Friday News: The Dear Author Defense Fund, Facebook promises circumspection, JP Morgan Chase breach ubiquitous, and Roxane Gay to write for The Toast
Dear Author/Jane Litte Defense Fund – Many people have been asking if and how they can contribute to Dear Author and Jane Litte’s legal defense. Consequently, this campaign was created. The Dear Author Jane Litte Legal Defense Fund will be run through Go Fund Me. Any donations made to this fund will be used for Jane Litte’s defense against the defamation suit filed against her and Dear Author Media Network LLC by Ellora’s Cave.
Why a fund?
Because lawsuits are expensive (that’s why they’re so often used as a threat, if you’ve ever wondered). Because of that, and because the duration of the litigation is undetermined, Jane will need financial assistance. Jane’s attorney, Marc Randazza, is contributing by discounting his hourly rate. Even with a generous discount, it’s still expensive.
Jane Litte has set aside $20,000.00 of her own funds to fight this defamation suit and has paid the large retainer out of the fund but that money will be depleted quickly as the case progresses.
If you’d like to donate to the legal fund, you can follow this link to the GoFundMe site, and make your donation. Please note: these are NOT tax deductible donations, as this is NOT a 501(c)3 not-for-profit
entity.
All funds will be used for Jane’s legal defense, minus the fees charged by GoFundMe, and because we don’t know what the end result will be, we have no way of knowing what the total amount required will be. If there are any funds left over when the suit is finished, they will be donated to the Society of Professional Journalists Legal Defense Fund ( http://www.spj.org/ldf.asp).
If the fees do not exceed $20,000, we will attempt to refund the donations per the GoFundMe policies ( http://support.gofundme.com/entries/22603558-How-do-I-issue-a-refund-to-a-donor-). Countries with the following currencies are supported: $ USD, £ GBP, $ CAD, $ AUD and € EUR.
Any amount that you can contribute is most appreciated. –GoFundMe
Facebook Vow on Research Is Short on the Particulars – In a move full of the usual Facebook ambiguity, CTO Mike Schroepfer acknowledged some of the mistakes of previous research (like maybe they shouldn’t have publicly crowed about it?) and indicated that the company would be more careful about future research endeavors. Of course, the company will remain hermetically sealed in the face of calls for more transparency about its ethics and values, but what else is new, right?
Mr. Schroepfer, who declined an interview request, wrote that Facebook’s researchers had been given clearer guidelines for their work, although he did not specify what those were. The company’s engineers will also get training in research ethics as part of their six-week boot camp when they join the company. And the most sensitive research will now be reviewed by a panel of high-ranking Facebook officials, including people involved in the legal, policy and privacy arenas. –New York Times
JPMorgan Breach Hits Most Americans, Latest Reason For Data Alarm – So it turns out that JP Morgan Chase breach likely affected almost every US household. One interesting aspect of this breach is the fact that while financial data alone may not be fatal, the breadth of public information online can compound damage done via these kinds of security hacks. At some point will security simply be impossible or irrelevant? And what’s with the failure to actually communicate the breach to those affected?
In an SEC filing, JPMorgan Chase said names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and internal company information about 76 million households were impacted by a cyber attack Seven million small businesses are also hit. There are about 115 million U.S. households, so likely your data could have been impacted in some way, perhaps from your credit and debit card accounts and other associations with the bank on Chase.com, mobile apps and other sites.–Forbes
Introducing The Butter: Roxane Gay Is Coming To Stay With Us – Roxane Gay is going to be part of The Toast with her own “vertical,” called “The Butter.” While not exactly a spin-off, The Butter will be Gay’s own space, and she says that it will “focus on cultural criticism and personal essays that make readers think and feel.” I’m pretty excited about this all the way around.
You cannot possibly understand how bad I am at keeping news to myself, nor what a toll keeping this particular news took on my frail and mortal frame, but please share in my joy: Roxane Gay is coming to The Toast, where she will be running our very first vertical, The Butter. She’s officially starting on October 15th, and there will be plenty more details to come, but in the meantime please join me in dancing excitedly about the room. –The Toast
Donated. Very little, but it’s something–and with any luck I’ll be able to do better soon.
I’ll be donating to Jane’s fund as well. Thanks for the link.
I tossed my contribution into the hat and stand ready to add more if the need arises. This was a shameful and cowardly attack not to mention monumentally stupid (imho) on the part of the principals of Ellora’s Cave.
Question because I have “awesome” computer skills. I do not see the way to donate from paypal, only by giving credit card – is that correct? I just want to be sure I am not missing it , I will donate anyway. Also it is asking for first and last name – obviously i just put in Sirius, but it is still asking for the last name, and dots or xxxxx won’t do it. And if it is asking for the name and then credit card won’t the real name be necessary for credit card donation to go through? Thanks. Told you guys – “awesome” computer skills. :(.
@Sirius: I could only see credit/debit card options too. I think you do have to put in your real name but you can check the box to hide that information so it’s not displayed on the Go Fund Me site.
Thanks Ros :).
Donated and getting all ragey again just thinking about this suit and EC.
Can someone explain to me what “a vertical” is? The way they explained it in the article is confusing and makes me feel dumb and cranky when I should be feeling awesome for donating to Jane’s defense fund. So happy to have a practical way to show support for DA.
Donated. Thanks for the link!
Will donate as soon as I have a secure connection (i.e., not this coffee shop). It’s not a lot, but by fighting this suit, Jane is fighting for MY First Amendment rights as well.
Lada – I don’t think they are using the term exactly correct. A vertical is a term to used to describe a business venture where the supply chain is all supplied the same company. So if we were to take Apple, they put the iPhone together from a bunch of different suppliers including Samsung. They’ve made purchases of glass companies, tech companies, etc. to supply their own components.
Or in Amazon’s case or Netflix, they are creating their own original video and that’s a vertical.
For Roxanne Gay, I guess the vertical is supplying her own content within her own brand?
@Sirius: Or you could do what I did (split my screen name)
I was really happy to see the link for the defense fund this morning. I’ve already contributed, and am hoping that many others will be able to do so as well. I feel as though what Jane and the other members of the DA team do is so valuable to the Romance and book community that EC’s ill-judged lawsuit is worth fighting by all of us.
I donated. Hope it helps! Thanks for all that you do. I really do love reading the blog articles here.
For those who don’t use their real names with the Go Fund Me credit card fields, wouldn’t there be a problem later due to fraud concerns (because the name and cc# doesn’t match)?
$15,000 pledged before 10:30 am CDT on the first day. Well done, everyone!
Donated. I hope it helps!
@Jane: Thanks for the explanation. I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around how they’re using it but I think I’m getting the gist.
Quick clarification regarding the countries and currencies eligible for the GoFundMe donations/potential reimbursement of said donations. This appears to refer to people wishing to *set up* a GoFundMe account and run their own campaign. I live in Switzerland and my credit card was issued through a Swiss bank. I was able to donate without any difficulties—Switzerland is given as one of the options when filling in credit card details. However, I can’t set up my own account at GoFundMe. Just thought I’d point that out in case there are others in non-$ USD/£ GBP/$ CAD/$ AUD/€ EUR countries who wish to donate.
@azteclady: Thanks, I did that, too.
A reminder that GoFundMe profits off the murders of black men and boys and helps their murderers escape prison time. Also, GoFundMe is not “neutral.” You can use their platform to help someone get away with murder, but you can’t use it to fund an abortion.
None of us is wealthy, at least not monetarily, and yes, that’s a rather large assumption. We may not be able to donate everything we have–and I’d throw in a kidney, I’m so pissed off about this whole mess–but keep in mind: 1,000,000 dimes is still $100,000. It all counts. We’re helping to fund a DA Reader Army and National Guard.
@Ridley:
I completely understand your disgust. We went with GoFundMe because it offers refund options that other platforms do not. Because Jane doesn’t know the total cost of the suit, she wanted to preserve the option to return people’s donations if the costs were below her initial funding amount. Other platforms don’t offer refund options, or make that process arduous and difficult.
Very happy to help and spread the word. This is a very important fight to so many.
@Zara Keane:
I was going to mention the same as I too have seen some confusion over which countries can donate. ANYONE with a credit card can contribute from ANY COUNTRY, it is only a matter of what they pay IN. Not where they pay FROM. If someone wants to contribute from a country not listed ($ USD, £ GBP, $ CAD, $ AUD and € EUR.), they just need to understand they are paying in $USD. I will assume all donations are in $USD only since that is how the account was set up.
@Ros:
It will ask for your name twice. The first time it asks it is what will be displayed if you do not chose “anonymous”, the second time it asks it will be used only for the credit card transaction. I used both my public and private name when submitting my donation, and only my public name of Karlyn P displayed.
I don’t know if this article has already been shared, but the title was intriguing. It also references a post by a writer who tells of her experience with EC:
Is Amazon responsible for the Ellora’s Cave fiasco?
http://www.mhpbooks.com/is-amazon-responsible-for-the-elloras-cave-fiasco/
I’m glad this campaign is underway, and that I could kick in my mite. We have to hope that this defense fund sends a message to those who would gag blogs for reporting the truth.
I donated and was happy to do so, even though I am only a reader of romance. I do, however, have a question in regards to the amount of money the GoFundMe receives from money raised. Do they receive/charge an initial fee, or does GoFundMe charge a % on the total of money raised. Just curious.
I’m so glad you guys decided to set up a fund. I donated. I hope it helps.
The option to donate as Anonymous works just fine ^^ – since this is my online persona I don’t really want my real life/ work name associated with my fannish life. I also wish they’d accepted PayPal as an option but let’s hope for the best in the way of data security.
Otherwise: very painless way to donate – just be careful to NOT check the option do make it a monthly donation, if you can’t afford that.
@wikkidsexycool:
The link is not working, at least for me, who is not tech savvy.
@Suzanne Forrest:
The link is correct, but it appears the entire site is currently down.
Donated. Hope it will help.
On Facebook, I’m curious what response they have, if any, to the position of scholars at Maryland Law that they’ve violated state law regarding ethical research. (http://james.grimmelmann.net/files/legal/facebook/MDAG.pdf) This new blog post from the CTO wouldn’t necessarily instill confidence in me if I were a user (I’m not) and continues to be pretty blithe about the handling/mishandling/manipulation of users and their data.
Happy to add my donation (under Christine Epp) to the fund. Good luck Jane! No one should be penalized for telling the truth.
We’ve got your back, Jane. I’m happy to contribute to your legal defense fund, and wish that this is squashed as speedily as possible; I’m just sorry that you won’t be able to have Ellora’s Cave pay your legal fees after they waste your time and the court’s. It’s a shame that Ellora’s Cave doesn’t think that fixing its business practices is as important as filing suit against somebody who discussed them.
I’m also heartened to see how much money has been raised in one day!
What about donating any unused funds to a charity instead of the headache of trying to return it to donors.
Karlyn that is true. I used my both public and private name and only public name just appeared. Yay.
I just donated – and holy cow, it’s up to more than $32,000 in less than a day.
I don’t look at Dear Author regularly but I read about this case on Ilona Andrews’ blog this morning and was disgusted enough to contribute $50. Best of luck!
done. if there was a way to use paypal I’d be inclined to donate more. This lawsuit is such a shit show of ridiculousness, and I’m sorry, Jane, that you have to deal with it– no matter how much support you get, and even though you’ll win, you still shouldn’t have to have this brain drain.
k1ate, you can donate via PayPal. Look at the last couple of paragraphs on the FundMe site, or email Sarah. You could probably send a check, if the credit card on the Internet makes you uncomfortable, but email Sarah.
I think the refund offer is really impressive, but here is my permission to keep my tiny amount for books and booze once this is over. I wish I had more to give.
I donated anonymously since I didn’t want to publish my real name and didn’t see a place to put my pen name. Thank you Sarah for setting up the fund!
@Lindsay:
“here is my permission to keep my tiny amount for books and booze once this is over. ”
Mine too. I don’t care if you want to spend it on chocolates and mink slippers. I don’t want a refund if you’re out of pocket.
Go Jane. Go Dear Author.
Fuck this shitty suit.
Donated. if you don’t need all of the fund, you’re welcome to keep my contribution in a fighting fund reserve in case anyone else tries this on. You and other book bloggers have done a lot of good work for authors down the years by covering problems at publishing houses.
No refund needed for me; pay it forward/bread on the waters is something I believe in.
Wow, very impressive. I hope it’s enough. I know that truth is a defense against libel and defamation but my concern is that if there aren’t people willing to come forward and EC has to open their books during discovery that they will do the same thing I read about in the Brashaer case which is delay, delay and more delays. Even if Jane and her team are on top of it and the judge agrees with them this could still drag on for an awfully long time. I just hope the fund is big enough to go the distance.
Also, I believe the charity designated is a good one but couldn’t we also consider using the money toward blogger and even author/cover artist advocacy? Say something at RT or RWA or even a separate blogger event at one of the big book events. Not an end all be all but rather a very solid starter kit with resources for everyone to seek further information.
Or perhaps even a fund to buy back rights for authors caught in the crossfire if the worst should come to pass.
I also agree with others that any money I donate should be kept and Jane and DA should try to minimize their own expenses because DA has to stay strong and in business as an independent voice. If Jane’s $20,000 fund is depleted for a case against EC, then what happens if there’s another lawsuit, perhaps naming Janet or Jayne or Sunita or…. How soon before DA would close its doors?
I don’t always agree with the opinions on this website and have gotten into arguments here and even stopped coming around. That said, it deserves to exist and it would be a great loss for the book community (readers, authors, publishers, cover artists, etc.) should it be forced to close.
I have sent my donation via paypal. Keep strong, hope all the online support helps.
I’m mostly offline for a few days so I’ve missed a bunch of stuff but I’m reading DA when I can and some emails have kept me posted, and holy crap, the turnout of contributors is beyond awesome. I’m so proud to be a part of this community.
I’ve notice a few contributors noting that they can only make small contributions and I feel the need to push back on that a bit. Yes it’s fantastic when we see big contributions because we just don’t know how much defending this suit will cost in the end. But the small contributions are really important too.
Think of it as comparable to voting, where every vote has the same value. It’s not just about getting to $50k, important as that is. It’s also about showing just how many people are in support of this defense. And every contribution, no matter what $ amount it is, adds to that number.
There really is strength in numbers and this outpouring of support is a demonstration of it.
I was without power for a couple of days and came back online to find that a fund had been started. Yay! I’d just been waiting, and am very pleased to be able to do my small part for freedom of speech and protection from bullying, specious lawsuits.
Donated.
Thank you for all the work you’ve done standing up for authors.
Donated too….EC was my first foray into ebooks, but haven’t purchased anything from them in years…just sorry to see how far they have fallen … they are the blueprint of how not to run your business. Feel for all the authors who still tied to this sinking ship….
Just need another $930 before $50k goal is reached.
An open letter to Jane, here.
Jane, don’t refund my money. Keep it – you shouldn’t be out $20k for this crappy suit.
Woo Hoo $50,000 +