December 28, 2010

A few corrections to the latest Board Reports

note : I have yet to see a correction to the very first Board Minutes from many months ago where LR wrote that I had withheld passwords which was a LIE that has been permitted to stand on record, so I will post retractions and corrections here. For those that care about the truth.

Just read the latest Board Minutes and have a few corrections.

1. Dyebat will email GritsT to explain why the Vbulletin and Corporation payments are listed as assets. It was not a mistake.

2. The non-profit that some Staff intentionally delayed, that finally got pushed through when they created the July 18 incident, and most deserted the ship with PT telling Staff that I was keeping them out which is another lie....is a legal corporation. The paperwork to request tax-free status was never to be filed by me. I stay out of tax/financial stuff - other than helping set up and explain and train on the online process. Truus knows that as I spent over an hour explaining this and other stuff to her which is conveniently misrepresented.

There was no need to rush on the tax paperwork as there is a very long window in which to file - we had known it would likely be January before filing. 2010 would likely show a loss as the site was purchased for $8,000 with additional expenses of about $1,000 -and there was not going to be that much revenue in the part of 2010 that the site was owned by SBFII.

I advised on how to go about it and how best to approach it in order to pass the IRS requirements. FYI, gaining tax-free status typically takes a few months once you file.

3. "PT stated that the VodPod program lChris recommended is not
working and is, in fact, losing us money."

That is just a completely silly statement. I suggested it from the 3 possible alternatives to magnify - there are not many. Judy never adjusted the template (she said she and Dani would do this though I suggested that she outsource to a volunteer) to add any adsense or amazon or any monetization. So, with no way to earn money on this site - there is obviously no money being earned. Losing money? that's a stretch, even for PT.

4. "Outside investigator cannot find any evidence of wrongdoing, and if anything occurred the perpetrator has erased all traces."

The 'outside' investigator was a friend of PT's and was doing the investigation from her home, LOL. Never questioned anyone involved in the incident, never looked at the data. PT even managed to convince an IT Pro that there was something wrong in the upgrade process and that somehow data would be lost if it was 'fixed'. I never upgraded on the original site. Never touched it. No IT Pro would have upgraded on top of that site. No IT Pro would ever lose any data as they would have made backups and tested - as I did. It took the better part of 1 day to get the 750Megs of data to pass my tests before beginning the actual upgrade on a fresh install.

5. Just a personal observation about the finances. No paperwork was ever given to Dyebat for the $4000 that was paid to the previous owner by the Staff's representative, a member that requested anonymity. In fact, it took many months and many requests to get the Staff to provide the breakdown of their side of the transaction. Interesting, huh? There were delays on providing or sharing any information with Dyebat and/or myself from the beginning.

When I say there was a pattern of intention to deceive, I mean just that.

I think I have given people enough time to tell the truth, retract some lies, and tell the rest of the story, yet they continue to perpetuate the lies.

December 19, 2010

Message from the Bus Driver...

Since the lease ran out and the door was locked on the old garage where the Bus was parked, I went looking for a new garage, and found one here.  I'll be bringing a few old mileage logs along from Japan and New York City, but if you've already read them, they can be ignored.

It's a lot easier to drive on a road that's not full of potholes,  so I appreciate the friendly upbeat atmosphere at the new garage.

As always, any Susan Boyle fansite may repost my Bus Sagas.

The new public Susan Boyle Fan forum is just the first of several new sites that are in development by various fans in our community.

lchris and I are happy to help the new (or old) sites in any way we can. We have some wonderful public and private fansites in our community already. But, who can complain about more Susan Boyle fansites popping up? It's all good!

Please note:  the Bus Driver really likes to hear from quiet passengers (aka lurkers); I promise not to throw you under the Bus!

December 16, 2010

About that Paypal Money...

I removed a comment earlier today. The poster of that comment received an email from Kalua that she would be banned for giving false and libelous information. The poster had asked a question about possible use of the funds, given the timing of the Paypal password change. It was posed as a question, and was a reasonable question given the circumstances. The poster even used her own blog ID which linked to her username in use at the forum. No subterfuge at all.

Kalua also mentioned that she would look like a fool when he posts the receipt to the charity.

So, if I am understanding this situation correctly...

  • The Paypal password was changed (Tuesday evening) and the Board member that is Treasurer was not informed.
  • The 2 members of the Financial Team responsible for financial transparency were not informed.
  • Based on what the OFFICIAL password holder (Board Member) posted in the resignation thread, she was not informed.
  • Dyebat was reconciling the PayPal funds at the time of the lockout.
  • There was a KNOWN legal issue about the designation of donated funds and the process that several Board members and Staff REFUSED to address. 
  • I won't bore you with all the details, but I had made a valiant effort to prevent the Donate Button sagas. All documented. Over a period of several months.

So, rather than letting the monies get properly reconciled to be legally usable...I am locked out, the Treasurer and Financial team are locked out and kept out of the way while monies are pulled out of PayPal and distributed???

The purpose of the withdrawal may be noble, though I doubt a court of law would have too much trouble determining intent to defraud and probably stuff like commingling of funds, etc..


Kalua, I know that most members don't care about such things at all.

The rest of us think you (not the poster of that comment) look like a fool.

December 15, 2010

The Bus Will Go On!

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you some good news about Dyebat's bus.

Last night staff closed the Dyebat's Bus thread at SBFII.  However, I have found a new site (not this one) to park the bus.  The site will be open in a day or 2,  and we'll go on a new little trip.  I'll keep you posted as soon as I gas up (hmmm . . .that might have some  interpretations along the lines of Susan's transAtlantic fart,  but that's NOT what I mean) and get the engine running.  Pack your suitcases!

December 14, 2010

Backward, Turn Backward, O Time in Your Flight

I just realized that some readers here may not have seen our resignations from the SBFII site,  so I'm posting it here.  Those who've seen it, just wait for the next installment.  I'm seemingly going backward in time sequence, but I'd like to comment on the most recent events while they're fresh in my mind.  This provides a reference for all.

Message from Dyebat, (and Lchris, and Citroenlady) to all members

On May 16, 2010, you placed your trust in Lchris and me to coordinate efforts to secure this site at auction. If successful in our bid, we were to create a non-profit corporation to 'own' the site on behalf of members. An initial Board would be appointed to manage the site.

Staff (members that volunteer) approached me to place a joint bid. I agreed, but with a few conditions.

Given our history with the previous owner, I insisted on financial transparency.

On Wednesday, December 8, at 12:42am I sent the following PM to Cicichi, Pickled Tink, Truus Buist (cc'd to GritsT for info purposes as she is part of the financial team)

Financial passwords

This is probably just an oversight, but I have not yet received the new passwords for 2 of the financial sites: AdSense and Paypal. The one for Adsense is the same as that for our gmail account: susanboylefansnp@gmail.com. I have finished with AdSense for this month, but still need Paypal to enter all the individual donations (about 120) that were made in October and November. There is a balance of $704.21 in that account after the purchase of the mirror, so it must be determined what those who made the excess contributions done with it.

I would like these passwords before Thursday so I can finish the data entry, and GritsT can do the reconciliations.

Thanks, Mary Jo



No response after 48 hours.

I sent a second request via email at 10:10am today - to Cicichi, Pickled Tink, Truus Buist, Kalua (cc'd to GritsT for info purposes as she is part of the financial team)

Recently you changed the passwords to SBFII's Paypal and Adsense accounts, but did not send the new passwords to me, thereby preventing me from carrying out my responsibilities for financial accountability to the members. I requested them by PM on this forum on Wednesday, December 8, as soon as I found I was locked out. You did not respond.

This is the second request. Please send them immediately upon receipt of this email.

Mary Jo Burke (dyebat)


Cicichi replied that she also did not have the passwords. She is the Treasurer of SBFII.

I am resigning from both my financial responsibilities and from this forum because all 3 members of the Financial Team have been locked out of financial accounts for the last 3 days without our prior knowledge or consent.

This action is in clear violation of the original agreement with the staff before the auction. In return for giving the staff the majority of seats on the Board, I was to have responsibility for financial accountability and transparency.

Since I have been prevented by administrators and moderators from carrying out my promise to you members, I am dissociating myself completely from the forum, as future legal action would create a conflict of interest.

I have posted last month’s financial reports which are only partially complete and correct because staff prevented me from entering all the individual Paypal donations. There is a balance of $704.21 in that account after the purchase of the mirror, so it must be determined what those who made the excess contributions want done with it. The accounts could not be reconciled for the same reason; GritsT was locked out.

More information will be available on other sites.

Lchris was stripped of access and her position on Tuesday, December 7th, without cause or consultation. Not by her request. Despite what you are being led to believe. The 'upgrade is completed' story is also a deflection of the truth.

Citroenlady was fired from her appointed position of Ombudsman/Chairperson of the Member Appeals Process on July . Not by her request, FYI.

The new Forum Rules and Sanctions Policy posted today include sections that prevent us from clearing our names, and those of others wrongly accused.

Many of you have also noticed the increased and disturbing level of censorship and control of information on the forum. As we can no longer fulfill our promise of transparency and provide you with "the truth, as best as we can determine it" as members, we (Lchris, Citroenlady, Dyebat) must resign. Effective immediately.

As non-members, we have more options ethically and legally available to us. We remain committed to fulfilling our promise to all of you, and to resolving the issues in the most positive way for all members.

note : Rest assured. If this post is deleted or edited or altered in any way, we will send a mass email to update all members. You placed your trust in us and we have an obligation to keep you all informed.
 

December 13, 2010

Quick update on Financial matters

I have been informed today that the member who was my financial assistant  has not been given the passwords yet and may not be given them. She has been informed that she won't know if "they"  want her to continue until after the next Board meeting,  but doesn't know when that will be.  Questions to be asked:  Who made the decision to not give her the passwords, as she is next in line to manage finances?  Was that decision authorized by the Board or even the Treasurer?  Or have the administrators and staff acted on their own without authority?   Who is now overseeing the finances of the site?  Are the foxes now guarding the henhouse?

I have more to write on what has transpired to destroy financial accountability on that site from the beginning to the present, but I have to consult quite a few meeting transcripts and emails.

December 12, 2010

Our Story : Preamble

lchris and I will begin telling our story shortly. I will also write more about the financial situation in my next post, but this needs to come first.


When I spoke out to coordinate an auction bid for members, I meant all members, including members that volunteer, also known as Staff.

When Staff approached me to join together in the bid, I did so in good faith.

I believed that all Staff was acting in good faith. I believed they would keep their word and that they had the good of all the members in mind.

I know now that this was false. All Staff were not honest. All Staff were not acting in good faith.


I kept my promises, to you and to them.  I bought the site.  I created the non-profit, registered it in the midst of an attack on the site by the Staff, and despite their actions, gave them the extra seat on the board needed to control it, and appointed the existing administrator Director of the Board..  That was the agreement I made to them. Once the non-profit was finally established, I sold the site to it for $1.00.  That completed my promises to you.

But many promises made to me and you by the Staff and/or the Board were not kept. 

Recently, I was intentionally prevented from maintaining oversight of the finances, and lchris was intentionally removed from having access to all of SBFII accounts.

Some will try and spin these incidents as non-issues or trivial, but they are not.

They are a continuation of a pattern of deception with intent to defraud that lchris and I have dealt with for over 6 months.We will post the chronology of events tomorrow so that you can see why this is actually very important.

It is just one example of why we fought so hard for transparency.
And why you must continue demanding transparency from the Staff and the Board.

lchris and I resigned for legal and ethical reasons. Because we promised to tell you the truth and we were not free to do so as long as we were still members.

As always, we remain 100% committed to supporting SBFII and all members. We have joined other sites (some under construction) as we do intend to remain in the SB community. We are not in any way advocating that you leave SBFII over this situation.

It's a great site. It houses the most fans, and the most comprehensive news and content for Susan Boyle. Please don't let a few wrong-headed people drive you out.

You won the site at auction. It is yours.

If anyone did anything behind the scenes to manipulate that auction, it wouldn't be legal.

The site is yours. Managed by the 7 member Board.

The Board has COMPLETE oversight. Not the Staff.

Know that the majority of the Staff and Board (and some members) of SBFII have been conned and are good people.

Wherever possible, we will leave you out of our story. There will be no real names, addresses, photos or other personal identifying data - this is the live and open Internet.

Yet, as we are unable to get retractions of false accusations against us (and others), we will need to post data that proves us innocent of the false charges.

December 10, 2010

List of Susan Boyle Fansites version 2.0

There are many resources for Susan Boyle fans online. This list will be updated regularly. Submit sites for inclusion here. We are a fandom - we all share the same goal.

OFFICIAL SITES
Susan Boyle OS
New official site (OS), finally! Much cleaner and simpler. News, messages from Susan Boyle, Videos, Photos, Blog with comments. No more forum.
Susan Boyle Official Facebook
Susan Boyle Official YouTube

PUBLIC FAN SITES

Susan Boyle Fansite

First Susan Boyle fan site online. Built on magnify.net. Largest Susan Boyle video collection, The Subo-Gazette, Blog archive.
The SBFII Channel (YouTube)
Susan Boyle Fansite Forum
The largest and most controversial fan forum. Lots of content and archives. Often gets the latest news before any official sites. History of protecting Susan Boyle and her management teams, at the expense of fans and their safety. Beware of bullying.

Susan Boyle Fans Forum
Knudt and Citroenlady host this Susan Boyle fan forum (SMF platform) as an 'amnesty', created in late 2010...a fresh start for fans from the series of horrific incidents and rampant bullying condoned through much of the Susan Boyle fandom. All fans are welcome here, regardless of faction or history. There is one rule in this forum - respect for all. Discuss, argue, disagree, with respect. Zero tolerance for bullying, stalkers, harassers.
Susan Boyle Fans Forum Facebook

Fans For Susan Boyle Forum
Created by Lorias on ning. One of the oldest Susan Boyle fan sites. Lots of news, videos, blogs with comments, forum, chat. Retired In Kalifornia (RIK) Hosts Chat Nightly 9:00 p.m. To 12 a.m. U.S.A. Eastern Time.

Fans For Susan Boyle, Too! Forum

RIK manages and updates this ning site. Lots of news, videos, blogs with comments, forum, chat. Retired In Kalifornia (RIK) Hosts Chat Nightly 9:00 p.m. To 12 a.m. U.S.A. Eastern Time.

Susan Boyle Real Fans Forum
Ning site created by Bree in October 2009. With a couple of exceptions  (Groups, Member Profiles) Membership is not required to view content, casual visitors are welcome. The site is open to all, nothing is hidden. There is a contact us option if people want to make a comment about the site but don’t wish to join. .

Susan Boyle Fan Club Forum (unofficial)
An older site. Not updated very often.


PRIVATE FORUMS
SusaHumor
DJG created and hosts this forumotion site. Spoofs and humor directed at Susan Boyle, Team<s> Subo, and fans. Some sections and content open to the public.

The Duende
Luz and Tonnie created/manage this justgoo forum. Some areas open to the public.

Fans4Subo
Sassy (and Hubby) created and host this PhpBB forum. Some areas are open to the public

VIDEO SITES
TommyUSA's :
The Amazing Susan Boyle Forum

1125 members. Blog with active member comment areas. Prayer friendly.

YOUTUBE SITES
The new Pub
New hangout for fans that used to chat at the original YouTube audition video.

BLOGS
A Susan Boyle Fan Site

Indiana : Susan Boyle Fans

Susan Boyle Fan Club USA

Susan Boyle Site

MAURO
SITES
Blog : Susan Boyle Voice of The Heart
VodPod Mauro (VodPod videos)
Susan Boyle Fan In The World Channel (YouTube videos)
The Voice of the Heart (Magnify.net videos)
Mauro Channel (Vimeo videos)
Susan Boyle Fan Nel Mundo (Mauro Facebook Group)

CHARITABLE SITES
Kiva : Team Susan Boyle

FANDOM NEWS / COMMENTARY
MISC
Best Susan Boyle Remixes : Wild Horses and Proud

Fred O'Neil : Susan Boyle's Former Voice Coach

December 8, 2010

Thank you dyebat

note: my reply to your post quickly became too long for the comments area.

Your words always move me. I am humbled. Was it worth it? If I took nothing away from this experience but the honor of being your sidekick and your friend, the answer would have to be yes. Hell, yes!

But there is so much more.

We stepped into a long-standing and complicated set of issues that we did not expect. Some of it unpleasant, some much much worse. You never backed down. Your steadfast courage, diligence and integrity inspires me. Thank YOU.

The original goal of a united community is still a work in progress. We have raised awareness. We have deterred a once-prolific serial cyber-stalker, cyber-bully. I know that we (with CL) will follow that case to the end. For Susan Boyle, her family/friends, her management teams/employers, and the entire SB online community. The story will be public at some point to prevent this from happening to any other communities online. Laws and online safety practices must change to reflect this new type of 'troll'.

You stepped up to save the site for members. All members. When Staff approached you for a joint bid, you accepted. In good faith.

You were as eager as I to work with Staff to move forward together.

A few Staff with ulterior motives and an unprecedented dearth of integrity, along with the undue corporate influence and the cyber-bully split this community long ago, hurting a lot of people along the way. They have worked hard to discredit us and make us the enemy.

We are not the first, nor will we be the last to be discredited for attempting to share some truths, and/or unite this community.

The 'spin' on certain events has been believed by good people that are guilty of being too naive and trusting. They were conned.

We will continue to post the 'rest of the story' on our own blogs. For those of you that do care to know more.

The Board has voted to relieve me of all access and duties for SBII. I remain in service to the entire Susan Boyle online community. Including SBFII. If they should need me, they know they can call on me to help. I will also volunteer to any open SB site run by fans for fans. For technical or marketing support. Sites in fandoms don't compete. They share a common goal. Each site contributes something valuable to the community.

The SBFII forum has the most comprehensive collection of news and videos and historical SB info. They get 'leaks' and Susan Boyle visits. Yet, they need not be the only place in the community to congregate. Our community is diverse. SBFII is too responsive to corporate wishes. Some conversations and members are 'silenced'. Member safety is not the priority. This will not likely change. It started with the previous owner. Know this, accept this, and proceed accordingly.

Please acknowledge that SBFII has also made many positive changes long requested by members. Here are just a few...Discontinuing paid Red Room membership, eliminating many obnoxious adverts, increasing PM mailbox capacity, alternatives to outright banning of members, and the eventual return of most previously banned members. The member appeals process is delayed but still a goal shared by SBFII Staff/Board. I will restate what I have said since May. The former/present Staff/Board are the most dedicated volunteers I have ever worked with. I mean that. Given my extensive history of working with volunteers, that is the highest compliment I can give.

Take the good with the bad.

Dyebat, Knudt, Citroenlady and I will continue to analyze and post information.
We want the truth. We want retractions of some of the known lies. We want the community to move forward, wiser from what we have learned and experienced. We have no interest in hurting anyone. We could have just posted tons of data (files, chats, emails, etc..) and exacerbated the situation. We could have filed criminal charges against some of you. We are interested in solutions. Positive solutions.

Dyebat, our story isn't finished. SBFII's story isn't finished. The SB online community's story isn't finished.

I have spoken, corresponded, worked, argued, laughed, trained and shared with many members in the SB community over the past 6 months. Though technically a member from day one myself, I was never really involved in the community aspect. Dropped my news/twitter contributions and left.

I am a 'real' member now. Not because I spent a lot of time helping dyebat with the auction, or the Staff with the transition. Along the way, I got to know a lot of 'avatars' and you all became real people that I care about.

A popular professional singer once said "You never give up on anyone, you never give up on yourself". She's right.

Dyebat, I know you. You won't give up.

December 7, 2010

Thank you, lchris

Posting here what I just posted on the susan-boyle forum, in case it get deleted

Thank you again, lchris, for so many things, the best of which was becoming my friend, and remaining so through hard times.  The next best was sharing my vision that this site could be a democratic non-profit run by and for fans.  That vision has not been shared by everyone. Even if the former monarch abdicated his throne, there is still the conflict between democracy and aristocracy, which exists everywhere.

Every person on the Board owes her or his position to you.  The non-profit was finally registered during the turmoil immediately following July 18.  We had a very brief window of opportunity to get things moving, so there was no time for elections.  You and I hand-picked every member of the Board, trying to keep our promise to give the majority of seats to the staff (most of whom had abandoned ship at that time), and also individuals from among the members who we thought were unbiased enough to represent all of us.  In order to keep our promise, we included staff members who had publicly called us liars just days before and a general member who has just now called you a liar, after removing your access to  the backup data needed to prove your point..  So if you (the collective you, not lchris) don’t like the Board, blame it on us.

You have tracked & opposed the cyber-bully/cyber-stalker at every point, unearthing his many aliases (24 on this site alone.).  With no further access to the back end, of course you will not be able to warn members against him in the future as you have in the past, That will allow everyone to follow the advice given to the Board by Sony’s legal staff (which PT told us she had solicited) to just ignore him while he goes about his dirty work.  Fortunately you were able to document his prior activities, and turn that data over to the police.  Subsequent attempts to alter that data can’t change the original backups.

Most people will never know what you gave up to keep this site alive and well.  You lost 6 months of your life.  Working here instead of at your own business, missing your bike riding & kayaking, not getting to watch your most favorite sporting event, the World Cup, losing precious time with your international friends on the rare occasions they could
come to see you.  So much, so much.  A perfunctory paragraph of gratitude does not begin to do you justice.  Fortunately, tears on a keyboard don’t do as much damage as they do to paper; otherwise I would have to throw away the sheet & start over again.

So, was it worth it?  Did we accomplish what we set out to do?  No.  Not now.  Maybe someday.  Maybe never.  But you have accomplished other things along the way, and  I know you will continue to do so.  You can rest from the duties you took up to save this site.  Sometimes detours open up wonders the main road would never let us experience.  For all of us here, and on every site for Susan, remember,  “When the world comes in to build a wall between us, you know they won’t win”.

December 6, 2010

FYI : Message From The Board

date Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 9:09 PM
subject Message from The Board.

To Chris,aka.LChris.
Dear Chris.
On behalf of The Board,I want to thank you,along with Dyebat, for all that you have done during and after the auction to help this forum to become owned by the members.We greatly appreciate the work that you did.
In recent posts you have indicated that once the forum upgrade was completed,that you would like to return to your normal life,which is understandable.
In the most recent Board meeting,we unanimously decided that your Super Admin privileges should be removed and all of your previous responsibilities will revert to the Tech Staff.
Once again,I wish to thank you,on behalf of The Board,for your invaluable skills,time and dedication,which has helped to make our website the biggest and best Susan Boyle fansite in The World.
Your's Sincerely.
John V.
Vice Chair,SBFII.

note: Guess this means that they still refuse to retract the lies in the Board Report of the July Incident.

I also wonder if John V. has a reasonable explanation for downloading 2 Gigs of data from the server in July 2010?

Don’t Push the River; It Flows by Itself

Today was lovely—brilliant sun on yesterday’s snowfall, still fresh and untrodden. Knitting a sweater for Afghans for Afghans, while drinking eggnog and listening to Christmas carols—my son-in-law is from Hawaii and we traded Yuletide cd’s this year. He got Susan and I got slack-key guitar. Such positive feelings that I did not want to come back and deal with the negative past. It won’t go away, but you can leave it a little wiser.


I’ll be wandering all over the map here, but there are a number of themes that keep popping up like detours on the road. Undue influence. Branding. Crowd control. Spin. From the first meeting with some of the staff of the susan-boyle forum regarding the purchase of the site, these were evident. “DJG’ers” were branded as evil. Members were an unruly mob that could not be trusted to vote for board members. “I don’t want that sword hanging over my head”, said one admin. Only the existing staff, and later, maybe a few hand-picked followers, were capable of running the site. (In point of fact, for at least a month after the site was purchased, the only person capable of keeping the site running was lchris. The previous owner had not trained even the admins in the technical aspects. lchris trained them.) And the admin on the official Sony site should be an admin on the forum, to make sure the corporate message was adhered to.


Lchris and I were a bit out of place in that milieu. We came in with the naive idealism that the site could be run by fans for fans as a democratic, non-profit enterprise. We were met with one admin’s idea of a private corporation with shares owned by the staff, and total control invested in them. This was, and still is, the basis for the “power struggle” within that site—those who wanted a site run by and for fans, with all the mess that might entail, & those who wanted tight control over that site, in accordance with the interests of Sony & Susan’s management. In return for adherence to those standards, the staff would have limited direct access to Susan, to be doled out to members.


Under normal circumstances this might have been workable, if occasionally uncomfortable for those most interested in free speech. However, this shaky collaboration between these 2 opposing points of view came under attack by our vicious cyber-stalker/cyber-bully whom I call the dementor. He is an expert at locating the weak points of his victims, and striking there. He apparently convinced the staff that lchris and I did not represent the members as a whole, but were only interested in power for ourselves, which we planned to wrest from the existing staff. Since it seems that at least some of the existing staff were so invested in retaining power & control for themselves, it was easy to convince them that we (and the “DJG’ers”) wanted the same thing. Therefore we needed to be stopped at all costs, and the uproar on July 18 ensued.


Back to the title. The music industry has been accused of “manufacturing” so-called talent, and of manipulating the buying public into supporting these instant stars. The outrage among musicians not in the corporate limelight reached a peak last year with the movement to make Rage Against the Machine the #1 Christmas single in the UK rather than the usual winner from the X-Factor. Joe McElderry (sp?) a nice young man with a pleasant voice, didn’t get #1, and I guess they proved a point, but so what? The corporate music factory keeps on running.


My point is that Susan doesn’t need branding, undue influence, crowd control (well, maybe when fans get too demanding in asking for hugs) or spin, to be wildly successful. She is a force of nature, like a river. What you see is what you get. She isn’t manufactured and neither is her fans’ love for her. Trying to make a website into a mouthpiece for corporate control isn’t necessary. We might comment on or even criticize her musical choices, her hair style, her clothes, her weight, or even her preferences in men, but it’s like doing the same to one of our beloved family members. We want her to be the best singer and the happiest person that she can be, and we don’t need any P.R. person telling us how to behave. We’re responsible for her success, not any marketing scheme. And when someone attacks our members, as the dementor has, the corporate entities either need to cooperate or get out of our way while we protect one another.


Susan and her fans are unique. We are changing the music industry organically, spontaneously. The industry powers and pundits have a choice: go with the flow or be left high and dry. And that includes websites.