I sometimes get motivated to write commentary for the strangest of reasons. I know I occasionally go dark online. I do so because I have aspects of my personal and business life to tend to. Contrary to what some might think, I don’t live entirely online. Yes, I do have a life outside the Internet.
But I am back again with this unusual commentary because of I was unhappily “triggered” today by an uninvited email from someone I don’t know who innocently wanted help from me regarding a Dash Poem extortion letter.
For over two years, I have not received an “out of the blue” help request regarding Linda Ellis’ / Linda Lyric’s Dash Poem extortion letter. My friend, April Brown, author of “Poetic Justice” generally gets the brunt of such requests. How she handles it all, I will never know. And I have often told her, better her than me! She is a soldier.
As I said, I received an uninvited email today from someone asking for advice and help. When I get these types of emails, I get mixed reactions. On one hand, I want to help. But on the other hand, I have helped PLENTY of people in the last seven years regarding copyright extortion letters without charge and it has taken its toll on me. That is why I now charge people for my time. I have been overloaded with such requests over the years which is why I push people to reading the ELI Forums, blog posts, and other free online resources.
Every time I try to help someone by email in these matters, it doesn’t end well. It always takes a bite out of me in terms of my time, energy, and frustration. I get little in return and oftentimes my answer is never good enough because bullet-point information is simply insufficient for people.
Because of the emotional upset and stress that copyright extortion letters cause in letter recipients, those people frequently want reassurance, counseling, coaching, explanations, a legal and copyright primer, and basically a crash course to overcome the foreign and shocking experience of receiving a $5,000 extortion letter for the innocent sharing of the Dash Poem. It doesn’t help that the letter recipients of Dash Poem extortion letters are especially susceptible to the emotions of shame, guilt, embarrassment, fear, and ignorance of basic copyright law and legal procedure. This is much moreso here than letter recipients of Getty Images, Masterfile, and stock photo extortion letters.
With some notable exceptions (who tend to be entrepreneurial / business types), nearly all the Dash Poem extortion letter recipients are easy marks and easy prey. They are less knowledgeable, less sophisticated, easier to intimidate, and have a weaker psychological makeup.
Given this loaded scenario when people are frantic for help, how does one help another via email if they have gotten a Dash Poem extortion letter? My personal answer is, I can’t do it and I won’t attempt it. My personal experience tells me no one is ever satisfied with a one sentence or one paragraph answer and no one is ever satisfied with a five-minute conversation or chat.
My basic free answer to anyone getting a Dash Poem Extortion Letter is “Ignore the Letter. Don’t Pay. Problem Solved.” I know that answer is insufficient for most people because they want a lot more explanation but that is all I have to give for free. I am not going to reiterate basic advice that has been published repeatedly online. The Dash Poem extortion letter has been discussed ad nauseum. Google it or visit The “Linda Ellis / Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Letter” Resource Page. It will take readers where they need to go for free answers but they have to do the work, grow a spine along the way (this is very important), and make a smart decision for themselves. I make no bones about it that I do not welcome unsolicited emails or phone calls on any copyright extortion letter matter. The only way I will discuss it with anyone is through an ELI Support Call, period, end of story. However, April Brown might help for free if you are nice and respectful to her. As I said, she is a soldier.
I have a huge aversion to anything related to Linda Ellis, the Dash Poem, the Dash Poem extortion letters, and her lawyers Elizabeth (Betsy) McBride and Tim B. McCormack (who has since gone on to become a legalized marijuana grower/farmer). You can thank them for causing me to engage in an unnecessary two-year legal entanglement where my team and I ultimately fought back and we trounced them embarrassingly into the ground. That has left a great deal of negative energy within me towards them as far as I am concerned. It will be there for a long time to come. They are huge negative triggers to me and bring out unhappy and unpleasant sides of me. I stuck my neck out in 2012-2013 on behalf of largely spineless Dash Poem letter recipients and got very little in return except frustration and aggravation. The only good news of all this negative energy I have is that I plan on channeling that into creative, constructive, and beneficial ways. I didn’t start this but I do intend to see my plans through.
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