Special ELI Video Updates with Oscar Michelen

[Matthew Chan]

After a long absence from the ELI video updates, Oscar Michelen provides two great ELI Video Updates. Enjoy.

Oscar Michelen Discusses ELI Status, Glen Carner, HAN Lawsuits, ELI Defense Letter Program




Oscar Michelen Discusses Linda Ellis & The Dash Poem Extortion



The Linda Ellis/Dash Poem Extortion Discussion Forum can be found here: http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/linda-ellis-lindas-lyrics-dash-poem-letters-forum/

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Damn! I feel extra special this morning! 

Great interview!

[Mulligan]

I just finished watching the first video. Good stuff! Thanks Oscar and Matt. I found especially interesting the fact that one can expect anywhere from six to twelve letters when Getty's involved. This was a helpful keep your "loins girded" tidbit.

I also liked Oscar's mention of the "cringe factor." Being aware of this will help me be more mindful of what I write on the days when a full head of steam has worked up to blow off level.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I also liked Oscar's mention of the "cringe factor." Being aware of this will help me be more mindful of what I write on the days when a full head of steam has worked up to blow off level.

Sorry but I'm going to disagree with this, every time I see one of these absurd letters I cringe and my eye twitches, I will continue to fire back to whomever is involved, while at the same time keeping everything as factual as possible, or at the very least being able to back up what I post..

[Matthew Chan]

With great respect to Oscar, I keep my own counsel on the "cringe factor" and I think he knows that. If I have to make people cringe occasionally, then so be it.  Whatever it takes. I think it's safe to say we don't go into cringe-worthy territory unless someone motivates it. The one thing that is important to myself is that whatever I say or claim to do, I am able and willing to follow through.

So Oscar will continue to cringe occasionally as long as he "insanely" works with me.  But I will try to restrain myself.  I am all for rational, calm discussion but I think we can all agree, it doesn't work many times in this business.

I think Oscar is forced to agree, our tactics may be edgy or causes people to cringe, but they darn well work!

It's sort of like the Glen Carner thing.  Going round and round is a waste of time at some point. Calling out collection lawyers, posting documents, making attorney general complaints and state bar complaints are not things we will give up anytime soon.

I also liked Oscar's mention of the "cringe factor." Being aware of this will help me be more mindful of what I write on the days when a full head of steam has worked up to blow off level.

[Peeved]

What's life without a little "cringe factor"?

 

[Mulligan]

Geez, you guys, I didn't say I was going soft.

I said I was glad to hear about the "cringe factor" because it'll help keep me from going full scale nuclear on some of these things that don't deserve such a blast.

You can be sure I'll continue to express my opinion. Sometimes with kid gloves and other times with enchilada fart force but hopefully most of the time with well-reasoned and constructive commentary and useful research. With an occasional dollop of humor.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

It is great to see you back on the video updates Oscar.  Great updates with a lot of good info.  Thanks!

[SoylentGreen]

Great videos, and well balanced commentary.  Also I got a few mentions!
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/1521/reactionohgoshmy.jpg

I think that the "cringe-worthy" comment from Oscar was fair.  I can say that if I was in his position, I would feel the same way.

On the other hand, the marketing of ideas, concepts and opinions is quite a sophisticated thing.
While some may see some of the more low-brow content as being done exclusively for humor or spite, there's an aspect of this that's actually quite legitimate.
Much of the copyright trolling has never been based on valid interpretations of law, real evidence, or even reasonable damages.
It's rarely a "legal" or "court fight". So, it's actually a very effective tactic to present the bad guys as evil, incompetent, even ugly buffoons.
It lowers their image publicly while raising the morale of our side.
Anyone familiar with political campaigns or other propaganda knows what I'm talking about.

But, it just depends on your position, and world view.

Here's a "clean" example or "war" propaganda:
http://www.mahablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/vintage-war-propaganda-posters08.jpg
But, there are many examples that are racist, or even quite sexual.

S.G.

[April Brown (AuctionApril)]

Love the cringe factor. Love the humor, photos, poems, satire, buffoonery and intelligent dialogue. On the face of this most of the trolling activities are laughable and unbelievable until you put a face on their bullying. So please keep the fun coming. It is also great to have real actions one can take while the dramas play out. Wordpress plugin - brilliant. Wish we had a program that would search out the poem on the "world wide web" - (did you just love how linda drawled that out), next send a warning to the innocent infringer and finally a link to The Dash Between. Is that possible?

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Love the cringe factor. Love the humor, photos, poems, satire, buffoonery and intelligent dialogue. On the face of this most of the trolling activities are laughable and unbelievable until you put a face on their bullying. So please keep the fun coming. It is also great to have real actions one can take while the dramas play out. Wordpress plugin - brilliant. Wish we had a program that would search out the poem on the "world wide web" - (did you just love how linda drawled that out), next send a warning to the innocent infringer and finally a link to The Dash Between. Is that possible?

There would likely be issues with sending warning and the CAN SPAM ACT, not to mention so many sites have captcha's these days, there would be no way to automate it.. There's no way we're going to save the world, and I think our efforts are better spent bringing it to the public eye

[Matthew Chan]

The one thing I want everyone to be mindful of is that ELI Credibility is important. Always has been and always will. Oscar and I believe it is one of our strengths and cornerstones.  Humor, parody, satire, humor, mockery, etc. are all appropriate in moderation. I want to ensure ELI Credibility always remains high.

As much as I would like to post funny sexual cartoon pictures of some people in weird positions, I think it would be much. I would also stay away from sex organs, feces, gore, and other overt stuff.  It maybe fun but as the "head stinky cheese" I think we should use some discretion and some self-control

Remember, we may have opportunities for press, media, and other influential types that could peek in. I would hate for them to hit the "wrong" thread if and when they do.

[April Brown (AuctionApril)]

lmao

[Moe Hacken]

Thanks, Matt and Oscar. Great video and good information to think about.

Everyone has different styles, I don't think anyone's gone over the top here. The humor is good, in my opinion. Some of it has led to creative problem-solving, a little bit like brainstorming.

Most everyone here has contributed at one level or another to what ELI has become — a force to reckon with. If you're going to get into the copyright troll business, expect to get your earful from this community.

I thank all of you for your contributions, they truly add up to much more than the sum of the parts.

[SoylentGreen]

The subject of complaints to the bar about rogue lawyers was touched on briefly in the video.

I think that it's helpful for most to be "afraid of the boss" a little bit.
"The boss" could be the person that hired you, your father-in-law, or even your customer.
In this case, I'm referring to the bar association/law society, of course.

It's rather unfortunate that a significant number of lawyers in this arena have essentially become "collection agents".
Most lawyers hired by the trolls have been misrepresenting facts and evidence in order to coerce larger and quicker settlements.
The only reason that a lawyer would do this is to compensate for the fact that their client really doesn't have a case and as such has no right to collect monies.

I know that the law industry tends to "stick together", and there's a certain camaraderie.
But, a significant line has been crossed wherein some lawyers lie both outright and by omission for clients that say that they've been wronged but actually haven't been.
For example, it's an outright lie for a lawyer to write to a person and say "you have infringed on my client's copyright, and you must compensate my client" when the client owns no such copyright.
In such an event, the lawyer is making money on the basis of this lie.
How is this any different than completely fabricating a legal case and demanding that the victim make their check payable to the lawyer's escrow account?

In addition, I've noted that there's a slight tendency to blame the victims at times.
But, the concept of "you should have known that this is a fraud", should not lessen the onus on lawyers and even their clients to be truthful.

It is nice to see that the extortion letters have been changing in a positive way, probably due solely to the fact that people have been submitting official complaints.

S.G.