Ok, my friends. It is time to post your votes for whether or not I should fight a free speech battle. I was contacted by management at my former place of employment, which i guess I am unable to mention by name, lest it come up in a google search. For those who don't remember, the name rhymes with m-tree-i-berks. The management, whom i worked under for five years, are strongly encouraging me to remove the blogg I wrote the day I was layed off. In this blogg (look under my February 12, 2003 entry at http://www.dragonhair.com/anderson/2002_02_01_archive.htm), I made reference to two of the female leaders at our company by an affectionate name I often use to reference women. And I made an opinionated statement about their leadership abilities (one which i still hold, by coincidence). Apparantly, according to an email from this company, my opinions are considered slanderous, and need to be removed immediately. If not, they will refer the matter to their lawyer. This is not a joke. They really are concerned with what my "drunken" personal blog says about their company. The terminally unimaginative and unhumored corporate world reaching out their deathly hand to me once again, attempting to influence control over my life almost two years after my termination.
So, I will put this matter up for a vote. Should I stand down? Be intimidated? Remove the blog? Or stand up to the corporate world and their lawyers to fight for free speech? Sort of like the male Erin Brokovic. So you can vote for, 1) removing my blog 2) keeping my blog 3) removing the name of my company, while still keeping the blog 4) reposting the same blogg under taj's account, and having him write it as his own opinion. And if you vote for number three, offer a different name with which to reference my former employer.
And to everyone in the corporate world, get a fucking sense of humor. If you had sent a request to remove my blog based on the fact that we worked together for five years, and respected each other, and you find the blog insulting, then no problem. I'd have it down in a minute. But by threatening me with lawyers, you bring back all the memories i have for dislike of the corporate world. You just don't get it. You might know how to do business with clients, but you've forgotten how to do business with real people.
Oh, and for the record, i wasn't drunk when I wrote that blog. I was perfectly sober. Well, maybe not perfectly sober ...
Comments (13)
Damn the Man. That is so ridiculous. I have never heard anything like this before. Tell Linda I you know longer work there and you can say what you want. Who does she think she is?
Posted by T-Diddy | November 13, 2003 2:57 PM
Posted on November 13, 2003 14:57
that is the most pathetic thing i've ever heard, but it fits your description of ho's running the company perfectly. that is the epitome of ho's running a company. i'm sure you're going to get some funny responses here, but my suggestion is to - no matter what you decide - let them spend a couple grand on lawyers. they don't have an inhouse legal team so they'll pay $350/hr to explain the situation to an attorney. or more than likely, an attornette. by the time the attornette sends you a warning letter, they'll have spent a few thousand bucks on it...drag it out, let 'em throw money at it, then do what you will.
more importantly, why weren't you drunk that night. that's bullshit. if you say you're drunk, you should be drunk.
Posted by k-ro | November 13, 2003 3:58 PM
Posted on November 13, 2003 15:58
Yeah, they coulda kept you employed an extra month with the money they're gonna spend on the attornette...interesting.
For the record, Dragonhair Networks is not liable for any content provided by its writers. The expressed opinions do not reflect the opinion of the hoes that manage Dragonhair Networks.
Posted by eMarkLee | November 13, 2003 5:00 PM
Posted on November 13, 2003 17:00
If you take that post down, the creative soul will have lost.
You are writing a blog. A blog is a personal web log, a diary that reflects your opinions, experiences, thoughts and rants. It is your right to comment on your life, even if you are drunk, even if the words reflect poorly on someone else, even if you use politically incorrect terms. It is your property. It is copyrighted. It belongs to you. You are not stating it is fact. You are stating it is your perceptions of life. If people choose to read it, that's up to them. You are not actively distributing that old post to the masses with the intent of slandering your old employer. When that post is read in context, it's obvious what your intent was: a vent, an expression of frustration, a recounting of your perception of your layoff.
If you are sued for slander, they will need to apply those same rules to any columnist who calls George Bush an idiot or incompetent, who says Saddam Hussein is evil or claims the Lakers are overrated.
The fact that the management at your old company are threatened by your bloggings from nearly two years ago shows that that company is indeed ill-run and are focusing their energy and resources on trivial and silly pursuits that will yield no returns.
Uptight, thin-lipped, humor-drained, moronic drones still run Corporate America.
Get a real life, people, and focus your attention on something that might make your company money, since that's what it's all about for you.
Posted by Debbie | November 15, 2003 8:05 AM
Posted on November 15, 2003 08:05
According to a law site, "In order to prove defamation, you have to be able to prove that what was said or written about you was false."
..and regarding the right to express your opinion, "..so long as your statement of opinion is just an opinion, not containing specific facts that can be proved untrue."
So I think as long as you don't say something like, "the bosses at m-tree-i-berks are 3-foot tall prostitutes with moustaches and regularly turn tricks at 3rd and Market", I think you're fine.
They can't touch you Marky...nobody touches my Marky...
Posted by agey | November 16, 2003 12:55 PM
Posted on November 16, 2003 12:55
Age, What if you call them "mullet wearing donkeys" ?
Posted by eMarkLee | November 18, 2003 11:01 AM
Posted on November 18, 2003 11:01
OK, so I will take the other side from all your peeps.
Mark, you are complaining about the fact they did not come to you out of respect for the years you gave them. Actually, they employed you instead of one of the other hundred java programmers looking for a job then, 5 years.
And what do they see online? That they ran the company into the ground possibly because they were women. I will not even go into the hoe part. Come on, don't cry in your stein or feel disrespected because of their response. Take it like a man.
But, legally you have nothing to worry about. There are plenty of cases to prove this. Otherwise bloggers would be in the news all the time instead of Kaaza users.
(so you should come to Italy for Thanksgiving!)
Posted by kathunter | November 18, 2003 11:32 PM
Posted on November 18, 2003 23:32
haha shit. i think kat is right actually. you fucker. you worked like 3 hours a day for them and got 30% raises every 6 months. you're the hoe!
Posted by k-ro | November 19, 2003 8:56 AM
Posted on November 19, 2003 08:56
If Monkey is the hoe, that means that Manual 3 or MCI3 Works or whatever is the pimp. Your ass got pimped. I love you kenta
Posted by T. Diddy | November 19, 2003 7:14 PM
Posted on November 19, 2003 19:14
If you take it down, i already copied it. and will post it on the net so people can enjoy it...
Biaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttchhhhhhhhes
Posted by Hector | November 20, 2003 10:21 PM
Posted on November 20, 2003 22:21
Come on, Hector. Let's be respectable here. They are not biatches. They are good solid respectable hoes.
Posted by eMarkLee | November 21, 2003 2:13 PM
Posted on November 21, 2003 14:13
to update: I haven't replied to the email from the company and they haven't sent another one. It will probably slip between the cracks until a couple months from now, at which time I'll get a comment on this blog from someone I used to work with that came across it. Will they be angry? Think I am foolish? Ungrateful? Regardless, the people have spoken, and they vote for the blog to stay up on this site. Until further notice, that will be the case.
Posted by workmonkey | November 26, 2003 5:43 AM
Posted on November 26, 2003 05:43
oh cool, this information is really useful and definately is comment worthy! hehe. I’ll see if I can try to use some of this information for my own blog. Thanks!
Posted by Pink Friday | November 21, 2010 12:32 AM
Posted on November 21, 2010 00:32