Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
As many of you know, I found an e-mail on May 26 (sent on March 31 to a rarely-used e-mail account) from Mason Malmuth's lawyer, demanding I remove "2+2 content".
The letter was asking for me to remove all copy/pasted posts on PokerFraudAlert which originated on 2+2.
While I originally offered to do this going forward, I later thought better of it, and felt that doing so would make it more difficult for PokerFraudAlert to disseminate information regarding scams and frauds in poker.
For the past 3 weeks, I have been in contact with Mason's lawyer in an attempt to come up with a solution which was fair and equitable to both sites.
I am happy to announce that we were able to come up with a fair, common-sense solution which has made both sides feel satisfied that our interests were being protected.
The following has been agreed upon:
- TwoPlusTwo will no longer object to copy and pasting single posts to PokerFraudAlert, provided that the posts being copy/pasted involve scams, scandals, or frauds in poker.
- PokerFraudAlert agrees not to reproduce entire threads or back-and-forth conversations between posters on 2+2.
- PokerFraudAlert agrees to place a link back to the 2+2 thread when anything is copy/pasted here. (I was already doing this, anyway.)
- TwoPlusTwo makes the same agreement about PokerFraudAlert. PokerFraudAlert posts (including my own) may be copy/pasted to TwoPlusTwo, provided it's about scams/scandals/frauds, and may not contain back-and-forth conversations reproduced.
- Both sites agree to notify the other if any posts are found violating the above agreements, and such posts will be removed.
- This agreement only involves posts going forward. Old posts will not be edited.
I feel that this is very reasonable solution, as it allows PokerFraudAlert to continue copy/pasting scam-related 2+2 posts for separate analysis and discussion over here, while not attempting to replace or duplicate the original 2+2 thread.
I plan upon fully sticking to this agreement, and I strongly ask all users on PokerFraudAlert to follow it, as well.
In addition, during the discussions, we delved into why Mason and I have had longstanding issues with one another. We came to the conclusion that these issues are several years old and not worth continuing any sort of animosity or grudge toward one another. We also recognized that we do have some common ground -- that both of us run sites which frequently expose and discuss scams in the poker community. It was also acknowledged that I was a good poster during my time on 2+2, and that I contributed valuable input to the various discussions there.
With that in mind, Mason and I have agreed to put our differences behind us. I will be unbanned on 2+2, and we will treat each other respectfully going forward.
Since this is a free speech forum, I am not planning upon censoring people here. Everyone is still welcome to express their opinions of Mason and 2+2, and that won't be changing. Similarly, TwoPlusTwo users are still welcome to express their opinions about me and PFA, and I will not be attempting to stop that (nor would I want to).
However, I am being honest when I state that I bear no animosity toward 2+2, and hope our two sites can operate alongside one another in peace.
Finally, I wanted to say something about Mason's tennis charity. You guys know that I am always honest when I spot any kind of fraud or scam, and never hold back my true opinion. While I understood everyone's concern given the charity's tax returns which were found online, I honestly believe Mason's explanation that these were simply tax form errors. While I have criticized Mason for many things over the years, I have never believed he was a scammer or a dishonest person. It simply would not make sense for Mason to set up a phony charity and break federal law, simply to save a few thousand per year in taxes. My opinion is that Mason's tennis charity is legitimate, and this entire controversy was spawned by incorrectly filed paperwork by his accountant.
While this situation has been somewhat stressful, it looks like some good has come out of it. I hope everyone can see that both sides are being fair to one another, and we can put this matter behind us.