{"id":3236,"date":"2008-06-14T23:10:31","date_gmt":"2008-06-15T06:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=3236"},"modified":"2008-06-14T23:12:47","modified_gmt":"2008-06-15T06:12:47","slug":"dont-hang-vlad-zablotskyy-out-to-dry-making-a-donation-to-his-legal-defense-fund-is-what-matters-most-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3236\/dont-hang-vlad-zablotskyy-out-to-dry-making-a-donation-to-his-legal-defense-fund-is-what-matters-most-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Don&#8217;t hang Vlad Zablotskyy out to dry: Making a donation to his legal defense fund is what matters most right now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s what doesn&#8217;t matter:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.inman.com\/news\/2008\/06\/13\/eperks-sues-blogger-over-online-comments\" target=\"_blank\">ePerks.com and its sleazy attorney are trying to slime the webloggers who have come to Vlad Zablotskyy&#8217;s defense<\/a> &#8212; but it doesn&#8217;t matter.\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/digg.com\/world_news\/ePerks_Sues_Real_Estate_Blogger_Blogosphere_Unites\" target=\"_blank\">Andy Beard and others are trying to push this story viral in the world outside the RE.net<\/a> &#8212; but that&#8217;s ultimately beside the point.\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rsspieces.com\/write-a-post-supporting-your-fellow-real-estate-blogger-vlad-zablotskyy-in-his-battle-with-eperks-and-i-will-give-you-a-blog\" target=\"_blank\">RSSPieces is offering a free weblog to anyone who writes a post in Vlad&#8217;s support<\/a> &#8212; which is cool, but it doesn&#8217;t matter.\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/lordmatt.co.uk\/item\/1128\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lord Matt is offering free advertising on the same terms: Write a post, get free ads<\/a> &#8212; also cool, also doesn&#8217;t matter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what matters:<\/p>\n<p>Of the money Vlad Zablotskyy has had to spend so far on legal fees, three-fourths of every dollar has come out of his own pocket.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn&#8217;t matter who says what about whom. It doesn&#8217;t matter if this issue draws more attention up the food chain. It doesn&#8217;t matter if people write posts or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=3219\" target=\"_blank\">post the donation button<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But it <em>does<\/em> matter if you hang Vlad Zablotskyy out to dry.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t know if the cause is cowardliness or cliquishness or simply cluelessness, but I have been all but completely dismayed by the response of the RE.net to this vicious attack on one of our own. A few principled people stepped up to the plate right away &#8212; last week, but also in the months leading up to last week. A far greater number have ignored the issue, with the result that Vlad has found more vocal champions outside the real estate weblogging world.<\/p>\n<p>How sad for us that Vlad is willing to stand as a martyr for <em>our<\/em> right to speak as we choose, and we can&#8217;t even be bothered to make a donation in his defense &#8212; much less stand up on our own two legs and cry havoc &#8212; not even when we&#8217;re offered choice bribes for doing so!<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re alone right now, you and I, just words on phosphors silently invading your mind. I don&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re a coward, or if you&#8217;re clique-ridden or clueless. It suits me fine to think that you&#8217;ve been distracted, and you&#8217;ve been meaning all week to make a donation. That&#8217;s perfectly wonderful. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3236\/dont-hang-vlad-zablotskyy-out-to-dry-making-a-donation-to-his-legal-defense-fund-is-what-matters-most-right-now\/#more-3236\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s what doesn&#8217;t matter: ePerks.com and its sleazy attorney are trying to slime the webloggers who have come to Vlad Zablotskyy&#8217;s defense &#8212; but it doesn&#8217;t matter. Andy Beard and others are trying to push this story viral in the world outside the RE.net &#8212; but that&#8217;s ultimately beside the point. RSSPieces is offering a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,24,29,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-egoism-in-action","8":"category-group-therapy","9":"category-marketing","10":"category-real-estate","12":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3219,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3219\/support-the-vlad-zablotskyy-legal-defense-fund-a-real-estate-weblogger-is-being-throttled-by-corporate-bully-eperkscom-the-free-speech-rights-you-will-be-fighting-for-are-your-own\/","url_meta":{"origin":3236,"position":0},"title":"Support\u00a0the Vlad Zablotskyy Legal Defense Fund: A real estate weblogger is being throttled by corporate bully ePerks.com. The free speech rights you will be fighting for are your own&#8230;","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: It seems likely that Vlad's cost to defend himself from this specious claim (if you read the complaint, you will discover that the alleged offense is entirely absent from Exhibit A) is going to start with a $5,000 retainer. It seems unlikely to me that the matter will go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blogging&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6445,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/6445\/a-premium-appeal-for-vlad-zablotskyy-if-youll-give-200-to-his-defense-fund-well-give-you-a-set-of-bloodhoundblog-unchained-dvds\/","url_meta":{"origin":3236,"position":1},"title":"A premium appeal for Vlad Zablotskyy: If you&#8217;ll give $200 to his defense fund, we&#8217;ll give you a set of BloodhoundBlog Unchained DVDs","author":"Greg Swann","date":"January 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the biggest stories we followed in 2008 was Vlad Zablotskyy's legal battle with ePerks.com. The fight ended in a settlement, about which it were better for me to say nothing, but it suffices to say that ePerks has filed for bankruptcy. Working together, we raised a ton of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Egoism in Action&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Egoism in Action","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/egoism-in-action\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4345,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/4345\/once-more-unto-the-breach-for-vlad-and-for-your-right-to-free-speech\/","url_meta":{"origin":3236,"position":2},"title":"Once more unto the breach for Vlad &#8212; and for your right to free speech","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The good news is that Vlad Zablotskyy is nearing the end of his legal battles with ePerks.com. As you will recall, ePerks sued Vlad to try to compel him to squelch criticism of the lead vendor. That bad news is that Vlad has had to take a night job to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blogging&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2798,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2798\/memo-to-eperkscom-you-idiots-shooting-yourself-in-the-foot-in-public-is-a-poor-way-to-defend-your-reputation-such-as-it-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":3236,"position":3},"title":"Memo to ePerks.com: You idiots! Trying to censor a real estate weblogger is a poor way to defend your reputation &#8212; such as it is&#8230;","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"[I'm kicking this back up to the top. At the time I wrote this, I thought it might be enough to make the jackasses at ePerks.com come to their senses. Apparently not. If you are a real estate weblogger, and if you don't want some sleazoid attorney pulling these stunts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blogging&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3215,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3215\/is-eperkscoms-ben-behrouzi-infamous-for-trying-to-censor-a-real-estate-weblogger-stealing-content-from-mervyns-and-chevron\/","url_meta":{"origin":3236,"position":4},"title":"Is ePerks.com&#8217;s Ben Behrouzi, infamous for trying to censor a real estate weblogger, stealing content from Mervyns and Chevron?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"At his new web site, BrokerScience.com, Trace Richardson is on a tear. Trace got his teeth into the story of ePerks.com's attempts to silence real estate weblogger Vlad Zablotskyy with a cease and desist letter. Starting with an analysis of how ePerks has managed to achieve an orderly self-destruction, Trace\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blogging&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9863,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/9863\/my-september-and-what-i-learned\/","url_meta":{"origin":3236,"position":5},"title":"My September and what I learned&#8230;","author":"Eric Blackwell","date":"September 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This September has been my toughest in the last 43 that I have had. Not in the business sense, mind you. But I have been dealing with health issues that I now (thankfully) am well on the way to complete recovery from. I will be stronger than ever. Like most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Real Estate&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}