So, here is a new one. For those not familiar with it, this article can be used to post miscellaneous comments that are connected to a specific article here at IPW. Most folks use it to post links to interesting news stories around the 'net, but you can use it for other stuff too.

Please don't rate anything down because it is OT for this article. Everything is ON topic here.

The unanswered question is whether Jeff C would want to turn over this site to such a corporation, but I think the discussion would be worthwhile for him to hear if he has not made up his mind, and of wider interest for any future projects any of us may have in mind.

"Why?" I'm sure you are asking. It had nothing to do with the merits of Merkey's case or a lack of willingness on my part. At this time, me and my family are under a lot of stress completely unrelated to this site. Once the papers were actually served on me, that added to it, especially for my wife. And although she fully understands Merkey's suit and claims are bogus, she did not feel she was up to the added trouble and stress of a lawsuit (despite my confidence in a quick and easy victory). After much debate and discussion between us, she finally asked me to do whatever I could to get the suit dismissed just because she was asking me as my wife. She has never failed to support me throughout our years of marriage and the ups and downs, so throwing my support behind her was not a difficult decision to make.

Although the decision was easy to make, going through with it was extremely difficult. There have been few times in my life when I have felt as sick about what I was doing as I did in this case. It goes against some very deeply held beliefs of mine. Nevertheless, doing what I could to protect my wife is more important to me than the opportunity to prove I'm right and Merkey is not.

But there is good news - I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to GEICO! Ha ha! Although I (and by extension this site and everyone that has contributed to it) have taken a hit, there will be another day. Hopefully, the open nature of this site means there may be some mirrors that have captured the content. So although this "node" may have been nicked, the truth will continue to float out there. For the record, the following articles have been supressed(at least on this site):

• Grokscam.com
• The Wolf That Howls
• A Merkey Diamond
• The Novell vs. Merkey Settlement - as text and pdf
• Has merkey violated the confidentiality clause of the Novell settlement?
• A Merkey Lurkey Letter

Thanks for reading,
Jeff

At this point in time, I have not yet retained an attorney. EFF was working with me to try to find someone, but no luck so far. So, if you are an attorney and would like to help with the defense of the free speech rights of this site and its users, please contact me ASAP.

Also, with no steady income right now, I do not have much in the way of funds to fight this lawsuit. In fact, the site itself is pretty much running off savings for the time being. So, for those who may be interested in helping financially, I have setup a paypal account, legalfund@ip-wars.net, that you can use to make your contribution. I would not recommend making a contribution right away - let's see if some attorney will step up on a pro bono basis to help. If not though, I'll let everyone know what the tab may be.

In the meantime, I'll start working on pro se filings to fight the lawsuit. Those of you much more knowledgeable than me will be called upon! :-) Finally, thanks to everyone who has been lending your support up to this point. It means a lot to me!

Jeff

Speaking of which, if you file that amended complaint, you realize paragraph 30 is false as you state:

The address and location of defendants is believed to be within the State of California, but is unknown at the present time.

More importantly, I want to thank you for helping propel ip-wars.net into the top 100,000 sites according to netcraft.com. I'd say sometime in the last 10 days the site broke through 100,000 and I'm sure a lot of it has to do with folks following the news of your lawsuit. And, ip-wars.net is the third result in a search on your name. Cool!

OK, I don't really thank Jeff Merkey for helping with the site. My thanks really go to all of our contributors, registered users, and visitors. The occasion of breaking into the top 100k provides a nice point of reference for me to extend my thanks to everyone. It has not always been easy and I am still searching for ways to improve the site (so yes, I am following your comments and threads even if you don't see me posting in them). I know the changes sometimes seem a little slow in coming - alas, real life intrudes. Nevertheless, THANKS and please keep up the great work!

Jeff

Like last time, there is a redline version available if it helps you.

I left the previous version up as well so you can review it along with the comments if you wish.

As I understand it we are talking not only about a license for the articles, but a license for the comments as well.  Thus, I do think it is vital that we understand the implications of this choice and not take it lightly.  My fear with the poll is that people are voting and then perhaps reading the comments, before really understanding what the implications are.

I've never been a regular visitor to Slashdot and this is my first experience with a system that uses ratings. I think, and perhaps you do to, it is a bit disorienting compared to what we are used to. I keep having to conjure up a voice in my head reminding me, "Use the Scoop, Jeff. Use the Scoop."