MadTeaParty

2005-09-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

If if you are looking for the MadTeaParty debate group please contact mad.hatter@yahoo.com .

"Notice of Infringement"

2005-06-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

I recieved an email this morning entitled, "Notice of Infringement" from "Yahoo! Copyright Agent". It is concerning a HUGEGANTIC list of messages posted at the my MadTeaParty debate group.

The whole thing started a few months back when a new member at the MTP (MadTeaParty) got off on the wrong foot with some of the other members there. It lead to a series of back and forth bickering and insulting that I as the group's only moderator was having great difficulty attempting to keep the order. In the end this member claimed that she was going to report one of the other members to Yahoo! itself. Now I like to think I run a pretty fair group. Compared with 75% (if not more) of Yahoo!'s other services the MTP is rather tame. I didn't feel there was any reason to go over my head to Yahoo! as if there were any serious problem I would have as moderator taken care of it myself. Besides, reporting things said at the MTP to Yahoo! could possibly get the group disbanned. It's easy to imagine Yahoo! just shutting the whole thing down than have to deal with finding out what really was said. I told her if she or anybody else started reporting things to Yahoo! that she would be banned by me from the MTP. Why would I want such a person in the group? She got all shitty about it and started making threats. I removed her. Later I discovered an email that she had sent me personally (before I banned her) basically asking that I delete every message that everyone ever made in reply to her and she would then delete all the messages she had made:

Hatter,

I thought I'd like to write to in an attempt to see ifn we might be
able to negotiate a peaceful settlement. I am certainly not happy with the
situation as it stands. I think it is fairly clear that Ron, DB and TR
have preexisting resentments which make it impossible for them to deal with
me a/o reason this matter wiith fact or clarity. Honestly they rumor such
garbage, a hodge podge of purposelyfully misrepresentive facts about me.

On one hand, I have my own self serving interests, on the other hand, I
feel some social responsiblity. It is incorrect to harrass folks as they do
+ with character defamation and such obsenities. On the other hand, it
is not my place to stand up for others who suffer their abuses. However I
also feel that I have adequately demonstrated that one does not necc. have
to tolerate such treatment.

So, my concern, is perhaps, better suited to focus on my own self
interests.

To this respect, I am willing to offer you an incentive: if you delete all
Thalprin correspondence since I joined (all replies and responses and
posts concering me and my addy) I will delete all my posts and I will
unsubscribe.

I think it is clear that these three folks are incapable of controling
their anger and actions towards me, and, honestly, I hate to see them get
into trouble as foul mouthed, deceptive and ill mannered as they are.
Besides, I think or hope they've learned their lesson.

So, I am willing to let bygones be bygones and just act like the whole
thing never happened.

Truth is, I well realize, that they seem incapable of being able to
control themselves or stop harrassing me. They started it, and quite awhile
ago and on it will continue because that's how they intend to act + they self
reinforce each other to continue these abusive cycles. So there will
be no fun of discussion for me (and many others ie "everyone on their list" I
imagine) at MPT and MTP is unlikely to be a place I feel welcomed.

I did not realize this when I joined. That's one of the problems with folks
using so many different names. I thought the group looked fun. Then I
thought perhaps I could reason with them. Then I was angry for a bit. And now
I realize who they are and that chip on their shoulder aint going
away.

Having said this, and having made this offer, let me be clear that, I
am 100% certain that if I filed complaints I would see my requests honored
and met.

I'd perfer it not come to this. I really am quite civil. I have no
interest in disrupting your group or seeing it deleted. I had every
interest in adding to it's content. However I simply can't/won't
accept having such obsenities, misrep. and slander archived or in
circulation about me.

Give it some thought, and let me know your thoughts.

Best wishes,

Terrie

If I would have gone along with this nearly two whole months of material would of been deleted. I don't have the time for that.

She also sent me another email:

I have just a note to add, having just received a rather impolite note attempting to bully me from DB.

She claims that I have been responsible for closing more than one list,
and while I understand that she is your friend, I'd like to explain (and
demonstrate that) sometimes friends simply aren't entirely honest.

For example, in the nearly five years I have been on the net I have
seen two groups close.

The first group closing happened like this, and it was a group I liked
alot.

Three new people joined that list and harrassed me nonstop from the
get go until I wanted to leave. As much as I liked the man who ran the
list I simply couldn't remain, which, yes, is probably what they wanted.
So I wrote him a note to tell him I was leaving and he wrote me back to
say that he was going to close the list, which, yes, probably he did it to
piss these people off, which it did and they wanna blame me for. However,
I diid not force him to close his list nor did I ruin it, these other folks
did. They picked a battle, they felt they'd won a battle, and they didn't get
to enjoy the fruits of their labor, this he denied them - justly so, I think
AND unforunately, they wanna blame me.

The next list I was on I also enjoyed until, again, I was harrassed and
then (in addition) censored so as to not be able to respond. Of course,
the ranting was being allowed to be posted, but I was not being allowed to
respond. I understand that folks have friends and feel loyalty to
them, but there is also in all fairness, fairness as a right as well. And
just then the group changed flavor into such as no good/right, no bad/wrong,
and it's all consciousness/not real, instead of history, theory and maths -
basically, that which I found philosophically disharmonic with my own
thoughts. Further the owner of that list intended to keep my maths and
philos in his archive, something I found objectionable, I felt if the
list was going to have a new focus, so entirely different from my own
viewpoints that I was not going to support it or appear as if I did. When
I told the owner that I was going to delete my maths he blocked my e-mail
addy to prevent me from doing so.

I wrote him three times over a six month period to request that he not
deny my right to exercise control over my own materials. I also forewarned
him each time that it was an infringement of my IPRs. He had plenty of
time and plenty of forewarning and three sensible requests to do the right
thing.

At a certain point I had no choice but to file a complaint. There were
several actions that couldn't been taken and I was surprised the group
was closed down. I can only speculate as to why the CR agent decided that
was the correct action to take.

I am really not a horrible person, not at all, rumors and misreps
aside.

Then I get this email today from Yahoo!:

Re: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/madteaparty/

Terrie Halprin has notified Yahoo! Inc. ("Yahoo!") that copyrighted material proprietary to Terrie Halprin has been posted in connection with Yahoo!® Group madteaparty. Terrie Halprin has further notified Yahoo! that the Yahoo!® Group in question has no authorization to post the material in question:

Messages:

43941, 43942, 43945, 43946, 43948, 43964, 43965,

43966, 43967, 43968, 43970, 43971, 43860, 43863,

43865, 43867, 43870, 43875, 43878, 43880, 43883,

43888, 43889, 43767, 43768, 43771, 43772, 43774,

43776, 43780, 43781, 43783, 43785, 43877, 43879,

43800, 43801, 43802, 43803, 43804, 43807, 43808,

43809, 43679, 43681, 43686, 43687, 43688, 43692,

43694, 43695, 43697, 43699, 43702, 43707, 43708,

43601, 43608, 43621, 43623, 43626, 43627, 43629,

43632, 43633, 43634, 43635, 43647, 43649, 43650,

43651, 43652, 43653, 43654, 43655, 43514, 43515,

43516, 43517, 43518, 43521, 43522, 43523, 43524,

43526, 43527, 43538, 43539, 43540, 43541, 43543,

43544, 43549, 43551, 43417, 43418, 43419, 43420,

43421, 43425, 43428, 43429, 43432, 43435, 43439,

43440, 43443, 43444, 43445, 43446, 43448, 43449,

43452, 43259, 43261, 43271, 43272, 43273, 43275,

43356, 43363, 43364, 43365, 43368, 43369, 43370,

43371, 43381, 43187, 43188, 43189, 43191, 43193,

43194, 43195, 43200, 43201, 43203, 43205, 43222,

43224, 42225, 43226, 43227, 43229, 43109, 43110,

43111, 43112, 43115, 43116, 43130, 43128, 43136,

43160, 43161, 43162, 43164, 43167, 43080, 43081,

43086, 43087, 43088, 43089, 43090, 43092, 43094,

43095, 43096, 43101, 43102, 43172, 43175, 43177,

43031, 43053, 43073, 43076, 43077, 43078, 42923,

42924, 42945, 42926, 42927, 42928, 42936, 42939,

42949, 42950, 42951, 42962, 42981, 42982, 42989,

43002, 42845, 42846, 42848, 42859, 42865, 42900,

42902, 42903, 42905, 42911, 42913, 42916, 42917,

42757, 42759, 42760, 42762, 42763, 42770, 42771,

42772, 42775, 42776, 42787, 42792, 42794, 42795,

42796, 42799, 42704, 42705, 42706, 42708, 42710,

42711, 42713, 42714, 42715, 42716, 42718, 42719,

42720, 42721, 42722, 42723, 42725, 42647, 42648,

42644, 42645, 42647, 42648, 42649, 42653, 42659,

42660, 42661, 42663, 42664, 42665, 42666, 42667,

42669, 42674, 42675, 42676, 42537, 42542, 42545,

42549, 42550, 42573, 42574, 42586, 42587, 42593,

42596, 42619

Yahoo! respects the rights of both its users and the owners and rights holders of intellectual property. Accordingly, and in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and/or other applicable federal law(s), Yahoo! intends to expeditiously remove or disable access to the copyrighted material in question. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT UNLESS THE MATERIAL IN QUESTION IS REMOVED, OR ACCESS TO THE MATERIAL IS DISABLED, WITHIN FORTY-EIGHT (48) HOURS, YAHOO! INTENDS TO DISABLE ACCESS TO THE MATERIAL.

Through your participation in Yahoo!® Groups you agree to abide by the Yahoo! Terms of Service, as well as any additional Terms of Service, applicable to you. The current Yahoo! Terms of Service may be reviewed at: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms. Pursuant to Section 6 of the Terms of Service, Member Conduct, the use of Yahoo!® services to "upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights . . . of any party" is prohibited.

As you know, Yahoo! may terminate any and/or all services and accounts without notice. This notice is provided to you as a courtesy. Without waiving or limiting any rights or remedies Yahoo! has or may have, as the designated owner of the madteaparty group you are hereby advised that our receipt of another notification alleging the unauthorized posting of another party's intellectual property in connection with any Yahoo!® Group may result in not only the suspension of all Yahoo!® Groups for which you are the designated owner, but the termination of all of your Yahoo! services as well as the deactivation of your Yahoo! ID.

If you wish to attempt to resolve the matter by dealing with Terrie Halprin directly, Terrie Halprin may be contacted at:

By Email: thalprin@hotmail.com

If you believe that the madteaparty group was designated by Terrie Halprin by mistake or misidentification, or if you believe that the madteaparty group has not infringed the copyrights of Terrie Halprin, you may submit a sworn counter-notification as to the mistake or misidentification. To be effective, counter-notifications shall be in writing and include:

1. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, including the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;

2. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification;

3. Your name, address and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address provided by you is located (or if the address provided by you is outside the United States, you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for any judicial district in which Yahoo! may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the complaining party or its agent; and

4. Your physical or electronic signature on the counter-notification.

Any counter-notification shall be submitted to Yahoo!'s Copyright Agent in accordance with the contact information provided at:

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/copyright/copyright.html.

Please be advised that Yahoo! will provide a copy of such a counter-notification (including your name, address, telephone number and any other contact information provided by you) to Terrie Halprin. In providing a copy of the counter-notification Yahoo! will advise Terrie Halprin that Yahoo! intends to replace or re-enable access to the material in question ten (10) business days following the date of the counter-notification unless Yahoo!'s Copyright Agent receives notice that Terrie Halprin has filed a court action seeking an order to restrain you from engaging in infringing activity related to the material in question.

We wish to thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.

Regards,

Copyright Agent, Yahoo! Inc.

copyright@yahoo-inc.com

****************************

c/o Yahoo! Inc.

701 First Ave.

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

The whole thing is absurd because A) Thalprin was the one who posted the messages! and B) There is nothing what so ever "copyrighted" in those messages! This is not a matter of someone taking text from a website or book and cut & pasting it at the MTP. I looked at one of the messages cited and see that it is nothing more than Thalprin replying to another member stating, "You're funny."

Hardly copyrighted material. If she didn't want her words to be displayed at the group then she should not have posted them there.

I called Yahoo!'s Copyright Agent and left a message telling them to simply read the messages and see with their own eyes that there is no copyrighted material posted. I told them the whole thing is BS and that am not going to be removing anything. If they are seriously affraid they are going to be sued for hosting copyrighted material then why don't they just removed the damn messages themselves?

CrAcKeD Commentary

MadTeaParty

"Notice of Infringement"