The Write Idea

DonnaG · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:45 am Post subject:

Effie, I'm glad you posted the original query. There are gazillions of writing offers out there. How are we supposed to know what's legit and worth chasing after if we don't look closely at them all?
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DonnaG · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 3:54 pm Post subject:

The administrators of this forum would like to make it clear that they've been made aware of the following fact: MF Publishing Limited, formerly known as MF Consulting Limited (Company registration number 05309701), is in no way related to the organisation MF Publishing London.
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DonnaG · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:00 pm Post subject:

Paul, in case you don't receive our email for some reason, please see our message below:

Connal · Joined: 04 Feb 2009 Posts: 142 Location: Obidos, Portugal

That's a great piece of writing Donna. I'm sure in your hands it will become a great story. Go girl - all power to your pen

Tony · Joined: 09 Dec 2008 Posts: 21 Location: London, England

DonnaG

I too thought of a similar response to this "person."

Somehow though I think we may have heard the last of this "person."

I remain both at your disposal and pleased that I am on your side.

Tony
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daniel abelman · Guest

DonnaG · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:05 pm Post subject:

Confused is a very good word, Daniel!

Did you know that MF, as an acronym, also stands for 'mail fraud'?
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MF Publishing London · Guest

As a writer myself, I have no problem with all of the other questioning or critical comments currently on this topic. But I’m absolutely staggered that not a single person so far to read this forum post could actually see how defamatory, unjustified and libellous the (now removed) comments of “Tony” were - in several different ways, including in his insinuations that we were unfit to be trusted with writers’ submissions and their writing pieces because we were surely the same people who were connected with another company with a similar-sounding name who allegedly had a checkered past.

Whilst I really don’t care if those adding to this topic want to privately consider myself and the company to be amateurs, fraudsters, scammers, about to charge writers for applying for a position etc (which obviously we aren’t) without knowing anything about us, purely based on your reading of our recruitment post – (which is not, incidentally the way professional journalists conduct themselves) then that’s fine with me.

But I’m not willing to suffer libellous statements slapped thoughtlessly onto a public forum website without any consideration for sense or truth.

I have previously been pleased to answer writers’ polite and sometimes anxious concerns on other forums, but due to the overwhelming nature of the nasty, cynical and bitter comments on this forum so far, I have no desire to waste any more of my time attempting to reassure anyone here of the company’s legitimacy.

DonnaG · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:19 pm Post subject:

MF, in this forum, when someone objects to something that appears in a post, they normally express that objection in a subsequent post. And in that subsequent post, they outine the reasons for their objection and wade in with facts to support their point of view or reality. Or, they contact the writer of the objectionable post (via PM or email), opening a dialogue within which both parties can attempt to clear things up.

You did not do this here at The Write Idea. Instead, you made a post which threatened legal action and then contacted our web provider to again threaten legal action if we did not comply with your demands.

We have no desire to waste our time with someone who is not willing to conduct himself in a mature, open manner. You say you are a writer. Wonderful! You say you have answered other writers' concerns on other forums ... we would appreciate the same here at TWI.
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rust · Joined: 08 Feb 2009 Posts: 6 Location: Canada -- for now.

rust · Joined: 08 Feb 2009 Posts: 6 Location: Canada -- for now.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's me.

Haven't done a lot of 'foruming' lately, but I hear you don't lose your touch.

So, we've had a bit of fun with a troll, a bully, a controversial figure. Too bad the forum isn't searchable, because it makes for good research material.

First thing I did was I clicked on the link mentioned in the very first message. That website is not just ugly, it is an abomination of unresolved server directives and mismatched style sheets. My first impression: cut and paste...

So I went looking...

And I selected a nice little phrase from the site: "their Saturday ‘Weekend’ magazine is a good example" to see what was what. In quotes, with the single quotes intact. That way, we find what we are looking for -- direct results of the exact phrase.

Three results from Google -- and a notice that there are more results but duplicated. Oh goody! Let's see the expanded results.

That phrase was repeated 85 times! My goodness. Well, you can draw your own conclusions! Someone has been busy copying and pasting!

As was already pointed out, libel litigation in the UK is not free. The lesson here is, do not let some pinhead with busy fingers stop you from giving opinions of their "services" or their "behaviour" by claiming libel. Libel is a serious charge.

For example, if I said that Donna was a woman who goes from husband to husband, she couldn't sue me for libel. But if I said that Donna was a coke-head Paris Hilton wannabe, that could be a different story. She's not, and me claiming that she is would be actionable.

The point is, people should not be afraid to speak out when it is the right thing to do. A forum is the place to do so. A forum is where anyone should be able to express an opinion, whether that opinion is right or wrong. Otherwise, what use is it?

The chilling effect of threatening legal action is a time-dishonoured last resort of the morally bankrupt, the intellectually deprived and the emotionally unstable.

In a sector such as this one, self-publishing, the predators seem to out-number the prey. It is better that a skunk be exposed to public airings so that the stink of fear wears off, than to cower under the blankets, wondering if some hollow threat is going to close down a forum.

-- Dave

DonnaG · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:05 pm Post subject:

Well said, Dave. You've still got that writerly edge!

and thanks for pointing out that I'm not a coke-head Smile

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rust · Joined: 08 Feb 2009 Posts: 6 Location: Canada -- for now.

Paris Hilton wannabe?

Oh, and by the way, here's an interesting site for anyone worried about such a thing, one of my favourites:

http://www.chillingeffects.org/

and its sister site:

http://www.eff.org/

DonnaG · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:46 pm Post subject:

So, where were you when we really needed you yesterday, Dave? Cool

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daniel abelman · Guest