from the repeat-something-often-enough... dept.
The guy who made himself famous for claiming he created EMAIL, Shiva Ayyadurai, has taken to suing various web sites, social media sites, and bloggers to shut down any contrary talk on the matter. On the surface the business model looks like it might be that of a classic copyright troll. However, given the targets and the backer, could it be the ultimate goal is simply to close down the coverage in general?
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170111/11440836465/techdirts-first-amendment-fight-life.shtml
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Mike Masnick at Techdirt lays out, once again, the evidence rebutting Shiva Ayyadurai's claim to have invented e-mail. Shiva Ayyadurai just settled with Techdirt over his repudiated claims. No money was exchanged in the settlement but Techdirt did agree to publish Ayyadurai's claims side by side with the actual facts for comparison. Ayyadurai rose to international attention a few years ago after he claimed the mantle for himself and went around accusing detractors of racism underwritten by large corporations. Now that the issue is officially settled, Mike Masnick has written another summary.
[...] And with that, we'll (hopefully) leave this saga aside. If Ayyadurai would like to respond to this, or to supply evidence to contradict the points and evidence raised above, he is, as always, welcome to provide it. He could have done so any time since 2012 when we first wrote about him and his claims, rather than taking us to court for two and a half years. I still believe that Ayyadurai should, in fact, be praised for what he accomplished as a teenager -- building a working email system as he apparently did, at the time he did, is no small feat. Our only issue with his claims is the decision to argue that his impressive creation was actually "the invention of email." It was not.
It may take a while for Techdirt to get back on its feet both regarding finances and workflow. The trouble from that particular charlatan cost not only a lot of time but also a fair amount of money. Mike Masnick ended up accepting support from the Koch brothers in order to keep going with writing and reporting, allowing the site to keep going but at the cost of tainting its reputation somewhat. With luck the site can become independent again.
Earlier on SN:
Case Dismissed: Judge Throws Out Shiva Ayyadurai's Defamation Lawsuit Against Techdirt(2017)
The Guy who Claims to have Invented E-Mail is at it Again (2017)
The Guy who Claims he Created EMAIL is at it; Again (2017)
[...]
Huffington Post Shows the Importance Of Fact Checking (2014)
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @05:20PM
...it's Environment Management and Information Liaison [acronymfinder.com].
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @05:26PM
To you maybe. To the rest of us it means Electronic Messaging Advice and Information Link. Weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @08:59PM
I thought it was Eat My A$$ I Likeit!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @01:12PM
Of course the real meaning is:
Everyone Must Admire Its Longevity
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 30 2017, @02:48PM
You're all wrong. The invention is . . .
Enhanced Massage And Lucky Endings
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @05:25PM
He probably went bonkers having to listen to her shrill nails on a chalkboard voice.
(Score: 3, Touché) by davester666 on Sunday January 29 2017, @08:32PM
She probably got the shrill voice from repeatedly telling him to give the email thing a rest.
(Score: 2) by JeanCroix on Wednesday February 01 2017, @05:27PM
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @05:39PM
This guy sued Gawker and got about $750K out of Gawker's bankruptcy because they had to liquidate to pay off Thiel's vendetta lawsuits.
With that treasure chest in the bank, he's been emboldened to harass others.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @06:15PM
The charlatan got $750 million [fortune.com] out of Gawker as it went under. What a scam. He waited until the inventor of e-mail died to avoid being easily refuted. Now that Thomlinson is gone, he can just run around and extort money from publishers and bloggers. What a lot of nerve.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @06:54PM
Uh, no $750K. Read your own headline.
Gawker didn't even have $750M.
(Score: 2, Informative) by aristarchus on Sunday January 29 2017, @06:58PM
From Ars:
In a different November post, Masnick essentially invites Ayyadurai to sue Techdirt, and he jokingly wonders aloud whether billionaire Peter Thiel, who funded Hogan's suit against Gawker, will come to Techdirt's "aid."
The error Techdirt is making is thinking truth is on their side. Thiel is on the side of alternate facts, alternate science, and alternate medicine: in other words, lies. So Peter is more likely to back Shiva Ayyadurai, like he allegedly did last time against Gawker.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @09:04PM
That's some leet skill there! I'll keep my eye open for the next internet company that needs to do a fire sale.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @11:28AM
I think he's just working to watch America burn, then sail off to NZ so he doesn't have to participate in the aftermath.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @05:47PM
Nothing to see here. Just another white man wanna be indian. These people are nothing but arrogant frauds.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday January 29 2017, @06:55PM
Wanting to be Indian is worse than wanting to be Black. At least Blacks have rhythm and swagger. Indians have an unpleasant aroma so strong it could knock a buzzard off a shitwagon.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @03:08AM
whoa, he isn't even a real indian? I guess he can't do the needful.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @02:00PM
Some of their women are pretty hot. But yea, they do smell and I can confirm their crotch also smells of curry which is fucking nasty. If you do manage to get one in bed, make sure she showers beforehand. It's their food that gives them that awful smell combined with a lack of personal hygiene (the FOB's are notorious for smelling like BO and curry which is gag inducing). Though, the Americanized ones are much cleaner, shave their pussy, and use deodorant. But they can still smell of the spices they eat but some actually avoid it to not smell. Tolerable, and eating them out is no problem.
(Score: 4, Informative) by jmorris on Sunday January 29 2017, @06:17PM
This guy is so obviously a fraud and a liar. A quick check of Wiki shows that in 1978, the year he claims he 'invented' email, UUCP was already running on 82 computers, Compuserve was being sold in frickin' Radio Shack stores in 1978. (Under a different branding.)
So if this moron wants to sue people for disputing the obvious fact he is a lying liar who lies, if he disputes the obvious fact he is a defective human being, I will receive service at the email link in my profile. Hell, lets double down. If he wants to take issue with my assertion that he is ovenworthy we can arrange to meet and settle it as gentlemen... except it is obvious this person is no gentleman and probably not much of a man either.
Haven't openly taunted lawyers in a few years, since way back with the whole CueCat fiasco. Telling those bastards to "go chase an ambulance" worked out ok, betting these idiots aren't any better. Getting money out of Gawker's bankruptcy judge was no feat of skill, that was just getting lucky.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @11:17PM
A quick check of Wiki shows
Which wiki did you check?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @01:04AM
http://www.conservapedia.com/Email [conservapedia.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @06:22AM
Amazing! I had forgotten how dumbed-down Conservepedia really is. They use a lot of small words, so we'll be sure to understand.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @01:15PM
Well, they have to be understandable by their intended audience.
(Score: 2, Informative) by ShadowSystems on Sunday January 29 2017, @06:57PM
There's enough previous art to disprove his claims beyond a shadow of a doubt (much less beyond reasonable doubt) that the judge would probably smack him down as a Vexacious Litigant & threaten to disbar the lawyer that represented him.
The moment you start filing the various RFC's that include the phrase "electronic mail" that predate his *BIRTH* much less his claims to have invented the contraction "email", you'll have such a pile of evidence against him that his lawyer will probably soil his socks.
Go ahead & sue me you pile of crap, I'll just *LOVE* the sound of your voice when the judge orders to Darwin your ass for being a waste of DNA.
You. Utter. Douchebag.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @07:13PM
" This episode is not over. I hereby publicly ask anyone who has received a similar letter to get in contact with me."
http://schestowitz.com/Weblog/archives/2017/01/28/gagging-criticism-rather-than-false-claims/ [schestowitz.com]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday January 30 2017, @02:12PM
Sounds like there's a bit of loon in this one.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday January 30 2017, @05:09PM
Not a loon, a con-artist who does his best to use the legal system to get what he wants. Basically, think The SCO Group on a smaller scale and budget.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday January 30 2017, @04:31PM
Something tells me a motivation for him popping up again is the death of Ray Tomlinson, who would have been a very effective expert witness against him if any of his cases went to trial.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 29 2017, @11:28PM
Please post your real names here, so I can sue you individually.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @01:06AM
My name is Jonathan Doe; you can call me John.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @01:45PM
My name is Coward. Anonymous Coward.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @05:06PM
My name is Donald J. Trump, and I say you're a fraud. Please feel free to sue me.
(Score: 2) by Username on Monday January 30 2017, @12:31AM
Just waiting for another hit piece by Huffingtonpost defending this guy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @06:04AM
now we know who to sue for enabling all that SPAM :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 30 2017, @03:46PM