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No EToy for Christmas
Posted by jamie on Friday December 03, @15:15 from the silenced-night dept. It's been a long week for etoy.com. On Monday, a judge issued a preliminary injuction fining them $10,000 each day that their website was hosted at their domain. They shut it down right away, of course. They're just internet artists. They don't have six billion dollars like the company that filed the suit: eToys.com. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Click More. Update: For more information about etoy, see the freshly-updated dmoz category etoy was founded in 1994 by a group of European artists who worked on the cutting edge, doing performance art at techno events and raves. Their focus has always been on the internet as new medium; this interview gives a feel for their perspective. They picked the name "etoy" literally by consensus and running code. Being from Italy, England, and Switzerland, physical collaboration was difficult, so they got together on an IRC channel and went through a list of random names generated by a perl script. When "etoy" came up, they all knew that was the name they wanted; they first used it in October of 1994. In October 1995 they put up their website at etoy.com. Christmas 1995 came and went. In 1996, etoy won their first artistic award. Their work typically blurs the line between real world and art; in this case, they had undertaken to demonstrate how important and yet how fragile the system of search engines was. By subverting the meta tags of prominent websites like Playboy, they pulled inexperienced surfers to their site, where they put in a plug for Kevin Mitnick, and had a few laughs at the newbies' expense. They called it the "Digital Hijack." A curious kind of art. In 1996 it was original enough to win an award from Ars Electronica. Nowadays everyone knows the trick, the search engines find it and disregard it, and some underhanded websites try to make a fast buck by stealing trademarks - but etoy did it first, for fun. Christmas 1996 came and went. In June 1997 etoys.com, with an S, began operations. It wasn't until October that their website went online. They filed for a U.S. trademark on their domain, at which point etoy got a little alarmed and filed for their own trademark on their own domain. Maybe because they're based in Europe, or maybe for some other reason, etoy says their application is still pending on some technicalities. But it doesn't matter when their trademark is granted. Their website went online in October 1995, two full years before etoys', and it's date of first use that's important - not the date of filing. Christmas 1997 came and went. Christmas 1998 came and went. But now it's 1999, the year of the e-tailer. Suddenly etoys.com, with an S, has gone public and is worth six billion dollars. Meanwhile etoy.com, without an S, again putting the spotlight on corporations and society, has raised money by "selling shares" of itself. I'm not quite sure how they did it, but at an artists' gathering, a half-serious, half-mocking exhibition-slash-fundraising they pulled in something over ten thousand dollars. (Which they then donated to their friends in the U.S., also working at the boundary of society and corporations, RTMark, best-known for their George W. Bush parody site.) In the year of the e-tailer, what kind of speech scares corporations more than anything? Disrespect. Artists who don't play by the rules. People who don't understand that business is serious business. Etoys.com, with an S, wants etoy.com, with no S. They offered money. At one point they were offering cash and (mostly) stock that would have been worth almost half a million dollars. No sale. But that should give us an idea of how much they're willing to spend on lawyers. Finally, in September, eToys filed a lawsuit against etoy, on the grounds that a potential customer had mistakenly gone to the wrong site and had seen the message that - if they wanted to enjoy etoy.com to its fullest extent - they should download "the fucking flash plugin." They also didn't like the pierced breasts or etoy's sense of humor. To be precise, they claim that "the antisocial, obscene, and offensive images associated with defendants' use of the mark 'etoy,' both on the Internet and elsewhere, have tarnished the ETOYS® mark and the eToys brand name..." Let this be a lesson to anyone whose domain is coveted by a multi-billion-dollar company: careful with the F-word. In October and November the case was bounced from an L.A. court to U.S. District Court, and finally to a California State Court. In late November the judge refused a request to let the European artists attend the proceedings by teleconference. In those proceedings, the judge was told that the artists had engaged in "digital hijacking" (the 1996 project), and had sold shares of stock without being properly regulated on an official stock exchange (the 1999 fundraising exhibition). Worst of all, they were hosting illegal hardcore pornography (which was actually just a link to another site). They claim: "Defendants use the mark ETOY indiscriminately and in random association with unrelated concepts. For example, on the etoy web site alone, defendants use the mark ETOY in conjunction with other, randomly selected words to create phrases such as: 'etoy.research,' 'etoy.eternity,' 'etoy.timezone,' 'etoy.history,' 'etoy.servers,' 'etoy.strategy,' 'etoy.journeys,' 'etoy.universe,' and 'etoy.crew.' "By using the mark ETOY in this random, indiscriminate manner, defendants cause both ETOY and the ETOYS® mark to lose any distinctive, signifying meaning." Serious business. The lawyers also kindly suggested that, since at least one etoy member is from Switzerland, they really would be more suited to a website in the .ch domain: etoy.ch. Never mind the years of work and the reputation that the artists have built around etoy.com - we all know that "dot-com" belongs to America! Faced with a torrent of buzzwords, the judge issued a preliminary injunction barring etoy from: operating a website in the etoy.com domain; associating their domain name with the "digital hijack"; or selling their "shares" in the U.S. Penalty for disobeying the injuction: $10,000 per day in fines. On November 30, etoy.com shut down its Apache webserver. Its last access came from the eToys law firm (which has been monitoring it closely). They had no choice, really. In fact, when I talked with a member of etoy, he was very nervous about saying things which might get him in more legal trouble. Suddenly, the artists are afraid to speak. How can this be, when, as the Village Voice wrote in an excellent article, this lawsuit doesn't even pass the "giggle test"? It's absurd to think that one website can shut down another for having a similar domain name - when the second site is not a domain poacher and has been operating two years longer than the first. The date of the next court hearing, at which this preliminary injunction will surely be overturned: December 27th. How convenient! Just after the Christmas shopping season. If you'd like to see more about etoy, their domain is down of course, and I don't know of any mirrors, but their fans have constructed a site at toywar.com that has some information. And etoy may put some or all of its site back online at its IP number (not name!): 146.228.204.72:8080. Good rules have been written to prevent things like this from happening. Unfortunately, the rules have not taken effect yet for most domains. Even after they do take effect, their legal status will be uncertain until they are tested in court. Those rules are ICANN's Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. This policy ensures that the conditions under which a domain name can be disputed are strictly limited. For such a dispute even to proceed, a complainant must assert that each of three things is true: your domain name infringes on a trademark; you have "no rights or legitimate interests" to your domain; and your domain name is being used "in bad faith." As long as you're operating in good faith, or you have any legitimate interest in your domain, there is not even cause to bring up a dispute over a domain. Clearly this puts etoy.com on firm ground, because regardless of the trademark issue (which should be resolved once their mark registration is granted) they win on the other two points. This doesn't stop clueless judges from issuing injuctions, of course. But having these rules codified as official policy will give the legal system better guidelines to operate by. These rules went into effect for some domain name registries on Wednesday, but will not apply to the most popular registry, Network Solutions, until January. I can't even complain to eToys.com. I clicked all over their website looking for an email contact address and couldn't find one. When I filled in the web form to ask that someone get in touch with me for this story, all I got was a email form letter: It is our goal to respond to all order-related e-mail within 24 hours. If your e-mail is not order-related, we will do our best to take care of your questions, concerns and suggestions as soon as possible. It's 72 hours later, so my email must not have been sufficiently order-related. In the meantime, I can at least have the satisfaction of taking my order-related business elsewhere this holiday season. I'm sure eToys couldn't care less, but it will serve me as a small comfort during the remaining 22 holy shopping days. In a world run by retailers, e-tailers, and lawyers, I need everything I can get to help me make sense of the bizarre orgy of spirituality-soaked commerce that serves as the endcap of each year. Ho ho ho. < WTO Puts Internet Taxes on Hold | Novell CEO Attacked by Cookie Monster > |
lizvlx
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WTO + SDMI = NWO Cookies are Security Hole in HTML Email EPIC Sues NSA Over Information Gathering No EToy for Christmas Cursor Software Tracks You On Web George W. Bush Vs. Parody Site Another Software Spy License to Surf Waiting for the Knock Australian Gov't OKs Its Spies to Crack Servers
"No EToy for Christmas" | Preferences | 359 comments (Spill at 30!) | Index Only | Search Discussion
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. Slashdot is not responsible for what they say. ( Beta is only a state of mind )
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The supreme court by Ex Machina (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:23 CET Re:The supreme court by xscarecrowx (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:36 CET Re:The supreme court by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:23 CET Re:The supreme court by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:55 CET Re:The supreme court by AugstWest (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:30 CET Re:The supreme court by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @21:15 CET Re:The supreme court by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @21:18 CET Boycott Etoys.com by popo (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:59 CET Re:Boycott Etoys.com by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:41 CET eToys by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:00 CET Business won't let these cases reach Supreme Court by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:25 CET Re:The supreme court by sherpajohn (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:52 CET Re:The supreme court by bungalow (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:33 CET
Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot (Score:5, Interesting) by FreeUser on Friday December 03, @15:25 CET (#3) (User Info) http://jean.nu/
This is exactly the kind of timely and relevant news I for one keep readhing slashdot for. I have yet to start my Christmas shopping, and intend to do most of it on-line (for my nefew, four nieces aged one to six, and various other relatives). I probably would have wound up using etoys.com for at least some purchases, but in light of these events I will make a point in not doing so. Those of us (in the US at least) conscientious enough vote every couple of years. ALL OF US vote with our money (dollars, yen, euros, whatever) every day. It is my profound pleasure to vote against the fucks at etoys.com for what they have done this Christmas season.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by turg (Score:4) Friday December 03, @15:38 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by gorilla (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:59 CET Here's mine by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:45 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by elyard (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:58 CET Another letter to eToys by Yosemite Sue (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:31 CET More comments, keep sending them! by krisitna (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:55 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by Deosyne (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @11:48 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by The Salamander (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:39 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:40 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:18 CET For even _more_ info this 'blunder'. by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:57 CET Re:For even _more_ info this 'blunder'. by Catullus (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:23 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by seaportcasino (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:30 CET Re:Timely and useful: Thank You Slashdot by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @00:17 CET My personal favorite... by GoNINzo (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:25 CET Re:My personal favorite... by Trombone8vb (Score:2) Friday December 03, @15:52 CET WRITE TO eTOYS CEO TOBY LENK (tlenk@etoys.com) by mx80 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @21:18 CET I see a countersuit by meckardt (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:26 CET Re:I see a countersuit by Calidon (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:45 CET Re:I see a countersuit by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:07 CET Re:I see a countersuit by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:39 CET I am going to file a lawsuit! by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:48 CET Damn right, and criminal charges too. by freakho (Score:2) Friday December 03, @19:01 CET Anti SLAPP!! by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:54 CET Nice website you have here... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:29 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:40 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by Kintanon (Score:2) Friday December 03, @15:57 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by Nodatadj (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:09 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:19 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by Marcio Silva (Score:1) Friday December 03, @22:06 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by Sangui5 (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @01:11 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by MoToMo (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:59 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:08 CET Re:Nice website you have here... by CSG_SurferDude (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:33 CET http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/Re:Nice website yo by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @22:23 CET Supreme court ruling anyone? by tweder (Score:3) Friday December 03, @15:29 CET Oh please... by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:30 CET Shut up you anonymous ass ... by EatAtJoes (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:04 CET Re:Oh please... by parc (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:43 CET Re:Oh please... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:04 CET Re:Oh please... by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:53 CET you should read the story 1st by CrAlt (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @03:04 CET juridistiction? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:30 CET Re:juridistiction? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:35 CET Thankfully No by SilverFate (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:45 CET Re:juridistiction? by Trombone8vb (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:01 CET Re:juridistiction? by Zemran (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:58 CET am i missing something? by pal (Score:4) Friday December 03, @15:31 CET
Re:am i missing something? (Score:5, Interesting) by Phrogman (atho@pagans.org) on Friday December 03, @16:11 CET (#83) (User Info) http://www.omphalos.net
Its all part of the American Empire. The US is the functional equivalent of a world Empire - courtesy of their economic strength and the US military which backs it. Somehow we have let corporations become the law of the world. They have greater rights than the individual - because they have more money than that individual. This case is going to be *very* important - if Etoys.com wins this, then the entire domain name scheme is meaningless. If I register a good name, all that matters is how much money someone has if they want to take it from me. And what about .net and .org? I own a .net and the .com equivalent is registered to a company already, what if they dislike my content, can they have me shut down? I sure as hell can't afford a lawyer for more than a day. In an equally meaningless lawsuit, and to show how patently stupid this judgement is, if I were the folks at Etoy I would now turn around and sue Network Solutions for selling them the Etoy.com domain when it was going to violate another company's copyright only a few years after the sale. Surely NS should have seen that, right? It would make as much sense as this lawsuit. Of course the biggest problem that the Etoy.com folks have is that their not US citizens. Were they US citizens there would be much more of a public and media outcry in the States, but since they are foreigners(sic) they have less attention/importance/rights in the world. I suggest we promulgate a complete ban on dealing with Etoys.com - and try to convince as many other folks to boycott it as well. How 'bout a "Why I don't shop at Etoys.com" graphic you can display on your website and link to this story? Perhaps a grass roots democratic demonstration of our collective displeasure might garner some results...
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Re:am i missing something? by Znork (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:16 CET Re:am i missing something? by Jonathan C. Patschke (Score:2) Friday December 03, @19:13 CET Here's a graphic to use by Phrogman (Score:2) Saturday December 04, @04:50 CET etoy's official toywar graphics by mx80 (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @05:21 CET Word of the Day -- "promogulate" by Keeper Saturday December 04, @04:51 CET Re:am i missing something? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:46 CET We need courts with e-Judges by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:31 CET ICANN rules don't override law by turg (Score:3) Friday December 03, @15:31 CET Re:ICANN rules don't override law by SilverFate (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:48 CET Re:ICANN rules don't override law by silvwolf (Score:1) Friday December 03, @21:24 CET Re:ICANN rules don't override law by twinpot (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:54 CET Re:ICANN rules don't override law by wolf- (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @02:29 CET No E-Toys by Dr Caleb (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:32 CET
Wow (Score:5, Interesting) by finkployd (mark@NOSPAM.earnestdesigns.com) on Friday December 03, @15:32 CET (#16) (User Info) http://earnestdesigns.com/mark
Three stories in a row about big business screwing over little people in a globalist setting. Very interesting. Throw in the Co$ story, and ./ is becoming a dangerous, subvertive site that needs to have some government agency shut it down before it causes some civil unrest. Hear that FBI/BATF/CIA/WTO/etc? Something needs to be done about this site! Think about the children! Finkployd Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
No joke, but ... by Eric Green (Score:2) Friday December 03, @16:48 CET Pat Buchanan would be a genius... by Wakko Warner (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:29 CET Re:No joke, but ... by dilger (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:47 CET Re:No joke, but ... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:03 CET It was a joke by fusiongyro (Score:2) Saturday December 04, @01:46 CET Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @23:21 CET How can this be enforced? by Nicolas MONNET (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:32 CET Re:How can this be enforced? by fprintf (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:51 CET No! by Nicolas MONNET (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:09 CET Re:No! by drewpt (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:01 CET Re:No! by Nicolas MONNET (Score:1) Friday December 03, @21:31 CET Re:How can this be enforced? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:16 CET Re:How can this be enforced? by Zemran (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:09 CET Juristiction? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:33 CET Re:Juristiction? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:05 CET Re:Juristiction? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:21 CET
... (Score:5, Insightful) by Signal 11 (signal11@mediaone.net?Subject=Slashdot) on Friday December 03, @15:33 CET (#19) (User Info) http://www.malign.net
This has been forwarded to my friends and family not to shop there. Now to the heart of the matter - we already know who's going to win this one. The domain dispute policy will be amended to allow etoys to excercise it's unfair domain grab, and in a few months nobody will care. That's how it happened with dozens of other sites, modulo a few featured here on slashdot. The question is, of course, why haven't we forcefully lifted control from the government and InterNIC? We have the authority to reprogram our own, personal DNS servers with whatever information we see fit. People are under the impression that the internet will fall apart if we don't maintain The One True Registry. Well... my vote is for The One True Democratic Registry. We need a digital haven - some place on the planet where politicians can stick a hot poker up their butt if they disagree with the content or purpose of the site (or for that matter, greedy corporations). Freedom of speech taken to it's logical conclusion. My vote? Sysadmins of the world, unite! Form a second registry and use it. In the meantime.. anybody know if there's a country around that I can get enough access to kick of a "digital haven" - a country with no laws barring any online conduct and outside WTO and US control? -- "Why, oh why didn't I take the blue pill?"
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
.not ? by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:47 CET Re:... by Bogey (Score:2) Friday December 03, @15:53 CET Why not use both name servers? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:57 CET Re:... by humphrm (Score:4) Friday December 03, @16:00 CET Re:... by drewpt (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:04 CET Re:... by Deluge (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:37 CET Re:... by humphrm (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:40 CET Re:... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:22 CET Re:... by ddstreet (Score:2) Friday December 03, @16:24 CET Re:... by yek401 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:35 CET Alternative Authority by Anders Andersson (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:40 CET There already are multiple root nameservers by ddstreet (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:47 CET Re:There already are multiple root nameservers by Anders Andersson (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:39 CET You're talking disobedience of a sort. by matman (Score:2) Friday December 03, @18:12 CET Please, oh, PLEASE, no organizations!!! by m.o (Score:1) Friday December 03, @21:13 CET Re:Please, oh, PLEASE, no organizations!!! by matman (Score:1) Friday December 03, @22:22 CET Re:You're talking disobedience of a sort. by Signal 11 (Score:2) Sunday December 05, @17:58 CET Great idea! by Inoshiro (Score:2) Friday December 03, @18:27 CET Re:Great idea! by Signal 11 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:43 CET Re:Great idea! by Inoshiro (Score:1) Friday December 03, @22:12 CET Re:... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @22:50 CET Dear God, that's an idea. by Spirilis (Score:1) Friday December 03, @23:32 CET Re:... by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @10:22 CET First come, first serve? by legoboy (Score:3) Friday December 03, @15:35 CET Maybe etoy.com could sue eToys.com in the UK? by DragonHawk (Score:2) Saturday December 04, @02:05 CET can we say BOYCOTT boys and girls? by Oo.et.oO (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:35 CET Re:can we say BOYCOTT boys and girls? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:02 CET I just canceled my DC order from them :) by CrAlt (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @03:10 CET Re:can we say BOYCOTT boys and girls? by alexy (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:59 CET Re:can we say BOYCOTT boys and girls? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:50 CET My complaint letter to eToys.com by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:09 CET Re:My complaint letter to eToys.com by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @21:54 CET Boycott letter by Driph (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:21 CET Well, laws don't apply to the big boys by pngwen (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:36 CET
There are always a few addresses you can use... (Score:5, Informative) by stienman on Friday December 03, @15:36 CET (#24) (User Info) http://www.ubasics.com/adam
There are always a few addresses you can use... admin@etoys.com abuse@etoys.com sales@etoys.com legal@etoys.com webmaster@etoys.com hostmaster@etoys.com And, of course, they would be more impressed if we snail-mailed them and *gasp* called them or faxed them: eToys 3100 Ocean Park Blvd., Suite 300 Santa Monica, CA 90405 US Administrative Contact: - Admin, eToys - admin@ETOYS.COM - (310) 664-8100 Voice - (310) 664-8101 Fax Technical Contact, Zone Contact: - eToys HostMaster - hostmaster@ETOYS.COM - (310) 664-8100 Voice - (310) 664-8101 Fax Billing Contact: - Admin, eToys - admin@ETOYS.COM - (310) 664-8100 Voice - (310) 664-8101 Fax I suppose that those who host their DNS info really don't have anything to do with it, but it might be a reminder for them to know who their customers *really* are if we sent a *very* polite email referencing this article, and asking what their opinion of their customer's actions are... DNS Servers: NAME.ROC.FRONTIERNET.NET NAME.PHX.FRONTIERNET.NET NS1.IDEALAB.COM NS2.IDEALAB.COM PLEASE be nice in any and all communications with anyone! (Man, I wish I didn't have to say that!) We can be nice and still express displeasure in someone's actions. -Adam "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence" - Napoleon Bonaparte.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Re:There are always a few addresses you can use... (Score:5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 03, @16:03 CET (#75)
For those of you in the US. Express your view via voice, it will cost them more: Customer Service Contact If you would like to speak to a customer service representative about your order, please call us at 1-800-GO-ETOYS (1-800-463-8697). We are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Moderate UP, please? by DanJose52 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:14 CET I called the 1-800 number and .. .. by ChrisLynx (Score:4) Friday December 03, @20:12 CET Re:I called the 1-800 number and .. .. by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @01:26 CET SAVE THE CHILDREN! by CrAlt (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @02:27 CET Re:SAVE THE CHILDREN! by Felinoid (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @14:50 CET Talk to IdeaLab (parent company) too by turg (Score:2) Friday December 03, @16:54 CET Re:Talk to IdeaLab (parent company) too by shinji (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:14 CET Boycott free software? What's the point? by Nicolas MONNET (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:22 CET Re:Boycott free software? What's the point? by dhwang (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:14 CET Re:Boycott free software? What's the point? by dhwang (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:18 CET Re:Talk to IdeaLab (parent company) too by isaac_akira (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @00:36 CET OpenMerchant by Bob Galloway (Score:1) Tuesday December 07, @02:09 CET Re:OpenMerchant by Bob Galloway (Score:1) Tuesday December 07, @02:11 CET Re:Talk to IdeaLab (parent company) too by mx80 (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @04:36 CET CEOs name for letters: Mariam Naficy & Varsha Rao by turg (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:22 CET OOOPS! THAT'S WRONG! It should be: TOBY LENK by turg (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:35 CET Re:OOOPS! THAT'S WRONG! It should be: TOBY LENK by m.o (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:47 CET Re:CEOs name for letters: Edward C. Lenk by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:44 CET More addresses! by mx80 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:00 CET More addresses! by mx80 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:01 CET Re:There are always a few addresses you can use... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @23:23 CET This is a troll -- moderate down by Anonymous Coward (Score:2) Friday December 03, @15:36 CET Re:This is a troll -- moderate down by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:17 CET Re:This is a troll -- moderate down by JimmyJ Saturday December 04, @00:36 CET Re:This is a troll -- moderate down by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @08:31 CET damn firewalls by CrAlt (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @02:55 CET This is insane by SilverFate (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:38 CET clueless judges by emmons (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:38 CET Re:clueless judges by Gallowglass (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:11 CET Re:clueless judges by emmons (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:30 CET watch out... by TheTomcat (Score:3) Friday December 03, @15:38 CET Load the site.. by Inoshiro (Score:2) Friday December 03, @18:31 CET Contact Info for Etoys.com by Sabotage (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:39 CET This is only the beginning. by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:39 CET Re:This is only the beginning. by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:28 CET Check this msg for www.ppornq.com by rodent (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:41 CET eToys contact addresses by James Ojaste (Score:2) Friday December 03, @15:39 CET Time to move from News to Action by Dale_Carder (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:40 CET More information on etoy ot dmoz.org by mx80 (Score:2) Friday December 03, @15:43 CET Contacting the website. by TagrenHawk (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:44 CET Re:Contacting the website. by TagrenHawk (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:48 CET All going to end with internet taxes by heroine (Score:2) Friday December 03, @15:45 CET I suppose they made the judge a better offer by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:45 CET I am sending the following to ETOYS: by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:46 CET help me by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:46 CET browsecott? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:47 CET They just lost a customer by newton62 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:48 CET Vote with your feet by lar3ry (Score:4) Friday December 03, @15:49 CET Opensource friendly tyrants? by LinuxGeek (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:51 CET Re:Opensource friendly tyrants? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:41 CET Attention Fat Corporate Bastards! by ch-chuck (Score:4) Friday December 03, @15:52 CET I liked this even better by CrAlt (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @02:50 CET /.'ers never read the ruling do they.... by _LORAX_ Friday December 03, @15:52 CET Re:/.'ers never read the ruling do they.... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:04 CET Re:/.'ers never read the ruling do they.... by Ralph (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:47 CET You didn't read the article by turg (Score:2) Friday December 03, @16:56 CET Re:/.'ers never read the ruling do they.... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:13 CET Re:/.'ers never read the ruling do they.... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @21:10 CET Re:/.'ers never read the ruling do they.... by Anonymous Coward Sunday December 05, @18:35 CET Re:/.'ers never read the ruling do they.... by mx80 (Score:1) Sunday December 05, @20:29 CET Re: the phone # to call and complain by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @05:09 CET ok so by nostrodecus (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:52 CET etoys.com feedback pages by mharder (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:54 CET etoys.com feedback pages by mharder (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:54 CET eToys.com feedback form by Incendiary (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:55 CET Contact Info by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:59 CET
Jam the WTO... Jam etoys.com (and /. censorship) (Score:5, Insightful) by The Other JoshG on Friday December 03, @15:59 CET (#68) (User Info) http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~gargus
(a different) AC wrote: Nice website you have there... it would be a SHAME if something HAPPENED to it! I'm not advocating this... But if all of the people who thought this was unfair would start just ONE ping process pointing at etoys.com, it would ruin their Christmas, too. I was initially replying to this, but it was moderated down by the time I finished writing my post. Actually, this seems like a plausible non-violent way to deal with the situation, and doesn't deserve the immediate down-moderation that it got. For all the /.ers who think DOS attacks are automatically wrong, take a look at how slanted this situation is against the little guy, and how the courts seem to be willing to rule for profits and against common sense, and think again. If the powers that be had half a brain, we wouldn't have to think about stuff like this. But they don't, so we do. Liberal minded moderators... keep an eye out for stuff like this and moderate it back up. We're part of /. too, and I for one don't buy the party line that attacks on computer systems are automatically wrong. etoys.com is using unjustifiable legal coercion, and they have no right to complain if people retaliate with a different form of coercion.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:08 CET Re:Jam the WTO... Jam etoys.com (and /. censorship by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @21:07 CET Re:Jam the WTO... Jam etoys.com (and /. censorship by Possum Man (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @04:31 CET Ecelerent? [DOS attack responce to legal attack]? by Felinoid (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @15:08 CET EToy.com...EToys.com... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:59 CET Slashdot also in danger? by Enoch Root (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:00 CET Re:Slashdot also in danger? by malice95 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @21:55 CET NOetoys by cabalamat (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:02 CET How is this any different than any other time? by vitaflo (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:05 CET Re:How is this any different than any other time? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:18 CET I don't give a damn about spammers by ragnar (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:05 CET Re:I don't give a damn about spammers by reverse solidus (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:24 CET contacts for etoys by lazlo (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:07 CET eToys.com should change their name by weld (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:13 CET Of two minds... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:14 CET The big guys think they can get away with it! by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:17 CET /. Effect by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:18 CET Rob? by pen (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:19 CET No, Virginia... by Kid Zero (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:21 CET off-topic by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:55 CET Let's give the bite of a boycott some teeth by CoughDropAddict (Score:2) Friday December 03, @16:33 CET Wow by jfunk (Score:2) Saturday December 04, @00:19 CET Bandwidth isn't free by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:34 CET Re:Bandwidth isn't free by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:53 CET Not needed. by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:57 CET Grrrr! by Mendax Veritas (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:34 CET Re:Grrrr! by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @00:32 CET Send this article to all your friends by drMental (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:35 CET Cant they just move the server? by Caspuh (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:37 CET Great article jamie by |DaBuzz| (Score:2) Friday December 03, @16:37 CET Hell, I won't go there or to Amazon either... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:46 CET Sue EToys! by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:46 CET give 'em a call by yek401 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:49 CET Death Applet on Toywar.com by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:50 CET cut & paste to a xterm near you: by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:52 CET Re:cut & paste to a xterm near you: by hangel (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @01:03 CET etoys.com feedback form :) by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @16:55 CET Re:etoys.com feedback form :) by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:12 CET Re:etoys.com feedback form :) by Ranger Nik (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:21 CET ETYS stock down $15 since this ruling by turg (Score:4) Friday December 03, @17:01 CET Re:ETYS stock down $15 since this ruling by Manax (Score:1) Friday December 03, @23:25 CET Address for comments by nctrl (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:02 CET Bad companies website? by Nodatadj (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:06 CET Re:Bad companies website? by greenrd (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @17:18 CET Internet Patent by dallas (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:06 CET Time to register... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:06 CET etoys email contacts by kill bikini-bot kill (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:08 CET Another way to show protest by UncleRoger (Score:4) Friday December 03, @17:10 CET Re:Another way to show protest by Maserati (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:01 CET Fill up the shopping cart... by Noel McK (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:51 CET Re:Another way to show protest by consumer (Score:2) Friday December 03, @19:00 CET Re:Another way to show protest by UncleRoger (Score:2) Friday December 03, @20:04 CET True colors by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @02:04 CET Re:Another way to show protest by djneko (Score:1) Friday December 03, @23:04 CET But really . . . by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:12 CET Yes, Really... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:16 CET Re:But really . . . by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:46 CET So if Company X, which I don't agree with... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:12 CET You spineless scum-sucker! by Anonymous Coward Monday December 06, @21:08 CET Re:But really . . . by Anonymous Coward Tuesday December 07, @03:56 CET Contact your local media by Malc (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:14 CET Etoy Contacts by crackmonkey (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:15 CET
My email to eToys. (Score:5, Interesting) by vitaflo on Friday December 03, @17:15 CET (#140) (User Info) http://www.vitaflo.com
I sent this to Jonathan Cutler, Public Relations Manager (jcutler@etoys.com). If you disagree with eToys stance, I suggest you do the same: I have read recent reports of a case concerning the forced shutdown of etoy.com by etoys.com. When I first heard this I thought it was nothing more than a copy cat company trying to steal the thunder from etoys.com. If this were the case I would have backed your decision to take up legal action against etoy.com. However after reading what etoy.com was about, I became quite surprised that a company such as yours, with so much money in the bank would even care to take action against a site that is little more than people doing experimental design and having fun on the web. I think what eToys needs to realize is that the web is a FREE place. Free in the sense of free speach. Unfair business pratice is one thing, but the web has been, and will always be about Open Information for anyone. The fact that etoy.com was running over two years before eToys.com and the fact that is has NOTHING to do with eToys nor is it a direct threat to eToys.com makes me wonder where your best interests are going after and attacking them. I'm not void of these problems myself. I work at a company trying to make its name on the web, Imaginet.com, and we're doing VERY well on the web. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the domain imagnet.com was a porn site. But did we go after them to try to shut them down? NO. Why? Because that's not fair and that's NOT RIGHT. You cannot sue someone simply because they domain names are "similar". I also own a personl domain, vitaflo.com. Vitaflo.com is an experimental graphic design and open source information site. Now imagine that in a year from now, someone sets up vitaflos.com, starts selling Farm equipment, and gets rich off of it. Then someone goes to my website, sees a swear word or some "unappropriate" material and then vitaflos.com tries to shut me down. Would I be pissed? You bet. Would I fight it? Till the day I died. This is exaclty what your company has done to etoy.com. It makes me sad to see a company with so much potential throw so much of it down the drain. You can be sure I will never shop at your site ever again, and I have written to everyone I know to tell them the same (as I'm sure many others have done that have heard this news). As the PR Manager, I think it should be your job to keep the companies best interests in mind in how it deals with the public. This is NOT in your best interest. You will lose a lot more money playing the roll of "Bully" than you ever would have by just ignoring etoy.com. I am hopeful this letter, and letters like it, will help to reverse this aweful trend in online lawsuits that has been occuring so much recently. Set the precident, be the one company to actually LISTEN to its customers. We will all thank you if you do. Thank you for your time, -Brent Gustafson
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
SPEECH you morons! SPEECH! by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:34 CET Re:My email to eToys. by ThreeTee (Score:1) Friday December 03, @22:55 CET Re:My email to eToys. by vitaflo (Score:2) Saturday December 04, @06:31 CET Assignment of Blame by pwagle (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:16 CET Re:Assignment of Blame by Glytch (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:40 CET Re:Assignment of Blame by pwagle (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @17:44 CET Send this to your e-buddies. by AftanGustur (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:18 CET http://etoy.com !!! Loophole? by AtariDatacenter (Score:2) Friday December 03, @17:20 CET There is a feedback form... by UncleRoger (Score:3) Friday December 03, @17:22 CET Just how does a California judge have jurisdiction by SvnLyrBrto (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:29 CET I would have taken the $500k and here's why.. by Carnage4Life (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:29 CET This is the fucking point by Kaa (Score:4) Friday December 03, @17:47 CET Re:This is the fucking point by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @01:10 CET Re:This is the fucking point by netwiz (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @11:29 CET Re:I would have taken the $500k and here's why.. by Saige (Score:3) Friday December 03, @18:11 CET It's your decision..but think this over! by Anonymous Coward Tuesday December 07, @03:17 CET What a good little robot you are. by Anonymous Coward Monday December 06, @21:22 CET Feedback URL for etoys.com by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:32 CET Someone out there is already doing something. by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:35 CET Some e-mail address you might be able to use: by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:46 CET Goody by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @17:47 CET I know where I'm not shopping by dothead (Score:1) Friday December 03, @17:58 CET my response (as an example) by settonull (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:01 CET Didn't anybody read the story? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:04 CET Re:Didn't anybody read the story? by Kintanon (Score:2) Friday December 03, @18:23 CET Re:Didn't anybody read the story? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @23:41 CET Email I fired off by Inoshiro (Score:2) Friday December 03, @18:05 CET Can judges be fined for bad decisions? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:07 CET deny etoys.com service, too! by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:11 CET Re:deny etoys.com service ? by hangel (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @01:19 CET More EToys Contact Info by |0|4 (Score:2) Friday December 03, @18:18 CET And to *really* apply the screws... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:34 CET If you don´t like them, tell them. by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:20 CET 1-800-463-8697 option 3 by oldzoot (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:21 CET Take a deep breath by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:29 CET Re:Take a deep breath by qwerjkl (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:43 CET Re:Take a deep breath by BluSkreen (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @09:07 CET am not advocating this, but... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:41 CET WTF?! the six bill company is wrong here's why by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @18:41 CET I have only one comment: by mhm23x3 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:05 CET Re:I have only one comment: by Mr. Neutron (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:49 CET Re:I have only one comment: by Beef Friday December 03, @20:53 CET Re:I have only one comment: by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:58 CET Re:I have only one comment: by mhm23x3 (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @08:05 CET T-shirt support. Slogan or design ideas? by LetterJ (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:25 CET Isn't this the same as phone numbers? by dbrown (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:26 CET Re:Isn't this the same as phone numbers? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @21:54 CET Maybe eToys should change their name by Zemran (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:27 CET Informative by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:30 CET Boycott etoys.com !! by SLOfuse (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:38 CET The best defence by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:53 CET Start Secondary DNS space? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @19:59 CET why hasnt etoys been hacked yet? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:16 CET Email to Toby Lenk (tlenk@etoys.com) by mx80 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:21 CET Changes to the legal system.. by Greg@RageNet (Score:1) Friday December 03, @20:21 CET is offer of payment a recognition of legitimacy? by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @20:32 CET Turn the Injunction into a Two Edged Sword ??? by redelm (Score:3) Friday December 03, @21:13 CET Shareholder suit? by Brian Knotts (Score:4) Friday December 03, @21:27 CET Slashdot Lynch Mob Mentality... by DraKKon (Score:1) Friday December 03, @21:52 CET Guess you didnt read it also... by CrAlt (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @04:56 CET Re:Guess you didnt read it also... by DraKKon (Score:1) Monday December 06, @19:27 CET Good vs. Evil by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @21:56 CET Re:Good vs. Evil? I think you're confused by Michael O-P (Score:1) Friday December 03, @22:31 CET Can EToy return the favor? by Fencepost (Score:2) Friday December 03, @22:11 CET Re:Can EToy return the favor? by mx80 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @22:19 CET Re:Can etoy return the favor? by Fencepost (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @01:23 CET Why the different views by arty3 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @22:39 CET Re:Why the different views by arty3 (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @00:01 CET Re:Why the different views by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @00:08 CET A handy script by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @23:23 CET It's corporate censorship of free speech - again! by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @23:55 CET calling eToys' customer service... by poxaV (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @00:11 CET Hey, etoyS, hope you read this by Trailer Trash (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @00:38 CET etoy and relatives by the_tsi (Score:2) Saturday December 04, @01:01 CET This doesnt belong on Slashdot... It belongs on th by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @01:45 CET The ICANN sham by blkadder (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @03:01 CET What if it were Yahooligans? by Anonymous Coward Saturday December 04, @07:24 CET Re:What if it were Yahooligans? by mx80 (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @08:24 CET Last Post! by Last Post! (Score:1) Saturday December 04, @10:45 CET etoyS morale by Anonymous Coward Sunday December 05, @00:20 CET Re:etoyS morale by mx80 Sunday December 05, @00:37 CET eviltoy.com: The eToys boycott site. by mx80 (Score:1) Sunday December 05, @06:11 CET Etoy Ressources by Anonymous Coward Sunday December 05, @14:42 CET Re:Etoy Ressources by mx80 (Score:1) Monday December 06, @00:20 CET We control networks - block etoys.com by Anonymous Coward Monday December 06, @01:39 CET Boycott Etoys by Anonymous Coward Tuesday December 07, @03:21 CET Re:FIRST POST by akintayo (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:29 CET Re:FIRST POST by miscellaneous (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:47 CET countersuits, etc. by Phule77 (Score:1) Friday December 03, @18:22 CET Re:countersuits, etc. by miscellaneous (Score:1) Friday December 03, @19:35 CET Re:Oh please... by Anonymous Coward Friday December 03, @15:38 CET Re:Oh please... by Panaflex (Score:1) Friday December 03, @15:57 CET Re:Oh please... by Quarters (Score:1) Friday December 03, @16:25 CET
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