Thorn in my side -please help
Posted by Rich...! under Uncategorized on May 24 2005 at 11:16 PMIf you’re a regular reader of this blog I ask you to please read this, and more importantly, even if you’ve never commented before, please let me know what you think this time.
So the whole "WANKER" thing is getting silly, the guy keeps coming back, commenting, and in effect, keeps the fires fueled, while at the same time making himself look silly. As you can gather we’re on the second lot of lawyers letters, his first lawyers decided not to pursue the matter, and we have been advised that he doesn’t really have a leg to stand on by others. So on that side I’m not concerned
Here’s the thing though, we’re keeping the post live as an issue of blogging ethics, I guess I’m just not sure that it’s the right thing to do. We’re getting a fair amount of google juice, and I can believe that it’s not great for his business. My question is basically this; is one mistake enough to warrant fucking with a guys career ad infinitum?
I don’t like the man. In fact, after the ways he’s handled this, I dislike him immensely. Again, I’m not sure if it justifies this though.
So, here are the options:
- Kill the original post (but re-post the comments with an intro for context)
- Rename the original post and remove specific references to his name so as not to fuck with his livelihood – comments will remain untouched.
- Keep everything as is, and fight-the-fight.
Please let me know what you think, and feel free to give your reasoning too. Do not make your decision based on the legal action he’s trying to bring on us, he’s been doing this for a month or so, we’re not worried, you shouldn’t be either.
This is getting so fucking boring, lets be done with it one way or another…!
Update(ish): Here’s Johnnie on a similar topic.
May 25th, 2005 at 12:01 am
i say leave the original post in tact as is. everyone is entitled to their own opinion and future clients of his are also entitled to fair warning of what it can be like to deal with him in a professional manner… something they won’t get merely by looking at his site.
an apology was made, though in my opinion none was really necessary, and he chose not to accept in and move on in a professional, gracious manner.
i know i would definitely want to know if someone i was considering hiring had that side to their personality.
honestly though, one persons opinion of the guy is not going to change most people’s opinion of him. if they really want to work with him… they will.
just my two cents
May 25th, 2005 at 12:11 am
Damn, this is a difficult one…
I agree that legally you’re pretty safe, but I’d also be pretty miffed if I got those Google results when I typed my name… In his case though, his name is his business, so it’s screwing him really badly.
From a principle point of view, deleting or renaming is evil. But principles also involve not unnecessarily screwing someone. Given your options, here’s a trick which could work:
1) Rename the post, and include an explanatory intro.
2) Replace the body of the post with an image without an alt description.
3) Leave the comments as is, and close them to reduce traffic.
Kazaam, lower-profile content.
That’s what I’d do!
May 25th, 2005 at 12:14 am
I have to agree with violated.
If Mr. Sharples is going to behave as a wanker, then he has to expect to get negative feedback. If it negatively affects his business then perhaps he should have behaved better.
Besides, I believe there are laws that make Mr. Sharples wankerhood fair game; being a public figure and all… so long as everything that was said is true.
May 25th, 2005 at 1:01 am
Hey life is tough and you shouldnt be a wanker, especially when you rely in the web and google.
Dont delete the post, stick to your guns
May 25th, 2005 at 1:42 am
Leave the post. Its existance and the resulting consequences are the reason we all love the Internet.
May 25th, 2005 at 8:33 am
Tough one. But I have an idea. I agree that one mistake doesnt warrant you completely stuff with his career, but if he keeps coming back for more, then stuff him.
Show Gavin the results of google, and make him a dealbreaker. Offer to completely change the name of the post, in return for him to piss off, and leave you guys alone….
May 25th, 2005 at 8:55 am
Leave the original post. The whole point of googling someones name is to find out if they are a wanker….
When I hire someone, I google them just to make sure I know what I am getting into…
Keep it!
May 25th, 2005 at 9:02 am
In another sense…any publicity is a seller for a public figure. I think Big Brother characters. Why Gavin could turn this all into a great personality sell
May 25th, 2005 at 9:03 am
You erasing the original post is as bad (if not worse in its self-infliction) as Sharples’ vexatious attempts to employ legal mechanisms to gag you.
Constitution blah blah blah.
You’ve spoken out. Stand by it. You have plenty of support.
May 25th, 2005 at 9:05 am
Leave the post, in its entirety. I just went to his website, and found the following tidbit:
Knowing that he can reach any group of varied and diverse people and cultures from all the different social and ethnic sectors – females respond extremely well to him!
This “female” doesn’t think he deserves any consideration – he is obviously a complete idiot!
May 25th, 2005 at 9:33 am
I kinda know a guy who knows some stuff about law, and basically, for Mr Sharples to succeed in any civil claim against you, he will have to prove (and the onus will be on him to do so) that as a result of your conduct, he has suffered measurable patrimonial loss.
In South Africa, there is no such thing as punitive damages. The most that you guys can ever be liable for, should he by some stroke of the unimaginable, succeed in a defamation suit against you, is for the amount by which he and/or his company has suffered financially.
This is, of course, premised on whether he succeeds in establishing the requirements for defamation, and in defeating the defences against it.
Your most likely defence would be truth for public benefit: Mr Sharples has offered a service that you believe to be poor. So long as you can objectively defend your position, and divorce any derogatory terms in your commentary from your presentation of the facts, it would be interesting to see how his lawyers would build their case.
Negative press reviews against people or companies are generally acceptable, so long as they are truthful and not merely opinion based.
Frankly, in my informant’s opinion, they’re wasting their time.
May 25th, 2005 at 9:37 am
I agree with Martin. Can’t you just post a screenshot of the whole saga and leave the comments? If that does remove the post from google’s search results, then you’ve found some sort of moral middle ground. Surely his business has been affected and, hopefully, he’s learnt a lesson. You just want to get over this now. There will never be a clear winner to this issue – only a bigger person. And Mr Sharples seems intent not to be the latter.
May 25th, 2005 at 9:50 am
I say #1, as as per Martin’s suggestion. Forgive the guy, he may be a chop but there’s no point in further harming him (you’ve made your point pretty conclusively
So kill the original post, definitely keep the comments somewhere else, and move along.
My 5c.
May 25th, 2005 at 11:01 am
Assuming the man has friends or business associates you could try and find out about his charactor. If he really is a bit of a twit then leave it as a review of your encounter with him. If its not a fair representation of him then can the thing. Alternatively you could just be over the whole damn thing, do yourself a favour and can it all.
2c
May 25th, 2005 at 12:10 pm
Leave it as is. The only reason the Google ranking is so high, is because he keeps coming back and commenting. So in effect, it’s his own fault by not letting you have your own opinion about him. Gavin needs to realise that no matter how good/perfect/godlike/whatever he thinks he is, there will always be someone who disagrees. That goes for all of us.
Leave the post up. Just make one final note that you’re not going to comment or reply to anything on that post anymore. In fact, close the comments on it.
May 25th, 2005 at 12:36 pm
I agree with Derek. Gavvie-baby is just digger himself deeper into the dwang. You’re post was fair comment. Our boy just needs to toughen up a little and take things like a grown-up instead of his childish attention-seeking.
BTW: thanks for an awesome blog Rich…!, to you and your team.
May 25th, 2005 at 12:57 pm
tell you what…
give out your bank details and i will deposit R250 for your legal fees to fight this WANKER.
pretty sure that with a couple of deposits you can fight him Forever..!
K E E P I T R E A L !
May 25th, 2005 at 1:07 pm
Hey … I don’t have the big bucks like rooibos (what about saving for the next “head” album bro!), but you can put me down for R100. If it means freedom of speech is upheld, then I’ll “take it on the chin”. Jo’blog made a mistake by being too passionate – after which they apologised – but I believe Sharples could have diffused this situation long ago. I wonder how much “virtual cash” Jo’blog could raise on this post? So far: R350.
May 25th, 2005 at 1:08 pm
The debate continues:
My take on the matter is as long as our aggrieved individual continues to keep the debate alive, the responses and counters will be part of the public domain.
Using this as the basis for my argument, keep it all up and open.
Saying that – send the lad a mail and say “fine – we have flogged this dead horse for long enuff. White flags and let sleeping dogs lie. The posts will be pulled 30 days after his last comment.
Which is the way I would do it.
My 2c which added to all the other 2c (and the odd 5c) is weighing down your trousers with small change.
May 25th, 2005 at 2:41 pm
i say leave it. the internet is a platform where people should (and are) allowed to voice their opinions. anyone working in the public’s eye should expect both positive and negative feedback. if he can’t take the punch, get out the bloody ring.
p.s. in my opinion, he is a wanker not because of your experience with him, but because he turned an awesome opportunity for a tactical publicity campaign into an ugly legal saga.
instead of throwing the bullet back at the gun, catch it with both hands and show it off. wanker.
May 25th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
My Zimbabwean dollar’s worth: leave everything as is. I agree with eKapa: the man had options in hand, & played his cards his way. He’s surely garnered more publicity because of your blog site than any other paid-for campaign. He can still turn it around to his advantage-& take up the challenge in a suitable arena. Well done for playing open cards- you guys have acted with integrity, in your blogging capacity- time for a mandate on ethics, & tranparency, Rich…!
May 26th, 2005 at 8:38 am
You said it, Rich…! So the whole \”WANKER\” thing is getting silly,â€?
Delete the post… leave the post… either way BE DONE WITH IT Rich, and move on. Be done with GS… the man does not deserve all the exposure (neg or pos) you are giving him.
The post has been on your website since February 21 and if the intention was to let ppl know how incompetent GS is, then it has been achieved. Everything that happened after that is just ego and you have nothing to gain by engaging in this any further.
I can understand his obsession with this, after all he perceives himself as the injured party, hence the need to defend himself… albeit in a very emotional and childlike manner. He’s making a “gat� of himself and will continue to do without any help from you.
Whether he has suffered any damages as a result of it is a matter of opinion and remains for him to prove. Who fucking cares!
May 26th, 2005 at 2:51 pm
Hey Rich…!
I know that you feel very strongly about the principles on this whole thing, but if he is getting customers taht the 2 of you share involved with trying to gather evidence for his case, then both of you are going to suffer. I certainly wouldn’t want to get involved in any disputes between any 2 of the companies that offer me services…
At some point, I reckon you say that you’ve proved you point, be the bigger man, and walk away – before your business starts to suffer.
May 26th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
BigGuy has a point – both reputations are at stake, it’s not just about Gavin. Your choice to make your opinions public could reflect negatively with potential clients or future business partners.
Hypothetical situation, for example: “those guys…. hmmm. Nah, they called that one guy a wanker on their website resulting in a lawsuit! Let’s find someone else…!”. It does sound slightly trivial out of context, but you never know.
I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with removing or editing the original post – blogger ethics, whatever they are – are less important than building a good reputation as a serious and professional firm.
May 26th, 2005 at 6:36 pm
Just a quick bonehead question…
Does this mean that Gav has graduated from “Wanker” to fully fledged “Doring in jou kant”?
May 26th, 2005 at 7:22 pm
Leave it. I mean, at the original post you already have the disclaimer that it’s your own opinion.
Besides, he took full advantage of the comments forum on your blog to state his side of the story.
Hurray for blogging and freedom of speech and for bloggers like you who get the point of the medium!
May 26th, 2005 at 9:18 pm
Took a few minutes to check out Mr Sharples’ website and apparently one of his titles is that of “shit stirrer” – boy is he doing a good job or what.
Also, according to the website, Mr Sharpels is a very busy speaker so I don’t know how one blog post is hurting his business all that much. In fact I’d hazard a guess that some people seek out his services because of your post – just because they are curious to see what all the fuss is about.
Of course Mr Sharples aslo includes “comedian” in his list of titles which I guess explains why I found his comments so amusing – “Donny” – well that was just laugh out loud funny
I say leave up the original post but close comments, that’s my 2c.
May 27th, 2005 at 11:11 am
I have met, and had the privilege to listen to Gavin and I thought he was great, but as I don’t know you guys I don’t want to get involved in the disagreement.
The reason for me posting this comment is because I visted Gavin’s website http://www.gavinsharples.co.za and I can’t see anything wrong with it. In fact I think it is a great website – fast and user friendly. I also see on his website that he is a member of Proudly South African, for that he gets my vote !
Great website Gavin.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:21 pm
ok then.
LET THIS BE THE LAST BLOG ON THE WHOLE ISSUE:
“!”
May 29th, 2005 at 11:02 pm
Hey thanks loads for all your comments and support (you’re a tough bunch of mo’ fo’s, I’ll give you that).
Still not sure what to do though, I’m leaning towards the idea of posting it as an image so it gets less google juice, however I don’t think I’ll close the comments, everyone deserves their right of rebuttal.
Having said that though, I want to chat to the other lads to see what they think.
Will keep you posted…!
June 2nd, 2005 at 2:03 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
I never really followed the whole saga, but after seeing the GS comments on GS being a Wanker – i never recovered it still makesd me smile and if the dude is foolish enough to carry it on he deserves all the scorn heaped on his ass !
Great Blog BTW !
June 8th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
Hey doods, been busy with real stuff and was told to pop in and check out all the blogies. Just my 10c worth as I seem to be centre of all your attention (whoohoo). Just a few final (unless it’s not )comments on this issue.
1 Thanks for the intro to the blog world, i never would have known this whole world existed without you bros
2 Long live Blog! joblog! jo! joie! I am all for freedom of speech and do alot of it myself. Hell it’s been the back bone of my career. Freedom of speech though is not the same as freedom of crap. I’m sure Blog was never intended to be used for freedom to lie, insult and trash people.
3 If someone doesn’t like me, cool, won’t be the first, won’t be the last. If all comments are based on hard undisputed facts. Hell i’ll be the first one to apologies, and agree. Every fact stated in this “matter” about me, unless a personal opinion like (“i don’t like the dood, i met him – not my cuppa tea”) has, is and will be disputed and shown to be not factual. If after my responses this is still in doubt then let’s find a neutral party (a knowledgeable person in law both criminal and civil)who will decide. I’m willing and able to stand up for my name and reputation. I didn’t offend or hurt anyone and was rated 8.1 for my work inspite of poor AV.
4 How come is it that others can have their say in their medium and when I do in my way, using my resources and want to recover damages. I’m a bad guy?
6 I have phoned, asked, requested, written letters, and still this crap exsists.
7 Enough two finger typing now, and no I haven’t spell or grammer checked this, someone said I have the right to defend myself, I do, I can and I will. I was minding my own business and someone reached out and slapped me with no justification, I immediatly picked the phone up and called, stop. But it continued. These dudes picked a fight. So, let’s rock and roll. Finish what you start. Ps. For now I am involved with the originator of the post, but other peoples involvement is interesting.
Rock on bros. I’m actually interested to see how this all turns out. If I loss my battle all the way to the highest courts in the land i will be the first to open my own sites and trash companies and people at my liesure. I will know I can stand on a stage and say whatever I want, no consequences. But for now …
June 9th, 2005 at 7:29 am
…you’re still a wanker.
Full stop, dood.
June 9th, 2005 at 10:19 am
I think the key when one wants to say something is..who listens. To get a site up and out there — with a degree of following, requires a certain, something! Otherwise it will remain hot air in a BIG black hole.
June 10th, 2005 at 8:39 pm
Ya know, now that I’ve seen what Sharples has come on the comments list to say for himself…
Sharples claims he’s been wronged… says he didn’t do what Rich accuses him of and that although he’s asked Rich to remove the post, that Rich obviously believes is true, he’s going to call his lawyer and sue. Yet, to add insult to injury, Sharples post to all of us with a veiled threat to sue some of the rest of us as well for simply presenting our opinion of the situation presented.
Rich, since the etymology of “wanker” simply means a “contemptible person”, this guy hasn’t got a legal leg to stand on!
March 23rd, 2006 at 6:43 pm
I can confirm that GS is a wanker. I will pay R100, 000 to a charity of his choice if he can beat my \”Wanker Challenge\”. Quite simply he must take a polygraph test at his expense (mine if he passses) to see if he is indeed a wanker.
August 24th, 2008 at 11:40 am
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