Like most college students, computer engineering major Devin Boyer enjoys watching YouTube videos. But unlike many, he knows the downsides of having popular videos on such a Web site.

During the holiday break, Boyer, 22, and some friends posted videos of themselves throwing water outside the Cutler Apartments when the temperatures dropped to 45 below, only to have the water condensate into a mist that fills the screen. It and two similar videos became a hit on YouTube.

Though Boyer said he has no problem with sharing his own work via YouTube, which makes a profit from ads in return for being a free video-sharing site, he took offense after discovering other sites had lifted them from the video sharing site and called it their own.

"A few sites saw fit to steal our work and, worst of all, profit from it," said Boyer in an e-mail. "The biggest offender in this is Ebaumsworld.com. Our video turned up there with his watermark (identifying mark) in the lower right. It also showed up on break.com."

According to Boyer, Ebaumsworld is known for lifting videos from other people for its Web site and turning a profit from the ad sales.

The Web site also recruits videos from viewers, paying those who submit a video $500 if the site chooses to display the video, according to the Web site.

Ebaumsworld also includes a disclaimer that original creators may e-mail them if they want to have their work removed, but Boyer said that the e-mail address is not readily available and others who have found an e-mail address never had their work taken off the site.

Whether or not the video was submitted by a third party or stolen directly from YouTube by Ebaumsworld employees is unknown.

But at Break, the video includes a link to the user profile of the individual who submitted it.

Nadia8684 didn't respond to a message sent about her identity, or where she got the video.

Like Ebaumsworld, Break's Web site offers payment for videos that are uploaded onto the site.

Boyer said he tried to have his video removed from Break. But after more than a week he had not heard back from the site's administrators.

The video featured at Break is of UAF student Kevin Sobolesky throwing water off of a balcony at the Cutler Apartments in minus 45-degree temperatures.

The water then condensates into a vapor that fills the screen. As of Saturday, the video had been viewed 187,726 times on YouTube, and another 183,433 at Break.

Ebaumsworld displays a different video that Boyer and his friends had posted on YouTube. In it, Sobolesky shoots a Super Soaker in equally cold weather, projecting a watery mist. It had 138,950 views on YouTube.

Both videos and a third one posted on YouTube of them dropping water off the Gruening Building were filmed by UAF student Paul Martz.

Boyer, Sobolesky, Martz and others decided to make the videos after people from out of state at a different Web site last year asked what happened when it got down to such cold temperatures in Fairbanks.

"During the cold snap a few weeks ago [before break ended], I threw the videos up on YouTube to make them accessible for people to see," Boyer said. "The traffic from the first Web site was enough to get the videos noticed on YouTube, and things took off from there."

YouTube comments came mostly from those who hadn't seen such temperatures before. But some were in such awe that they claimed was fake.

"I hooked this video up to my projector and slowed it down," commented a U.S. YouTube user named Mixie, 38, on the video of water being poured out at SAC. "At 0:05 you can see where the liar who made this film spliced in different frames to make this fake footage."

Mixie also argued that temperatures below zero don't exist. For others, though, the video was amazing.

"Whoa, for a moment I wished it was as cold where I am, so I could play around with boiling water," wrote Nex from Austria.