correspondance to and from Plagarist Anthony Tham....aka Anton

My first email to the poacher.... right after I realized just what I had found..... more than a dozen of MY posts....my writing copied and pasted on his blog like he wrote it. For your reading and entertainment pleasure.....


"Excuse me buddy???!!!

You better take down ALL of my pieces of work on your blog NOW or I will report you to Blogger and have them take down your blog. I am incensed that you have the audacity to pilfer my work and call it your own. Do you not have an original idea in your own head? I stopped reading when I reached my poem I wrote in the spring because quite frankly it made me feel sick to my stomach that i have been invaded like this.

If you consider yourself a spiritual giving and loving person, you will also be feeling a great deal of shame for what you have done to myself and to Marja whom i consider a dear friend. I don't know who else you are stealing from but I daresay we aren't the only two.

Now what would the Dalai Lama think of your behaviour????

I know what I think! Compassion doesn't come to mind!

You are an intellectual thief. You have stolen pieces of my heart and soul work. Stay away from my blog. TAKE DOWN MY WORK NOW!"

_____________________________

Second attempt......to communicate with this man....

Anton.....if that is what your name is.

I see that your blog has now been removed. However, I have a BIG problem with the fact that several of my pieces have been cached under your blog name! I have been in touch with Blogger and have requested that they follow up with you. You have completely and utterly violated my personal intellectual property, subsequently trespassed into my heart and soul. Do you have any idea how that feels???? What creeped me out more than anything was that you obviously had duped many readers into thinking YOU had written these pieces....and then you followed up with replies to their comments??? Unbelievable.

I am OWED an apology buddy!!!!

What you have done ironically has fired me up. I may have initially felt violated, but I am now secure in my thoughts and feelings about my property. I have also been inspired by the support of the blogging community and friends who have been reading my posts for close to 4 years. They rallied and will rally again if you EVER pop up with a new blog. They also now have a link to a copyright site which will allow them to check to make sure there aren't any other assholes out there doing the same SHAMEFUL thing that you did.

Don't you EVER do that again.....to anyone, including published authors such as Father Anthony de Mello! GOT IT? Now, where's the apology?

______________

Carmi's first email....much more professionally assertive than mine. :)

Greetings, "Anton". I just left you a comment on your new blog, Life's Impermance, but I wanted to make sure you understood how wrong it was of you to steal someone else's work, then claim it as your own on your now-defunct site, Biological Clock Ticking.

It's call plagiarism. It's not only immoral: it's also highly illegal. That you chose to steal the work of a good friend whose work I have long admired only amplifies the gravity of your actions. Worse, I'm a journalist, and nothing - and I do mean nothing - upsets me more than to see someone's work compromised in this way. Where I come from, people's entire careers can be destroyed by such breaches of trust, so I'm e-mailing you to reinforce the seriousness of what you have done.

I notice you promptly removed your old blog from the blogosphere without so much as an apology for your actions. I'm not surprised, as those who would so blatantly lift the work of others typically don't have the cojones to face up to their actions. I guess an apology is too much to ask. So be it.

Rest assured you have stirred up a fair amount of discontent among your victim's (I'm assuming there's only one, of course, but I'd hardly be surprised if you made this a regular thing) friends and colleagues. They and I will be watching your actions closely, and will surely let you know if you transgress again. There is no room in this world for this kind of activity, and we'll continue to work diligently on our friend's behalf to ensure you don't engage in this form of criminal activity again.

I'd rather enjoy hearing back from you, but I won't hold my breath. We already know what kind of soul you possess, and it sure as hell isn't anything like the bullshit facade you outline in your profile.

I would also suggest getting a life, but I've got better things to do with my day. Perhaps we can leave that for some other time, as it's clear you need help in that department, as well.

All the best,
Carmi
P.S. I have visited a number of your correspondents and have left the following message on their respective blogs. Whether I continue to do so largely depends on whether you choose to do the right thing and apologize to those who have been victimized by your actions. I await your reply.

Text of blog comment:

Greetings. You recently left a comment on the blog, Biological Clock Ticking (http://biologicalclockticking.blogspot.com)
operated by Anton. You may have noticed that his blog was hastily taken
down earlier today. Here's why:
For quite some time, the author of this blog has been copying the work
of others and passing it off as his own. This is known as plagiarism.
It is not only immoral. It is also an illegal, criminal act.
When confronted about this, Anton chose the coward's way out. Instead
of responding, apologizing or otherwise expressing some sort of
remorse, he skulked away and started another blog.
I thought you'd want to know this, and would want to verify your own
archives to ensure he hasn't used some of your own work as well. I'd
recommend checking out the service at http://www.copyscape.com to ensure your own material has not been stolen in a similar manner.

I invite you to contact me via my blog, Written Inc., if you would like to discuss this further.

Thank you.

______________________________________


From Anthony the THIEF himself....to Carmi....

"Well, I see you have been busy.

Yup, I have decided to close down my blog....and make apologies to the parties concerned. It was not my intention to "plagiarize" as some of you wonderful peeps have "viciously with full vulgarity" have put it. If you had taken the trouble to read all my posts, quotations of the names of bloggers, authors and so on have been given due credit. It was my err to have left out quoting some.

If you wanna pursue this with the viciousnes that is your artform, then I can do nothing. I will make peace with the blogger (not you!) to offer my explanation and apologies (not you again!).

However, I wonder how you peeps who preach all things good cld turn into such vicious and malicious peeps....before even seeking out the truth behind.

The again, reporters like yourself is often guided by your inflated egos. I always gave credit to reporters who go into details and get their facts correct before reaching a conclusion. It seems I'm wrong.

I wish you well, I really do!"

__________________________________

Carmi's reply......

Hi "Anton". I noticed you've pulled your new blog down, too. So sorry to hear about that.

Please know that on the Internet, you can never truly disappear.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

_________

Carmi's reminder late last night..........

Hi Anthony. Still haven't seen that apology you promised. And from my correspondence with all involved, neither have they. I do hope it's forthcoming soon, as I'd hate for you to misunderstand just how big a deal this kind of thing is where I come from.

Please advise.

________________

Anthony's response today......to Carmi.

Hi carmi

A very good day to you.

I was just made to understand from some Canadian bloggers that where you come from, people seek and crave attention to get "hits" in their blogs for $$$ reasons. Some of them even went further to say that your side-window and articles of yours were works of plagiarizm.

I'm still trying to understand the whole situation, before I proceed-on. Sorry, we Malaysians are a bit "daft" and backward ( as you have generalized to another blogger on Malaysian bloggers) especially when it comes to practising double standards.

Neways, the Canadians have indicated that they will be contacting the Canadian journalism association and other relevant authorities to enquire on your spamming violations. I don't know to what extent those spamming laws apply to where you are coming from, but I'm sure these bloggers are as smart, or even smarter than you.
Again, I wish you well ........ if the laws are a big thing from where you came from.

Tweedles.


(TWEEDLES??? SPAMMING??? yeah....Hey Anton.....I've got some swamp land in Florida you may be interested in. They've just discovered a few dozen Burmese Pythons nesting in it.)

_______________________

Carmi's reply to this ridiculous response from one whacky plagarising bully boy....

Idle threats don't become you, Anthony. I'm willing to wager a significant amount of money that "the Canadians" to whom you refer don't exist. Furthermore, there's no such thing as a "Canadian journalism association". And if in some bizarro alternative world it did exist, I doubt it would have much interest in enforcing anti-spam legislation - or in listening to the half-witted whining of a guy (you are a guy, right?) who doesn't understand the fundamental concept of IP. Do you even know what the hell you're talking about? Wait, don't answer that. We both already know the answer to that one.

Oh, and your spelling could use a bit of an upgrade, too. Just sayin'.

If anything, I'm enjoying this little exchange with someone who is very obviously an idiot. Have as much fun as you wish within your backward little group of bloggers, just make sure you don't lift other people's work again. We'll be watching, and unlike you, we'll have all the proof we need to nail your little plagiarising self to the judicial wall.

In fact, we already do - captures of your site alongside the original material you stole - and will pursue this as far as necessary if you choose to repeat your criminal performance.

And if you haven't begun the pursuit of an actual life just yet, may I suggest that you do so without delay.

All the best

____________________

Laughable and entertaining these replies are, dont you think? Obviously he is not taking any ownership for his immoral and illegal acts. I have yet to hear from him directly and as far as far as I know, neither has Marja. One thing for certain is that he is not to be trusted. And, given the flavour of his bizarre bullying tactics, I can't imagine he will stay away from blogland. He thinks he's been hard done by. Hello???

oh, yeah.....I just found him on FACEBOOK. :)

Anthony, when will I hear from you???? Are you going to try to bully me too?

To catch a thief.....we DID!

I awoke early yesterday morning all hot and uncomfortable because I am at that magical age where menopausal heat seeps into your system like a steam locomotive and PUSHES right out of your toes at approximately 4 am. I couldn't sleep let alone get comfortable and the more I thought about it, the more irritating the flames shooting from my cute little feet became. Unpleasant? It sucks! It does a number on your head too. It ain't pretty!

So, it was in this frame of mind that I found myself cooling down in front of a blasting fan with a cup of tea in my hand checking out the recent posts of my bloggie friends. OH, shut up! I can hear you from here! What the hell is she doing drinking hot tea in the middle of a late forties FLASH? I recognize the contradiction. I'm a creature of habit. Tea and 4 am blog reading go together. Oh, who am i kidding, tea goes with everything. It was the first thing I asked for after 23 hours of hard labour and dammit, they brought me one! A cuppa in one hand and a newborn in the other. So why the hell wouldn't it go with menopause??? I'm a thirsty multi-tasker. Irish, Scottish and English flows through my system. I.am.doomed for a spot of tea.

Quickly, the heat moved right into my gut when I innocently checked a copyright site (I have since posted it on my sidebar) and found that my own formulated words from a piece I had written just this week had been nicked and used by another blogger, living and breathing (uneasily NOW) in Malaysia. I had seen many visits on my sitemeter over the past 6 months from there, but never thought much of it, because most people who visit my blog don't leave comments. They read and move on with hopefully something to think about. THEY DON'T NICK IT! Needless to say, I felt pierced and violated. I couldn't believe it!!! How could anyone consider owning much of what I've written when it comes from my own essence?

At first I thought perhaps he had stolen just this piece because only one was caught by the copyright site, but I thought I'd check his previous posts, and saw that he had lifted whole posts, as well as bits of pieces I had written as starting points for his own posts. Photos, poetry, prose, even silly Q and A posts were used by this guy. (Interestingly, I surreptitiously learned that much of what I've written does have my own unique style....my fingerprints were easy to see! I didn't know that until I went through Anton's blog! They jumped right out at me! SO, thank you Anton you eeejit.....your immoral behaviour actually enhanced my awareness! funny how that happens eh?)

Tonight, however, he's gone. Oh, he showed up again under a new name and blog site with most of my writing missing though a few still standing like he owned them. But after the pressure of my friends, he high tailed it out of blogland. Again. We'll see if he shows up in another form. Most likely, he will. The HEAT is on him now! I'm cooling my heels.

Plagarism is a more than just a surface blight. It is a complete and utter violation. Immoral and illegal, it is fraudulent action of someone whose morals are despicably missing. Consequently, I have been in touch with an old university friend who is a lawyer with a large copyright firm in Toronto and she is researching internet ownership rights and whether there is a precedence set in the land of blogging. Obviously there have been situations where published articles have been stolen from the media and visa versa, but its unknown as to whether a piece of creative writing stolen from one blogger to another has ever been brought to court. I'm very interested to find out and await her counsel.

In the meantime, I have been in touch with the Blogger folks and have asked them to help me with respect to dealing with the pieces which have been cached under ANTON's blogname. I am incensed that my work....my creative intellectual property will forever be floating out in cyberspace under his name and i can't rectify it.

What started out as a feeling of being alone turned into the most extraordinary day of feeling lifted by a wide ranging group of BEE UUU TEEEE FULLL people who came to my aide. Mike, my very first bloggie friend shared this with a group of us through an email that flew around the GLOBE!!!
_____________

Dana, et al.,

It would appear that the blogging community has dealt the blog in question it's death blow. Earlier, the link you provided did not go to that specific post, but the blog could still be accessed. There was just one post - probably stolen as well. I flagged the blog based on your email - your word is good enough for me - and I suspect I was not alone. The blog in question (now just a short time later) no longer exists. It is as it should be. I have no problem with anyone reposting my work as long as three simple conditions are met: it cannot be for commercial use; it must be properly attributed; and it cannot be altered from its original form. If anyone reproduces my work as their own, I get angry. Very angry. More than angry, I get justice - and it appears as though justice has been served.
It's good to see the blogging community working together. Most of us do this as a labour of love - for ourselves and anyone else who finds our words insightful, amusing, cathartic or whatever other value they may hold. We don't (most of us) get paid to do this, but it is work nonetheless. For someone to steal it is wrong on too many levels - that it is illegal is only the tip of the iceberg.
You are a kinder soul than I, Dana. I would not have given (and in fact did not) this so-and-so a chance to remove the plagiarized material... I simply would have hit him or her with everything I had. The crime has been committed - it goes well beyond mere intention or a "little" mistake - we are talking about entire posts!
I have not checked to see if my material (which is copyrighted and noted on my blog) has been stolen in a while. Although it is difficult to be absolutely sure, it looks like my property remains within my control. But thanks for the reminder, it is a serious issue.

Mike

______________________________________________
My reply....?

Hello everyone.....:)

Blogging most certainly is a labour of love, Mike. You are so right. It is also such a wonderful community of shared passions. So often I am inspired by something I've read, like a jumping off point for my own writing. There is a terrific give and take, and when someone violates that flow of creativity by stealing, it is wonderful to know (and feel) that the community does pull together.

I thank you all for your assistance. I have sent him another email threatening him and making it perfectly clear that I won't sit idle again and let something like that happen. I also told him he should be ashamed of himself.....asked him what the Dala i Lama would think of such sinful behaviour! :) Buddhist my ass!

I did get in touch with Blogger and file a formal complaint. Whatever he has posted in the past has been cached, so they can still follow up if they havent done already.

I wish I had copied the comments from everyone! They were priceless!! I had a few facebook friends nail the guy as well, so I am completely confident tha t he is shaking in his weasley boots today.

Thank you all! I'll post something about it all, hopefully tonight.

cheers...

I'm off to pour myself a glass of wine and toast you all xxx
_________________________________

Thank you all for you kindness and concern. I can't tell you how grateful and humble I feel. The attention you poured on not only energized my drive to tackle this situation, but left me feeling affirmed as a writer and a friend. Carmi? A very special thank you to you my dear friend. If I may, I will post a separate blog with the correspondance you initiated on my behalf. I can't tell you how much I appreciated your efforts. Remind me never to get on your shit list! haha!

I am actually very fired up and more interested in writing because of this episode. Over the past couple of weeks, I was seriously considering leaving blogging. M y ideas felt stale, and my fingers weren't finding the keyboard as enticing. In fact, I had intended to write a piece this weekend and entitle it "To Blog or not To Blog...." However, this has spurred me on, and certainly made me realize just how important, precious and inspiring this little virtual global village is to me.

A lot of reflections happened yesterday...... good strong reflections on the importance of community, the joy of belonging, the empowering sense of efforts. I may have started yesterday alone simmering in a hot flash with a cup of tea in my hand and a look of horror on my face when I first realized my work had been lifted...... but it sure wasn't long before I was joined by a beautiful force to be reckoned with!

thank you ..... thank you....

Now I have to get a group of 5 beautiful camp counsellors (three of whom are sleeping as new best friends in my basement as I write) back to camp after a two day respite. I've fed, and laundered.....and listened to many hilarious stories... I plan to orchestrate a singsong along the way..... won't they LOVE that?? Little do they know that Muskie has taken over me today.....and she's drivin!

PS. Anton? You out there??? I have yet to receive that email you told Carmi you were sending me. If YOU try to steal my work or anyone else's again, you will be caught. As for what you have already done? Sit tight buddy, I have a lawyer who wants to talk to you.

Blatant Plagarism

***New update, Saturday evening....The Malaysian BlogPirate resurfaced under a new name, but quickly felt the pressure of the blogging community and pulled the plug on this one too. Thank you for all of your support. Hopefully (but unlikely) he will not return. In the meantime, blogger will be monitored for any attempts at returning.*****

***NEW UPDATE***SAT, PM....The weasley thief has left the building! His blog is now all gone. I will keep an eye on this "tosser" (love that word Paul :)) to make sure he doesn't lift his shameful head again. Thank you, thank you! You are all beautiful!!! *****

****UPDATE**** This guy has stolen several of my pieces! as well as Marja's! Please visit his site and check it out!!! He may have stolen from you too!***

Maybe I'm too naive and too trusting, but I hadn't ever really given plagarism a thought. Most of what I write about seems to personally driven that I never expected anyone else to even feel comfortable using one of my pieces as their own. Well, guess what I found out??!! This blogger lifted one of my posts almost verbatim. HOW DARE HE??? Boy am I pissed off.

As much as I write this stuff and put it out there to be read and contemplated upon, and as much as I realize I'm using a public domain as my choice of venue, and as much as I do let go of a piece emotionally once I push the "publish" button.....it is my intellectual and emotional property dammit! I own it.

I feel very strongly about this (duh), more so than I do the photos I've posted of my own, though that riles me too. However, most people have emailed me to ask if they could use one of my photos beforehand. I didn't think to wonder about my pieces. Now I'm wondering how one protects oneself from further stealing?? Any ideas???

Oh, and if you would be so kind....... Would you mind visiting this blatant plagarising blogger's site and leaving your opinion in his comment section? I'd appreciate it.

I'm a nice person, but don't ever fuck with me or my writing because I will not be nice.

PS....I have since left comments on 6 or 7 of my pieces and have sent him an email demanding that he take down everything he has stolen from the blogworld. I have yet to hear from the little slime.