stephan huller

And again - let me preface this by saying how much I like Tom - but the real issue is the person of Joel Watts. Initially Tom said basically that Joel couldn't have done this because he's such a great guy. Indeed I notice that even when the subject came up on McGrath's blog he acted like (a) he didn't know anything and that (b) it couldn't have been about the content of the blog - i.e. it was taken down owing to some action unrelated to Neil's posts. Now suddenly Joel changed his tune. He gives a list of bullshit reasons justifying his actions. My point - if it was so innocent why didn't Joel Fatts admit that it was him rather than making it seem he had no idea what was going on. If he was innocent he would just have said - oops I did it again BEFORE being caught red-handed.

Answer - he's probably a horrible human being.

Maklelan

I'm not saying he's a good guy for doing that, what I'm saying is that this characterization of the events doesn't seem quite accurate. I don't believe it's correct to say that Joel reported a "criticism of a post he wrote" to Wordpress. He reported a copyright violation. I don't find anything wrong with that. I'm not saying that that action endears him to me, I'm just saying it's not something that causes me to lose respect for him.

A person who doesn't like seeing his legal rights violated.

On who's part? So far the proximate cause of Neil's loss has been Wordpress, acting independently of Joel. If Neil never got the notice, that's Wordpress' fault, not Joel's. You're not actually suggesting that Joel somehow talked Wordpress into violating their own DMCA takedown process just for him, are you?

Tom Verenna

The DMCA claim was not filed last night. I think Joel was unsure because initially the issue was resolved (the offending post was taken down). When Godfrey reposted the content without complying with the claim (he must have known...sorry but his ignorance seems misplaced here--since he reposted the content!) the automatic system went into place.

stephan huller

More about the Joel at McGrath's blog. Neil writes:

neilgodfrey

My Vridar blog has been deactivated by Wordpress because Joel Watts submitted a formal legal complaint that I had quoted a blog-post of his in full to expose him as an incompetent fool:

"Email Address: <removed>

Location of copyrighted work (where your original material is located): http://unsettledchristianity.c...

First Name: Joel

Last Name: Watts

Company Name: UnsettledChristianity.com

<address removed>

Country: United States

Telephone Number:...

Copyright holder you represent (if other than yourself):

Please describe the copyrighted work so that it may be easily
identified: It is my entire post, set into his. The entire post, sans
the updates done today.

Location (URL) of the unauthorized material on a WordPress.com site (NOT simply the primary URL of the site - example.wordpress.com; you must provide the full and exact permalink of the post, page, or image where the content appears, one per line) : http://vridar.wordpress.com/20...

If the infringement described above is represented by a third-party link to a downloadable file (e.g. http://rapidshare.com/files/....., please provide the URL of the file (one per line):

I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials
described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the
copyright owner, its agent, or the law.: Yes

I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the
notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am
authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is
allegedly infringed.: Yes

Signed on this date of (today's date, MM/DD/YYYY): 06/26/2013

Signature (your digital signature is legally binding): Joel L. Watts

stephan huller

but ...

Oh okay. He's a good guy making the best of a bad situation which is ...

Oh so if Neil had cited the whole post in the context of a glowing review of Joel's intellect he would have reported it to Wordpress. Really is this the kind of bullshit they reward at WWU?
Really? Washing your hands of the whole thing. Neil was just 'stupid' for breaking a copyright rule. Okay. As long as you don't change your field of study to ethics the world will be safe.

No of course not.
Of course not because you only joined this forum in 2011 to test the waters to see how stupid mythicist arguments are/were and Neil is a mythicist. If Neil had a blog catering to the struggles of a Mormon in academic circles and this happened you might be a little more forgiving I bet.

Tom Verenna

Right. I didn't say 'Joel couldn't have done that because he's such a great guy'--that is not quoting me correctly. All I said is that Joel didn't do it; this was prior to new information and then I quickly changed my stance to accommodate the new information (as any honest person should).

That said, Dan is correct here. Joel reported a post initially that was not intended to bring down the site--only the content that was violating Joel's legal rights. That Godfrey ignored this (for what purpose I do not know) and reposted the content, seems to me to be a clear indication that he was aware of the DMCA policy. Godfrey's story isn't adding up here. Sorry.

hjalti

Right. I would like to know what Neil thought when he reposted the post, but he might not have known what was going on. If he didn't get a DMCA notice, how could he have known?

But if you very recently (2 days ago!) file a DMCA claim against a blog and it's taken down, surely it's natural to think that it was your doing.

Did you speak with Joel recently about this?

Tom Verenna

Can a moderator please remove Joel Watt's personal information from this page? That seems to be taking this all a bit too far, Godfrey. Shame on you.

Tom Verenna

Yes. Initially we talked about it. As soon as someone claimed it was him who was responsible, we talked and Joel told me what had happened. He did not lie about it and explained the situation fully. Joel is an honest fellow. He doesn't go around posting the phone number and address of his opponents; not like some people in this thread have done.