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These days the best friends you can have are Sea Monkeys. They never borrow your car and crash it, write about you on their blog, or sleep with losers and then pass along what they catch from them to you. Sea Monkeys. They rule. |
Posted on 10/13/2007 3:29:18 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Amway sues to ID bloggers
Saturday, October 13, 2007
By Chris Knape
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND HAVEN -- The case could be called Amway versus the Internet, or some might argue, Amway versus free speech.
The Ada Township-based multi-level marketing giant this week filed a sweeping suit in Ottawa County Circuit Court against 30 people classified as John Does for disparaging the company in blogs, online forums and YouTube videos.
The suit, filed by Quixtar, the online version of Alticor Inc.'s Amway business, asks the court for an injunction and damages of more than $25,000 against the anonymous posters.
The company is planning to ask the court to approve subpoenas of companies ranging from godaddy.com to YouTube to figure out who posted the materials, said spokesman Rob Zeiger.
The company believes the videos and other postings are part of an organized effort by former distributors, including Orrin Woodward, of Grand Blanc, under court order not to disparage the company or disclose proprietary information.
"Quixtar has attempted to identify the various defendants by reviewing the offending Web sites, blogs and videos," according to the suit.
"Due to the policies of the Internet service providers, which host the various Web sites, blogs and videos, Quixtar has been unable to identify the responsible parties."
The postings referenced in the suit include videos, such as one by someone calling himself "Hooded Angry Man" where an unidentifiable man wearing a "Property of Quixtar" shirt rants about Quixtar rules and its history.
In the YouTube video "Shameus McSteeley: Quixtar vs. Meijer," a man with a fake Irish accent compares prices of products available at Meijer with much higher-priced Quixtar products.
His face isn't shown in the video.
Not all of the Web sites named in the suit seem to be run anonymously.
For instance, the blog at quixtartoday.blogspot.com outwardly purports to be produced by a man named Ed Manley, a former Amway distributor now affiliated with a competing firm.
The company said the case is not an effort to squelch individual criticism or the free speech rights of its distributors or critics, merely to flush out people associated with Woodward who might be violating a court order forbidding use of proprietary Quixtar materials and disparagement of the company.
Woodward's attorney, D.J. Poyfair, said he had not seen the case and declined to comment.
Poyfair said he is meeting with regulators to discuss the allegation Quixtar is an illegal pyramid scheme.
He also said he plans to file a case with a court-ordered arbitrator making similar allegations in an effort to help Quixtar distributors get away from the company.
If wrong, Amway will apologize
Zeiger said the company will apologize and pay any costs incurred by any of the John Does who turn out not to be tied to Woodward and his TEAM organization of distributors.
"An individual who is expressing their own opinion, we don't have a problem with that," Zeiger said. "They're not doing anything wrong.
"We think people are abusing the online dialog by doing something on someone else's (Woodward and/or other TEAM members) payroll or someone else's dime."
He said the Internet case was filed in Ottawa County so as not to slow down a pending case against Woodward and other former distributors in Kent County.
The company fired Woodward and several other prominent distributors and forbid him from using TEAM-produced sales training and motivational materials in connection with events for distributors.
What irony. A bunch of Amway clones got sued for slandering Proctor and Gamble.
And the guy in the mall told me that Quixtar is NOT Amway. It must be true.
Quixtar is NOT Amway. Quixtar was started by the Amway families, with Amway money and using the Amway manufacturing facilities and Amway lines of sponsorship. But it is “not Amway.”
On the other hand though, they announced last month that the Quixtar name is being retired and they WILL again be Amway in the next 18 months.
Anyway, I wonder how successful WalMart has ever been in IDing anti-WalMart bloggers.
The company said the case is not an effort to squelch individual criticism or the free speech rights of its distributors or critics, merely to flush out people associated with Woodward who might be violating a court order forbidding use of proprietary Quixtar materials and disparagement of the company
Unauthorized use of copyrighted material. Even Walmart is allowd to sue for something like this. Don't try to make it something it's not. And they are not an illegal pyramid. Corporate America is an illegal pyramid. Ask yourself this, what do you have to do to get ahead in your career? Honest hard work or dealing ruthlessly with your peers/subordinates/co-workers? (or both)?
Dare to be great.
I am glad someone is trying to find a way to go after those who abuse the internet by way of anonymous trashing of another person or company without any fear of retribution. I have seen and heard of many instances where these faceless assassins maliciously trash undeserving people and when the victims ask for relief from the owners of the blogs or service providers, they are told the federal law says you can’t sue us (meaning we are safe so we aren’t going to tell you who the abuser is). That has just cried out for a way to get to these people.
I don’t believe everyone’s identity should be revealed; just those who cross the line and commit actual defamation or violate other laws.
Given the noise level of the internet, these bloggers are more akin to someone on the third deck at a crowded football game screaming "you suck" at the quarterback.
Unless there's proprietary info involved, the corps are better served by ignoring the dolts, if, like the quarterback, they can even hear them.
Ok, here goes. Not what it seems. These guys (Woodward, et al) were a significant part of the problem most folks associated with Amway (we’re not Amway, cultish practices, etc). Finally, tired of their misleading and potentially illegal practices, Amway terminated these guys, too late for most of us. This was a step in the right direction for critics who have long wondered whether Amway would police its own organization.
Look for more house cleaning as the corporation re-asserts itself as the controlling entity.
Yeah, yeah, I know....heard and read it all, experienced some of it. Just wanted to add some perspective on this particular issue. This is a positive step for the corporation in keeping with long held demands of critics.
Multi-level marketing organizations often have greater incentives for recruitment than product sales. They are a creepy way to make a buck.
Amway products are great! That’s a given. I got suckered into the “Network 21” scheme a while back. They told us NOT to tell prospective victims that we were connected with Amway. One time an unsuspecting person showed up and when she found out it was Amway, she was really mad, got up and walked out. They actually used to tell us to lie - well not actually lie but withhold the truth to get people there. Too bad Amway has such a bad image because as I said the products are wonderful.
Anyway, Network 21 turned out to be a rah rah pep talk way to sell books and tapes and make people rich at the top. Also, they will wash your brain if you let ‘em.
if they are so Honest....why do they keep changing their name and starting the same business all over again???
because they are Not....
Whats so bad with SCAMWAY?
I hate it when “friends” pretend they’re inviting you for dinner and then you have to sit through a couple hours of introduction to MLM and they’re marginal product demo’s.
The 2nd time I fell for this crap, it was a Medical Doctor pretending to have a “new business opportunity”. None of the preview material hinted at MLM or Amway.
Imagine my surprise when my Podiatrist showed up a half hour later!
He was using his friggen patient files to shill his “partner’s” MLM, WHICH IN FACT WAS AMWAY!!!!
I was MUCH less diplomatic in departing that scene!
They’re lucky I didn’t report them for misuse of patient files!
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These days the best friends you can have are Sea Monkeys. They never borrow your car and crash it, write about you on their blog, or sleep with losers and then pass along what they catch from them to you. Sea Monkeys. They rule. |
Saundra,
“They actually used to tell us to lie - well not actually lie but withhold the truth to get people there. “
This amway tactic sounds a lot like “milk before meat”, no?
I’ve notice the Herbalife crowd has a new generation of folks who apparently are young enough to remember the last go-around of the organization.
As for Amway and its front organizations, I have no regard for an outfit that has to use deception to get in the door.
“I hate it when “friends” pretend they’re inviting you for dinner and then you have to sit through a couple hours of introduction to MLM and they’re marginal product demo’s.”
Years ago there was a group of them at a church I attended. It’s despicable.
“This is a positive step for the corporation in keeping with long held demands of critics.”
Yeah, you’re right, it only came 25 years too late.
I knew lots of folks who “sold Amway” in the 60’s and 70’s, including my parents. It was kinda like Fuller Brush — you went door to door, selling to friends and friends-of-friends, etc.
Sadly, somewhere in the late ‘70’s the pyramid MLM people got hold of the thing, and the emphasis became recruiting, not selling (as if recruiting wasn’t a form of sales?). That’s when I lost all respect, ESPECIALLY when my friends outright lied about what they were doing and why I was getting a dinner invite.
My standard response to all MLM people became, “If I’m gonna go into business with you, then I need to know the financials. Show me your income tax returns where you have a profit in this stuff, and I’ll consider joining up with you.” I never had anyone want me to show up to dinner after that.
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