Setting the Record Straight - This is the real SGW

[_SeattleGhostWriter]

I am not a sock puppet, I am not here to chastize, to condemn, nor to be a party to any form of name calling.

I came here to set the record straight.

Polygamy porter had acquired photographs of myself and my family and published them here - after he had sent me a friend request.

I inadvertantly accepted it thinking he/she was someone from a different group on Facebook.

When I had checked my wordpress dashboard, I found a link that came from Mormon Discussions. That lead me to the thread where I discovered the Original post about the Journal of Mormon Apologetic Research Studies that I am still working on developing.

Then it went on about me having written erotica.

Did I at one time write erotica? Yes, at the ocean was not the only erotica piece. I wrote five Erotica pieces that had at one time been on my writerscafe.org profile. I actually had (over the past year) removed those content from wherever they are posted.

I have not posted anything recently, however do hop on over to the writingforums.com where much of my threads there can be viewed and some of the comments on my writing. Yes, my writing is atrocious at times and I still work on it.

Do I regret writing erotica? No, however, I do not find it conducive because that seems to be where many young people are going with the LuLu and POD publishing backgrounds.

One individual posted a link to a myspace profile that I have not logged into for so long - in fact, have forgotten that I had a myspace page. Yes, at one time I was wanting to write hardboiled detective stories that pushed the envelop with a bit of erotica in them.

A Lost Kitten Found
The Dame that was not
Dance on my grave one more time

There is a host of other titles where I have half-written story lines.

As for the photo, yes it is copyrighted because it was included with a press release package back in 2006 and was supposed to be included on the back cover of the published novel Mourning Ellyn. However, the publishing company went into the tank and you can read about that here http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/sho ... Publishing

Here is what happened with the work: It was supposed to have been filed with the Copyright office by the publisher (I refused to pay the 45.00 copyright registration fee because legitimate publishers are supposed to file those on their own and out of their own expense and not charge the authors). The person who took over the new publishing business decided to charge authors for it.

In short, I ended up having 30 books sent back to me (which I had to buy from the publisher and lost money on that). I have only three copies of it left. I am still paying people how had purchased the work and never received the copy.

The picture was supposed to have been included with the Author Bio, and that never made it into the Book. I found out that the individual had five different printers she owed money too and it was one big mess all around for many people. In fact, she ultimately had a work published that used some of my original writings in a book called Internet Fatal Error.

As for the picture, yes it is copyrighted, and will be officially filed when I finish producing a newer novel of Mourning Ellyn. As to when and what time, not sure.

Concerning the DMCA Take Down notice - I have investigated this and sending one to Dr. Shades and Dreamhost was not the first DMCA Take down notice. In fact, I had found my writing online by others who had taken my work and had to submit DMCA take Down notices for those works as well. One was for my question - my being that was stolen and published as a teen angst prose.

Now, as for the Board being shut down, I have communicated with Dr. Shades that it was not my sole intention of having the board taken down. The sole intention was to have the images removed or blocked from public view. As to not informing Dr. Shades, I actually did.

In fact, I sent Dr. Shades and Dream host the same email at the same time. The first one was through permissions that one can establish in outlook. Both Dr. Shades and Dreamhost sent me a response back that they could not open up the email, or the attachment and requested to have the email recent without permissions.

So, I complied and the email were sent out.

Hours later, I came back to see if the photos were down and discovered that the entire board was shut down. That was when I posted over at MD&D. It was not my intention to start a board war.

Hindsight and lesson learned - contact Dr. Shades before going to the webhosting company.

As for the actions of Polygamy porter, because of him posting photos of my family and of myself, it has generated alot of mail that threatened my life and my families life. My wife and I started becoming the center for cyberbullying and attacks.

Bilxia - my apologies because I did misinterpret the Oujia Board and for that, I do apologize.

Because of this action, we contacted a friend of ours who is a police officer and he advised that we contact our attorney.

I contacted our attorney and asked what could be done if anything to prevent the harassment, cyber stalking and the bullying from happening.

After our attorney looked at the information, he advised me to send a DMCA take down notice.

Since I could not go for libel, harassment, or bullying the copyright infringement was the course of action we were to take.

Since then, this heightened the bullying (my wife suffers from depression by the way) and has caused some serious conflicts in our marriage because of the action some individuals have taken upon themselves and how they conducted themselves.

I am sure that most of you with family would become angry if you suddenly open up your emails or Facebook messages and there is a message that says "You are a disgusting pedophile and you should go out and hang yourself".

Kevin Graham, calling me a pedophile is uncalled for and if that is how you view me then that is your perogative. Maybe you were the one that sent that message, I don't know.

The point of this is that people took the ridicule and mockery way too far and engaged in unethical behaviors that are actually illegal. Those people, sadly were being defended and praised.

If you want to call me a douche-waffle, an asshat, ignorant, make fun of my writing, make fun of my mustache (by the way, got a chuckle on the wanna mustache-ride; and you folks are not the first to say I look like Ron Jeremy because I used to get called Little Ronny at my previous employment by my fellow co-workers).

I can take the ridicule, but when it comes to attacking my family and hate mails that we have received, the line has been crossed and I will protect myself and my family from those childish buffoon's who can't grow up.

In the end, I have learned there were some mistakes I have made on my part and for that, I am sorry. However, I did what any sane person would have most likely done if they were in my shoes and began to receive such vile attacks.

So, in light of this, I ask that we just get past this. What is done is done. There is no reason to beat the dead horse into China.

I apologize to those of you that were affected by my actions and it was not my honest attempt to get the board shut down, my attempt was to have the pictures removed and to find a way to put an end to the cyberbullying.

[_consiglieri]

So how do you feel about Pahoran?

[_Joseph]

As for the picture, yes it is copyrighted, and will be officially filed when I finish producing a newer novel of Mourning Ellyn. As to when and what time, not sure.
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Well boy, the photo has been published and you have 90 days from the date of first publication to file the copyright. Looks like you failed there too. Or are you planning on lying and claiming it is an unpublished image?

You really sound like a super priesthood joker, ya know - fer sure, fer sure.

[_SeattleGhostWriter]

So how do you feel about Pahoran?

I have seen him comment over at the MD&D board. I really don't know much about him and having nothing for or against him.

[_Yoda]

As for the actions of Polygamy porter, because of him posting photos of my family and of myself, it has generated a lot of mail that threatened my life and my families life. My wife and I started becoming the center for cyberbullying and attacks.

This really confuses me. From what I understand, Porter removed those photos himself 20 minutes after they were originally posted.

He removed them based on peer pressure he received by the majority of posters on this board.

It's amazing to me that you would receive a large amount of cyberbullying mail after a short 20 minutes of online exposure. Are you sure that this mail was generated due to the post on MDB?

Please understand that I am, by no means, excusing Porter's actions here. If he did, in fact, friend you on Facebook, and then subsequently posted the photos of your family, the action is inexcusable.

However, Porter claims that your Facebook account was public, not private, and that there was no need to friend you to access the pictures. If I recall correctly, you mentioned in a previous thread that you privatized your Facebook account after the incident. This is the first I have heard of Porter actually friending you to gain those photos. I'm not saying that this didn't happen, but, at the same time, I have known Porter for about five years now, and that does not sound like something he would do.

Also...who referred to you as a pedophile? I don't recall that being mentioned. I agree that this is a vile charge.

Please understand that I am, by no means, in support of your family's photos being posted here. I am very much against any harm coming to families, and I am truly sorry that this happened to you. As a board Moderator, I am doing my best to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

[_SeattleGhostWriter]

As for the picture, yes it is copyrighted, and will be officially filed when I finish producing a newer novel of Mourning Ellyn. As to when and what time, not sure.
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Well boy, the photo has been published and you have 90 days from the date of first publication to file the copyright. Looks like you failed there too. Or are you planning on lying and claiming it is an unpublished image?

You really sound like a super priesthood joker, ya know - for sure, for sure.

Again, it was sent with a Press Release and was to be included on the back cover of the Novel, Mourning Ellyn. The publisher (NF Publisher) was supposed to have filed the work under copyright.

Maybe you forgot your glasses when you did not read that part where I linked to Absolute Write Writing forum where the entire escapade of my dealings with Stacey Kohan and NF Publisher and her lack of performing the duties.

* 2006, Mourning Ellyn was to be published. The Photo that was posted here was an inclusion in a press release packet that was to be included on the back cover of the work to be published.

* the Publisher was supposed to have filed the work with the copyright office.

* Publisher approached me asking me to pay the filing fee ($45.00). I refused to pay this since it was the publishers duty and the contract did not say I had to pay for the copyright fee.

*Publisher sent me proof of the work, saying it was published and I started making contacts to start book signings.

* After receiving the book, I noticed there were many errors in the book. Formatting, text, the author picture and bio were missing.

* 90 days have passed since the book's original publication.

The picture is still protected under copyright law and does not have to be filed with copyright office in order to be considered copyrighted material.

The benefit of having something on file with the Copyright office is to make it that much more easier to prove it is copyrighted and not fair use.

Other ways of copyrighting works - utilizing the (c) and date.

Mailing a copy of the work to yourself and keeping it in a sealed envelope.

So, again, yes it is legitimately considered copyright. Just because it was not on file with the Copyright office does not make it invalid.

[_lostindc]

This has to be one of the best troll jobs ever. No way this guy actually exists.

[_SeattleGhostWriter]

As for the actions of Polygamy porter, because of him posting photos of my family and of myself, it has generated a lot of mail that threatened my life and my families life. My wife and I started becoming the center for cyberbullying and attacks.

This really confuses me. From what I understand, Porter removed those photos himself 20 minutes after they were originally posted.

He removed them based on peer pressure he received by the majority of posters on this board.

It's amazing to me that you would receive a large amount of cyberbullying mail after a short 20 minutes of online exposure. Are you sure that this mail was generated due to the post on MDB?

Please understand that I am, by no means, excusing Porter's actions here. If he did, in fact, friend you on Facebook, and then subsequently posted the photos of your family, the action is inexcusable.

However, Porter claims that your Facebook account was public, not private, and that there was no need to friend you to access the pictures. If I recall correctly, you mentioned in a previous thread that you privatized your Facebook account after the incident. This is the first I have heard of Porter actually friending you to gain those photos. I'm not saying that this didn't happen, but, at the same time, I have known Porter for about five years now, and that does not sound like something he would do.

Also...who referred to you as a pedophile? I don't recall that being mentioned. I agree that this is a vile charge.

Please understand that I am, by no means, in support of your family's photos being posted here. I am very much against any harm coming to families, and I am truly sorry that this happened to you. As a board Moderator, I am doing my best to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

I had originally established my photo's as private because former co-workers were tagging themselves in my photo's. This was long before any of this went down.

When I had gone to associated content and posted how to have a non-exclusive content removed, someone had gone over to my Facebook and then informed me that the photo's were public. This was after Polygamy porter had sent me a friend request. I then went back over and put them back to private settings (for some reason, Facebook keeps changing and updating and you have to go back in and reset all your security information).

It may be that one single person is at fault and used the opportunity to do this, however, prior to all this happening, I had not received any hate mail (my sister's partner called me a douche waffle a year ago). Other than that, I have not received much of anything, not until the post about questioning my attempt to start up a magazine publication and then the subsequent postings. After that, my wife and I came under attack. honestly, what are you going to conclude?

Now, it may be that someone took advantage of this and is stirring the pot (for instance, signing up under my name here after all this got going and then started trash talking people here, pretending to be me - of which I immediately contacted Dr. Shades after someone had sent me an email letting me know what was going on over here).

So, there is someone on this board that is behind all the cyberbullying and now is enjoying the fireworks. hopefully they will be exposed and banned. however, the damage is done and the best we can do is apologize for our actions and overreactions, and put this all behind us.

[_Joseph]

The benefit of having something on file with the Copyright office is to make it that much more easier to prove it is copyrighted and not fair use.
*************************

Frequently Asked Questions about publication

Q: Is a photo published if it is on my web site?

A: If it is in a public area of the web site, it is probably published. If it is a private area of the web site, it is probably not published.



If you have unpublished images that you want to post on your web site, you can avoid the published/unpublished issue by registering them as unpublished images before you upload them. It is also important to be aware that registering the web site is different from registering the images on the web site.
- - - -

Q: I’m self-publishing a small run of a book with some recent images. They’re probably not very commercial, I don’t expect the book to sell well (or at all) and I don’t feel like spending the time or money to copyright them. What is the least I can do?

A: The instant you made each photograph, it received immediate copyright protection. If you wish, you could just put a copyright notice at the front of the book and call it a day, although you don’t even have to do that. You don’t have to register all or any of the images, but if you don’t, you could run into trouble in the future if someone “borrows” and uses one of your photos without your permission.



There is one thing you must do, however: As owner of the copyright of a work published in the United States, you have a legal obligation to deposit with the Copyright Office two (2) complete copies of the best edition of the published work, within three months of publication. The Library of Congress and the Copyright Office consider this mandatory, and they can fine you if this is not done. Submitting these copies does not start the copyright registration process, but it could if you also submit the necessary copyright registration forms and fees along with the deposit.

- - - -

Q: I’m putting together a web page to show and promote my work and business. Does putting images up on a web page constitute publication for copyright purposes?

A: What constitutes “publication” for copyright purposes is a difficult question, with very little practical guidance for those things that fall into the vast gray area. Marybeth Peters, the Register of Copyrights, has publicly stated on multiple occasions that her opinion, and the position of her office, is that images uploaded onto a web site in an area that is available to the public for access, constitutes publication of the work. Assuming that this area of your web site isn’t password-protected or otherwise restricted, it is probably safe to take the position that those photographs are published.



There is a also second question to consider: Were any of these images previously published before appearing on your web site (and if so, when) or is this the first publication for all of this work? If none of your images were ever published before, you can register the whole collection in a group registration. If some of the images have been previously published, your best bet is most likely to register the unpublished work as a group, and to deal with the others separately, perhaps individually or perhaps in another group or groups. This gets confusing, and you may want to visit a copyright attorney for guidance in this matter. Further information about registering online works can be found in the Copyright Office’s Circular 66. You will also want to read the information on our Group Registration tutorial section.

_______________

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Other ways of copyrighting works - utilizing the (c) and date.
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A c in parenthesis is not a legal copyright notice. It has to be in the circle.

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

Mailing a copy of the work to yourself and keeping it in a sealed envelope

__ ___ ___

Somebody saw you coming with this one. This is proof of nothing but that you mailed something to yourself.

Myth 3:

Placing the work in an envelope and mailing it to yourself has the same effect as registering it with the Copyright Office.

a. No. If it did, why waste the ink to print this article?

b. Of course it does. If it didn’t, why waste the ink to print this article?

c. Yes. And if enough authors send in their tasteless dreck, the postal service may not have to raise rates again anytime soon.

The answer is a. Though it’s always nice to receive mail, sending the work to yourself does nothing more than establish the date that the envelope-and not necessarily its contents-was mailed. If you think it’s important to register your work, pay the $30 and register it with the Copyright Office. If you simply want to receive mail, send yourself a postcard. Or lie on your Form 1040.

http://www.artlawteam.com/copyright-myths-debunked/

Visit the linked page as well as http://asmp.org/tutorials/frequently-as ... right.html

Learn something about Copyright law and intellectual property.

They you won't step on your dick next time. Might even help your porno writing career as you will be able to word process without a sore penis.

Your brother... or YOU are the copyright owner? You said he photographed it. Did he assign copyright to you?

Yes, one of you owns copyright to the photo but failing to register it properly puts you outside statutory damages and more especially outside collecting attorney fees. Also, if he did not assign the image copyright to you then you are possibly guilty of filing a false DMCA claim.

Learn what you are doing and his won't get you screwed again. Still doesn't excuse people on these forums stealing the intellectual property of others and they know it. That is why they are whining like any other common criminal who gets caught.

[_Blixa]

Bilxia - my apologies because I did misinterpret the Oujia Board and for that, I do apologize.

Thanks, apology accepted, of course.

I'm alarmed to hear that you and your family received and may still be receiving bullying email or messages. Like liz, I am shocked that all that could emanate from Porter's stupid, and short lived posting of your Facebook photos (so short, I missed them and I was reading the thread at the time). However, given the recent discovery that you were being impersonated on this board, I have to conclude that there is at least one pot-stirrer, if not more, who seem to be getting their kicks from turning some juvenile joking into something much bigger and more serious.

Thank you for explaining your side and showing that you have a much more healthy attitude toward your writing than the douche waffle who was impersonating you.