Tuesday, 12 February 2013

Space Marines - The Streisand effect



The Streisand Effect is a subdivision of the law of unintended consequences, where the attempt to ban something backfires horribly and actually promotes it.

Thanks to Fred for drawing my attention to this cartoon from were geeks.

You may recall Games Workshop's fatuous attempt to bully a poor indie author's book, Spots the Space Marine, off Amazon using a trademark claim.

After the intervention of the EFF and a massive outcry in the SF community Amazon has reinstated the eBook and it has become a best seller.

GW has retaliated by blocking people on social networks - including me - from their announcements. Well that has taught me a lesson. In future I will be more subservient. Yeah right!
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17 comments:

  1. styx12 February 2013 at 15:16

    Bow before the great and powerful GW! How dare you besmirch their good name! You evil, gossip hoe! Sadly, true gossip...guess they only want positive press!

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  2. Broeders12 February 2013 at 15:20

    John - I am with you 100% of the way.

    Let the great GW boycott begin!

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    Replies
    1. John Lambshead14 February 2013 at 17:21

      Thanks Phil, You know for the first time I looked at the price of a model I had gone in to buy and baulked.£15 for an Abaddon figure is obscene.

      Delete
  3. Knight of Infinite Resignation12 February 2013 at 15:38

    blocked me too, you are not alone!

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  4. Zzzzzz12 February 2013 at 16:38

    Looking forward to them trying to ban "Inquisition" if the last pope was anything to go by !

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  5. Paul Weimer12 February 2013 at 17:55

    The blocking of people on social networks is childish, stupid, and most of all, self-defeating.

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    Replies
    1. John Lambshead14 February 2013 at 17:23

      I think it is the stupidity that is most depressing, Paul.

      Delete
  6. Scottswargaming12 February 2013 at 23:56

    Excellent - a poke in the eye for GW...though I didnt quite follow your last point - what exactly are they 'blocking'?

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    Replies
    1. Scottswargaming12 February 2013 at 23:57

      Makes me wonder if it will be possible to find space marines beyond the gates of antares??? ;-)

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    2. John Lambshead14 February 2013 at 17:24

      On Twitter you can block someone from reading your posts. So they have blocked me (and others) from seeing their announcements. And the point is???

      Delete
  7. Laffe13 February 2013 at 10:26

    I did try to leave a sensible comment on their Facebook page, about how this would blow up in their collective faces. However, turns out you can't post anything on their wall, only comment on their posts.

    So I didn't even bother...

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    Replies
    1. John Lambshead14 February 2013 at 17:24

      Last I saw they had closed their facebook account. I suspect a purge is in progress. There are rumours of new sackings.

      Delete
  8. Dave Drale13 February 2013 at 15:03

    Dear John and Company,

    Remember TSR sending lawyers after anyone who used Dragon in a title (because they had the magazine Dragon at the time)? Baen's fantasy line was going to be At the Sign of the Dragon, but the investor backed off when he got the threatening letter. He had the money to fight it but decided he had better uses for the money and his time.

    This is part of the reason I haven't practiced law since 1980. Not all lawyers are conscienceless bullies; but I suppose there were guards at Dachau who were very nice to prisoners, too.

    There's quite a good novelized memoir of WW I which appeared in two versions: His Privates We and The Middle Parts of Fortune. The quotes both come from Rosenkrantz' banter with Hamlet.

    As always,
    Dave

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