Sprkus

Well kids, I’ve bee reported.

Someone has blown the whistle on my “That’s my girlfriends, asshole!” posts, filing an abuse claim with Craigslist, Yahoo! and Network Solutions.

Craigslist was contacted because I was re-posting their content, Yahoo! because I used their e-mail service to set up the fake “Gary” account I used to respond to the Craigslist ads, and Network Solutions because that’s who hosts this blog/Web site.

Apparently the “Bob W” who reported me via e-mail only had a problem with the two photos I had posted that were in the original Craigslist ads.

I wasn’t trying to personally insult anyone. When people reply to me, 75% of the time I get their full name because they respond from their personal e-mail accounts and not through Craigslist. I don’t post those names or anything else that could identify the poster of an ad to a common reader. The two photos I had posted were an afterthought.

While it’s admittedly funny to see photos beside the “Missed Connections” ads, they’re clearly too personal. I wouldn’t want to have my mug plastered on a missed connections goof page permanently. For one, it’s a goof page, and secondly it means you actually posted a missed connections ad — which is sort of an embarrassment in itself. So I’ve removed the photos.

Here is the abuse e-mail I received this morning with a couple small omits:

To: Craigslist abuse (abuse@craigslist.com)
To: yahoo abuse (abuse@yahoo.com)
To: Network Solutions abuse ( abuse@networksolutions.com)
CC: Rick aka Gary

All:
At present an individual is sending emails to users who presently post on the Craigslist Columbus, Ohio missed connection page. The emails go along the lines of “Thats my girlfriend, asshole!”. The original Craigslist text/graphic contents are then posted on the offenders website, which includes the original craigslist poster responding to the harassment. You will find examples attached, as well as at the following links which were up as of Tuesday, 6/26/207, 10:05PM. Also note that google has some of these items cached.

http://www.sprkus.com/blog/?p=81

http://www.sprkus.com/blog/?p=77

http://www.sprkus.com/blog/?p=74

Yahoo abuse:
Presently the email account gary_____@yahoo.com is being used to harass users of craigslist.com If you require further evidence, i can provide an email with full headers which i received from said user/customer.

NetSolutions:
Presently on server vux.bos.netsolhost.com( 205.178.145.65) via domain Sprkus.com, is stored graphical content which your customer is not authorized to use. Customer copied content from craigslist.com and is using it presently on his site. This includes pictures of peoples faces/bodies and such who are presently unaware of “Rick/Gary/Sprkus.com” actions.

Craigslist:
I love your services, and i want to ensure others keep using it. If your ever looking for volunteers to help tracking down abusers, feel free to contact me at this email address. The only evidence i had to track down “Gary” was his email and associated text.

Rick, Gary:
You picked my craigslist ad to harass for your personal enjoyment I never responded. However you ended up picking a person who does digital forensics/investigation on the side. I only go to this measure of action because you have decided to post peoples faces on your website with out their knowledge nor their control to remove said content from your site. The gentleman in the screenshots is not me, but rather the easiest example of your activities.

All:
I believe two weeks time, July 10th, is an reasonable expectation have this behavior/content corrected/removed. At which time i will attempt to make verbal contact via telephone to each abuse department to voice this concern again. If another two weeks pass (July 24th) and the content and actions are still occurring, I will personally contact those listed on his website and ensure they are made aware their photos/content are on his site. This email and associated evidence will be provided to these victims to show that I made an honest effort to resolve this issue with out legal action.If this is an unacceptable time frame due to specific reasons, please contact feel free to contact me.

My goal is not to have legal action taken against the user/customer nor having his web services terminated, but the content needs to be removed now.

I’ll continue to have fun with anonymous missed connections ad posters sans photos.

Assuming the wrath of Craigslist, Yahoo! and Network Solutions doesn’t come down on me.

If my Web site is down soon or I’m found dead from beating with an exclamation mark, you’ll know why.