Sunday, November 26, 2006

Take a second and click -

Via Elizabeth Bear's LJ:

" Bristol-Myers Sqibb is running a click-to-donate promotion to fund AIDS research. One dollar per click-through, to a total of $100,000."

It's an annoying flash site. But they'll kick in another buck for research if you can bring yourself to wait while it loads. They're over the halfway mark, right now.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not too good at left-handed mouse. Done.

Fwiw, my cousin heads up the aids division of the UN. She and family are currently living in Sri Lanka--she's got her work cut out for her. Doing great work, though. Once Kofi's out, could do better, I think.

Anonymous said...

I can’t help but be frustrated when I read about yet another pharmaceutical company donating to “the cause” -- in this case to AIDS research. There has been so much written about how self-serving some pharmaceutical companies are, but people just don’t seem to “get it.”

For instance, did you know that the studies that are done on drugs are very often paid for by the pharmaceutical companies that developed the drugs? AND, when pharmaceutical companies pay for the "research," the “findings” most often “prove” that the drugs are effective.

It is such a big problem. But if you will visit my website, http://www.honestmedicine.typepad.com, you will find many articles attesting to the unhealthy financial ties between pharmaceutical companies and the physicians who “study” their drugs; and between the pharmaceutical companies and the organizations who are supposed to be advocating for patients. (Please go to the left side of my site, where you will find lots of these articles, under “CANCER” and “Pharmaceutical Companies.”

And for a really shocking exposé of how the “Journal of the American Medical Association” (JAMA) published articles about studies whose physician/authors failed to disclose their financial ties to relevant pharmaceutical companies, please see my 3-part article, “The JAMA Controversy,” at http://301url.com/jama-all .

I wish I knew what the answer was, but I don’t. I just know that the more the public knows, the wiser they will become!

Thanks.
Julia Schopick
Http://www.honestmedicine.typepad.com

Anonymous said...

Hi,

My lawyer instructed me to ask you politely to remove my name, and anything related to my name, from the Absolute Write forums. People join these forums using tag names, and expect anonymity. Under the "Ask the Agent" thread, "Subjectivity and its results," I was cyber-assailed by some lunatic who gave out my personal information, thus violating the whole tag-name protection that everyone else on that site has the right to enjoy. In that thread, I simply raised a question about the industry, hoping for someone to provide a decent answer. I got none. Instead, my personal information was given out so that any agents or industry people who might visit the site will know that I was the one questioning it. This means that your site is unlawfully preventing me from selling my novel. I've been receiving spam emails from people visiting that thread, including one from an agent at a well-respected Manhattan agency. This means that if you do not comply with my request, Absolutewrite.com will get shut down again. Not to mention you may even be violating copyright laws, by having an unapproved link to my copyrighted fiction for all to see.

Sincerely,

Someone who does not want to be your enemy.

P.S. I have a way of viewing everything in the Absolute Write forum even though I've been banned.

Mac said...

Dear You-Know-Who:

See the Communications Decency Act, and related case law.

Cheers,
Mac

Anonymous said...

"The Communications Decency Act (CDA) was arguably the first attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet"

You are clueless. Too bad for you.
Even if this little attempt at a threat is vaild, then you need to really take that link off of there. I didn't put it there, and at the time I posted my web page, way back in April or May in the forum, there was nothing R rated on it, and I actually tried deleting that post in June. But it doesn't matter because there's no way of knowing how old people are in a forum especially for authors, who tend to be grown ups. Judging by how you respond to me, clearly being over 18 does not imply maturity.

If I were you, I'd take Lori Basiewicz's posting with my name and links to my site off. This is my last communication with you.I don't know who you think you are, but my lawyer will find out.

Anonymous said...

For your convenience, it's post #33 in the "Subjectivity and it's results" thread.

Mac said...

Pity your Google-fu isn't a little better, and you might want to look into that little anger-management issue, before you go online and think you're actually anonymous.

cheers!

Mac

Anonymous said...

Okay, sorry. I thought you were implying something else.

Free speech is one thing, but if Absolute Write is the industry mecca it appears to be, Lori still did something illegal in a roundabout way. I couldn't believe I got spammed by an actual literary agent because of that forum nonsense.

My lawyer is still going to look into this. I just thought I'd try to talk to you first.

Mac said...

Look, friend, first of all, legitimate agencies don't spam anyone. And illegitimate agencies spam everyone.

The day of internet anonymity has over for years, but non-net savvy users don't realize how many ways they're being tracked, and by how many different companies.

My moderator didn't do anything illegal--a few seconds spent googling with your ip information--tracked by cookies on every site you visit--is plenty to lead anyone straight to your door.

I understand that you're upset. I can promise you, though, that threatening people will very seldom help you actually get what you want, especially when the people you threaten are a.) quite used to it
b.) secure adults who've outgrown schoolyard intimidation tactics.

My sincere recommendation to you is that you...(how did someone once put it, to me? oh yes!) "Take the hit and move on. It's over."

Lori A. Basiewicz said...

"Illegal in a roundabout way." What does that mean exactly?

Anonymous said...

Lori,

I'm not going to discuss what my lawyer explained to me.

However, I do want to just tell you that it didn't need to get like that. When you asked me if I was just screwing around, or whatever, I answered in a joking kind of way. That's the problem with cyber communication -- you never can see the smirk. I was actually flattered that you checked my blog out. My answer was too ambiguous though. And after getting thrown off, I lied on my blog, making it seem as though I did have bad intentions. It was my only defense.

I remember always getting the best advice from you on that site.

I couldn't understand why you flipped out on me. At the time I couldn't help but think I had stumbled on some secret truth about the industry or something. But I now know that's not right.
I was getting frustrated, because I wanted to be wrong and no one was convincing me that I was.

Anyway, that's all I can say.

Mac said...

Tell you what. I can make this go away.

I don't see how it benefits anyone at all to leave the identifying post intact. I certainly have my stubborn moments--but I think enough is enough.

Please understand that I'm not acknowledging that I think there is any legal obligation for me to pull that post--but I see no reason to be an asshole, either.

I appreciate you willingness to discuss the situation, now that tempers have cooled.

Anonymous said...

Thank you.

Lori A. Basiewicz said...

Is it just me, or did someone just post their old blog entries into the comments field? Did they have a point to doing so?

Lori A. Basiewicz said...

Wait a minute! I remember Gerard!

Mac said...

Wow! Look at that. Lunatic comment spam.

Ni-iiiiccce

Anonymous said...

dangit - I missed something, didn't I? poopiedust.

Mac said...

pages and pages of comment spam, Dawno--I tidied up the nursery, though, so you can't really tell now. Sorry 'bout that!

Anonymous said...

double poopie-dust, Dawno, I missed it, too.

I'm still stuck on the ra thing...that's all I'll say 'bout that.

How come I miss the good stuff? Is this on tape, somewhere, Mac? For snowstorm days, just wondering.

Anonymous said...

thanks for posting this

Anonymous said...

*Bart comes in and Spray-Paints his tag onto Mac's Blog*

Cripe! The Law!

*Flees*

Anonymous said...

You swine are like hyenas, dingo dogs or vultures. Just gang up on some poor soul and tear the hell out of them. MacCallister Stone is such a coward she won't even give the country in which she lives, let alone the city. She's hiding under a masque of anonymity. Stone is such a lousy one to distort truth into lies. I asked her in another blog to give the city where she lives and she acted like I asked her to give her home address.

Here, the stupid grunt lists someone's home address on the 'Net and it's all laughs. At least we knew Jenna Glatzer lived on the East Coast somewhere, probably. This Stone won't even give her country of citizenship. She's a lying, slandering dawg who needs to be called out for what she is - a phony and a fraud. Absolute Write operates an editorial service, and whether or not it's legit, she's phony and pretentious enough to use her blog for others who do the same. Me myself, I have no use for such junky Mr. Word Fix It schemes (invest in a good writing workshop in your hometown, it's a lot less and it's more akin to teaching a man to fish rather than catching a fish). Anyhow, this Stone can't write a jingle for a toilet seat commercial anyhow. What do you think -- she's going to write? Only if you get a job for a company making toilets!!!

"Throwing Stones," that's what we should call this site and the Muther site it's linked to, the AW H2O Heater.

Stoned Stone. If you listen to what she (or is IT a he???) says, you might as well be stoned.

Those silly hacks at AW Water Cooler can write whatever they want to, about anyone, under the false guise of fully cloaked anonymity. Most of them have names like characters in a science fiction movie and their own little ID electronic button icons are so, so cute.

They build a case over practically nothing. But when you contest, on this "garden party blog," they complain like it's a remake of the Holocaust.

Grow up, brats!!! Absolute Write is a joke!!!

rich said...

Odd shit, shit, Mac. You now have somebody whose lawyer told him to complain about his copyrights being violated, and another, the usual other, who now condemns all or most of the denizens of The Water Cooler.

The guy who condemns the lot of you, well, there's little to say about that at this point.

But the guy who lawyered up, it seems, would have to identify himself in order to get just compensation.

Has he asked, politely or otherwise, with suitable identification?

Rich

Mac said...

I know who the guy who lawyered up is, Rich--and the issue is actually resolved. Mostly, I hate being threatened, and will call a bluff every time.

For that matter, I know who the other guy is. :) I can't really help him. He just needs to vent his spleen now and then, I suspect.