Open Letter to the Loser Who Stole My Post


UPDATE!!! The post has been removed. HURRAH!!! The blog is public again, but Chef Renato has blocked me from commenting. Oh, well. I did try to thank him for deleting the post.

A million thanks to all of you for all your advice and words of encouragement. I am so fortunate to be a part of such a great group of bloggers! You're the BEST!

Dear Chef Renato (or whatever the hell your real name is),

Imagine the shock and anger I felt this morning when I stumbled upon your blog, Top Chef Season 4, while doing research for my weekly Top Chef post and saw that you had plagiarized my entire post about last week's episode! I'm not talking about using an excerpt or two, but the entire post, word for word, without attribution or any credit whatsoever. Even the little dots I use to format my paragraphs were there. (For future reference, I color them white so they don't show up in my posts.) I couldn't believe that someone would have the unmitigated gaul to do that! This is the INTERNET, loser! You put that post out there for the world to see, including me. Did you really think I woudn't find out?

At first, I thought that I just missed your link back to my site, so I carefully checked the post again and guess what? There was no link back to my site. But you already knew that, didn't you?

You stole from me!!!
...
I left a comment for you to immediately remove the post from your blog and you deleted the comment.

I emailed you at the address listed on your Blogger profile, but as you know, it was an invalid email address.

Coward!

When I checked back on your site a few hours later, I saw your half-assed attempt to add a few phrases here and there and mix it up a little so that it wouldn't be so obvious that you stole from me. However, your feeble attempt didn't work. Those words are my intellectual property and I want them off of your site now!

If you had contacted me ahead of time and asked me nicely, I might have consented to let you use some of my words in your post, with a link back to my site. But now, all bets are off. I have bookmarked your blog and intend to cross check every post on it to make sure you haven't done this to anyone else.

I work very, very hard to provide informative and entertaining content on my blog. I value my readers very much and cannot fathom why someone would come here and steal from me.

If you're reading this right now, then take a look at my profile. I am an attorney and, even though this is not my area of expertise, I have many legal resources at my disposal. I will figure out a way to stop you from doing this again to me or anybody else.

Sincerely,

Susan @ Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy


Note to my regular readers: I apologize for my outburst. I am just soooo mad right now! If you have ever been victimized in this way, or are as outraged about this sort of thing as I am, then please help me take action. Be vigilant when surfing the net and report any violations you find.
..
Also, If anyone has any advice on what action I should take, please let me know.
... ..
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Comments

Jen Yu said…
aw hon, i'm sorry. it *sucks* when shitheads pull this kind of lame stunt. you can write to blogger (has to be an actual letter) to complain about it and they will pull the offending content. i've had to deal with jerks like this before. start with this site:

http://www.google.com/blogger_dmca.html

git that bastard!
Vida said…
NO need for apologies here, this really is awful... some people are just disgusting... why can't they do their own work or ask nicely could they borrow a little of your info, it's just manners!!! This is one of the worries with blogging, we offer up so much information for free and it opens things up for abuse, SADLY!!! I am sorry you have had this experience but I am TOTALLY with you on outing these rotten users... you go girl!!!! Vida x
Peter M said…
WTF? Why are people so stupid? With the internet, the world is very small.

I believe in karma, something's gonna bite this guy in the ass.
LOL Sticky...you go wo-man. I know some people that know some people (if you know what I mean) *in my most shifty voice*....I can make a few calls *gravelly laugh*.
Anonymous said…
You are very justified for feeling this way and we hope that this douche-bag gets what he deserves! We can't believe he deleted your comment and worse off, tried to change it!!!
Cowards like this need to get a pinky finger cut off each time they pull a stunt like this.
Anonymous said…
Also, it's obvious his cooking can't be worth anything because he can't pull from his own intellectual property to write his own stuff. Someone this shallow has no heart and just can't be any good in the kitchen.
Anonymous said…
Go get 'em tiger! Want me to send in the Gremlins?
I hate when people steal my stuff!!
Hang in there, Susan ;)
Anonymous said…
Wow. I just found you through Patricia at Technicolor Kitchen. I had to peek at a blog with a title like yours (brilliant!). Sorry to hear about someone stealing your work; this has happened to me several times so I can empathize (not with my blog as far as I know but a few reports I produced when I was a full-time journalist), and later, with a cookie I designed. It's a terrible feeling.

And what a coincidence you wrote about Mineolas. I just saw some at the store yesterday and was wondering what they were. Thanks for the explanation!
best, m
Cakespy said…
Major bitches!!!!! I would be sincerely and seriously pissed as well. In fact, I am right now! That is just so lame.
Pixie said…
Susan I feel for you!!! I would be fuming, I have no expertise. I know of another blogger, Marye who unfortunately is going through the same thing- they took ALL of her words and posts.

It's just disgusting! Someone used one of my photos and didn't ask this week, least they put a link to my blog though. still~!
wow... i can't believe someone would do that! that's sickening!
by the way, how did you find out that he did that? I went to his blog to see what he was up to... he deleted it. i wanted to email him but then I thought you already did what you had to do. he seems like a scrounge anyway. he's got a bunch of weird stuff and photos that you know are not his. disgusting!
Anonymous said…
What a total loser! Why people do things like this I just don't know. If he can't be bothered to write his own content then at least have the deceny to ask and give credit where it is due. I hope you find a way to stop him from doing this as it is totally out of order.
Fitness Foodie said…
Don't apologize, I applaud you for calling him out!
I'm sorry to hear it Susan and I know how aggravating this sort of thing can be (been there!). :-/ You put your heart and soul into it and then somebody just yanks it as if they actually have something to add to the discussion.

There are a few things here you can take advantage of:
(1) they run ads on their site. Contact the advertisers to complain of the copyright infringement. They might drop the blog
(2) its hosted on blogspot. Complain to them/Google about copyright infringement. If you want to get more formal, send a DMCA takedown notice. That will nuke it.
(3) send the blog owner an email before you do these things with a short explanation that you intend to do this, so please save us both the trouble and just remove it entirely. Give deadlines...like you have until 4/05/2008 12:00 pm est to do x, y, and z or I will do a, b, and c.
(4) document everything you do and that they say/do

i hop this helps! you'll get through this :-)
Unknown said…
No talent loser. That is brutal sorry to hear that their are people stupid enough to pull something so completely offensive, lazy and uncreative. Sorry he stole your work and creativity! What an a$$hole...you have a great site though.
Susan @ SGCC said…
Thank you all so very much for your encouragement and and good advice! I'm really touched that you took the time to lend your support. You are the best! We decent and honest bloggers have to stick together! I have come across violations like this before, particularly with pilfered photos. If I recognize the photo or recipe, I always try to let the blogger/owner about it. I would urge all of you to do the same. If we make it tougher for these scumbags to steal from us, maybe they'll think twice about it.

By the way, I did try to email this jerk, but it got bounced. I also left 2 comments for him on the illegal post and both were deleted. I gave him 24 hours to remove the post, which has not been done. My next step is to contact his advertisers and then I will probably have to file a DMCA complaint.

I'd much rather be cooking or blogging! :(
Anonymous said…
ugh, just goes to show you what type of people are out there. i can't stand it! i'm so sorry this happened to you. what a jerk.
Susan, no need to apologize here, and we are pissed with that idiot, too!
There's a lady doing something similar here in Brazil, she even steals our photos!
You are right to tell the world about that jerk, people need to know about that kind of people!
Gabi said…
Oh Susan- I am so sorry you ran across such an A.H.! I am glad you stood up for yourself and really for all of us- I've had people steal and post on phony blogs trying to infiltrate past spam filters etc. it totally pisses me off! I completely support you in this and will help any way I can!
take care and do not apologize for sticking up for yourself!
xoxo
Gabi
Anonymous said…
First off, I'm very sorry to hear that this has happened to you. I can definitely relate to your anger and frustration.

One of the first things I would encourage you to do is remove the link to their site. Don't draw any more attention to them or help them with their search engine ranking. You are not hurting them by posting that link, only helping them.

Second, as mentioned in the comments above, file a DMCA notice with Blogger. If you want, I can help you with that. I have stock letters on my site and I know a means to file the notice via email, namey by scanning your signature, saving the file as a PDF and emailing it to their DMCA agent at amac at google dot com.

Finally, consider filing a spam report with Google. The site is almost certainly a spam blog, automatically generated based on keywords. I doubt any of the content is original.

Let me know if I can help in any way, just drop me a line if there is anything I can do. I am happy to help!
Anonymous said…
Remember dont threaten anybody ! That is far worst and saying false info about people is just as wrong !!! Be careful do not blast people and write things that u might regrate ! good luck !

BenOver
Susan @ SGCC said…
Jonathan- Thank you for the great advice. I will be visiting your site for more information. I'll also be removing the links to that other site.

BenOver- Aah! Chef Renato, I presume. An anonymous coment is just what I would expect from you.

I have not threatened anyone nor have I said anything that is untrue. You and I both know that.
Remove my content from your site and I won't bother you again.
I'm so sorry that happened to you.

That's the danger of the internet. Most of us don't copyright, therefore plagarism runs rampant. People even plagarize personal ads!

I was plagarized myself recently. I got into fanfiction writing a bit last summer just to try something new. (Dorky, I know.) Recently an astute reader of one of my stories discovered it had been translated into Italian and posted onto an Italian fanfiction site as if she had written it herself. I asked her to stop and she was banned from the fanfic site.

I hope this guy gets banned from Blogger!
Oh, how horribly frustrating! I'm so sorry. It will splash back on that jerk, never fear. Just as the care and love you put into your blog comes back to you.
CookiePie said…
This is terrible - I'm so sorry!! This may not be any comfort, but I REALLY believe that what goes around comes around, so this jerk will get his. He is no Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy and he never will be!!!
Sorry that happened. It probably happens more than we know.... so disappointing.
Anonymous said…
You may want to contact Miss Hair at Jaden's Steamy Kitchen. She has attorneys at her disposal.
Sarah said…
Ugh. How crappy. I hope the situation gets fixed super soon!
Susan @ SGCC said…
Hi everyone! I have a little update on the situation. Apparently, this guy has now made his blog private. You can only view it by "invitation". Don't really get why he did it, but at least the general public won't see it.

Again, thank you all so much for your support! I can't tell you how much it means to me.
Helene said…
I see my blog scraped left and right and at first I wrote actual letter to google and blogger and now I would spend my entire day doing it. I know it is frustrating, oh boy I know...I am sorry it happened to you. Be prepared for more...Ah the cost of being famous :)
I am really sorry and feel for you.
Lore said…
Hi Susan!

I'm so sorry this happened to you! I would really encourage you to send that letter to Blogger no matter that he made his blog invitation only. What he did is NOT FAIR and something really needs to be done. Anyway that is my opinion...I'm not an attorney but I do know that anything that you permit to happen will continue and multiply.
I can't believe someone would do this!!! Well done on contacting them and you have every right to be absolutelty raging!! Sue his ass!!!
Carrie said…
Ohhh, that got my blood boiling. What an ass! Good luck, and I know he will get his in the end. Just remember to breath :)

Carrie
Susan @ SGCC said…
UPDATE!!! The post has been removed. HURRAH!!! The blog is public again, but he has blocked me from commenting. I tried to thank him for deleting the post. Oh well.

A million thanks to you all for all your advice and words of encouragement. I am so fortunate to be a part of such a great group of bloggers! :)
Emily said…
Omigosh! That's terrible!
Lore said…
That is such GREAT NEWS Susan! I'm so happy for you!!!!
Anonymous said…
What a total douche-bag. >:( I'm glad he finally deleted it, and wonder wth is wrong with people? Is it really so difficult to ask permission to post content that isn't yours and link back to the original source? Sheesh! I'd be mad, too.
Wow! I can't believe the whole story but I am glad he removed it and all is well. How on earth did you ever find out? Amazing!
Sophie said…
This is horrible! You know what, this really gave me a huge reality check and I finally figured out how to get that little creative commons license just now. I am so sorry to hear about this! Glad he took it off his site, though...I would've been enraged! This entry really sheds light on the plagiarism topic, glad you posted it :D.
Anonymous said…
cry,cry,cry, baby !

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