does anyone care anymore ripoff software

[mrbass]

I try to help people but in the end it's fruitless. I'm in the process of doing a chargeback on my creditcard knowning full well it was a scam to begin with I just wanted proof it was bogus.

Now those (can't think of a word) are threating lawsuits for slander for posting links to scam and ripoff software. Does this never end? I guess the best thing to do is this:

Ignore all emails I get telling me about how they spent $XXX on blah blah dvd copying software, any emails if blah blah is legit. Screw attempting to keep any list as they change weekly. Domains are plentiful.

Since when did it become illegal to say you think Pinnacle Instant Copy or DVD2ONE or CCE is ripoff software (all hypothetical..used as an example). Sure it might be against some forum rules to rip to shreds software but on one's own website? Saying so is one's opinion and when did that become illegal?

I think the confusion lies here....
"Scam Ripoff DVD Copy Software"
then I list bunch of domains of dvd copy software.
if I did this
"Scam, Ripoff DVD Copy Software" and added a comma
then everything would be peachy and roses I suppose. I guess I should sue David Horowitz next week. Whaddya think?

I plan to change my site and more clearly state my position when I get a chance tomorrow but this is getting ridiculous.

[int 21h]

Its highly unlikely you would lose a slander case against you unless the plantiffs could prove without a doubt that what you said about them was false. If the information you provide is true, than there is no case.

The first amendment still applies, so long as your opinion is just an opinion, not malicious, and not something that contains specific facts that can be proven untrue. Further, if you present your information as a 'review', you will be more protected (as fair reviews, critiques, of restraunts, products, etc. are not libelous). Also, there is a HUGE amount of previous cases won simply on the basis of Protection of Common interests, and protection of the public interest (especially in the USA).

Finally, I am not entirely sure how seriously I would take these claims of slander, because your site is written, so the civil charge would almost certainly be defamation :D

[mrbass]

Here's the 2nd email I sent back to the guy threatining to sue me. I'll pm you a copy of the email int21h.

rip-off (rpúÇ, -f)
n. Slang
1) A theft.
2) A thief.
3 )An act of exploitation.
4) Something, such as a film or story, that is clearly imitative of or based on something else.

ex¡¤ploi¡¤ta¡¤tion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ksploi-tshn)
n.
a)The act of employing to the greatest possible advantage: exploitation of copper deposits.
b) Utilization of another person or group for selfish purposes: exploitation of unwary consumers.
c) An advertising or a publicity program.

Now clearly your software is ripoff... dictionary.com defines ripoff #3 definition and explotation b) "exploitation of unwary consumers."

If you can buy a book that tells you of government car auctions for $30 which is freely available information. Is it illegal? No is it a ripoff...clearly it is.

[dani82]

some people are always trying to make a quick buck, instead of an honest dollar.

about 2-3 months ago, i was watching the news about some hollywood lawfirm threaten to take a couple dozens restaurants* (b to c grades) to court for some voilations (ex. not letting non-customers uses the toilet), a couple weeks later they said they will drop the lawsuit if they decide to pay them off; i forgot how if turn out, but some lawyers can be heartless (god, i hope i don't get sue for slanders)


somewhat the same:

1 month ago, NASCAR donated a half million to an un-name church guy (i know the name, but i ain't stupid enough to say who) for unsaid reasons, maybe fear of being boycotted or god.


*these restarant owners knew a little english, and where mostly asian.

[dragongodz]

mrbass@ so you too have joined the club. thats the club of speaking the truth and being threatened to be sued for it. :)

yes i was too. i cant remember if i mentioned it in the dvdx vs dvdbackup thread so i will say it here. i was able to contact the person who sold the modified code of DVDx to the people at dvdbackup and he admited to using DVDx but said he did not understang that he was breaking the GPL. now since he did admit it i have to take his word. heres where the unbelievable starts. dvdbackup then wanted my name and adress so they could send me a bill of $10,000 (thats u.s. dollars). for what ? well for what they call lost advertising revenue because of my statements on forums about dvdbackup. now i simply told them to go see a lawyer since telling the truth (to which i had proof) is not a crime and does not make me indebted to them. infact it was they that were on the shakey legal grounds. i heard no more from them after that. the scariest things was that the head guy (who also lives in Australia same as me) kept saying he wanted to meet me to talk about it, he was even ready and willing to fly to any part os Australia to do so. sorry but i have a family and am not interested in exposing them to these sort of people.

the point is you do have to make a stand against these people(when you can) who are making millions for nothing.in an article with 321studios head robert moore he stated that over 100,000 copys of dvdcopy plus had been sold and was still selling well(at $49:95 u.s. dollars), this was towards the end of last year. its freeware programs plus a vcd guide(which is what you are buying) for gods sake. sorry but that continues to disgust me, you would not believe the amount of emails i have gotten from aggrieved people who were fooled by these types of things.

[PETERLEE]

Hi
What do You call a busload of Lawyers going over a cliff?

"A Start"

Best Wishes.

Peter.

[mrbass]

ok well...I finally expanded and more clearly defined my position on my homepage. I added Deceptive to Scam and Ripoff. Those on the list fall into at least of being deceptive IMHO. I don't think you need a high IQ to figure out which software it was that was threating to sue me.

[mrbass]

ok...that guy was (whatever) anyway the best thing is screw it all. I took everything off my homepage and let the consumer fend for themselves cuz in the end it's their credit card and not mine.

[neo_sapien]

It's amazing, the audacity of freeware merchants! :eek:

I don't like the idea that this is the second time I've had to completely re-type this post for fear that I had written something mildly libelous and might get dragged into court. Not a good feeling.

[RadicalEd]

lmao
I'd personally love to get an email from 321 studios about legal issues
:/

[waldok]

@mrBass,

<<I took everything off my homepage and let the consumer fend for <<themselves cuz in the end it's their credit card and not mine

I'm very sorry it ends up this way. You remember we talked about this before and I told you you wouldn't gain anything playing defender or the faith here, although I think your position was right.

Warning potential customers about such ripoffs was good and useful, but don't let this bring yourself into troubles because you are more than likely to find yourself alone in the end. And in the end, it's no more "virtual world", it's the real world and it may cost you a lot. You did what you had to do on this, tried to warn people, the word is now widespread, so it's time to let the authors deal with their own problems themselves.

Don't be too disappointed, cause your action was much appreciated here :)

Waldok:cool: