August 10, 2002
To the Faithful Readers of EF:
Please bear with us, as the news we have for you will not only shock you, but in some cases, enrage you as well.
Earlier today, it was brought to our attention that someone named "Bethany" has intentionally committed plagiarism, claiming material from our site to be her own work. This is not the occasional incident, where the work was paraphrased. Every section on her site, the humor material, and even the name of her website is ours, WORD FOR WORD. She doesn't even provide her own email address, but someone else's, because she knows she's in the wrong.
For over three years, the editors past and present of EF have worked hard to come up with original material, and set new standards in humor sites. We've received numerous emails from other humor editors who were inspired and influenced to start their own humor sites, or expand on our ideas. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? NOT in this case.
"Bethany's" plagiarism is a downright insult to every editor that's ever worked at Everybody's Free. It's an insult to all our guest editors, and those who helped contribute ideas and information. It's an insult to you, the readers, some of whom have supported this site from the first day Brittany published it. Most importantly, it's an insult to ANYBODY who's ever put so much time and effort into something, only to have someone else credit it as their own.
Brittany and the previous editors have been contacted, but we'll need some help. We want you, the readers, to help us in trying to shut down "Bethany's" site. Sending emails to her coeditors is a good start, but sending emails to her web host will be better. Tell them to shut down her site on the grounds of plagiarism. Explain how she stole from us what we worked long and hard to accomplish. And if anybody knows any further information on who this girl is, and how we can contact her, let us know. And if all else fails, we will go straight to the top, because we have the resources and contacts to do so.
- "Bethany's" website: http://www.expage.com/i3aby
- Guilty persons alleged email addresses: Javenson89, OdysseyBaby, Rachae596 (all of them are AOL screen names "@aol.com")
- The sad thing? Olivia recognized one of those SN's as someone who has emailed and IMed her about the site. Sick.
- Tell EXPAGE to shut them down: expage.com
Please help us justify our case. Spread the word on your message boards, elists, groups, journals, zines and websites. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for supporting us all this time. You guys are what keeps us going.
Olivia, Allison, *Lucky, Tabz, BexXx, Mel, Julie
*NSYNC Jaded 'Everybody's Free [to make fun of nsync]'
