MMOWTF - My first real thread!

[Coyote]

Okay kids, I'm slapping this down here because I'm not really sure where to post this.

There is an MMO site called "MMOWTF" (MMOWTF.com - MMORPG News) that touts itself as being a site for MMORPG News, Reviews, Blogs and Interviews .

The problem is, it isn't linking to other sites, it's gleaning the information directly off them.

In other words - Writers put up an article of interest, and this site mirrors said article in entirety. While they DO provide link to the original works, there is no reason to follow up because the ENTIRE article is hosted there.

Which robs hits from the little guys who are actually DOING the work for their sites.

While I'm one of them up there - I'm not ass hurt. I get enough hits that this doesn't bother me FOR me. However, smaller sites that could use the traffic are being hijacked by this site.

So why post here?

They have no contact information, their registration comes back as bogus and they are running ads so they are definitely generating revenue, no matter how small, from other's work.

Does ANYONE out there know anything about this site? Who runs it? Or have any info at all on them? I figure you folks are all in the know, the biz, and have contacts as well - but I'm bone dry on this one.

I'd love to poke these bastards with a stick to see if it is intentional or not, but I got no where to poke.

-Coyote

[Niber]

Wow, that's pretty bad. They don't even bother hosting the images either.

If someone was so inclined they could edit their article, change the picture locations and then say.. upload pictures of their genitals to replace the old file names.

[Coyote]

AHAHAHAH...

Ya know. I REALLY thought about a Goatse attack with some tubgirl lemonparty thrown in for giggles - but Ten Ton Hammer would frown EVER so slightly on that.

Still...*laughs* That is farkin' BRILLIANT.

[Coyote]

And no - they don't bother hosting images, and are constantly polling for site updates.

I just don't like the fact that there is no contact, the registry info is a dead end - and they are pulling in money with ads, especially from some of the smaller sites who aren't pulling in ANY money because they don't have ads.

The whole thing reeks...

[RadarX]

This is very similar to what I ran into with our LOTRO sites guides being lifted screenshots and all. I managed to threaten that guy with enough bad press and legal action. We have to get a name to do anything though.

And yes...if we could avoid Ten Ton Hammer being associated with Goatse that would be greeeeeeat. Thanks.

[Niber]

I would contact their hosting provider.

Technical Contact:
Domain Discreet
ATTN: mmowtf.com
P.O. Box 278
Yarmouth, NS B5A 4B2
CA
Phone: 1-902-7495331
Email: 4f4f733c0a1e672901fbbad1ca8915b9@domaindiscreet.co m

DNS Servers:

ns1.a2webhosting.com
ns2.a2webhosting.com

-----

I'd imagine the owners of A2 Web Hosting could help you track down the culprit. I'd believe if you outlined that you had not authorized the use of your article a2hosting might be inclined to suspend their account pending action.

(Or you could do the goatse trick and then report him for porn!)

[Coyote]

Yeah..i found the discrete domain stuff too - but it looks like a generic phone number and that e-mail is a joke.

I mean what do you say? "Wahhh, they are copying me?"...do the domain providers even care about content?

[Niber]

Originally Posted by Coyote

Yeah..i found the discrete domain stuff too - but it looks like a generic phone number and that e-mail is a joke.

I mean what do you say? "Wahhh, they are copying me?"...do the domain providers even care about content?

Yeah, all that suff is fake. But they ARE indeed hosted at A2. Most hosting providers will work with you especially if you threaten legal action. I'm sure the guy is paying them $5-$15 and it's not worth their trouble to protect him.

BTW.. /wink

A2 Web Hosting : DMCA Policy

6. Compliance with all Laws
Customer agrees to use the service in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations of the United States of America, the State of Michigan, and the Customer's locality. Reproduction or transmission of any material in violation of any local, state, U.S., or international law or regulation is prohibited. The Customer agrees that any material to be reproduced or transmitted on A2 Web Hosting's service through Customer 's account(s) does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, statutory, common law or proprietary rights of others, or contain anything obscene, libelous or threatening. Software intended to facilitate any such violations or infringements may not be stored on A2 Web Hosting. The Customer shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless A2 Web Hosting from and against any claims, liabilities and expenses, including attorney fees, resulting from any Customer's use of the A2 Web Hosting service or a Customer's account in an unlawful manner or otherwise in violation of or contrary to the Customer's Agreement with A2 Web Hosting or A2 Web Hosting's Acceptable Use Policies. At A2 Web Hosting's discretion, A2 Web Hosting may revoke any Customer's access to A2 Web Hosting services or accounts for inappropriate usage. Please refer to our DMCA Policy for details regarding takedown and reinstatement procedures for sites in possible violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A2 Web Hosting : DMCA Policy

A2 Web Hosting : Terms & Conditions

They appear to be VERY proactive on DMCA policy.

How to Write a Proper DMCA Notice
A Proper DMCA Notice will notify A2 Hosting, Inc. of particular facts in a document signed under penalty of perjury. To Write a Proper DMCA notice, please provide the following information:

* Identify yourself as either:
a. The owner of a copyrighted work(s), or
b. A person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

* State your contact information, including your TRUE NAME, street address, telephone number, and email address.

* Identify the copyrighted work that you believe is being infringed, or if a large number of works are appearing at a single website, a representative list of the works.

* Identify the material that you claim is infringing your copyrighted work, to which you are requesting that A2 Hosting, Inc. disable access over the World Wide Web.

* Identify the location of the material on the World Wide Web by providing information reasonably sufficient to permit A2 Hosting, Inc. to locate the material.

* State that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agents, or the law.

* State that the information in the notice is accurate, under penalty of perjury.

* Sign the notice with either a physical or electronic signature.

To exercise your DMCA rights, you must send your Proper DMCA Notice to the following agent designated by A2 Hosting, Inc. (the "Designated Agent".) The contact information for A2 Hosting, Inc.'s Designated Agent is:

Name: Bryan Muthig
Address: PO Box 2998
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Fax: (734) 527-6565
E-Mail: abuse@a2hosting.com

And if that doesn't work..

(k) Hosting of Adult/Pornographic Content - Content designed to sexually arouse is prohibited throughout the A2 Hosting Network. This includes sites that may allude to sexual content and/or links to adult content elsewhere. In general, frontal nudity (not for science, health, fine art, or general educational purposes) and/or content meant to sexually arouse is prohibited. Child Pornography of any kind is prohibited throughout the A2 Hosting Network and will be reported to the authorities if found. A2 Hosting reserves the right to determine what violates this policy.

[LFG]

Lol, Coyote isn't listed as "Coyote", his stuff is listed as being posted by "Not Funny Ever."

Hahahaha.

[RadarX]

Coyote's material is in fact copyrighted just like anything that appears on our network. I'm looking for a name in their knowledge base so I don't have to send in a ticket.

Yeah it is LFG. Judging from a Fan Faire article I did further down I'd say they are grabbing our RSS feed.