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�Stinkymeat� reeks of cyber-success photo by Bob Pennell Medford computer geeks Mahlon Smith, left, and Chad Sobotka�s "Stinkymeat" Web pages have generated millions of hits in the cyber world. But alas, dear Stinkymeat fans, the duo may have planted their last rotting carcass. Millions of Web surfers log onto Ashland site to watch meat decompose Mark Freeman Mahlon Smith and Chad Sobotka never liked their red-neck Ashland neighbor who wore a 10-gallon cowboy hat and called them "partner," but the day ol� Hoss reached into the community mailbox and read a postcard addressed to Smith, the friends decided to strike back. The 20-something computer geeks hatched their revenge � leaving a chunk of meat to rot in the man�s back yard, hoping the eventual smell would create a nasal equivalent of the single-finger salute. "I thought, I have to document this somehow," says Smith, 23. "And there�s no better way to do that than on the Web." They never imagined what a cyber-stink they would cause. Their "Stinkymeat" Web page, as well as the "Stinkymeat 2" sequel, have generated millions of hits by Web surfers who daily log on to view updated photographs of pieces of meat left in public places to decompose until they are either eaten by animals or found and tossed by humans. Smith and Sobotka, a.k.a. "Stinkymate," have placed slabs of raw meat for decay in the cowboy neighbor�s yard, as well as inside the Rogue Valley Mall and an undisclosed park in Jackson County. The daily dose of decomposition is accompanied by the prose of Smith, who shares both his delight in chronicling the declining carcasses and his eventual morose at the meats� discoveries. The stink updates run daily on Internet host www.thespark.com and appear in serial form, allowing tens of thousands of Stinkymeat fans to watch the chunks of salmon, hamburger or chicken decompose in public until they are found. "I�m not really sure what the appeal is," shrugs Smith, now living in Medford. "It doesn�t get much more immature." But it does get imitated. Stinkymeat spin-offs are now up and rotting in the United Kingdom and Australia, making Smith and Sobotka icons within the cyber-stench genre they have spawned. "Mahlon has a good style in his descriptions, and they get worse every day," says Christian Rudder, the 25-year-old content manager at thespark.com, the Massachusetts-based computer firm that bought the rights to host "Stinkymeat 1 and 2." Viewers get to revel in watching Smith and Sobotka narrowly escape detection as they hide a plate of bratwurst, oysters and dog food in a mall planter, then share in the loss Smith feels when the platter is gone on Day 2. Surfers rejoice at Smith�s Day 7 revelings when maggots first appear on a whole plucked chicken that is hidden near a public playground, and they share his horrors when a poke of a stick on Day 9 creates a belching noise from the rancid chicken�s ribs. "It�s cool," Rudder says, "and we like having cool stuff on our site." Stinkymeat has been cool from the get-go in May, when Smith designed the first stinky-page that included a posting of what the duo planned to do to their cowboy neighbor. The page appeared for several days until the first chunk of raw meat was bought, strategically placed in the neighbor�s yard and photographed with a digital camera. And you-reek-a. The stink found the fans. "We had 60,000 hits the first day the meat was out," Smith says. "I freaked." Rudder bought the Stinkymeat rights and the saga lasted 16 days before the cowboy found the vile pile, but never caught Smith and Stinkymate. The cowboy moved, and so did Smith. The stink-fans screamed for seconds. Amid heavy cyber-fanfare, the men launched "Stinkymeat 2" in mid-August, stashing raw meat in the mall and the undisclosed park. The last stinky chicken carcass was cleaned up by Saturday. "Stinkymeat 1" logged more than 3 million hits, Smith says. Rudder says the sequel matches that popularity. Alas, stinkymeat-heads, Smith is running out of ways to describe the stench. While fans are begging for "Stinkymeat 3," the duo say they�ll likely hang up the act. "I think I�ve kind of beaten this thing into the ground," Smith says, and it will be tough to recreate these 15 mega-bytes of cyber-fame. "Anything I do on the Web in the future," Smith says, "will be measured against Stinkymeat." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA