Update on June 30: Zillow has responded to the controversy by deciding not to pursue any legal action against Kate Wagner and McMansion Hell. In a written statement, Zillow said, "We've had a lot of conversations about this, including with attorneys from the EFF, whose advocacy and work we respect. EFF has stated that McMansion Hell won't use photos from Zillow moving forward. It was never our intent for McMansion Hell to shut down, or for this to appear as an attack on Kate's freedom of expression. We acted out of an abundance of caution to protect our partners — the agents and brokers who entrust us to display photos of their clients' homes." Looks like there's reason to be hopeful McMansion Hell will be back!

Original post: One of the funniest real estate blogs on the internet, McMansion Hell [1], has temporarily shut down after its creator, 23-year-old architectural acoustics graduate student Kate Wagner, received a cease-and-desist notice from house hunting database Zillow. If you're unfamiliar, the blog used humor and memes [2] to point out the absurdity of "McMansions" — tacky, sprawling, suburban homes often associated with middle class materialism — and highlighted the basic architectural flaws of their designs.

waiting to get an email asking what #trucknuts [3] are re: this week's #Mcmansions101 [4] https://t.co/XUoS4PnDcJ [5] pic.twitter.com/t9CDhBDo0b [6]

— bad house tweeter (@mcmansionhell) August 29, 2016 [7]

The blog's humorous tone and growing popularity catapulted Wagner into the realm of architectural influencers, leading to features in The Washington Post, among other publications. Unfortunately, it also put her on the real estate radar, leading to questions about image rights and copyright infringement. Wagner received notice from Zillow on June 26, shortly after an article featuring her commentary [8] on the return of McMansions went live.

After temporarily shutting down the blog, Wagner issued a statement to followers about the current predicament:

Official Statement from McMansion Hell pic.twitter.com/YNM9M9QDia [9]

— bad house tweeter (@mcmansionhell) June 26, 2017 [10]

Lawyers and real estate agents [11] quickly jumped to the blogger's defense, with some legal counsel even reaching out to offer representation. At the time of publishing, Wagner is working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation [12] to resolve the supposed legal issue with Zillow.

We certainly hope that the image rights discussion is resolved quickly and that the blog returns to its former glory. After all, it wasn't simply a place to rag on ugly houses; it educated followers about architecture and highlighted good examples, too!

Enjoy these large, well-designed suburban homes built in 2003 and 2014 respectively. #ItCanBeDone [13] pic.twitter.com/jcwXDY1yJ5 [14]

— bad house tweeter (@mcmansionhell) April 12, 2017 [15]

We will be waiting for McMansion Hell's triumphant return, as will the score of dedicated fans who support the blog [16].