When Did Cracked Become Funny?

One of the many, many media properties that fled to the web in search of cheap publishing opportunities is Cracked, which I recall from my youth as being "just like Mad, only lame." Given how tedious and puerile Mad was -- even to a tween in the early '80s -- that was an accomplishment.

So I'm astonished to find out that not only is Cracked still around -- on the web, naturally -- but that I see a link to it every few months, and the things I read there are really funny.

(Current top pick: Rod Hilton rewrites Twilight to be shorter and more honest, which I saw when moonrat linked to it.)

Does the exploitative Internet model -- that you can get people to work for peanuts, or nothing, just to get "exposure" -- actually work?