Freedom of Expression
  Written By Raven

It has been said that we, as a world people, have the right and the freedom to express our feelings, give out our opinions, using whatever language we choose, conveying our thoughts however we wish. After all, this is the free world.

So, what does 'free' really mean? Are we truly free to spew forth innuendo without substantiation? I think not. It seems to me there are groups on the message boards, who give little to no thought to the words that they write. Blanket statements without evidence are carelessly written without a single solitary fact to prove the accusations.

What allows us to do this? Is it the anonymity of the Internet? Or is there something more pervasive and sinister going on?

I'm beginning to believe that there are those who just don't get it. Just because we are guaranteed the right to speak does not mean we need to speak irresponsibly.

Words are very powerful. Eloquence is an art form. Accusations, flung across the message boards are rarely taken seriously by those who understand this industry, but are absorbed by the wide-eyed innocents who are just starting out. The new ones, who don't have a clue, are like sponges, trying to process information about which they can do nothing, except believe or reject. They don't know enough to do either; yet, they listen and take in the words carelessly tossed into the atmosphere as gospel. Why? I think, mostly because the words come from those who got here before they did. A year from now, they might laugh at what they believed in the early days of their careers, that is, if they are still around. Some, however, will carry these beliefs with them throughout time, never knowing whether they heard words of truth or the angry musings of one who had a bad day.

There are some truths that need to be spoken aloud. Warnings about webmasters and sponsor programs and processors who are outright thieves help us, as a group, to avoid getting burned and losing the money we work so hard to earn. At some point, the rotten apples are weeded out. There are enough watchdogs who sniff out the truth, provide the proof, until it is impossible for the perpetrator to hide.

The key word to my entire diatribe, such as it is, is the word proof. There was a fellow by the name of Mark Shae. Most of us who knew about him, knew he was bad news. By the end of the story, the newspapers reported what we already had spread from webmaster to webmaster, board to board. Warnings were whispered or shouted, so that others could avoid dealing with this crooked businessman. In the end, he was ruined. In the end, he died. Literally. By the time he met with his untimely end, the word, like wildfire, had spread. So many had lost money because of his unethical behaviours. Shouting out was the right move to make. Our freedom to speak against another was utilised well. Those who didn't listen fell into the pit. Those who were wise, avoided his con.

On the other side, there are those who, for reasons known only to them, whose experiences with business are so skewed, scream about fraudulent activities committed by webmasters, sponsors, and third party processors. Their beliefs are so firmly in place, I wonder whether they truly have thought this up on their own or are just spouting the ravings of parents or peers during their developmental stages. Perhaps a father or mother was fired by a big business concern and they were taught to blame anyone bigger than them. The haves versus the have nots. So few enter this business with any clear understanding of how business really works.

When conversion ratios are off, the hue and cry is the sponsor must be cheating. No other explanation will suffice. It doesn't matter that some niches are seasonal, sometimes routers go down, occasionally phone lines are knocked out. Shit does happen, to speak in the vernacular. There are a million reasons for stats to be off, not the least of which might be the poor marketing skills of the ones whose stats are awry. The immediate fault is the third party billing company or their employees who are diligently working against company policy, lining their own pockets with the spoils from the switch they pull, divvying up sales. Like Solomon, the accountants and other white collar employees are giving one sale to the webmaster, one to the sponsor, one to the billing company and one to themselves. Or more, if they're greedy. The higher echelon knows nothing of this deviant activity. They are busily screwing the sponsor programs or each other. So much screwing, it's a wonder anyone makes money at all.

This article's purpose is not to debate whether or not companies cheat and scheme against the poor webmaster.

What this article hopes to accomplish is to caution everyone to be careful. Without proof, it is libelous to accuse. If the injured party decides to sue for loss of business, he/she has the written word to use as evidence against the one who has started the smear campaign. Message board posts are admissible in court. When someone doesn't take the time to gather objective evidence, all one is left with is supposition, hypothesis, and guesses. If those are based on belief, rather than solid proof, a reputation can be ruined.

The day is coming when our litigious society moves to message boards. When, suddenly, one day, you are served with papers for defamation of character because you ran off at the mouth, exercising your 'freedom' of speech. Forgetting that others have the freedom of recourse.

We are blessed with certain freedoms. Exercising restraint is also a freedom of choice. It is not always in one's best interests to put into writing that which can bite us in the ass later. Especially when the allegations might just be false.

In closing, I want to address the beauty of our system of checks and balances. When a company is fraudulent, the word does get out. The whisper stream is alive and well. Those who know how to listen and read between the lines, protect themselves. We learn business and economics. We don't believe in myths or conspiracy theories. We base our business plans on cold, hard facts.

To those who continue to behave like employees will always be one and the business model will always be out of their grasp. Without understanding, there is fear. Where there is fear, there is the age old defense that they have the 'right', the 'freedom to express'. What they don't have is the truth.