Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = ?

March 14, 2010 5:57 AM

Proving the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory - a follow-on to the More Alike than Different Campaign links I posted

I received the following two notes from the NDSC:

Dear NDSC Members and Friends,

It is my unfortunate responsibility to advise you that the NDSC More Alike poster gallery has been raided by people who have been modifying the posters in an unsavory manner and reposting them on an internet blog.

The NDSC has requested that the site operator take the offensive material off line, but we cannot say at this time whether they will comply. We are investigating legal options and will continue to monitor the situation.

Unfortunately, there is no technical way to prevent this sort of image theft other than to not post it in the first place. That, of course, is exactly opposite of what we try to accomplish with our information and advocacy site. Nonetheless, we have taken down the poster gallery until this situation can be resolved. Once that occurs we will notify you.
We are angered by this unwarranted attack and will work to eliminate the offensive postings.

Sincerely,

David Tolleson
Executive Director
National Down Syndrome Congress

and then a few days later

Good evening,

I wanted to update you on the situation regarding some of our "We're More Alike" posters being "hijacked".

We have been greatly heartened by the sympathetic, affirming support for the NDSC during this stressful time and appreciate the offers of help and solidarity from across the country.

As noted in our previous message, we took down the gallery yesterday upon learning of this situation. We have heard from many of you who have encouraged us to leave the gallery up - to not back down in the face of bullying. We understand and appreciate your viewpoint. The world is full of mean people and we shouldn't let them dictate what we do. When you let bullies win, they only become emboldened.

However, many others have found comfort in knowing that the gallery is no longer accessible to such cruel people. As the situation is still very fresh, we believe that it's best for the gallery to remain inaccessible to the public for now.

As noted previously, we have contacted the site administrator demanding that the offending materials be taken down. We have not received a response as of this writing. However, we have received preliminary indications that the thread in question may have been taken down. We are continuing to investigate.

We have received confirmation from an advertiser that they have contacted Google to demand that their ads not be allowed to appear in connection with the site.

Additionally, we are grateful to have received offers from law firms nationwide ready to commit resources and expertise as we deal with this issue. With that, we have assembled a powerful legal team which is exploring all possible legal avenues, both civil and criminal. We are also trying to identify those responsible for these offensive postings.

Please accept our thanks for your support in a difficult situation. We share your sadness that ignorance and cruelty remain in society, but confirm our resolve to continue working with you towards positive change in our world.

Sincerely,

David Tolleson
Executive Director
National Down Syndrome Congress

I am cynical and experienced enough that I am not surprised that someone decided to deface the campaign this way, although being part of the community it does hurt. I am, however, very happy to hear that members of the community are offering their help to put this matter to an end.

posted by plinth to MetaFilter-Related at 5:57 AM (2 comments total)

This should probably go in the existing open thread.

That said, I didn't see the original thread so I'm glad for this update. That's pretty ridiculous.
posted by Phire at 6:18 AM on March 14, 2010

Yeah, I'm not sure there's any reason not to just put this in the thread from last week. Go ahead and do that.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:18 AM on March 14, 2010