Like Zombies, In A Way

These things go in cycles.

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 01:59:28 GMT

Gun's post about FPB's -- thoughts? fantasies? delusions? Delusions, that's good-- last week got me nostalgic for the days of his fights with Narcissam, his insistence that black Italians do not exist and JKR got it wrong wrong wrong and his irrational hatred of the Dutch

Now, it's Caina, mistaking theregoesmygun for principessa.

And, yes, dear, you did say it.

Now all we need is vanceone or frothing Slytherfen wank to surface, and it'll be just like Old Home Week.

Edit: FPB's recent words of ...something.

The return of Caina. (That made metafandom? How?)

In which Gun offers to ~~whine~~ wine and dine her.

Thank yous...

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 00:35:52 GMT

We are now up to 1,450 signatures, 47 countries, and ~~49 states (just missing Wyoming)~~ all 50 states!!! Thanks to Chickadilly, we got Wyoming!!!!! *dances around* and this link is a thank you in video format.

Cheers,
-Jillian/--Sapph

EDIT: A video cheer for the 50 states!

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:08:28 GMT

I know I'm bothering you guys again, but I just had to post and celebrate!

We reached 1,000 signatures early this morning!

As well 37 countries and 31 states have been added!!! (You can even see the graphic of the US map for the states, I haven't got around to coloring the other maps yet)

Everyone is simply fantastic! Every signature is one more step toward hope!

--Sapph

Edit: 11/21/2006 - For two years people have questioned whether my Mum's story was real, so for them read this... Mum's main doctor at Mayo Clinic signed the petition!

1032. Robert Wermers I can't think of anyone who could benefit more. Christina has many bad breaks in her health. I wish there was more that we (the medical profession) could do to help, but these are difficult problems. Good Luck Christina!

Locations on the Petition...

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 21:59:25 GMT

As an update for this post, these are the places that have been listed on the petition! Woohoo!!</p> The countries and states are now listed here.

Plus even more graphics!

Thank you very much to everyone who has signed the petition and passed the link along. And thank you to Bad_Penny for sponsoring the petition! You guys are the greatest!! --Sapph

No Shame In Our Game

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 03:20:19 GMT

Sapphmum's family has submitted an application to ABC's show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Her daughter has set up a petition in hopes of giving the application a little extra boost in ABC's eyes.

The petition is here.

Legal names aren't required; pseudonyms and screen names are fine.

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 01:34:46 GMT

msscribe has posted a public apology at her LJ.

... Man, she really should have taken a cue from AngieJ's apology, eh.

Reminder: troll her, and I will wield my sparkly pink dildo of justice. That's a threat, and not an offer, people.

ETA: There's a mouse out there ~~whose pet obviously out-ran them before they could perform nefarious deeds on Fluffy~~ who clearly knows the ultimate truthiness of this situation and I would be a bad, bad person indeed if I were to hinder this particular truth.

So this is an open invitation to mousie to get themselves a JF account ~~(or perhaps just use karmabitch, amirite?)~~ and to post up the TRUFAX of what really happened. I am sitting on the edge of my chair absolutely excited to hear this.

If you can't trust an anonymous commenter, who CAN you trust?

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 16:44:09 GMT

Oh dear. I'm afraid I'm very disappointed in our mouse detective. First, he stood me up by ignoring my invitation to give me hints in one of my screened journals to help me confirm his information. But perhaps that's understandable in view of what happened next. Deprived of "Clarabella's" alleged real name and any hints as to how I might find online "incident reports," I was forced to investigate the information s/he had already given us. And I am sorry to be obliged to tell you that the Mouse Detective is shockingly untruthful.

All my attempts to verify the "information" offered have not only discovered lie after lie, they have shown our Mouse Detective's research skills and attention to detail in a very poor light. For instance:

Clarabella's Address
In the comment at bad_penny that is now screened (but here is a screencap, with all the information I judge the most sensitive blacked-out), the mouse said the following:

As far as the additional information regarding ‘Clarabella’ it appears that she used msscribe’s address as her permanent residence after late 2002 so having 'met on the internet' is clearly a lie, although prior to that Clarabella resided in Room 24B, Residence Hall #16 Camden, NJ at Rutgers University.

I am perfectly comfortable posting that address for Clarabella because it is not a real address. Even the most basic research on the Rutgers University-Camden campus will show that it only has two residence halls -- Camden Towers and Camden Apartments -- both of which are actually connected as one building (called the Residence Hall) housing 550 on-campus residents:

Moreover, the rooms don't come in numbers like "24" -- as you can see here (scroll down), the ground floor rooms in both the Tower and the Apartments are given numbers like "103", the second floor rooms have numbers like "205" and "217", etc. The individual bedrooms in suites might perhaps be given numbers like A and B, but in that case it would be 204B.

Why did our Mouse Detective think there was a Residence Hall #16? I'll show you. If you Google '"Residence Hall #16" Camden' you will get only two results -- both from a virtual tour of the Rutgers-Camden campus. Here is what it looks like:

Our veteran investigator with twelve years' experience saw the #16 designating the 16th stop on the virtual tour and took it for the building name.

Msscribe's "home health aid" may or may not actually exist and she may or may not have ever attended Rutgers, but she definitely never lived in Room 24B Residence Hall #16 on the Rutgers-Camden campus.

The Physicians
It didn't occur to me until the day before yesterday to verify the identity of the two physicians that the Mouse Detective claimed treated Msscribe in April 2002 and March 2003. I had assumed that s/he would do me the basic courtesy of looking up two actual neurosurgeons practicing at the hospital named. But, alas, apparently that was too much trouble. Here is the expurgated version of what the Mouse Detective wrote in the screened comment:

Dr. T__ M__ was msscribe's Neurologist for her first surgery in April of 2002 – cause was [medical information omitted].

Dr. H__ M__ operated on her on [date] at [time] for what is noted as [diagnosis]. Transportation was via ambulance, [ambulance company] from a location that isn’t her home address, but is a place of business on [address].

Employment records indicate that her medical was covered by a [insurance company] X-group policy listed under [individual]’s office of [city], Delaware and there was extensive billing to N__ A__ [a private neurological practice] in [city] for [medical information omitted].

Dr. T__ M__ seems to be a well-known doctor. In fact, he is the director of a sleep clinic and a noted specialist in sleep disorders. He is not a surgeon, but he actually is a neurologist; he is associated with the hospital named; and he is a member of the N__ A__ neurology practice; so, while it may seem odd to have a sleep specialist treating a traumatic injury case, it's possible.

However, I hope very much that H__ M__ did not operate on Msscribe. Admittedly, she sounds like a wonderful woman who is good at her job. From an online article about her:

Like many doctor's offices, N__ A__ -- with 14 physicians and about 50 employees -- is a busy place.

"We have patients coming in every half-hour and there's a lot of activity," said H__ M__, practice administrator. "As a medical practice, there's a high level of stress also."

In that atmosphere of high demand and high stakes, N__ A__ is another office that has chosen to hire employees like [individual], a 19-year-old [subdivision name] woman who has Down syndrome.

H__ M__ definitely works at N__ A__. In fact, she is its administrator. But there is one small problem. Not only is H__ M__ not a neurosurgeon, she's not even a neurologist. And not only is she not a neurologist, she is not even a doctor.

Mouse Detective, I am not impressed.

The "Incident Report"
I am sorry to tell you that I believe I have the solution to the mysterious online "incident report," and it is sadly anticlimactic. Here is what the Detective Mouse said on Heidi's LJ:

it turns out that there is a record, although it isn’t a police report, rather an incident report, and at the time msscribe appeared to still be using her maiden name and not her married one. In addition, the name ‘Louis’ turned out not to be a legal name, but a nickname. At first attempt to uncover the report, I was told they could find it, but upon inquiring about an incident record, I was able to retrieve more information. It was reported as telephone harassment and not internet harassment, and the charges were dropped.

In the screened comment on Bad_Penny, the Mouse said:

I won’t comment any more about the Incident report except to say that the key to finding it is almost too easy. The police department has a public online record and all you need to do is play match the date, although with public reports that are dropped, names and personal information might be omitted.

Indeed, it is laughably easy, and laughably irrelevant. Here is a "public online record" kept by a "police department" where all you need to do is "match the date" and it indeed has a record of "telephone harrassment" for March 26, 2003. It is the online Crime Log of the University of Dayton campus police, and here, I suspect, we can find the "incident report" referred to in the Mouse's second post:

The idea that some student in a dorm room receiving a harrassing phone call is a good match for two months of cyber-stalking, hacking into thirteen computers, mailing unwanted religious books, sending nasty emails, and slander, leading to arrest, expulsion, being taken to court, and probation might perhaps be convincing to someone desperately trying to believe that Msscribe was telling the truth (or something sort of distantly related to the truth). It is certainly not convincing to me!

As for the first post, with its talk of Msscribe's maiden name, "Louis" being a nickname, and an "incident record" as opposed to a "police record," I never believed that and I still don't. The Detective Mouse has given us no reason to take his or her word over that of angua9, oulangi, ishie, and my other informant. I'd like a case number, please.

For completeness, I will mention something called the "NIBRS" ("National Incident Based Reporting System"), which the City of Dayton uses. According to their website:

Unlike the UCR method, the NIBRS system records all criminal offenses that occurs during a particular incident. So for the example given above, Dayton would record the kidnapping, the robbery, and the assault as three separate offenses, not one. Naturally, to compare cities that use the UCR method with cities that use the NIBRS system results in inaccurate and misleading conclusions. It is an apples-to-oranges comparison that ultimately penalizes cities who provide more detailed crime reports to the FBI.

Initially, before I had my heart broken by the Mouse Detective's sloppy lies, I wondered if he or she might have somehow gained access to this FBI-gathered database. I see now how foolish I was.

If anyone can lead me to a way to access this database, I would welcome it. Perhaps we can confirm yet one more time, as sort of a nostalgia thing, that there was no Fermatojam.

The State Senator
This section is tricky to write because I am dealing with a public figure, but I thought it only fair to include it because it is the only case where I have attempted to verify the Mouse Detective's claims and found any merit at all. I will repeat what I quoted above, replacing two words I had blocked out:

Employment records indicate that her medical was covered by a [insurance company] X-group policy listed under State Senator __’s office of [city], Delaware

In Delaware, many of the 21 state senators have day jobs to supplement their legislative pay. The one named by the Mouse Detective heads a public vocational and technical school in the county of __. You may recall from my earlier reports that Msscribe had an employee account for the same vocational and technical school district (thus the eduproxy.k12.de.us IPs used by Clarabella, Fermatojam, Kellie, and Melodyannsings). It appears that Msscribe possibly did work for a state senator -- she worked for the school he ran.

This school has a staff page and Msscribe's real name is not currently listed on it. However, using the Wayback Machine, I found the following:

June 29, 2003: Her real name was listed as a "Consultant" with a school email address and telephone extension number.

August 15, 2003: Her job listing was changed to "Public Relations Consultant."

Feb. 7, 2004: Her listing was unchanged.

Feb. 1, 2005: She no longer appeared on the list.

Judging from her phone number, she seems to have had an office at the school, but judging from the word "consultant" we can speculate that she probably did not work full-time. It is possible that she might have been doing political public relations for the state senator as she claimed in her post, though they would have had to be extremely careful to avoid ethical improprieties having a public employee doing political work for her boss and using publicly-funded resources. I really don't want to get into that, but I will be revising my Chapter Six to take into account this new information. For now, I'd like to return to our Detective Mouse.

The Mouse's claim that Msscribe's medical bills were paid by the state senator's "X-group policy" makes no sense to me. For one thing, her medical complications supposedly resulted from her original accident and should have been paid by her settlement, as noted by an anonymous commenter here. For another, state senator's offices aren't businesses with employees and insurance plans! Normally, politicians have employees (such as secretaries) who are government employees, paid by the state and covered by government employee benefits, who do NOT do campaign work, and employees (such as campaign managers) who are campaign employees, paid by campaign funds and generally with very poor insurance coverage (if any) because campaigns are run on a shoe-string. They don't have "X-group policies" (as far as I can determine from Googling, there's no such thing as an "X-group policy" for the named insurance company or any other US insurance company). Certainly a political campaign would not be likely to be paying what appear to have been hugely expensive medical expenses for a consultant whose condition was -1- preexisting and -2- covered by a lawsuit settlement, anyway.

Or was it?

The Lawsuit
The one element that took the most work to investigate is the one that should be public knowledge, the lawsuit filing. I apologize for the length of this section. Though it is quick and easy to show that something exists (a case number, for instance), it is time-consuming and difficult to show that something does not exist. Here's what I've got:

Our detective mouse claimed, in Heidi's LJ:

Msscribe sued a trucking company entitled J & P trucking using personal injury attorney Fred Freibott in April of 2002. The suit alleged that the injury’s included head injury, a broken rib, a broken arm, and a dislocated shoulder. The case settled five months later.

Note that for the investigator mousie to find a record of the suit it would have to have been filed before it was settled. If Msscribe had merely retained a lawyer who negotiated a settlement without filing suit, there would have been no record for the mouse to find. S/he implied that perhaps it was found on Lexis:

I’ll be happy to take requests. I don’t want to flood the system with inquiries however (things like Lexis and other national databases require logins and often money) but I will be happy to try to clarify things.

I was perfectly willing to believe in Msscribe's accident and lawsuit. But when I tried to confirm it, all I found was evidence against it. First, salacious tried and failed to find the suit on findlaw.com. However, that doesn't necessarily prove that the case did not exist.

I looked for an online database that includes information on lawsuits filed, and found KnowX.com. They claim to have the relevant information:

The Lawsuits database provides filing information on civil suits from various courts, including circuit, district, small claims, chancery, and municipal courts throughout various jurisdictions in the United States. Not all jurisdictions across the U.S. are included in this database, nor are all courts included in each of the available jurisdictions. Check the section entitled Coverage to determine which jurisdictions are included in the Lawsuits database.

I checked the coverage and found that all three counties in Delaware are covered. I also verified that the database has coverage for every county in the neighboring states New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. However, Mr. Freibott has bar admissions only in Delaware. Here are the search results:

Plaintiff = "Lastname" Defendant = "J & P Trucking" State = "All states": 0 results.

Plaintiff = "Maidenname" Defendant = "J & P Trucking" State = "All states": 0 results.

Plaintiff = "Lastname" State = "All states": 259 results, of which one, "Louis Lastname," was in Delaware. In Pennsylvania, there was a case filed by "Deanna R. Lastname" and nothing else was even close. I have found the details on both cases and they are against altogether different companies (a gas station and a pharmaceutical company).

Plaintiff = "Maidenname" State = "All states": 127 results, of which three were in Delaware -- "William G. Maidenname," "Maidenname's Used Cars," and "Betty Maidenname." In New Jersey, five cases were filed by "Dawn J. Maidenname," and nothing else is at all close (most of the results are first names).

Defendant = "J & P Trucking" State = "All states": 45 results, of which none are in Delaware. Since Msscribe's name is not involved in this search, I can show you the results and you can see that most of them are for different company names like "PJ's Trucking" anyway. There are only sixteen results for "J & P Trucking" or "JP Trucking" - in Texas, Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Just to remind you, Fred Freibott is not qualified to practice in any of those states.

If we can believe the KnowX.com database, Msscribe has never sued anyone in any state for anything.

Next, two friends who have access to Lexis searched it for me. Here is what one of them said (quoted with permission):

I can search Delaware's civil filings on the Lexis Public Records database (they haven't, unfortunately, put settlements on-line, but there should still be a record of a civil case even if it was settled and there was no written decision). This doesn't give much information about the case (and doesn't list the attorney), but should give the party names

All I got for [Lastname] was a Louis and Wanda [Lastname] suing [gas station]. I got nothing for J&P Trucking.

[After looking for Maidenname...] Yep, nothing there!

My other friend got the exact same results. The second friend and I also compared the two sets of results. KnowX.com actually shows more cases than Lexis does (which surprised me), though Lexis shows at least one case that Knowx.com does not.

No database is perfect, apparently. The only way to know for sure if a lawsuit was filed is to ask at the court where it would have been filed. So, finally, another friend called the courthouse in Msscribe's county. In that court, no one of Msscribe's name (either her married name or maiden name) has ever filed a lawsuit -- in April 2002 or at any other time, against J & P Trucking or any other defendant.

I'm beginning to think that our Mouse Detective might have lied to us.

Conclusion
I must admit that I was sadly mistaken and all the commenters who thought our Mouse Detective was Msscribe were, I believe, correct. I suspect that she took advantage of some errors being found in michaelaeck's recent history to try to reestablish her reputation as much as she could. The posts were almost certainly not targeted at me and my readers, except insofar as my inability to disprove them can be taken as a confirmation of them. I'm hypothesizing that the parts of Msscribe's story that the Mouse Detective admitted were lies are parts that she has already admitted to her friends, while the parts that the Mouse Detective insisted are true and provided "evidence" for are the parts she needs for her latest cover story. As to what that latest cover story is, we can see hints from her friend's comment here, this thread and this thread on my last post, and this thread on the anonymous lol_meme. I strongly suspect that this comment is Msscribe herself:

*looks at police report as attachment in inbox*

*looks up number on database*

OMG. THOSE LYING CUNTS. ONE WANKY SOCKPUPPET DOES NOT EQUAL CONSPIRACY, BITCHES.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It's almost like old times to be called a "cunt" once again! :)

Why do I think that the Detective Mouse is Msscribe, besides the obvious reason of motive? The writing style is a bit different (though the second post sounds more like her than the first one), but the methods are the same. The argument is superficially convincing, but on close examination it is full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Msscribe is inventive and eloquent, but not patient and meticulous. And then there's the biggest similarity: the blatant, ridiculous, bald-faced, unblushing lies. I find it hard to believe that there is another person out there who is willing to go to such lengths and cobble together such a collection of real and imaginary details just to bolster parts of Msscribe's story.

Frankly, I had hoped for better from Msscribe (or whoever this is). I refuse to engage with her or her anonymous defenders again unless they bring a better class of scam to the table. And if anyone mentions a court case or a police report again, I'm not interested unless I see a case number. I have better things to do with my time (all evidence to the contrary!) than to chase down and disprove flimsy lies like these.

(personal message to obakesan: I'm afraid I simply wouldn't have time, but thank you very much for asking me!)

The Msscribe Story, Afterword Three

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 07:32:44 GMT

Greetings! It's been a while since I last posted on June 23rd, 2006. There is an interesting new development.

But first, here is a brief recap of the Msscribe-related events that I know of since that post, with a couple that happened before that post, but weren't covered in it:

June 21 -- malachan (formerly cygnusfap), revealing himself to be the person behind fandom_quibbler, posted some more IP matches for Msscribe -- anonymous comments about the fall of GT on the Quibbler.

June 22 -- angua9 posted the text of the email that she had sent Heidi in March-April 2004, saying that it was in response to a comment on Heidi's journal, which she quoted.

June 23 -- clarabella21 commented on this post in angua9's Live Journal, saying only: An update will be posted in my journal. According to angua9, the IP was 151.138.254.21, which looks like it comes from the DFW Airport in Dallas, Texas. A couple of hours later, "Clarabella" made a voice mail post on her own LJ, oddly backdated to a month before. here is a screencap, and here is what it said, as transcribed by tophets_tool:

It’s me. I know that I haven’t been around in years and I never thought I’d come back to this journal. I’ve already apologised, I have nothing else to say, except that I wan’t to be left alone. I don’t appreciate people contacting me, and I will be deleting this journal in twenty four hours. Thank you

I have no idea who made that phone call, but Clarabella's journal was deleted twenty-four hours later as she promised.

In between those two events on that same day, June 23, Msscribe made another change to her LJ, changing her name to dejaspirit and her title to "Solitude." That LJ is still in existence as I write this, and looks like this. There are no public posts, but she has three friend-only posts since then, according to the calendar, the latest one on September 29th. As I recall, there were a few more posts previously that must have now been deleted. Currently, dejaspirit has 87 people friended, and 47 mutual friends. Here is a screencap taken by smithereen showing that dejaspirit is the same LJ as delawarean/light_music/msscribe, renamed again.

June 24 -- heidi8 posted a public apology for "some of the things I said and did, as well as some of the things I didn't say or didn't do."

July 7 or so -- The dejaspirit LJ was changed from a permanent account to a basic account. People have speculated that Live Journal allowed Msscribe to transfer her permanent account status to a different LJ. If so, I do not know what that LJ name is.

July 15 -- I received an email apparently from babygrrl/infinitus. It appeared to be authentic, from what I could tell, and said briefly that she was a real person; that she did not know if what I have said about Msscribe was true, but that Msscribe had been a good friend to her; and that she had spoken to "Clarabella" on the telephone a couple of times while Msscribe was said to be in the hospital. She further said that she has left fandom completely for personal reasons and does not wish to be contacted in any way. I did not respond, and I have no plan to question her further.

Now for the reason for my post:

October 1 -- In response to a "fandom history" posted by michaelaecks on the bad_penny community, and now deleted, heidi8 had made a post on September 30 discussing michaelaeck's allegations. On that post, an anonymous commenter offered some information about Msscribe. I will repeat selected parts of the comment here:

...I am a 12 year veteran of an investigative until dedicated to mostly fraud, but I’ve had some experience with other crimes more personal in nature. I won’t be revealing who I am and I’m sure you can understand that concern.

...Wanting to uncover a few things, I did some digging on my own. In order to remain neutral, I didn’t contact either the people in question or the accusers.

...Some things I discovered:

Msscribe sued a trucking company entitled J & P trucking using personal injury attorney Fred Freibott in April of 2002. The suit alleged that the injury’s included head injury, a broken rib, a broken arm, and a dislocated shoulder. The case settled five months later.

From that April 2002 until 2003, msscribe’s tax records indicate that she and her husband employed someone who has a very similar last name to that belonging to the sockpuppet ‘Clarabella’. The title of the position they gave her was ‘home health aid.’ That person also claimed their income on their own tax return. Using the real name on the tax record, I was able to access their college information as well as other information regarding them including the fact that they had been employed at a nursing home for two years prior. The employee of msscribe’s last employment record is as a nurse’s aid in Florida in 2004, the prior record being a child care worker in late 2003.

Msscribe was hospitalized at least five times in that three-year period, twice for surgery according to her application for disability status in 2003. (I would question why someone who is married to a lawyer needs disability, but that might be me being judgemental.) When I gave her real name to the records department at Christiana Hospital in Delaware, this was confirmed.

The alleged stalker: This is a tricky one. The bad penny people can’t be blamed too much for this, but it turns out that there is a record, although it isn’t a police report, rather an incident report, and at the time msscribe appeared to still be using her maiden name and not her married one. In addition, the name ‘Louis’ turned out not to be a legal name, but a nickname. At first attempt to uncover the report, I was told they could find it, but upon inquiring about an incident record, I was able to retrieve more information. It was reported as telephone harassment and not internet harassment, and the charges were dropped. It appears that she lied about any death threats and that even though she may have been harassed, she dropped the ball when it came down to pursuing it, perhaps because she didn’t have a clear case. I’ve dealt with numerous police departments regarding Internet cases and they are pretty inept at handling these things. I toyed with posting the report, but most of the information would be blacked out and I don’t think it would add all that much weight.

In any case, her alleged stalker has no prior criminal history and none since, with the exception of one citation for public consumption of alcohol in 2005.

...I am continuing to plow through these reports, but I’ll be happy to take requests. I don’t want to flood the system with inquiries however (things like Lexis and other national databases require logins and often money) but I will be happy to try to clarify things.

...I'm thinking of setting up a journal and post ing what I find, although please know that it sometimes takes a few days to access information.

Of course I have no idea who this anonymous person is or any way to judge the accuracy of their information. I understand that heidi8 had IP logging turned off at the time, so she will not have this person's IP. I will say that I do not believe that this is Msscribe. The style is very different from hers, it has a precise, dispassionate tone that I do not believe her to be capable of, and, perhaps most telling of all, it does not flatter Msscribe or emphasize her importance. I would be very interested in speaking further with this unidentified informant.

Here is how this information strikes me:

As to the automobile accident and lawsuit, I tend to believe it. I have always suspected that Msscribe was telling the truth about having been in an automobile accident and having a severe head injury. This is one aspect of her story that never wavered from first to last. As lawsuits are a matter of public record, perhaps someone who knows Msscribe's real name can verify this.

As to the home health care aide, this sounds credible, though it would be much harder to independently verify. I note that if "Clarabella" or her equivalent was working and possibly residing with Msscribe from June 2002 onward, this obviously does not fit Clarabella's two different descriptions of herself in her early posts at Portkey and on LJ when she was fangirling Msscribe. Nor does it fit Msscribe's posts to and about Clarabella, since they posted as strangers who were meeting for the first time. If you will remember my recap here, both Msscribe and Clarabella were claiming that they lived in different places as late as May 30, 2003. It was not until March 2, 2004 that Msscribe made the first reference to "Clarabella" living with her or being any kind of health aide. Before that, she was a fan met on the internet and, later, a friend and occasional babysitter.

If this new information is correct, it seems that either Msscribe based her "Clarabella" sockpuppet on her real-life health care aide, or possibly the real-life health care aide was involved in the fangirling scheme, posing as a stranger to Msscribe. I note that the anonymous commenter says that the real-life health care aide had "a very similar last name to that belonging to the sockpuppet ‘Clarabella’." I would be very interested in knowing what that name is. Though I obviously can't access tax records, etc., like this person claims to, I can at least do a Google search!

Next comes the claim about hospital visits: Msscribe was hospitalized at least five times in that three-year period, twice for surgery according to her application for disability status in 2003. I frankly don't understand this. If the "five times in that three-year period" was described in a disability application in 2003, does that mean the accident was way back in 2000? Or is this person writing unclearly, and the "three-year period" goes, say, from 2002 to 2005? I have no difficulty believing that Msscribe might have had hospital visits, but I remain very skeptical of her dramatic near-death collapse as reported to us by "Clarabella" in March of 2003. I would be interested to know if this anonymous source claims a hospital visit corresponding to that date.

I have no idea if this claim can be independently verified. I have been informed that hospitals will not give out information without the permission of the patient, and this source is not clear how he or she obtained the information from "the records department at Christiana Hospital in Delaware." I would point out the discrepancy between a disability application and an active career as a back-up singer/senator's publicist who made appearances on the television news and was forced to resign for writing smutty fanfic.

Next comes the matter of the alleged "telephone harrasser." I am inclined to be suspicious of this account. Too many people have badgered both the Dayton Police and the University of Dayton campus authorities for information about "Louis Movello" or any similar name for me to believe that there was an "incident report" for any person with the same last name that somehow wasn't found. However, this can of course be confirmed, if anyone feels like bothering the unfortunate Dayton Police one last time. Given the fact that Msscribe gave ari_o the name of an officer who wasn't employed there in 2003, and the total lack of success various people have had looking for someone with a name similar to Msscribe's alleged stalker both in the town of Dayton and at the university, I simply can't believe this claim without further substantiation. I would like to know what name the alleged incident report was made for, if "Louis" was a nickname, as this person claims. I would also be very interested in the date. Was it, perhaps, an earlier incident that Msscribe drew upon when creating the story of Fermatojam's stalking?

Whatever the truth of the alleged incident report (and I hope we'll find out more soon), I note that this story, if true, shows that Msscribe was lying in almost everything she ever said about "Louis," including that she "had him arrested" and "took him to court," that she had a police report, that he was expelled from his school, that he hacked into her computer and twelve others, that he sent her threatening emails that were "all printed out and sitting in a little file at the campus police department," and, presumably, that he was a member of Gryffindor Tower. Also, it destroys the explanation of how Clarabella discovered Fermatojam's email password and "hacked into" his accounts.

If the person who posted on Heidi's LJ is legitimate, I hope he or she will respond to some of these questions!

ETA: I feel like I'm stepping on eggshells here, but here goes. An anonymous commenter who seems by style to be the same anonymous commenter from Heidi's LJ has posted here in response to my questions, claiming to be using an Anonymizer. The posts were screened by the mods because they contained a great deal of personal information, including names, addresses, and medical information that is apparently not legal to give out in public and could conceivably get this community, JF, and of course me into legal trouble. For this reason, I have screened all new comments on my JF and LJ journals. I will unscreen all inoffensive comments as soon as I notice them, but please be aware that I do not have comment notification turned on, so I might miss some. I am very sorry about this.

Here is what the person said in response to my questions, without the details:

1 - S/he says that Msscribe was admitted to the hospital on the date she and Clarabella claimed, with particulars that generally fit their accounts (except for Clarabella's place of residence and relationship to Msscribe).

2 - S/he says that Msscribe's home health care aide seems by address to have been a student at Clarabella's claimed university at one time, though apparently not after late 2002 (in other words, her time in the HP fandom), when she listed her address as Msscribe's address. S/he didn't respond about the age question or offer the person's real name (which is good, of course, and I shouldn't have asked without specifying that I wanted to receive this information privately!). S/he gave more information about the person's post-Msscribe work and personal history.

3. S/he says that Msscribe showed income from being a back-up singer mainly prior to 1996. S/he said something that indicated that Msscribe might have been employed by a state senator in 2003, but did not say whether or not she reported income from that. S/he gave much information about Msscribe's employment record prior to 2002, some of which agrees with what I found by Googling.

4. S/he said something that seems to imply that the telephone harassment incident report he or she previously mentioned was on the correct date in March 2003, and also said that it is available on an online database. I have not found out how to access such a database, but have found indications that one might exist. No more detail was given on that.

Despite the wealth of detail offered, I have not been able to confirm any of this information. I am extremely reluctant to call the hospital, though it may be that hospitals are willing to confirm the bare fact of an admission if you have the correct patient name and date. I am somewhat reluctant to bother the Dayton police, especially if an online alternative really is available. I cannot attempt to confirm any of the "Clarabella" or "Louis" information, as I do not have their alleged real names. I am still hoping that someone will confirm or deny the lawsuit -- I'm afraid I personally have no knowledge of how to search for court cases.

If the investigative mouse wants to comment on my screened JF or LJ with more hints to help me confirm his or her assertions, I think that would be acceptable. I will investigate to the best of my amateur (and within-the-bounds-of-legal) ability and report the results without personal details. He or she can no longer post here (unless s/he gets an account)~~, because the mods have turned off anonymous posting~~.

I thank the mouse for coming here and responding, and I apologize to the Bad_Penny mods and Journalfen for the spate of TMI that occurred. I'm so glad you were watching!

Presenting...

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:31:37 GMT

Sockpuppeting for great justice.

Also: Singblusilver84/saveelijah has something she'd like to share with the class.

Account moved to michelaecks

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 02:35:17 GMT

Sometimes, people have different agendas and purposes. My purpose was to write a history of the Inner Circle, and basically as straight of a history as I could write given the information I had, what I had been told I could disclose and what told I could not disclose. My intention was not to revist old wanks, nor demand fannish retribution, nor change people's minds regarding the players. The tone I tried to take was more academic in nature. I wrote this history primarily for myself, with the goal of figuring out this history. My audience was myself and a few people who I thought might know and be interested in it. I shared because I was under the impression a wider audience might appreciate it but that audience would have to read with my purpose in mind.

As this story was posted, it became clear that my purpose, my agenda was at cross purposes with that of the Bad Penny administrators. Because of the story is being removed from Bad Penny and can be found on my journal. As I recieve additional feedback and information, I will make appropiate edits there. Thank you for your patience and sorry for the inconvience.

Sincerely,
Michela Ecks
michelaecks

The Wank That Broke Journalfen

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 05:28:35 GMT

Or made them adopt the new code from LJ PDQ.

I'm talking about, of course, Crystalwank.

I wasn't there for the entire thing, but I do remember Crystal's "friend" who came to her defense, and "My hed is pasted on yay!" Beyond that, I have no highlights to offer to people who subscribed long after this epic -- and I use the word deliberately -- wank.

76 pages. 12,000+ Comments. We'll never see its like again.

My favourite wank.

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 01:26:20 GMT

In the early days of the HMS STFU on JournalFen, I was researching the use of the tritone for music-geekery purposes.

...What I found instead was a wank of such batshittery that it remains one of my favourites to this day.

Very well, allow me to explain. Normal people, on hearing, say, a B and an F played on the piano at the same time find it... not particularly attractive on its own. It can be improved by various means - particularly making it part of a seventh by putting a note a third below it.

...However, this fellow thinks that the mere act of playing the tritone is letting the devil in to your life and all those within hearing range.

My favourite quote:

The title of this article, "Diabolus in Musica," is Latin for "the Devil in music." According to Charles M. Brown, a sociologist, "The tritone interval, which consists of a diminished 5th or an augmented 4th; is commonly used in speed/thrash metal and is also known as "Diabolus in Musica," This interval was banned from church music during the middle ages because of its association with Satan. Church leaders felt that the interval sounded evil due to the extreme dissonance produced and therefore was not suitable for Christian worship."

I realize this is disturbing information to CR proponents, but they knew when they began using this music that it was formed or designed in the World System by people who were under the influence of Satan. We were all under the influence of Satan and the societal folkways and mores of the World System before we were saved. Consider the following scripture:

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, {2} in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, {3} among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." (Eph 2:1-3 NKJV)

I believe the devil is in the music, but not necessarily the musicians. With this statement, I will begin my explanation of why I believe this statement to be true, and present the effect it has had on the youth of the church and also propose what might be done to correct the problem.

Just goes to show that even Harry Potter batshittery can be beaten.

ETA: For those wondering what a tritone sounds like, I made a couple MIDIs: Here are some basic tritones, and here is my favourite usage of them - a bit of Arthur Sullivan's Sapphire Necklace Overture.

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SATAN

"This, right here, is why I read F_W." -Kadath

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 07:48:47 GMT

Way back in... uh... ::counts on fingers:: ...April, we at FW laugh at coeur_de_rien when he/she posts a basic "I'M MAD (AND PRETENTIOUS) AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!" to a generally apathetic community. The catch? coeur_de_rien is an otakin - the community is otherkin.

Recap: Otherkin believe they are mythological (which is a fancy word for 'fictional') creatures, like dragons, nymphs, or chupacabras. Incidentally, here is a painfully limited amount of chupacabra otherkin. Otakin, however, are people who believe that they are channeling the spirit of, or, alternatively, are a fictional character. Authors, cartoonists, and yes, playwrights of the world: THARE READIN UR WORK, CLAIMIN UR DOODZ.

...I hope some of you laughed, because my dignity just left me to stay with its mother for a week.

Anyway, coeur_de_rien basically wants recognition from the otherkin that they're just as crazy as she is. Band together against the people-who-think-they-are-people oppression and what not. "My point is, if we were all "normal" people and watching all this from the outside, we'd all look like raving nutcases," and what have you. It's sheer brilliance.

It needs to be said.
I am Otherkin. Here me roar.

You may find that statement amusing. I don't. I don't find a single bit of your hypocritical self-delusion amusing. I'm amazed and awed that your heads don't explode from sheer egotism. You may laugh at Otakin, but I don't.

I am Otakuin. Hear me roar.

You go about your lives, some of you proud to be who you are, some of you denying it or confused and wandering. And yet, many opf you even hear the word "otakin" and most will laugh. As if you alone have the right to feel pride, denial and uncertainty. As if you alone are the ones who can be right.

I am Otakin. Hear me roar.

When the word "otakin" is even mentioned, I can almost see the smirks. Role-players gone wild, fangirls and boys on crack, daydreamers gone too far off the edge. Is that all we are to you? Cheap entertainment? Something that, after the thrill is over, you push us to the side, dismiss us from your oh-so-mighty presence and think that we will shut up and disappear.

I am Otakin. Hear me roar.

We are not staying silent. Ignoring us will not make us go away. As the saying goes, we're here, we're queer, get over it. We're freaks, we're insane and batshit crazy; we're real. We exist, and we're not going to be ignored any longer.

We are Otakin. Hear us roar.

We're from worlds that you can only dream about, that you only wish you could see. We're from worlds that are like your own, worlds that are dangerous and exciting. It's the World of Imagination, and it created all worlds. The World of Imagination created the wheel, airplanes and hospitals, it created telephones and bookstores and the credit card. The World of Imagination created the beloved Pern, and the Lord of the Rings. It created who you are this very moment. And yet, we are silenced.

We are Otakin. Hear us roar.

No more. We are the World Walkers, Travelers of Imagination. We are not fiction. We are not fake. We are real, and we are speaking up for those who are too afraid and confused to speak up. Our movement is not the whispering of the wing, but the roaring of the oceans. You will not dismiss us, you will not ignore us and hope we will go away. We will not go away, and our existence will not be denied any longer.

We are Otakin. Hear us roar.

You arw wolves, dragons, cats, faeries. You are elves, winged horses, birds and vampires. You are shapeshifters, demons and angels, mixes of all sorts. You believe your souls aren't human, that you have 'phantom limbs' and that you have spirit guides. You believe in Gods, Gods, Goddess or nothing at all. You believe in ghosts, aliens, bigfoot and magic. You are Otherkin.

We are Otakin. Hear us roar.

But of course, you do not want to hear us. You are more real than we are, by your opinion alone. You are real, all right. Real hypocrites. You're just as much freaks, insane and batshit crazy as we. Dragons? Faerie? Vampires? Magic? You stems from things that are just as fake as we'll ever be. Ancient myth, modern myth, a myth is a myth is a myth. You think that because you are the majority, that you are correct? Guess what? The majority say that myths are fake. Fine. Dragons are fake, unicorns are fake. Pern and Lord of the Rings are fake. Faeries, elves and fae are fake. Werewolves are fake, spirit guides are fake, magic is fake shaoeshifting, astral travel and Otherkin are fake.

We are Otakin. Hear us roar.

Make fun of us. Degrade us. Push us aside, ignore us and pretend that we're not here.

You ARE us.

Laugh on.

I think we can all agree that Helen Reddy is laughing her ass off; the otherkin generally respond, "Who the fuck are you?"

Highlights from the Wank

cypherwulf, first comment: Go away.

dinogrrl's adorable kitty icon.

This horrible, horrible thread of pseudo-philosophy. You goddamned hippies.

cypherwulf: So if you run into another person bound to the same character as you, is it a battle to the death? Or do you just point them to one of those anime claim communities and say you got there first?

bluegodjanus: However, I'm completely confident that there's a reason otherkin mock otakin. It's the same reason people mock otherkin. The same reason people mock Christians, or black people, or pagans. A percentage of the group is observed to be stupid and/or crazy, or in some other way objectionable.

I love how they just throw "black people" into belief groups. It's like from Hairspray. We have the black inside of us!!! I BELIEVE!!! WE ARE RACE-KIN, HEAR US ROAR!!!

metabird: Err... you don't mind if I quote this, do you? I actually have a use for it in a graphic story.

... But what if someone decides, based on that quote you quote, that they are coeur_de_rien? What then??

Apparently this is a smack-down. "I can't say the same for otakukin. You are a small, invariably batshit crazy subset of the uppermost echelon of the most deranged members of the otherkin community. If we are Mormons, then you are the FLDS. If we are UFO nerds, then you are scientologists."

::backs slowwwwly away::

I personally like this one better.

Highlights from the Wank Report

spiderflower: This is kind of embarrassing yet sweet, like a candy fart.

The mice fight over Sephiroth, whom they both claim to have married on the astral plane.

A mouse, quoting coeur_de_rien first: "Imagination created the beloved Pern, and the Lord of the Rings. It created who you are this very moment."

I'm pretty sure it was my parents, a bottle of wine, and a Best of Bread album that created who I am at this very moment, but thanks.

People fight over whether or not these are psych disorders.

Another mouse makes an interesting observation: So...are Otakin's 2 dimensional?

nostalgia: I feel bad that I can't get past the idea that thinking you're a cat or a dragon or a pink unicorn is less batshit than thinking you're Sailor Moon or... I don't know cartoons. One of they ninja turtle people, maybe.

"I AM SAILOR MOON! KAWAII!"
"STFU, that's STUPID."
"I AM SAILOR MOON! ;___; Y U GOTTa b a h8R?"
"COS I'M A DRAGON AND WE ARE RIGHT TWATS."
"SENSHI SAILOR BATTLE ROYAL SUNSHINE MOONBEAM POWER?"
"*flaps wings*"

entelodont has a very good point: What's so bad about being a plain old bipedal ape? You have thumbs!

All us non-otherkin are 'parently called 'mundanes.'

marciamarcia introduces us to the incredibly silly world of the indigo children.

elektra3: Also, is anyone else amused that the OP's username means "Heart of Nothing"?

mcity, quoting coeur_de_rien: "We're from worlds that you can only dream about, that you only wish you could see. We're from worlds that are like your own, worlds that are dangerous and exciting. It's the World of Imagination, and it created all worlds."

That sounds like the lovechild of Lovecraft and Jim Henson.

I apoligize for making you all think of that.

kayla wants to have his/her own theme song.

isntitironic wonders 'Who do the Otakin shit upon?'

This mouse said it best.

hilarity: The soul of He-Man is inside me. Though it would rather be inside a man.

coeur_de_rien (possibly) shows up for some tl;dr whining.

Another mouse takes it up a notch: Screw you all, I'm J. K. Rowling.

This is seriously my favorite wank of all time.

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 20:54:46 GMT

In the beginning God created JournalFen and Fandom_Wank. And Fandom_Wank was without wank, and funny; and laughter was upon the face of the Wankas. And God said, Let there be another comm: and there was another comm. And God saw the other comm, that it was good: and God divided the other comm from the other comms. And God called the other comm bad_penny, and the other comms he called _wank.

And God said, let the old wanks that are funny be gathered together unto one place, anbd let that place be bad_penny: and it was so.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the MOD. And the MOD said unto the sons, Wherefore camest thou? And the sons said, We wish to post a large exposé to your comm. And the MOD, upon consideration, said, That is good.

And so bad_penny became a place of exposing the wanky BNFs. But then a lesser Mod stood up, and said, Lo! This is not good! What happened to the rehashing old wank and the funny? Why can not this be a place for both? And the MOD looked down on her and said, Dude whatever.

And so old wank was posted and there was laughter and glee in all of JournalFen and it was Good.

Green-- this color is a favorite of Satan, and is repeatedly used as a symbol of his power and glory

Purple is not technically a color.

Do these two phrases sound familiar? Are you recalling icons you've seen around equating green to Satan and purple to being a pigment of your imagination?

If not, SHOO. You are not welcome here!*

Sure, some things are unique to the Harry Potter fandom. But crazy about color is not one of them.

Rejoice, my fellow members, and revel in the Wank of Days Past!

* No, you won't be banned for commenting anyway. ;-)

....

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 01:32:22 GMT

Aja recants

No words.

Yet.

ETA: Aja has edited her post:

Edit: To be explicit, I did talk to the head of the conference yesterday. Amy Tenbrink confirmed that there were death threats, but that that was all that she confirmed. I have since talked to her again and clarified that the threats were not specifically directed at or to any one person.

ETA 2: The conference head of Phoenix Rising posts.

Some People Do Learn

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:38:51 GMT

Linked to this via ithiliana on LJ who found it via go_shirley in this thread.

AngieJ apologizes

As in a real apology. I salute her for being the bigger person and taking responsibility for her actions.

Heidi responds.

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 02:00:34 GMT

I think she apologizes.

ETA: According to Aja, the death threats are real.

Jesus fucking wept, HP fandom.

ETA: Accusations of death threats may be false.

Phoenix Falling, Is More Like It

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 00:12:10 GMT

In case people either miss it or want to continue their discussion, here's the link to the post at&about Phoenix Rising.

Please don't break any more of the fine china, ya little hellions. We need it for when your grandpa comes to visit next week.

Yes, I kick puppies

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 23:51:50 GMT

In fact, I kicked this one.

Next question?

ETA: princessdot has graciously provided a play-by-play, for our confused viewers at home

ETA 2: I'm off to pet kittens, drink raspberry merlot and decide my next step in destroying fandom. The mods have full banning capabilities, so be good. No, I won't tell you who they are. What fun would that be?

Just so everyone's on the same page.

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 23:01:14 GMT

Let me put this in the simplest of terms, ones I hope everyone can follow:

bad_penny is not a democracy. bad_penny is not fandom_wank.

As the mod of bad_penny, I don't have to put up with assholes, and I certainly don't have to put up with assholes calling me stupid in my community. You do so, you're out of here.

Now. The reason I've drawn a bright yellow ban line is precisely because I no one can actually stop idiots who take Bad Penny posts and use them to be assholes.

All I can do is stop them from playing here anymore.

By setting the bar high and coming down hard on transgressors I hope to create a culture where people understand that this sort of thing is NOT OK, it will NOT be tolerated and you WILL be banned for it.

In case you had any questions,that's why you were banned as well.

Stupid people don't need to be here - you can keep that bullshit on your journal

"Three Strikes, You're Out" only counts in baseball

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 23:13:09 GMT

Anonymous commenting is off until further notice. AGAIN</b>

I had to warn about anonymice trolling CC's publisher.

I had to warn about anonymice insinuating Heidi would lie about her brother-in-law's death.

I thought two warnings would be enough. I didn't think I'd have to give a third. I shouldn't have to give a third.

So I'm not.

I shouldn't have to. Journalfen is 18-and-over only. I keep the community rules fairly loose. You can be rude. You can be crude. After all, bad_penny is A Tool of the Devil, Spoiling Fandom's Buzz, the New Hangout of the Mean Girls, Why Fandom Can't Have Nice Things, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

What you cannot be is stupid.

I strongly encourage the 'mice who had been signing their names and posting without being assholes to go to anon_no_more. I'll probably be ponying up an account or two there myself, later on.

ETA: So I turned anonymous commenting back on after a couple hours. And more I get more idiocy.

Mice, you can thank Drewsilla -- whoever she is -- for your lack of access.

Plagiarism in Trouble in Paradise - Another Example

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 20:41:57 GMT

""For instance, I know that I did not plagiarize, and that I cited everything that I used always in my fan stories... but I don't react to bad_penny or fandom_wank anymore, so I won't be going to defend myself." - AngieJ/Ebony

I wish that were true. It isn't. Aside from the passage pyratejenni linked yesterday, the fic 'Trouble in Paradise' lifted from a picture book called 'The People Could Fly' by Virginia Hamilton. Without any citations.

The Evidence

Trouble In Paradise, Chapter 6
They say the people could fly. Say that long ago in Africa, some of the people knew magic. And they would walk up on air like climbin' up on a gate. And they flew like blackbirds over the fields. Black, shiny wings flappin' against the blue up there.

Then, many of the Blackbird people were captured for slavery. The ones that could fly shed their wings. They couldn't take their wings across the water on the slave ships. Too crowded, don't you know.

The folks were full of misery, then. Got sick with the up and down of the sea. So they nearly forgot about flyin' when they could no longer breathe the sweet scent of Africa.

Say the people who could fly kept their power, although they shed their wings. They kept their secret magic in the lands of slavery. They looked the same as the other people from Africa who had been coming over, who had dark skin. Say you couldn't tell anymore one who could fly from one who couldn't.

Virgina Hamilton, People Could Fly : A picture book
They say the people could fly. Say that long ago in Africa, some of the people knew magic. And they would walk up on air like climbin up on a gate. And they flew like blackbirds over the fields. Black, shiny wings flappin against the blue up there.

Then, many of the people were captured for Slavery. The ones that could fly shed their wings. They couldn't take their wings across the water on the slave ships. Too crowded, don't you know.

The folks were full of misery, then. Got sick with the up and down of the sea. So they nearly forgot about flyin when they could no longer breathe the sweet scent of Africa.

Say the people who could fly kept their power, although they shed their wings. They kept their secret magic in the lands of slavery. They looked the same as the other people from Africa who had been coming over, who had dark skin. Say you couldn't tell anymore one who could fly from one who couldn't.

After that the stories, in each place, veer off to tell the tales of specific people and Ebony's version looks, on skimming anyway, to be mostly different. However, they converge at the end again.

Trouble In Paradise, Chapter 6
It is not known who first stumbled upon the incantation or how. Most magical African slaves were Sponged, and after two or three generations had trouble recalling their family names, never mind lengthy and detailed spells and oral traditions. Did it come to a weeping mother in a dream as she nursed her child to sleep? Did an elderly man, pottering about a kitchen garden, recall his mother's lullaby? Was it whispered by Fate on the hum of the wind?

Kum... yali, kum buba tambe
Kum kunka yali, kum... tambe
Buba yali... buba tambe...

There was a great outcryin'. The bent backs straightened up. Old and young who were called slaves and could fly joined hands. Say they would ring-sing. But they didn't shuffle in a circle like we do. No, no. They didn't sing like we do, neither. They rose into the air.

They flew into a flock that was black against the heavenly blue. Black crows or black shadows. It didn't matter, they went so high. Way above the plantations, way over the slavery land. Say they flew away to Freedom.

The slaves who could not fly waited. Just lookin' up at all the ones who could fly. "Take us with you!" They were afraid to shout it... Overseer's lash and his guns and his dogs would get 'em. Their looks said it for 'em. But the people who could fly hadn't the time. Couldn't learn 'em that quick. They must wait for a chance to run.

"Goodie-bye!" the people called. And they were flyin' gone, so they say. The Overseer told it. The one called Master said it was a lie, a trick of the light. The Driver kept his mouth shut.

The slaves who could not fly told about the people who could fly to their children, when they were free. When they sat close before the fire in the free land, they told on. They told their children, and their children's childrens too. They did so love fireflight, and Freedom, and tellin'.

They say that the children of the ones who could not fly told their children. And now, me, I have told it to you.

Virgina Hamilton, People Could Fly : A picture book
He raised his arms, holding them out to her. “Kum . . . yali, kum buba tambe,” and more magic words, said so quickly, they sounded like whispers and sighs.
[…snip...]
Another and another fell from the heat. Toby was there. He cried out to the fallen and reached his arms out to them. “Kum kunka yali, kum . . . tambe!” Whispers and sighs. And they too rose on the air. They rode the hot breezes. The one flying were black and shinin sticks, wheelen above the head of the Overseer. They crossed the rows, the fields, the fences, the streams, and were away.
[…snip...]
And he sighed the ancient words that were a dark promise. He said them all around to the others in the field under the whip, “. . . buba yali . . . buba tambe. . . .”

There was a great outcryin. The bent back straightened up. Old and young who were called slaves and could fly joined hands. Say like they would ring-sing. But they didn’t shuffle in a circle. They didn’t sing. They rose on the air.

They flew in a flock that was black against the heavenly blue. Black crows or black shadows. It didn’t matter, they went so high. Way above the plantation, way over the slavery land. Say they flew away to Free-dom.

And the old man, old Toby, flew behind them, takin care of them. He wasn’t cryin. He wasn’t laughin. He was the seer. His gaze fell on the plantation where the slaves who could not fly waited.

“Take us with you!” Their looks spoke it but they were afraid to shout it. Toby couldn’t take them with him. Hadn’t the time to teach them to fly. They must wait for a chance to run.

“Goodie-bye!” The old man called Toby spoke to them, poor souls! And he was flyin gone.

So they say. The Overseer told it. The one called Master said it was a lie, a trick of the light. The Driver kept his mouth shut.

The slaves who could not fly told about the people who could fly to their children. When they were free. When they sat close before the fire in the free land, they told it. They did so love firelight and Free-dom, and tellin.

They say that the children of the ones who could not fly told their children. And now, me, I have told it to you.

Disclaimers? Author's Notes? Well, there are seven paragraphs of thanks to reviewers, but not a word about having copied from Hamilton. Not even anything about inspiration.

I don't know how much moral blame can attach to this circle of fanfic writers. They weren't afraid they'd be found out. They were obviously utterly convinced that what they did wasn't wrong, wasn't plagiarism. What can one say about that?

ETA: There's no disclaimer at all on the Fiction Alley version, but the Hp_Paradise mailing list (members only) includes this disclaimer for Chapter Six.

"DISCLAIMER: I’m emphatically not JKR—she owns Harry and company, and the fact that I’m writing about them doesn’t mean that I want to infringe her copyright, it simply means that I’m obsessed with the fictional world she has created. Certain elements of this chapter were inspired by Virginia Hamilton’s award-winning folklore collection The People Could Fly and Zora Neale Hurston’s *excellent* anthropological study of magic, superstition, and voodoo in the Caribbean, Tell My Horse."

Inspiration strikes again!

Heidi's Homages or, "I Can't Believe It's Not Plagiarism!"

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 02:44:58 GMT

Welcome back, my friends
to the show that never ends.
We're so glad you could attend!
Come inside! Come inside!

-- Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Karn Evil 9 1st Impression Part 2

This is -- hopefully -- the last post on BNF plagiarists in the Harry Potter fandom. I make no promises of its ability to keep the reader fascinated: I'm not charlottelennox and I don't have her skill. I can't promise any Funneh. I'm still rather gobsmacked about all this. I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist, nor do I play one on ~~the internet~~ TV, but I am a Pushy Bitch of the Midwest, and I 've got this bad habit of stating my opinions. Which I do, herein.

If hearing opinions that are not nicely worded offend you, turn back now.

Many hands helped pulled the evidence for this post together. Thank you, all.

Putting My Cards on the Table:

I don't like Heidi.

There's no deep-seated, personal reason for this. We've never interacted, in fandom or out, except for a few random, unpleasant exchanges on fandom_wank and LiveJournal. Over the last four years, that's not enough to build up a deep-seated personal dislike, at least for me.

And those exchanges were unpleasant because they were about the reason why I don't like Heidi: her behavior.

I didn't like her playing on the attitude "fandom takes care of its own" when Cassie's laptop was stolen, and then "it was just among Cassie's friends" backpeddling that followed. I didn't like her "but I can't stop them!" attitude during Charitywank when her journal readers -- including msscribe -- went over to Christina's LJ and flamed her. I didn't like her put-upon "why do I have to do it?" whining when asked to take ten seconds and host a link to Christina's charity.

I didn't like her threatening people with libel whenever Cassie Claire was accused of plagiarism. I didn't like her Heidipatrol popping up whenever someone dared to say the Draco Trilogy or anything else Cassie wrote wasn't the best thing since JKR had an idea about a boy wizard.

I didn't like her calling charlottelennox's posts on msscribe libelous and lies. I didn't like her lame excuses. I didn't like her sacrificing ari_o to save her own skin.

"But, pyratejenni," I can hear someone ask, "that's just her online behavior. Is that really enough to dislike someone?"

Of course it is, considering the only way we interact at all is online.

And I hear, "So why are you writing this? Why not someone impartial?"

At this point, I don't think I could find someone impartial to write this. I showed excerpts of it someone not even in HP fandom, and her response was frothing outrage. white_serpent didn't want to. So I offered.

Besides, it's my community. Why shouldn't I write it?

"But why? This is so old!"

Because I think it helps explain why Heidi was vigilantly defending Cassie from the plagiarism accusations.

The Evidence

A Surfeit of Curses, Chapter 6
He perched in the window seat at the front of the Lemur, so far away from the bustle that it was not agreeable to be dragged back suddenly by a shout from Lucius as he entered the room. Never did Draco find anything so difficult as to keeping himself from losing his temper when he was suddenly disturbed while absorbed in a book. People who are fond of books know the feeling of irritation which sweeps over them at such a moment. "It makes me feel as if someone had hit me," he had said once. "And as if I want to hit back. I have to remember things quickly to keep from saying something ill-tempered." The temptation to be unreasonable and snappish is one not easy to manage, but around Lucius, it had to be done.

He returned to reality as quickly as he could, and took a few subtle yet deep breaths to calm himself down.

Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess, Chapter 6
Sara curled herself up in the window-seat, opened a book, and began to read.
...
She was so far away from the schoolroom that it was not agreeable to be dragged back suddenly by a howl from Lottie. Never did she find anything so difficult as to keep herself from losing her temper when she was suddenly disturbed while absorbed in a book. People who are fond of books know the feeling of irritation which sweeps over them at such a moment. The temptation to be unreasonable and snappish is one not easy to manage.

"It makes me feel as if someone had hit me," Sara had told Ermengarde once in confidence. "And as if I want to hit back. I have to remember things quickly to keep from saying something ill- tempered."

She had to remember things quickly when she laid her book on the window-seat and jumped down from her comfortable corner.

But wait! There's more!

A Surfeit of Curses,Chapter 9
"At school, Alexi had such a sharp, delicate face, and was so pale - the color of ivory. His eyes were too big for him, and he had a lot of hair which tumbled over his forehead and made his thin face seem smaller. He always looked as if he had been ill, and was prone to fits of crying, more as if he were tired and cross than in pain. When I saw him in the corridors, especially at night, he looked like a ghost, and like he had as much substance as a ghost as well. But afterwards, he looked and moved and spoke exactly like Lucius did - he would say things after Lucius, almost word for word the same. It was uncanny. He wasn't even a shadow of himself. He was a shadow of Lucius."</i>

Francis Hodgson Burnett,The Secret Garden Chapter 13:

The boy had a sharp, delicate face the color of ivory and he seemed to have eyes too big for it. He had also a lot of hair which tumbled over his forehead in heavy locks and made his thin face seem smaller. He looked like a boy who had been ill, but he was crying more as if he were tired and cross than as if he were in pain.

Mary stood near the door with her candle in her hand, holding her breath. Then she crept across the room, and, as she drew nearer, the light attracted the boy's attention and he turned his head on his pillow and stared at her, his gray eyes opening so wide that they seemed immense.

"Who are you?" he said at last in a half-frightened whisper. "Are you a ghost?"

And from another author:

A Surfeit of Curses,Chapter 3

March stood for a few minutes without switching on the lights, looking out at the broom traffic over the town. Then he went into the kitchen and Summoned a large glass of Ogden's Old Firewhisky. Monday's Daily Prophet was lying by the sink. He carried it back with him into the sitting room.

March had a routine for reading the paper. He stared at the back, which held the truth. If the Cannons were said to have beaten the Falcons 140 - 60 at Quidditch, the chances were it was true: even the Party had yet to devise a means of rewriting sports results. The sports news was a different matter. Countdown to Hogsmeade Olympics - Australia May Compete for First Time in 28 Years - British Magic Still Leads World. Then the advertisements: Families Love Vacations In Stonehenge, Riviera of Magical Britain. Births, marriages and deaths...

An editorial on the student pro-Muggle demonstrations in Godric's Corner, where there was still a rebel enclave: Traitors Must Be Smashed By Force! The Prophet always took a firm line.

Obituary: some old gent from the Ministry of Magic. "A lifetime's service to He Who Must Be Obeyed..."

Ministry news: Spring Thaw Brings Fresh Fighting on Siberian Front! British Troops Smash Ivan Terror Groups! In Normandy, five terrorist leaders had been executed for attempting to use a Portkey to bring a mudblood and her family to their hideout in the Pyrenees...

Robert Harris, Fatherland, page 39 and 40:

March stood for a few minutes without switching on the lights, looking down at the traffic heading south to Wittenberg-Platz. Then he went into the kitchen and poured himself a large whisky. Monday's Berliner Tageblatt was lying by the sink. He carried it back with him into the sitting room.

March had a routine for reading the paper. He started at the back, which held the truth. If Leipzig </b>was said to have beaten Cologne 4-0 at football, the chances were it was true: even the Party had yet to devise a means of rewriting the sports results. The sports news was a different matter. COUNTDOWN TO TOKYO OLYMPICS. U.S. MAY COMPETE FOR FIRST TIME IN 28 YEARS. GERMAN ATHLETES STILL LEAD WORLD. Then the advertisements: GERMAN FAMILIES! PLEASURE BECKONS IN GOTENLAND, RIVIERA OF THE REICH! French perfume, Italian silks, Scandinavian furs, Dutch cigars, Belgian coffee, Russian caviar, British televisions-- the cornucopia of Empire spilled across the pages. Births, marriages and deaths: TEBBE, Ernst and Ingrid; a son for the Fuhrer. WENZAL, Hans, aged 71; a true National Socialist, sadly missed.

...

Editorial on the student antiwar demonstrations in Heidelberg: TRAITORS MUST BE SMASHED BY FORCE! The Tageblatt always took a firm line.

Obituary: some old Bonze from the Ministry of the Interior. "A lifetime's service to the Reich . . ."

Reich news: SPRING THAW BRINGS FRESH FIGHTING ON SIBERIAN FRONT! GERMAN TROOPS SMASH IVAN TERROR GROUPS! In Rovno, capital of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, five terrorist leaders had been executed for organizing the massacre of a family of German settlers.

And poetry

A Surfeit of Curses, Chapter 4

"Somebody said, "Let's all hold hands,"
So Lee held hands with Jean.

And Jean also held Helen's hand

While she held hands with Dean.

Dean's other hand held Sharma Joy's

While she held hands with Lee.

So tell me just how did I wind up

Holdin' hands with me?"

Shel Silverstein,Hand Holding,Falling Up

Somebody said, "Lets all hold hands,"
So Lee held hands with Jean
And Jean also held Helen's hand
While she held hands with Dean.
Dean's other hand helped Sharma Joy's
While she held hands with Lee.
So tell me just how did I wind up
Holdin' hands with me?

When I saw all this, I was dumbfounded. Because, to answer bnfshavemorefun's comment,these works aren't cited.

Oh, there's disclaimers, all right:

Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 6. Chapter 8. Chapter 9 .

(And other, more interesting disclaimers found on the HP_Paradise mailing list: Chapter 1. Concern. Titanic.)

And there's citations: Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 6. Chapter 8 Chapter 9. Chapter 9 citation, part 2

To further answer Aja's comment, now that I can without using all-caps and blistering the air blue, these are not citations.

I will repeat: These are not citations. These are not the citations I had to use in high school. These are not the citations friends of mine had to use in college. These are not the MLA-style citaions we used when I helped proofread a small-press magazine, Cup of Wonder. These disclaimers aren't worth the pressure it took to hit the keys.

This isn't a pastiche. This isn't a homage. It doesn't matter that Frances Hogson Burnett's works are out of copyright. Silverstein's hasn't expired, and neither has Harris'.

This is plagiarism.

And to my mind, that's why Heidi came down so hard on anyone who said the P-word about Cassie. Much like the banker who's really just borrowing the money, not embezzling, and the stock broker who's really just using a friendly tip, not insider trading at all, I think Heidi convinced herself she wasn't plagiarizing, really. All her friends were doing it, so it had to be okay. This is Standard Operating Procedure for fandom, too, right?

I've been in fandom since 1983, and theft -- lying -- of this kind has never been Standard Operating Procedure. Never.

And for all the lurkers and mice who want to blow this off with, "So what, Heidi doesn't have a book contract, it's just fandom!" --

Let me hear you say that the next time your work gets "homaged", sugar.

God, I wish I could drink. At this point, I need one.

Remember reading in white_serpent's write-up, about how Heidi's friends were leaving FF.net, because they didn't want what happened to Cassie to happen to them?

One of them was AngieJ, aka Ebony:

Trouble in Paradise,Chapter 7

"Darling, your pregnancy is the least of your concerns right now," her father said quickly. Theodore Granger was a distinguished-looking man, with salt-and-pepper brown hair and a noble carriage. He always reminded me of Hermione, especially around the eyes. "Your priority is to land back on your feet soon as possible, isn’t it?"

She shook her head. "Dad, I can feel something isn’t right. You know I’m not keen on pretending things. Tell me, Ron, and tell me now. Did our baby make it?" The twins and Malinda were already gone. I closed the door, leaving the couple alone with Hermione’s parents. Hermione’s voice was already full of anguish, and we already knew the sad truth that she would soon find out.

The minute the door closed behind me, I heard a pitiful, heartbroken moan. It was Hermione... she’d just been told about her loss.

In all of recorded Weasley history, nothing like this had ever happened before. When a Weasley wife got pregnant, she always carried to term. Plain and simple. Even if the woman herself came from a family with a history of miscarriage, like Penelope’s, it didn’t seem to matter much. A case in point was when I’d developed a rather nasty blood infection while carrying Malinda... she was none the worse for the wear. Fred even told me that Arthur’s sister had fallen down two flights of stairs while five months pregnant. The woman broke both legs and a collarbone, but delivered a healthy baby boy four months later.

Needless to say, Hermione’s miscarriage came as a shock to all.

"Oh, the poor lamb--the poor lamb!" Molly was trying to stifle her sobs in the folds of Arthur’s robes. "I feel horrible for criticizing her... the poor, poor lamb! How can she bear it?"

Arthur put his arms around his wife and patted her head. "There, there, Molly. Hermione’s strong. She’ll make it through this. And so will Ron."

L.M. Montgomery,Anne's House of Dreams,Chapter 19, Dawn and Dusk

At first she was too weak and too happy to notice that Gilbert and the nurse looked grave and Marilla sorrowful. Then, as subtly, and coldly, and remorselessly as a sea-fog stealing landward, fear crept into her heart. Why was not Gilbert gladder? Why would he not talk about the baby? Why would they not let her have it with her after that first heavenly--happy hour? Was--was there anything wrong?

Gilbert," whispered Anne imploringly, "the baby--is all right--isn't she? Tell me--tell me."

Gilbert was a long while in turning round; then he bent over Anne and looked in her eyes. Marilla, listening fearfully outside the door, heard a pitiful, heartbroken moan, and fled to the kitchen where Susan was weeping.

"Oh, the poor lamb--the poor lamb! How can she bear it, Miss Cuthbert? I am afraid it will kill her. She has been that built up and happy, longing for that baby, and planning for it. Cannot anything be done nohow, Miss Cuthbert?"

"I'm afraid not, Susan. Gilbert says there is no hope. He knew from the first the little thing couldn't live."

There's citations. Christ on a cracker, are there citations:
One ,two,three, four. I've seen album liner notes that didn't go on that long.

Oh, yeah -- and a disclaimer.

Again, not citations, boys and girls.

Wonder if the two-year-old beer in the fridge is still good ...

ETA: Corrected FHB's name, Robert Harris' name, removed Heidi's last name, did a touch-up on one of the sections refering to Aja. Thanks to white_serpent and kijikun for the heads-up on the authors!

The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle -- Part XIII through Epilogue

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 06:40:55 GMT

The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle

Note: I will go through the quotations posted by others in Part XII tomorrow, and make additions or comments as necessary.

ETA, 8/10/07: The previous post has reached the JournalFen character limit.

Contents: Part XIII: Is Cassandra Claire claiming credit for it?; Part XIV: Is Cassandra Claire profiting from plagiarism?; Part XV: Heidi; Epilogue: Why bother, five years later?

Part XIII: Is Cassandra Claire claiming credit for it?
If lines are not properly annotated, by default, she's claiming she wrote them. She's had more than five years to fix her annotations at this point, and she's chosen not to do it. Beyond that, she's made several comments that indicate she takes credit for the Draco Trilogy.

In an interview with Jive magazine, she said:

JIVE: Getting back to your fic writing - I've always found your writing to be very canonically correct, your characters generally behave how Rowling has written them and your writing sounds much like hers. Do you do this consciously? Is it something you strive for?

Cassie: Well, that's nice of you to say! Hmm. I would say that I strove very much in the beginning to make my writing sound like hers, to echo the cadences of her style. Later, I started to evolve my own style more, especially as Draco Veritas became darker and more complicated, so I think it may have less similarity purely in terms of writing style with Rowling's work. As for the characters, I have tried to keep them rooted in canon while still allowing them to change and grow in believable ways as they are affected by their experiences.

In a comment referencing an interview by Russian fans (this comment comes from an entry which is now locked):

langoisse:I just read "The Girl's Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord." There's something about your writing, no matter what the subject matter or the circumstance. If you use another pseudonym for your trilogy, I do hope you'll tell your fandom what it is.

I also reread that first chapter of DD. Your style really has changed so much since then.

epicyclical:That was actually one of the interviewer's questions - apparently DD is so different in style from DS and DV that the Russian fans were puzzled.

And yes, I intend to give everyone all the details about the trilogy as they are finalized!

She seems to me to be taking credit for the writing.

Part XIV: Is Cassandra Claire profiting from plagiarism?
When Cassandra Claire allegedly had laptops stolen from her New York apartment and Heidi organized a fundraising drive to replace them, several fans stated they were donating because they enjoyed Cassandra Claire's fanfiction:

i've never posted on anything before, but i've enjoyed cassie's writing immensely. thought that a little contribution is the least i could do, after reading all of her work! -- anonymous

For 3 years of amusement, this is the least I could do. -- fiumedellanoia

Cassie has brightened my day many a time with her wit and her writing skill, so I feel this is the least I can do to express my appreciation admiration. :) -- hybridutensil

I donated what I could, being a broke college student. But Cassie's writing has had a big impact on my life. -- breila_rose

It's Christmas and really, everyone should just take a few dollars to show their appreciation for such an interesting and talented young lady. -- Bobbi

one of my friends turned me to cassies writing and i love it soo much and i hope you can replace it and get back to life, being violated like that must be horrible, ill try to get some money together to give to you, much love -- lhbone0

I am a big fan of Cassie's stories too! Consider this a token of appreciation! -- canon_blast

In fact, Heidi initially advertised the laptop fundraising drive on the Cassie_and_Rhysenn list-- a list devoted to Cassandra Claire and Rhysenn's fanfiction (and with over 4000 members at the time). This was reproduced on Fandom_Wank at the time of the incident:

From: Heidi <lists@h...>
Date: Sun Dec 5, 2004 8:54 am
Subject: Update on Casse

ADVERTISEMENT

Cassie, don't read this. Everyone else, scroll down.

Some of you have probably already heard that Cassie & her roommate and
rubydebrazier suffered a break-in last night, and both of their
laptops were stolen, as was Josh (tromboneborges) laptop. You can see
her post at http://www.livejournal.com/~epicyclical/188992.html

copperbadge, Clio and I have been talking this morning about
organizing a whip-round to get them new laptops, or at least gift
certs that they can use towards new ones.

If you're interested in helping, please check out my post on my LJ at
http://www.livejournal.com/users/heidi8/412096.html?view=4018624#t4018624
to learn how to chip in.

And even if you can't, please be patient about the wait for DV15B, etc
- it looks like it might be longer than we'd expected, because
Cassie's lost a lot of her writing, poor thing.

Oh, and don't tell Cassie, Ruby or Josh about this. Thanks!

Heidi & Clio, with Sam
(C&R (Now Rhysenn) 10597)

I am well aware that Heidi made this post, and that Heidi organized the fundraising drive-- not Cassandra Claire. I support fans spending their money as they choose-- and I do think many felt they were helping out someone in need.

All the same, the appearance of this advertisement on a list devoted to Cassandra Claire's fanfiction strongly suggests a connection between that fanfiction and donations, despite later claims that the donations mostly came from close friends of Cassandra Claire.

Further, Cassandra Claire is using the popularity of these stories to advertise for her forthcoming professional novel; she's publishing professionally under a slight variant of her fandom name and posting notices about her novel on her fandom weblog:

I am happy to announce that my Mortal Instruments trilogy, starting with City of Bones, will be coming out in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. So those of you who live there, you'll be able to find them in any bookstore, should you so desire. They'll be out at the same time as the U.S. release and I believe are coming out in simultaneous hardback and paper.

To me, all of this smacks of profiting from plagiarism, whatever Heidi claims.

Part XV: Heidi
I've considered the wisdom of putting this section in. It is almost certainly unwise, but my part in this conflict began with Heidi. It's only fair that my account of it end with Heidi.

While many things have contributed to the continuing conflict over the past five years, Heidi remains one of the main causes of bitterness among the "opposition."

Why?

First and foremost, her behavior during the original incident was astounding to me.

Carirny explicitly said that what cassie did could get them sued, and
that is why they removed her.
As regards the first part of that sentence, well DUH! It's impossible
to argue that Cassie's fanfic is not something that ffnet could get
sued over! She's incorporated elements from TONS of copyrighted works,
including JKR's copyrighted harry potter books and the schoolbooks. Of
COURSE they could get sued over it. But honestly, there is no rational
way for them to claim that they were any MORE likely to be sued over
the elements from the book they tossed her over than from the bits
from the HP books - in fact, the HP books are a much larger target
(unless they have a letter from WB in their hot little hands, in which
case we'd all probably better be using whatever disclaimer WB mandated
in their PERMISSION letter (and yes, they do have certain language
that they mandate - ask Steve VanDerArk of the Lexicon, who HAS
permission)).
ANd that is the problem I have with what they did. And why I feel it
puts my fics at risk as well. (C&R 1087; I previously quoted this post on FWGH; Heidi acknowledged it as her own.)

From ParadigmOfUncertainty (June 23, 2001; I did not record the post number-- this may have also been 9442, which I previously linked on FWGH):

We all know
that cassie doesn't post for financial gain! It is a very very very difficult
line to draw, and I am not sure that a court would rule that what cassie did
was copyright infringement. It certainly wasn't plagiarism - that's defined
as "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use
(another's production) without crediting the source intransitive senses : to
commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived
from an existing source" according to merriam webster. She gave full credit to
the book when she posted the chapter; therefore, she did not pass off the words
from the book as her own.There is a distinction between plagiarism and copyright
infringement. Ffnet does not seem to realize that.

Heidi made several posts on the SugarQuill, mailing lists, and the FanFiction.Net forums defending Cassandra Claire and claiming she had not plagiarized. As previously described, she also accused Cairnsy of libel, apparently because Cairnsy suggested that people were being banned from mailing lists for disagreeing.

In 2005, Heidi objected to an edit Michela Ecks made to Cassandra Claire's page on Wikipedia:

Hi - this is Heidi, Cassie's attorney - I didn't get an email from the person who posted above me, but I can be reached at heidi @ heidi8.com (I'm traveling this month, so that's the best way to catch me). Yes, the posts that an individual or group of individuals persists in posting here are actionable libel, and they must stop. Examples of defamatory statements in the entry include things like "It would take Cassandra Claire four years to fix her disclaimers on her stories", which is a clear lie, given the existence of this entry in the WayBack Machine - [1]. I am cheered that earlier claims that no sourcing had been done by Cassie in her fic have now been corrected to read "The disclaimer did not attribute an author and cited the wrong books" - I wonder if the person posting here on Wikipedia finally read my post at the Fanthropology LJ, where I clearly [2] pointed out that no plagiarism had taken place because Cassie had never said that the scene was original to her. We have been having this argument for well over four years now, and it has to stop because it has gone beyond any actual discussion, if such a thing ever existed, and is now a personal vendetta by a person or persons against Cassie. She is not a plagiarist - she is a young woman who did not cite a book that she admitted to incorporating material from, with chapter and verse when she posted a fanfic in December of 2000. Stop posting defamatory accusations that she plagiarised, or we'll have to take this into the Wiki dispute zone, per the site's Terms, and that sort of thing can get those who defame banned from Wiki.

I rolled my eyes when I saw Michela's edit, but, as I believe this document has demonstrated, it is largely accurate.

Heidi also accused Michela Ecks of defamation on JournalFen:

I'm going to post this as a reply to the last post you made on July 5
and to the first post you made on July 5, but I ask the community mods
to please remove all the repeats of Michela's post, as well as mine.

Actually, it would be best if the mods removed *all* of your posts,
given they contain defamation, but I understand if they want to leave
them up for some reason or other.

There were similar accusations in a now-deleted post on the LiveJournal community fanthropology.

I have never been entirely certain whether Heidi actually understood what she was defending. However, even after demonstrating to Heidi that there was additional plagiarized material in Draco Sinister, her edits to the Fandom Wank Wiki four months later showed her making the same sorts of claims. At this point, it matters very little to me whether she understands or not. On the Fandom Wank's Greatest Hits thread last year, I posted examples of plagiarism, and I said:

To anticipate your next argument, I can play the same game with other published fiction which is not written by Pamela Dean, and with quotes from television which still remain unannotated or incompletely annotated-- all in the version currently posted on schnoogle.com.

She has never requested more information from me, and I do not think it is a stretch to conclude that she does not care.

In response to my query:

So, let's ask a hypothetical question. Suppose I create a piece of "fanfiction" that is 500 pages long. To do so, I lift 1 page each from 499 different 300-page published works, change the names, and alter a couple of words. Then I have about a page of bridging material (total) between the sections. Is this actionable infringement? Why or why not? At what point does something become actionable? Would it be different if I lifted 250 pages and wrote 250? Or if I lifted 50 pages and wrote 450?

She said:

It would not be actionable and my God I would love to read it. I can't imagine how it could be done in any way other than pastiche or parody - say you took 500 Mills & Boone or Harlequin novels and pulled them together that way, it might be readable as a story/narrative. But a random 499 novels, with a page pulled from each, that wasn't done to be a parody? Impossible.

Whatever your opinion of Michela Ecks, Heidi has consistently come down like a ton of bricks when Cassandra Claire's plagiarism is mentioned, spouting accusations of "libel" and "defamation." This keeps the incident quite firmly in the public eye.

Heidi is both Cassandra Claire's greatest asset and greatest liability.

Epilogue: Why bother, five years later?
I tried to address this question 100 pages ago, but I'll address it here.

First, what do I want to happen?

To tell this story as accurately as possible-- which I believe I have done.

To be believed.

Second, what do I expect to happen?

I watched what happened to Colin and Michela five years ago. I read posts by people who wished for horrible things to happen to me. I've seen Cassandra Claire's fans rake Michela Ecks over the coals again and again for five years, spamming her Writers U site, spamming her Fandomination.net archive, and accusing her of being a pathological liar. Oh, yes, and I watched the Inner Circle's reaction to the Ms. Scribe story.

I think I have a very good idea what to expect:

Claims that I've spent far too much time compiling this document-- "So much text! So much research! Oh, the grudge!"

Claims that what I've said cannot possibly be true-- "Cassie's such a nice person, and she told me..."

Enraged posts from Heidi that this is "actionable libel"

Claims that I'm posting under my fandom name to gain attention for myself

Claims that someone more neutral should post this account

Claims that I should keep silent for the good of Cassandra Claire's professional publishing career

Claims this should have been handled quietly through private contact with Fiction Alley or Heidi

Let's not forget the buttons and banners of support for Cassandra Claire!

Yes, I expect to be run out of fandom on a rail. Fortunately, I do not care.

To specifically address the objections that I expect to see:

Too much time: The amount of time I have spent compiling this document (exclusive of the "Plagiarism? What plagiarism?" section) is about a week of my life; it's worth it for the peace of mind. I spent about four weeks on the "Plagiarism? What plagiarism?" section. Given the number of times I've thought of this incident over the past five years, it's cheap at the price. As for gathering information, I have a very good memory, and Michela Ecks generally archives everything. Otherwise, it's fairly easy to find information if you were around at the time. As for grudge... granted.

Can't be true: I have cited everything to the best of my ability, and I have done my best not to mischaracterize anything that was said.

Actionable libel: I have striven for accuracy and done research on all of the mailing lists I was aware of and a member of at the time. I have done my best to cite accurately. If someone provides a well-cited correction to something in this account, I will make the necessary amendments.

Gaining attention: I don't want it. I prefer to be left alone. I'm posting under my fandom name because it's unavoidable in telling this story. Please note: one of the main objections to charlottelennox's account is that the lack of "usual handle" undermines her credibility. You can't have it both ways.

More neutral poster: At this point, only those directly involved in the incident have any access to the information. I can't see a way for anyone else to post an account that is not heavily reliant on me. I have done my best to be accurate.

Silence for Cassie's sake: Cassandra Claire has had five years to fix her disclaimers or edit her fanfiction to remove incorporated material. By and large, she has not done it. Heidi advertised the plan to purchase laptops for Cassandra Claire to Cassandra Claire's fans on the cassie_and_rhysenn list. Cassandra Claire is publishing under a slight variation on her fandom name, and has been talking about her upcoming book on her fandom journal and fandom mailing lists. If anything about my revelations is damaging to her professional writing career, then that would seem to me to be a risk that she (and Heidi) deliberately chose to take. I have not gone running to her publisher over this, and I don't intend to. Still, her recent notice at the end of ''Draco Veritas'' that she would be removing The Draco Trilogy (and all of her fanfiction) from the web seems to be too little, too late.

Private contact: That doesn't really address the "tell my story" portion of my goal. And, besides, that method wasn't particularly effective last time.

Banners of support: Oh, well. At least make them artistic.

The above is my original epilogue. I will add this comment as well:
People have commented that this series of posts is less amusing than The Ms. Scribe Story, and I agree. Because I do have a "side" in this debate, I've tried to err on the side of objectivity instead of snark. Still, I am not neutral. Some quotations I've cited are available online for your review in one form or another. Check them. Check with other people around at the time; many are still available. Review. Research. Make up your own mind. -- Avocado, 8/6/2006

ACHTUNG, DAMMIT

Sun, 06 Aug 2006 19:10:29 GMT

"Let's leave Heidi's current situation out of this. I really think it's unkind."

Indeed.

Heidi's brother-in-law died before this story started being posted. If the "ooh, isn't that convenient" attitude about Heidi's silence raises its head again from the anonymouse gallery, off goes the anon commenting.

Yes, commenting is off. This is because only stupid people would argue that such insinuations should be allowed, and I'm indulging my fantasy that stupid people don't read my comms.