Before I get to the subject of this post, I have to tell you what is my impression of Matthew Mullenweg, aka the #1 Matt on the internet. Matt is either extremely busy or extremely arrogant man. How can I say this without meeting him in person? Well… I have been trying to get in touch with Matt in regard of an urgent matter without success since Monday. I used the contact form, e-mail, commented on his post in hope of getting his attention and finally called his number (877.273.8550). I was not able to reach him, and I am starting to suspect his ignoring my attempts to communicate. Hopefully Matt will prove me wrong. I understand a man can be very busy to run Automatic the company behind WordPress. For goodness sake, get yourself a secretary if you can’t take care of “communication department” on your own.
No I am not trying to stalk Matt. All I want is for him to take a look at http://vladzablotskyy.wordpress.com – which by the way does not belong to me. Then I want him to take a look what sort of Yahoo! Answers the above blog refers to. Yahoo! removed the offensive material and it is obvious that the creep found a new heaven at WordPress.com.
Matt, I hope you will make the right decision. And for goodness sake, hire a secretary! I don not believe you are an arrogant man, but if you do not answer valid e-mails and do not return calls, it’s an impression some of us can get. Oh and pleeeaaassseee do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
That should get his attention! I think Matt is very busy and burdened with other stuff. Still, I took a look at the fake blog and see that someone is trying to mimic you. Shame on them and shame on WP if they do not do something about it.
That reminds me. I have yet to get a reply from my communications with them… hmm… customer service not a top priority there then?
Thanks Matt,
I have been fighting what seemed as an uphill battle for last two months. I am learning a lot about “reputation management” these days.
I am not sure what is wrong. It may be one of several things. They may be receiving so many requests that they are backed up for weeks…. That is why I called his cell, which according to Matt, is the best way to get in touch with him in case of an emergency… I maybe stretching to present my case as an emergency. But considering what I have been through with these creeps during last few weeks one can understand my frustration.
I realize that a “stumble” will not even make a dent to get his attention, but I am not sure what else I can do…. Besides proceeding with legal action that is.
There are only few individuals that should really take responsibility and creating a carnage of the innocent parties is not my way to go about things. And I still consider WordPress.com and innocent party in this mess…. Not for long if they don't respond.
Unfortunately, although it's obviously distasteful, this may fall squarely under free speech since he hasn't actually said anything overtly negative against you yet.
You may need to get a lawyer to send Automattic a notice, since it's only a matter of time before he breaches that fine line of free speech and libel (in my non-legal opinion) That would certainly get Automattic's attention.
It's a shame you have to go through this. Some people simply have far too much time on their hands and have no idea what to do with themselves.
Teli,
Did you see what they have done on Yahoo! Answers:
http://www.go-beyond-mls.com/silencing-a-blogge…
Do you think that falls under a free speech?
The both are obviously connected. I do have some hard evidence in form of IP addresses, me and Matt can compare our notes.
As I said, I think WordPress.com is an innocent part in all of this. I am saving my lawyer for the creep who did these things.
Sorry for sounding frustrated….
It is nice to see you around again on my blog! Thanks for stopping by.
Heck no what they did on Yahoo! Answers doesn't fall under free speech; that's clearly libel. I was referencing the WP.com blog that's up right now (there's nothing libelous up there yet, but I do feel, if previous events repeat themselves, there will be). That's basically why I suggested having a lawyer send a C&D to remove the offending blog from WP.com pages before it gets out of hand.
Unfortunately, WP.com hasn't been quick to remove blogs that aren't deemed splogs and which don't overtly break their ToS without some strong arming from legal teams and even then, it's hit or miss. (This conclusion is drawn from previous scenarios.)
Frankly, from a personal stand point, I do believe Automattic needs to remove the blog before things get out of hand. Do I think it will actually happen without some divine intervention? Let's just say I'm not holding my breath. :/
I actually would welcome Matt's good will. I think this sort of things
should not go unpunished. I am sure we would have some very revealing notes
to share… These guys are leaving plenty of fingerprints.
Vlad, I have been editing Wikipedia for 9 months now. Recently I have been blocked and now undergoing mediation process on my talk page. If you want to see the inner working of Wikipedia I welcome you to come take a look at Wikipedia.
I think it will be a very interesting experience and will shed some light on the Dark Side of Wikipedia.
If you or your guest have advice as to Wikipedia and would like to share it with me and the other guests of my blog please post it on my blog.
http://www.igorthetroll.com/blog/wikipedia-igor…
Thank you,
Igor
Igor,
Forgive me but I absolutely do not follow you. What are you talking about?
Hey Vlad! I guess you are not familiar with HiveThink of Wikipedia and how it is being social engineered by alternative agenda political groups. I asked a few of the boys to give me a hand in shining some light on The Dark Side of Wikipedia.
Take a look at this parody. http://www.fanboys-online.com/index.php?comic=1…
Will go see Loren @ SEJ and see if he'll stand up for the cause.
Regards,
Igor
Vlad, I hope you are following the development of my Wikipedia post. Michael Arrington is doing a sister post with me on the same topic.
I now have it on reasonably good (anonymouse though it shall remain) authority that this is likely to be a case of one man being too busy. Also I am told word-press have always sucked at the support side of things.
With that in mind I think the story of the man who wanted bread springs to mind. It's a bible (parable) story from the NT that you may be aware of.
Man gets visitors late at night and is customerily expected to feed them but he has no food to feed them with. So he knocks on the door of the guy next door. The same set of customs hopefully working to have the guy next door help out. The guy next door is, however, in bed and so is the rest of the family.
“Go away” calls the man next door, “we're all in bed.”
But the man does not go away and eventually his next door neighbor gives him some bread to shut him up.
Possibly this might apply here.
That is an interesting way to look at that story Matt. 😉
Igor,
I was not able to follow this…. can you give me the link to Arrington's post?
Vlad I think Igor is a comment monkey – don't feed the troll 😛
Anyway, reputation management is rightfully high on your priority list and it's really disappointing to see that the person who can actually do something about it isn't responding.
Isn't there anyone else at WordPress you can contact without going straight to Mullenweg? Maybe the problem is that he has passed off your issue to someone else more involved with day-to-day issues (or should have passed it off to someone like this).
I did contact the “Spam Department” but I receive no response from them.
Technically the post is not a spam. In fact as Teli had mentioned above,
the post itself may is not libel…. But it clearly refers to posts on
Yahoo! Answers. Those posts were taken down by Yahoo.
The reason I am calling out Matt is that I feel that I have exhausted other
option to bring attention to the issue at hand. There is much more to this
story, but at the end of the day I need to defend my name. And if that means
I need to get attention of “#1 Matt on the Internet” I am kicking and
screaming for his attention. 😉
As far as Igor is concerned, he has left valid comments in the past. I am
actually wondering if he by a chance intended to leave this comment on one
of my other posts.
Ah ok, my bad with Igor. Sorry Igor! :p
Sorry Vlad I guess I was off topic here! I just came across this post while scanning Google for my nic.
I wanted to get some attention to Wikipedia problems and its negative impact on society.
Would appreciate if you can join Wikipedia roundtable room on Friend Feed! There are some Wikipedians there who are concerned with how the Internet Global Village sees Wikipedia.
http://friendfeed.com/rooms/wikipedia-roundtable
Wow, and I hope WP cleans up its splogs. I think the problem is rampant on all content providers shared network platforms.
NP, Dude! Vlad is a mutual friend and a good man.