Entirely Hypothetical
September 06, 2006
So let's say it's been brought to your attention (thank you, Interpid Internet People! I owe you a Coke.) that some loser on MySpace (I know! A loser! On MYSPACE of all places!) is stealing your writing and photos and manufacturing a nice little fake life for her fake self.
Let's say you report a couple copyright violations to MySpace. Let's say you didn't initially realize just HOW many entries she's copied because...well, it's a MySpace blog. Have you ever tried to navigate through those things? Do they make anybody else feel as old as I do? Or am I the only one who gets a headache from trying to read a red font on a black background floating over a photograph? While the Black-Eyed Peas are on auto-play in the background? Just me then? Fine, moving on.
Let's say you realize she's been posting your writing pretty regularly since at least June, which is when her entries suddenly disintegrate into day after day of cut-and-pasted song lyrics and seriously, if she's stolen shit before that you almost don't care, no way are you scrolling through yet another Elliot Smith song that just perfectly captures all the complicated hurts and feelings of some teenager for whom the fake life of a fake live-in nanny living in Vegas is pretty much the coolest and most glamorous thing EVER.
Let's say you also notice stuff that's not your writing, which obviously means she's plagiarizing multiple people because...please.
So with all that said, do you:
1) Break down and create a MySpace account so you can contact "Claudia" directly and ask her to take the offending posts down. Girlplease. Not happening.
2) Report the additional copyright violations. Wait a reasonable amount of time in patient silence to see if MySpace takes care of it. This would obviously be the most adult reaction, because while it's creepy as ALL HELL, she's not hurting you or anything, and really, it's fucking MySpace.
3) Take Yvonne up on her offer to "comment and go all Latina on her ass," because Yvonne has a MySpace account, HAAAA LOSER.
4) Stomp around in a petulant fit , post a link and unleash the Wrath of teh Internets on her. (She stole a picture of my TIRE, people. MY TIRE! I feel so violated.)
5) Stomp around in a petulant fit, post an entry without the link because you don't want to be some kind of Big Bad Blogging Bully, which accomplishes...pretty much nothing except to let "Claudia" know that you know and that you know she knows and that MySpace knows and seriously, knock that fucking shit off this instant.
I'm just wondering what you would do. In case, you know, this really happened instead of being entirely hypothetical.
Confidential to "Claudia:" There are no IKEAs in Las Vegas. Or even in the entire state of Nevada, dumbshit.
Um, yeah, me too...I'm 30 and I have a myspace account. And will be frantically searching for freaky "Claudia". Anyway, I guess you could be flattered?
PLease post the link Im searching like crazy
2, 3, & 4 plus send threatening notes about how the WHOLE internet is gonna kick her ass.
Link it...if only for the (super-selfish) reason that i want to see and be able to tell her how loserly it is...
Dude. I have a Myspace. I'm not Latina but as a writer who has had her shit stolen before, I know I can come up with a pretty good comment for her lame ass.
But wait. How do we know you're not stealing Claudia's life???? :p
I like Diet Dr. Pepper, you can send it FedEx. :)
It was really nice of her to password protect your posts, so only her myspace friends could read them...
Moron.
hotlinking: she's linking directly to your photos so if you change the photo, it will appear changed on her pages too since she has only copied the image LOCATION and not the image itself.
Oh hell. She IS hotlinking! So not only is she stealing my writing and photos of my preshus tire, she's stealing my bandwidth! Because I am sure she gets a shitload of traffic.
Post the link! Anyone who is stupid enough to do such a thing deserves hundreds and thousands of terrible comments and emails in your support! Post it!
Regardless of whatever else you decide to do, I'm definitely in favor of siccing Y on her, just for fun. Please?
Do you have a friend that's also an attorney? One that would be willing to write some sort of 'cease & desist' letter to MySpace on really important-looking stationery?
Oh yes I would be furious and I would probably do #4 because you know there are some people reading you every day who would clearly love to unleash some anger.
I'm also recommending #4 because my life is boring and I want to see the drama unfold :o)
Seriously,the fact that the writing was coherent and good should have been the first tip off that it wasn't hers. Have you SEEN the garbage out there on My Space?
Totally replace your photos she has linked to with something just disgusting and revolting. That will teach her!
A,
My roomie is an intellectual property and patent lawyer in D.C. She'd be glad to offer advice/counsel/asswhooping if you don't hear something soon.
uh, wow. how sad that she's doing that. pathetic and sad.
hmmm...i would not post the link, she probably won't be able to handle the internets and their abuse. but since she's stealing your stuff she'll be here and she'll see it and she'll know.
god, how did you find out?
I vote what 123Valerie said. Whip up a graphic that says "I'm a Thief" and replace the photo with that graphic.
I vote for beating her up with a beeflog.
Well, you did ask, so therefore let the assvice fly!
If MySpace does not comply and remove her profile within a reasonable amount of time - get an attorney to send a letter to them. I agree with previous posters that you must protect yourself.
Let's get all Latina on her ass... and call her parents.
To add insult to injury, she's butchering your writing with the random cutting and pasting. She's not even doing you justice!
Thank GAWD she didn't post pics of Noah.
Oops...I see Stephanie said replace the hotlinked photo - I'm an idiot.
I would post the link so we can all go leave her nasty comments!! Every single time she posts we'll say she copied the post (even if she didn't!)
those myspace pages make my eyesockets burn.
She is seriously a no-talent loser so don't waste your ire on her (bitch!).
But, seriously, would you be so pissed if she came and removed the tire (and the associated Tivo trash) from your entryway?
Come on...be honest...
I don't really have any suggestions. I'm too busy being flummoxed that someone would do this. It is just too weird, inexplicable and creepy. Wonder what would motivate this....just what brand of pathology does she have?
I would go ape shit. Ape shit I tell you! If there is one thing I learned in college, in the English department, is that working your ass of (or spending 5 minutes, whatever) on a piece of writing to have others take claim to it is absolutely heinous!
MySpace is my guilty pleasure and everyone is allowed to have one. But don't think for one minute that I won't log on tonight and search every "Claudia" profile until I find the bitch and tell her what for!
Can Y get all Latina on my ass? Because that sounds like fun!
Unbelievable... sheesh, how pathetic.
And she stole the mcpeckerpull post from one of my most favorite daddy bloggers out there. That post totally cracked me up.
Y can get all latina on her ass and I'll get all crazy black girl on her ass and you'll be covered. Between the two of us, I'm sure we could fuck a bitch up. Problem solved.
Dude. I spend way too much time online. Because the post titled "Fridays"? I recognized right off the bat. It's Mr. Nice Guy, http://bonnehomme.blogspot.com/2006/06/lets-give-brooklyn-hand.html
Let's just say I've dealt with hotlinkers in the past. The best revenge? Put a different photo in that location on your page. Preferably one that features you holding a sign saying "I am not Claudia," "that's my tire bitch" or something more snarky preferably. She will take that crap down so fast once you do this :)
Okay, so while I'm certainly tempted to leave the comments with her URL (WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE WITH THE MAD MYSPACE SEARCHING SKILLZ?), I'm deleting them. I don't know. Seems overkillish.
Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind if her profile isn't yanked down in a reasonable amount of time. Then it will be On. And I will Bring It.
I have a myspace and Im 30.... I use it to keep in touch with friends from high school.
This is just the sorriest thing I have ever seen.
She turned off comments, but not emails, I let her have it for you!
Im sure thats not the only one shes gotten though. What made me sick is all the comments about how witty and smart she is.
The nerve of some people!
Want me to give her a good ol' southern ass-whoopin? Cause I will. :)
That's just craziness right there. CAH-RAZINESS.
I am so glad I refreshed like crazy - I just knew the second someone posted the URL, you'd probably take it down - but I GOT IT! Joy!
Yeah, I have no life.
im reading cladias myspace. yea. does she realise that by changing just a few words here and there, makes the post, which was previously awesom, suck? she sucks. im so mad. dammit
-longtime lurker-I have to say, WHUT A LOSER! blue's clus and the tire are sacred-I'll help get LATINA on her ass too-she even stole your drunk post too!!!!!!!
She even stole your project baahlah!
That fucker!
She is going down
I'm just upset that she stole your cute little divider. It's not in the least obvious that it doesn't match anything else on her site.
Viva Amalah!
I can't go to MySpace from work ("content blocked: Personals and Dating"), but I'll be looking for that hobag from home tonight.
I totally think Y could (and should) take Claudia down. Easily.
I vote for some kind of aerobic dance-off between Y and Claudia.
Totally number 4....
To alter a well used internet axiom "This post is worthless without links" Girl, I wanna spam her MySpace account. The nerve-stealing your TIRE!
Yes, I'm 40 and have a myspace page. Mostly so I can keep up with the nieces while they're at college. Hmmm, never saw pictures of kegstands before that!
my kingdom for the link.
let me know when you need me to make a phone call about this.
someone else who found "claudia" could post it on their blog and that way you wouldn't have to feel guilty about the wrath she will recieve.
Hey, Y, I have an idea. You and I live close to each other and we're about five hours from Vegas. Let's drive out together and combine Latina with Jew. You can scream at her and I can make her feel really guilty.
My curiosity is totally killing me!
I agree with the idea of taking the pictures and changing them to something else. Or at the very least, plastering your URL all over them.
I have to agree with Tracey. I just don't get it. What makes someone do that? And it scares me to no end. Should I even be posting pictures/writing about my kids? Honestly - WHAT MAKES SOMEONE DO THAT? For the love of Peter. Did it scare you, Amy?
Oh my God Amalah! Your readers are emailing me for the URL - what a mistake commenting. I shoulda stayed a lurker.
By the way if you want a Pasty White Girl with a misleading last name to help gang up on her, I can be there.
Gah! all of her comments have to be approved by her first.