Letters, we get letters
A peek inside the thingsihate mailbag.
From: "Pamela Backstrom" <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXX>
To: editors@thingsihate.org
Subject: Fictious Post Removal Request.
There is a fictious post using my name, with a link back to Greekchat.com as
the contact.
Remove it immediately, OR I will be left with little recourse than to sstart
litigation.
The post is found at this URL
http://thingsihate.org/article/559/alpha_delta_pi_tip
This is the post:
Respectfully,
Pam
Pamela K Furlong Backstrom, CPS/CAP
Delta Psi 1981, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
Central Iowa Alumnae Chapter, Des Moines, Iowa
***************************
www.myspace.com/indysage
XXXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXX
***************************
From: Sean <sean@thingsihate.org>
To: "Pamela Backstrom" <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXX>
Subject: Re: Fictious Post Removal Request.
Oh no! Please don't fire up the vast legal machine at your fingertips! Please, Pamela, please have mercy on us! Please don't "sstart" litigation! (Though maybe you do want to "sstart" your spell checker!)
But if you decide to show us no mercy, you know, if you want to really get us over a barrel, if you really do want to show us who's boss, if you really want to take us down to Chinatown, do please read aloud this selection from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to your team of lawyers (I imagine you've got at least 20 of them, right? Am I right? Is it 20?):
"[no] provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider," and "[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section."
If they need some bathroom reading, the full text is available here:
http://www.fcc.gov/Reports/tcom1996.txt
You may also want to mention to them that in "Universal Communication Systems v. Lycos", the First Circuit Court has affirmed that:
"Congress intended that, within broad limits, message board operators would not be held responsible for the postings made by others on that board. No amount of artful pleading can avoid that result."
The entire masterpiece can be read here:
http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/06-1826-01A.pdf
Man, why am I doing all this work for your lawyers? You should hire me, Pamela!
We've removed the offending comment, because we're nice people, and we wouldn't like it if someone used our names online. We recommend you also try the "nice people" approach next time, instead of making demands about what we do to our website, and threatening to take the legal recourse to which you are certain you must be entitled.
Your friends,
Sean & The thingsihate.org Editors
From: "Pamela Backstrom" <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXX>
To: Sean <sean@thingsihate.org>
Subject: Re: Fictious Post Removal Request.
yes but identity theft is pursuable. And this person pretended to be
me..and in pursuing them, I could tie up the instrument of his deception to
prevent further such acts. I don't have a team of lawyers. I just have a
district court judge who is my son's godfather who I asked about what I
could do. (using a different hired gun)
I appreciate your kindness in removing the offending post, and when/if I
find out who it was that posted it -- I will deal with them (I do have an
idea of who it was on greekchat). I shall also share with others your
thoughtful cooperation in uncovering deception by identity theft. It was
appreciated.
Pam
[Ed.: Luckily for us, she didn't "tie up the instrument of deception," kind of like how they shut down entire banks when someone steals your identity to use your credit card. Huh, they don't? Well, then she did succeed in scaring the hell out of us, but only because her son's godfather the district court judge apparently either doesn't know the law or doesn't feel it applies to everyone equally.]
To: editors@thingsihate.org
Subject: Fictious Post Removal Request.
There is a fictious post using my name, with a link back to Greekchat.com as
the contact.
Remove it immediately, OR I will be left with little recourse than to sstart
litigation.
The post is found at this URL
http://thingsihate.org/article/559/alpha_delta_pi_tip
This is the post:
you bitches are crazy [2007-04-30 04:45:10] sageofages - pam furlong and Phi
Mu means "Eternal Friendship"
Mu means "Eternal Friendship"
Respectfully,
Pam
Pamela K Furlong Backstrom, CPS/CAP
Delta Psi 1981, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
Central Iowa Alumnae Chapter, Des Moines, Iowa
***************************
www.myspace.com/indysage
XXXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXX
***************************
From: Sean <sean@thingsihate.org>
To: "Pamela Backstrom" <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXX>
Subject: Re: Fictious Post Removal Request.
Oh no! Please don't fire up the vast legal machine at your fingertips! Please, Pamela, please have mercy on us! Please don't "sstart" litigation! (Though maybe you do want to "sstart" your spell checker!)
But if you decide to show us no mercy, you know, if you want to really get us over a barrel, if you really do want to show us who's boss, if you really want to take us down to Chinatown, do please read aloud this selection from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to your team of lawyers (I imagine you've got at least 20 of them, right? Am I right? Is it 20?):
"[no] provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider," and "[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section."
If they need some bathroom reading, the full text is available here:
http://www.fcc.gov/Reports/tcom1996.txt
You may also want to mention to them that in "Universal Communication Systems v. Lycos", the First Circuit Court has affirmed that:
"Congress intended that, within broad limits, message board operators would not be held responsible for the postings made by others on that board. No amount of artful pleading can avoid that result."
The entire masterpiece can be read here:
http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/06-1826-01A.pdf
Man, why am I doing all this work for your lawyers? You should hire me, Pamela!
We've removed the offending comment, because we're nice people, and we wouldn't like it if someone used our names online. We recommend you also try the "nice people" approach next time, instead of making demands about what we do to our website, and threatening to take the legal recourse to which you are certain you must be entitled.
Your friends,
Sean & The thingsihate.org Editors
From: "Pamela Backstrom" <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXX>
To: Sean <sean@thingsihate.org>
Subject: Re: Fictious Post Removal Request.
yes but identity theft is pursuable. And this person pretended to be
me..and in pursuing them, I could tie up the instrument of his deception to
prevent further such acts. I don't have a team of lawyers. I just have a
district court judge who is my son's godfather who I asked about what I
could do. (using a different hired gun)
I appreciate your kindness in removing the offending post, and when/if I
find out who it was that posted it -- I will deal with them (I do have an
idea of who it was on greekchat). I shall also share with others your
thoughtful cooperation in uncovering deception by identity theft. It was
appreciated.
Pam
[Ed.: Luckily for us, she didn't "tie up the instrument of deception," kind of like how they shut down entire banks when someone steals your identity to use your credit card. Huh, they don't? Well, then she did succeed in scaring the hell out of us, but only because her son's godfather the district court judge apparently either doesn't know the law or doesn't feel it applies to everyone equally.]