwater. Wealthy people generally don’t throw their fortune into failing businesses, it’s a lot cheaper to declare bankruptcy. As far as I know his wealth comes from a trust fund, not from his business.
As for the nft thing, I don’t think the keyboard is an outright scam but it might indicate the company needs cash (which they’ll get in spades from the nft crowd no doubt - upper middle class techbros who like to throw money around will eat this up)
Edit to clarify, RAMA isn’t scamming the nft crowd. Nfts themselves are outright scams.
Right decision from Oblotzky. Reading between the lines, it’s pretty clear the vast majority of GBs from Rama will not be shipping anytime soon, possibly ever.
