Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Didn’t

Gathered together in one place, for easy access, an agglomeration of writings and images relevant to the Rapeutation phenomenon.

Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 4:01 am

Man Acquitted Of Sexual Assault. Sues Blog For Calling Him Serial Rapist
by Irin Carmon
5/11/11

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A Chicago man who was acquitted on a sexual assault charge is suing the legal blog Above The Law for implying that he's a serial rapist. If Meanith Huon gets his way, blogger sloppiness may cost ATL $50 million.

Huon, a lawyer, was initially charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual abuse, and one count of unlawful restraint. A woman had jumped out of his car, ran through a cornfield barefoot, and knocked on a random person's door saying he had forced her into sexual activity. She later said she believed she was spending time with him for a job opportunity related to alcohol promotions, until he allegedly yelled at her to perform oral sex. Huon's version was that it was a consensual encounter, and partly on the strength of a bartender's testimony that the woman had been drinking and asked where to go to have fun, the jury believed him.

Huon is also suing local law enforcement authorities in Madison County, Illinois for prosecutorial misconduct. His beef with Above The Law stems from a roundup post entitled "Rape Potpurri," in which blogger Elie Mystal mistakenly believes that news accounts of the same incident are different incidents that should have tipped the woman off that Huon was a serial offender. "The content of the article were [sic] defamatory in that it incorrectly and recklessly portrayed Mr. Huon as a serial rapist by treating the same complaining witness as three different women," says the complaint, according to Forbes.

"And this, people, is why God invented Google," wrote Mystal in the original post, linking to articles that in fact described the same case. The lesson learned: Google only takes you so far.

Lawyer Sues Legal Blog For $50 M Over Rape Story [Forbes]
Related: Rape Potpurri [ATL]
mohamedzv2001 Irin Carmon
5/11/11 7:22pm
So now to Jezebel, even if someone was acquitted, they're still a rapist, because ya know, an accusation is 100% true 100% of the time.


HeartRateRapid mohamedzv2001
5/11/11 7:32pm
Yea, all those crazy bitches going to the cops and lying about being raped. Except that false reports for stolen cars are more common. False rape reports make up less than 3% of all reported rapes, and as I'm sure you know, it horrendously underreported.

I'm also uncomfortable with the way the article was titled, but please don't bring in the rape apology bingo by relying on the old idea that most women lie about it.


zegota HeartRateRapid
5/11/11 7:36pm
Regardless of the statistics, calling someone an "acquitted [thing they were acquitted for]" is kind of stupid. Unless it's OJ, cause fuck him.
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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 4:14 am

Wait, Did Clowntroll Blogger Chuck Johnson Shit On The Floor One Time?
by Greg Howard
The Concourse
12/09/14

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If you've been online this week, you may have heard of Charles "Chuck" C. Johnson, an odious conservative blogger who has gained some fame by rolling around in the shit left in the wake of last month's Rolling Stone piece, which told the story of a University of Virginia student who claimed she was raped by seven men at a frat party her freshman year in school. Since then, Rolling Stone has revealed that they really, really fucked up, and elements of the story are inaccurate.

We don't really know how the report is inaccurate, or by how much; there are peripheral discrepancies in Jackie's story, while the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi denies a rape ever happened. This caused an uproar, largely from those who saw this story, and rape, really, as an attempt by the propagandist left to push an agenda of marginalizing straight, white men, or whatever. This is where the fuzzy ginger manbaby comes in.

Johnson is a self-stylized journalist whose lack of skill in reporting is only augmented by the curtain-hanger abortion of his soul. (Here's the full docket on him. He gets things wrong a lot.) Johnson attempted to punish Jackie by revealing her identity, along with a photo and contact information. The monstrous travail turned out even worse than expected; he appears to have doxxed the wrong girl.

Johnson went to Claremont McKenna College, a small, liberal arts school in California. In this school, he had classmates, some of whom are his friends, and many of whom most definitely do not fuck with him one bit. Both factions have tried to reach out to him. Late last night, he posted this on his Facebook wall, addressing everyone. Today, it was emailed to me:

Dear past classmates,

I have received a number of emails, tweets, and phone calls, etc. from you and want to make some things clear about me and you now.

Please relay this message widely as it needs to be internalized by you about me.

I wasn't friends with most of you. Most of you weren't particularly kind to me throughout my academic career. That's fine. I didn't ask for it. I did well despite you. I wrote books, formed companies, got married, traveled widely, and had interesting, formative experiences.

Perhaps you were angry at me because I was poor. Perhaps it was because I was neuroatypical. Perhaps it was because my mother was ill. Perhaps it was because we didn't get along because I was busy making a living and doing interesting things while you were not. Perhaps you were mad because your parents saw more of themselves in me than you and so liked me more and you were resentful. There are many reasons why weaker people dislike strong people: jealousy, misunderstandings, hatred of what's different.

That's not important now.

Now that I have some measure of notoriety and success, I do not owe you phone calls or responses to your condescending "concern" for me. Please know that most of these emails will be deleted or archived. Some will be openly mocked. Others may be retweeted or written about in future things.

Some of you have talked to the press about me and pretended that we were close. We were not but you've decided to trade on relationships we never had in the hopes of seeing your name in the press. This is pathetic.

Here's what you may not do:

You may not accuse me of racism, sexism, blah blah-ish without asking me for my point of view first. I may or may not choose to give it to you.

I'm also not interested in your pop psychological explanations about what's wrong with me.

The truth of the matter is that I'm the happiest I have ever been doing the work I love doing. I'm very busy on that project.

I have lived a colorful, difficult, exciting, crazy life thus far and it's only just beginning. I make no apologies for it. I have made and will make mistakes and some of them may be huge. But I have lived life on my own terms.

Those of you I count as true friends, you know who you are. I owe you the world.


There's some good shit in here! I emailed Johnson about it, and he confirmed that he jammed the above jam. We then went on to trade snarky pleasantries. He told this site not to do him like Cory Gardner; I asked him if he ever played football. "Oh and do please tell Nick Denton I said hi," he directed; "I'm working from home," I replied, regretfully. And then he sent this:

Word?

Sure enough, on the Facebook post, there are cryptic comments from friends and former classmates about some mysterious floor-shitting incident.

I'd be inclined to believe the guy, or at least give him the benefit of the doubt. But he's been caught lying many times before, and in the wake of Rolling Stone deputy editor Sean Woods tendering his resignation, it's more important than ever to fact check. And so I ask you, dearest readers: Did Chuck Johnson really shit on the floor in college? Please send context, stories, and photos to tips@deadspin.com. If you have physical evidence, you'd be better served just throwing that shit, as it were, on Amazon. As Johnson can attest, he's somebody.
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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 4:17 am

Uber Driver in California Will Be Considered Employee, Not Contractor (Updated)
by Kate Knibbs
Reuters
6/17/15

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An Uber driver is an employee, not a contractor, according to a ruling from the California labor commission. This is horrible news for Uber but good news for anyone concerned that the ruthless ride-hailing service is building a corporate empire by dicking over its drivers.

Uber insists that it’s a merely a tech company peddling a mobile platform that happens to connect drivers with riders, not a driving service. That’s a convenient way to think about the service, since it means Uber can shrug off the responsibility of treating is growing supply of drivers like they work for the company.

Semantics aside, this ruling makes it clear that Uber is a service that employs drivers.

“The defendants hold themselves out as nothing more than a neutral technological platform, designed simply to enable drivers and passengers to transact the business of transportation,” the commissioner wrote. “The reality, however, is that defendants are involved in every aspect of the operation.”

The ruling came after a San Francisco-based former Uber driver Barbara Berwick filed a claim against the company. Uber will have to pay her $4000 in business expenses for her stint driving for them.

Even though Uber tries to paint itself as a matchmaking platform for riders and drivers, it sets strict controls on how drivers conduct their business. Uber sets fare rates and prohibits drivers from collecting tips, and it has rules about what kind of cars they can drive. It’ll also boot drivers who receive low ratings on the app. As the ruling pointed out, that heavy level of control fits the profile of an employer.

While this ruling is just about Berwick, it will give drivers ammo in other cases, especially in California. This isn’t the first time Uber drivers have tried to get employee status; some Uber drivers have filed a class action lawsuit in order to be considered employees instead of contractors. And in May, a Florida agency ruled that a former Uber driver injured on the job was an employee.

That doesn’t mean that every Uber driver will be happy with this ruling. Many people driving as a side gig could be hemmed in by an “employee” designation, since 1099 workers have more flexibility. The divide between agreeing or disagreeing with the ruling may come down to whether a driver is picking rides up as a side gig or extra cash, or whether they’re attempting to eke out a living.

This is bad news for Uber because it’s in the company’s best interest to stay a “tech” company. The current model maximizes how much money Uber can make without being saddled with employment responsibilities.

This ruling means Uber may have to start doing stuff like paying for social security and medicare taxes for eligible drivers in California, and it could incentivize drivers in other states to make claims for similar employee standing. It’s a blow to the contractor economy.

Uber is appealing the ruling.


Update: Uber pointed out that the ruling only applies to one driver. “Reuters’ original headline was not accurate. The California Labor Commission’s ruling is non-binding and applies to a single driver,” a spokesperson said. “Indeed it is contrary to a previous ruling by the same commission, which concluded in 2012 that the driver ‘performed services as an independent contractor, and not as a bona fide employee.’ Five other states have also come to the same conclusion. It’s important to remember that the number one reason drivers choose to use Uber is because they have complete flexibility and control. The majority of them can and do choose to earn their living from multiple sources, including other ride sharing companies.”
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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 4:20 am

Mitch Williams Ejected From Child's Baseball Game For Arguing, Cursing
by Timohy Burke
5/11/14

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MLB Network analyst Mitch Williams was ejected Saturday from a baseball game for 10-year-olds after a profanity-laced tirade in which he called an umpire a "motherfucker" in front of the children, observers tell us.

Williams coaches his son's 10U Jersey Wild team, which was participating in a Ripken Baseball tournament in Aberdeen, Md. We've confirmed through several sources that Mitch Williams—who was once tossed from his daughter's youth basketball game for cussing at the ref—had complained about numerous calls throughout the game, ranging from balls and strikes to a close play at the plate that ended a Jersey Wild rally. This led to repeated arguments with umpires on the field.

One umpire finally confronted Williams after the former MLB pitcher shouted something to a parent in the stands about getting that umpire fired. The confrontation sparked a face-to-face argument that, one parent told us, was "just like the major leagues." Two different observers told us Williams had to be physically separated from the umpire by other coaches. Williams then refused to leave the field, causing a 10-minute delay in play; as a result of his antics, he was initially banned from the tournament.


Williams discussed the incident on Twitter this morning:

We've attempted to access the video of the incident, but the game in question is curiously unavailable from the service providing feeds from the rest of the tournament. An individual familiar with the situation informs us that after hearing Williams's explanation, Ripken Baseball officials lifted the ban—saying the umpire failed to act professionally. But according to our witnesses, the umpire's "unprofessional" behavior came well after Mitch Williams had been ejected and refused to leave. (Ripken Baseball "monitored" Williams closely during his team's two games today. Jersey Wild did not win the tournament.)

Here's how other people in attendance described the incident.

[Mitch Williams] just got kicked out his sons little league game for threatening an umpire at Ripken Stadium
He has been arguing balls and strikes and was upset about a play at the plate where his team was called out. In the top of the 5th while he was coaching first base he yelled to another parent that he would have the umpire fired. The Umpire confronted him and Mitch went off. He threatened the umpire called him a motherfucker in front of 10 year olds. They were faced to face inches from each other arguing. He had to be restrained by other coaches. The umpire rightfully kicked him out.

He refused to leave the field until speaking to he spoke to management. He left the field took off his jersey and watched the rest of the game from behind home plate without incident.

It was such a train wreck. He was arguing with calls and making comments to both of the umpires all game. He was coaching first base as the game was going on, and the second base umpire threw him out. He "said" he was making a comment to one of the parents in the stands, when the second base umpire tossed him. He was making comments the whole game about the bad calls, and the 2nd base ump just had enough.

He went nuts. He got into the umpires face like it was the major leagues. He claimed that the umpire who was about 65 years old threatened him and said to pick a time and a place to fight Mitch.

The game was delayed for about 10 minutes as they needed to call in an official from Ripken until he finally was removed. It was crazy. Never saw a player get ejected from a game and not leave. This is all going on while 10 year olds are playing baseball, or trying to play baseball.

Ironically, the audio at the beginning of the game is from Cal Ripken which talks about how parents should let the players play, the coaches coach, and the umpires umpire. (IE - parents, don't act like idiots). Mitch was the idiot.

I was very upset with the decision [to lift the ban] because Williams was confrontational all game, and it was clear to everyone there that whatever the ump said that was inappropriate came after he was already tossed and refused to leave the field, and the ump was reacting to Williams, not the other way around.


There's nothing worse than the Bad Sports Parent, and Williams has a bit of a history playing this role. In 2008, he was tossed from his then-10-year-old daughter's youth-league basketball game for dropping f-bombs on a referee. "I'm emotional when it comes to my kids," he explained later. "What I saw happening was completely unfair."

To contact the author of this post, write to tim@deadspin.com or find him on Twitter @bubbaprog. Photos used by permission.
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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 4:24 am

Witnesses: Mitch Williams Called Child "A Pussy," Ordered Beanball
by Timothy Burke
5/16/14

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The fallout continues from MLB Network analyst Mitch Williams's meltdown at a Ripken Baseball youth tournament this past weekend, as parents and coaches tell Deadspin that "The Wild Thing" called one child "a pussy" while ordering one of his own 10-year-old players to hit the opposing pitcher with a beanball.

While video of the Saturday ejection is still suspiciously unavailable, we were able to acquire footage from Sunday's championship game between the Williams-coached Jersey Wild and SJ Titans, another elite 10U baseball team from New Jersey. The film at the top of this post shows an interaction between Williams and some SJ Titans players. Multiple witnesses report that interaction consisted of Williams calling the SJ Titans pitcher "a pussy." Children on the team heard this, and one asked his parent on the ride home what it meant. The comment sparked a meeting behind home plate between SJ Titans coaches, umpires, Williams, and a handler (one witness called him a "babysitter") assigned by Ripken Baseball to keep Williams in line after Saturday's ejection.

Even in this interaction, you can see Williams being aggressive and argumentative.

Here's video of an incident that happened in the fifth inning, when the SJ Titans pitcher came to bat in the leadoff position. Watch as Williams says something to his catcher, after which the catcher goes out to the mound to say something to his pitcher. SJ Titans coaches and players overheard this interaction, and report that Williams ordered his pitcher to intentionally hit the SJ Titans batter with the first pitch. One witness told us it was in an attempt to knock the SJ Titans pitcher out of the game.

Sure enough, the first pitch hits the SJ Titans player square in the ribs.
(The home plate umpire, who had been made aware of the upcoming beanball, warned both benches.) One SJ Titans assistant coach confronted Williams about the pitch after the game, and reported that Williams stated, "I told him to throw it inside."

Other witnesses—a number of parents, coaches, and other observers contacted us about Mitch Williams's behavior—state that Williams was heckling SJ Titans coaches throughout the game, repeatedly calling one a "squirrelly little teapot," and making harassing comments about the appearance of 10-year-old baseball players on the opposing team. (Lest you think these reports come from a team of sore losers, know that SJ Titans defeated Jersey Wild in the championship game.)

We've noted Williams being a Bad Sport Parent for years, and numerous sources reported to us on his various behaviors both at the most recent Ripken Baseball tournament and in other sports, in other cities. Here's a sampling of what they told us.

We hosted a tournament last weekend and 2 weekends ago and he was screaming at the umpires all weekend.

Mitch Williams is trying to get into the heads of ten-year-olds.

What an unbelievable douchebag Mr Williams acted like all weekend!

He basically was questioning every call, balls n strikes, bitching whining etc...he was basically a horses ass...well it really exploded on a very close play....he went off...cursing the ump...yelling at a spectator or two or three.

Basically in a nutshell, both days I saw this guy, he acted like an arrogant classless foul mouthed tool bag and DEFINITELY not someone id want coaching my kids!!!

At games all over our town and others, he berates teenage and adult umpires. He goes ballistic regularly from the dugout or from the first baseline and these dopey Philly fans still give him a fist pump when he walks by.

It's such a shame when you live in a town where someone famous could use it for such good things, but he garners absolutely no respect from those who know him here in town. His talented sons are passed over in rec league drafts just so the coaches and families don't have to deal with the parents.


We contacted several Ripken Baseball representatives. They have not responded to our questions, though one individual familiar with the situation informs us the organization is "taking matters quite seriously." Mitch Williams works alongside Bill Ripken at MLB Network.

Update (5/17, 12:41 p.m.): Several observers of today's Jersey Wild game at the Diamond Nation tournament note Mitch Williams, while in attendance, is not coaching the team.

To contact the author of this post, write to tim@deadspin.com or find him on Twitter @bubbaprog.
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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 4:42 am

Actor James Woods Gloats Over Death Of Random Twitter Troll He Sued To Unmask [Updated]
from the stay-classy dept
See the update at the end...
by Mike Masnick
October 21, 2016

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Actor James Woods is an asshole. Let's just put that front and center. As you may recall, a little over a year ago, Woods sued a random Twitter user who went by the pseudonym "Abe List." "List" frequently mocked Woods, including calling him "clown-boy" and a "cocaine addict." Woods then sued for defamation, demanding $10 million, and tried to unmask List. This was ridiculous for any number of reasons, not the least of which is calling much more attention to what a thin-skinned jackass Woods is from anonymous Twitter users. But, more importantly, such hyperbolic statements in an internet forum are not defamation -- rhetorical hyperbole certainly doesn't meet the standard for defamation of a public figure. On top of that, trying to unmask an anonymous speaker is really, really sketchy, and there's a very high bar.

Oh, and did we mention that Woods himself has a long history of similar rhetorical hyperbole on Twitter, including making statements about others smoking crack?

Image
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
@stevmg Well, put down your crack pipe, and retread my timelines. You'll find plenty there.
11 Oct 2013


California, of course, has a strong anti-SLAPP law, and Abe List, with the help of lawyers Lisa Bloom and Ken "Popehat" White, sought to use it to get the case kicked out. While the judge initially agreed that Woods' lawsuit was a SLAPP suit, he eventually changed his mind, and said that Woods could find out who Abe List really is. List appealed to California's 2nd District Court of Appeal soon after that ruling earlier this year. Since then the case had moved forward with both sides filing opening briefs.

However, apparently "List" just died. There are no details, but List passed away -- and with it, the case is over. The court docket shows that on Thursday, his lawyers filed for the case to be dismissed based on List's death and the court quickly dismissed the case and closed it. No matter what you think of anything, this is not a great situation. Someone died.

And total asshole James Woods decided to not just gloat about it, but to rub everyone's face in it. First, he pretended that the dismissal was because he was going to win the case:

Image
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
The slime who libeled me just dropped his appeal contesting my victorious SLAPP motion. Perennial loser @LisaBloom isn't yapping so much now
20 Oct. 2016


That's so obnoxious that you might even overlook the fact that Woods here flat out admits he filed a SLAPP lawsuit.

Bloom, quite reasonably offended, pointed out that her pseudononymous client had died and it's pretty obnoxious to gloat over a default victory like that.

Image
Lisa Bloom @LisaBloom
Hi James. As you surely know, my client died. Have a nice day and stay classy!
20 Oct 2016


Just to put an exclamation point on what a total and complete jackass he is, Woods responded to others pointing out that the client died by gleefully celebrating his death and hoping it was "in agony."

Image
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
@theangrymick @LisaBloom Hopefully screaming my name. In agony.
20 Oct 2016


He doubled down on that with another person, talking about how he'll follow people "to the bowels of hell."

Image
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
@ByYourLogic Screaming my name, I hope. Learn this. Libel me, I'll sue you. If you die, I'll follow you to the bowels of Hell. Get it?
20 Oct. 2016


That's sickening. Like, literally. I feel ill. What kind of person would celebrate anyone's death? Even someone they dislike? I have no idea if James Woods is a "cocaine addict" but he sure is an extreme asshole.

Oh, and kinda creepy too.


Image
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
Dear @LisaLoeb. I mistakenly tweeted your name. If I could have the honor to take you to dinner and apologize in person, I would be honored.
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
@LisaLoeb So sorry, I had an auto spell snafu and your name was mistakenly in my tweet! I adore you and am so sorry for the mistake!
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
Not @LisaLoeb (typo) @LisaBloom! The perennially loser loudmouth diet guru masquerading as an attorney. She lost to my lawyers once again.


I asked Ken White if he had anything to say about this and he replied:

It was a privilege to represent Abe Doe. He was passionate about many issues and a fierce and incisive debater, not afraid to mix it up with his own attorney. He challenged me just as easily as he challenged others. I was proud to help him fight a contemptible censorious lawsuit, and am very sad about his passing.


Update: And, of course, James Woods has now deleted many of those tweets I have above, but added a new one, attacking the lawyer, Lisa Bloom, for mentioning Abe's death. You know, the one he was gloating over.

Image
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
@LisaBloom Having spent time listening to you, he's no doubt in a better place. Keep losing, dear
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
@LisaBloom And how classy of you, dear, to announce his death on @Twitter. Slinking into the spotlight at his family's expense? #Lovely


Another update: According to Eriq Gardner at THResq, despite Abe's death, Woods and his lawyers are going to continue the case to try to unmask who Abe really was.

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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:13 am

Exposing the self-proclaimed 'inventor of email'. Gizmodo has published a profile of Shiva Ayyadurai, debunking his claims to be the "inventor of email."
by Sam Byford @345triangle
The Verge
Mar 5, 2012

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Last month the Washington Post published a profile of Shiva Ayyadurai, describing him as the "inventor of e-mail" based on a program called EMAIL that he wrote in the late 1970s as a New Jersey high school student. This sparked a firestorm of controversy, with many readers pointing out that electronic messaging predated Ayyadurai's work by several years, and the Post eventually posted a lengthy correction. So, is this Ayyadurai a chancer, trying to claim credit for a revolutionary invention he had nothing to do with? Not if you believe his convoluted side of the story, which Gizmodo ran today. Ayyadurai claims that after he exposed corruption in a local R&D organization, the Indian government is trying to discredit him with smears against his character.

Unfortunately, the fact that Ayyadurai seems all too willing to be profiled as the inventor of email in major news outlets — and that he owns and runs the domain inventorofemail.com — would seem to heavily undermine his defense. What he could have a claim to is the first use of the term "email," and he was indeed awarded the copyright for his EMAIL software in 1982. He's less than clear about the distinction on his site, though, using semantic maneuvers such as dismissing Ray Tomlinson's groundbreaking first message via ARPANET in 1971 as "pre-EMAIL," while claiming that the iPhone uses "EMAIL" to this day. As Gizmodo notes, "creating a type of airplane named AIRPLANE doesn't make you Wilbur Wright." Like many other technologies, it's difficult to ascribe a single inventor to email, but it's safe to say that Shiva Ayyadurai would not be our first choice.
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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:20 am

Did MIT Professor V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai Really Invent Email, Or Is He Just a Fraud?
by Lauren Landry
Bostinno.streetwise.co
3/6/12

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V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai’s been referred to as “the man who invented email” by TIME. Last month, he traveled to Washington D.C. to donate the original code for his email system to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, according to the Washington Post. He holds four degrees from MIT -- where he is now a lecturer for the Department of Biological Engineering -- and, among other things, is being called a “nut,” “fraud” and “loon” by his colleagues.

Gizmodo dived into “the crazy story of the man who pretended to invent email,” tracing back to 1978 when Ayyadurai was 14-years-old and living in New Jersey. Enamored by the communication system being used at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, Ayyadurai began began building what he’d soon copyright as “EMAIL.”

Electronic messaging predates V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai’s work in 1978, however, and his copyright to “email” establishes him only as the creator of the “computer program for [an] electronic mail system.” When Gizmodo first brought this up, claiming Ayyadurai might be an “impostor,” he claimed he was really just the “victim of international character assassination.”

Ayyadurai worked for the Indian government in 2009, helping to run CSIR, a national research and development incubator. Ayyadurai calls it “corrupt,” telling Gizmodo patents were plagiarized and anyone who tried to speak up was canned. Ayyadurai couldn’t sit by and watch, and so he relinquished his title and called “for freedom of speech among colleagues.” The Indian government clamped down. He was fired, evicted from his government housing and urged to flee the country. And flee he did -- right to MIT.

“Don’t know him, but [he] didn’t invent email,” said an anonymous MIT coworker to Gizmodo. “If he claims to have done so, he’s a dick.

Ayyadurai’s convinced the Indian government is slandering his name, though. So, to compensate, he’s created dozens of domains to affirm his title, including InventorOfEmail.com, DrEmail.com and EmailInventor.com. If that’s not enough, Gizmodo reports Ayyadurai has 100 more sites to push the claim home.

Raymond Tomlinson is someone people look to as an actual pioneer of email. He’s best known for known for having sent the first text letter between two computers on ARPANET in 1971. Even the “To,” “From,” “CC” and “BCC” fields Ayyadurai claims to have created were really developed and documented a full year before Ayyadurai’s project even began.

Back then, however, those emails weren’t called “emails,” but rather “messages.” So, actually copyrighting “email” is the only thing that made much of a difference. “But creating a type of airplane named AIRPLANE doesn't make you Wilbur Wright,” writes Sam Biddle of Gizmodo, and he couldn’t be more right.


So -- is it all just a big scam? Looking at Ayyadurai’s personal website, it's hard to tell. That’s some PR.
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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:03 am

THE TECH DIRT LAST SUPPER (POOP EATERS)
by Tara Carreon

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Re: Shiva Ayyadurai suing TechDirt over Stories Saying He Di

Postby admin » Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:41 am

How The Guy Who Didn't Invent Email Got Memorialized In The Press & The Smithsonian As The Inventor Of Email
from the damn-you-wikipedia dept
by Mike Masnick
February 22, 2012

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Late last week, the Washington Post reported that The Smithsonian had acquired "tapes, documentation, copyrights, and over 50,000 lines of code from V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, who both the Smithsonian and the Washington Post insisted was the "inventor of e-mail." There's just one problem with this: It's not actually true. Lots of internet old-timers quickly started to speak out against this, especially on Dave Farber's Interesting People email list, where they highlighted how it's just not true. As is nicely summarized on Wikipedia's talk page about Ayyadurai, he was responsible for "merely inventing an email management system that he named EMAIL," which came long after email itself. The Washington Post eventually offered the following "clarification":

Clarification: A number of readers have accurately pointed out that electronic messaging predates V. A. Shiva Ayyadurai’s work in 1978. However, Ayyadurai holds the copyright to the computer program called "email," establishing him as the creator of the “computer program for [an] electronic mail system” with that name, according to the U.S. Copyright Office.


Except... that "clarification" seems to confuse copyright with patents. Copyright is only over the specific copyrightable work created -- which would be the specific code he used. It does not, in any way, establish him as "the creator" of "the" electronic mail system -- merely an electronic mail system -- and hardly the first one. I could write some sort of email management software tomorrow and copyright that... and it would no more make me an "inventor" of email than Ayyadurai.

There's a detailed history of email over at the NetHistory site, and you'll note that Ayyadurai doesn't warrant a mention -- which isn't surprising since his work comes way after most of the important stuff was done. Thomas Haigh sent a detailed email to the SIGCIS list, breaking down what happened. Apparently, Time Magazine ran a profile of Ayyadurai a few months back, calling him "the man who invented email," which resulted in the Smithsonian's interest. But even that article notes at the beginning that Ayyadurai actually just holds a copyright on EMAIL, rather than email itself. It even asks about the fact that Ray Tomlinson is often credited as being the inventor of email -- and his efforts came much earlier.

Either way, it appears that Ayyadurai has played up this idea that he's the inventor of email, despite little to back that up (apparently frustrating many people who actually know the history). Yes, he copyrighted a particular bit of code, but there's little to support the idea that he had very much to do with "the invention of email" in any way. But, that's not what the Washington Post (or, apparently, the Smithsonian) will tell you...
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