I received a private message from a person I pitted in 2007:
[QUOTE=minklerm]
Michael Minkler
Equipoise,
I demand that you remove your hateful and harmful comments that you made about me on this site on March 4, 2007.
I have just recently become aware of them because they have made there up the Google ladder to front page position.
You don’t know me or the situation.
Your attacks are causing harm to my reputation.
If you do not act immediately, legal action will follow.
Michael Minkler
[/QUOTE]
I don’t know whether to be amused, frightened, or pissed off. I alternate mainly between amused and pissed off. I suppose the admins couldn’t say if they’ve heard from this clown, but what’s been the SOP for legal threats over posts in the past? Can this jerk actually get a thread removed and/or initiate legal action based on the opinion of someone via a message board post?
He had someone else try to get me to delete the post a few weeks ago. On March 13, I got this private message:
[QUOTE=heidib]
Inflammatory post
Hi. I came across a post of yours from March 1st, 2007 Re: the Oscar winner race for Best Sound. Wow. Is it because you wrote it at 3AM and that’s why it’s so outrageous? Do you know these people personally? I do. They have been friends and co-workers for decades and their sense of humor is the basis for that incident. And they both want your post removed. You spend a great deal of your post heralding the career of Kevin…he wants it gone. He said, “It’s creepy and this person sounds unhinged.”
I am certain you are not like that at all. Your posts are fun & engaging and you have incredible perspective and taste. Why tarnish your online reputation by bashing others in a violent and feverish manner?
I admire your passion for film and I have fun insider movie fodder that I could share with you. But I need to know you are reasonable and won’t use the information in a negative fashion.
BTW, there is an article on Director Lars Von Trier in the new issue of TIME. Even if you are not a fan, it is rather insightful.
Let’s chat.
[/QUOTE]
In both cases I told them that a poster could not delete their own posts. I didn’t engage with them beyond that.
Hey, it’s not my fault it’s so high in Google searches. Blame Google.
The IM was from “heidib” and he is associated with a Heidi B Myers so if it was someone impersonating him they went to extra effort to make it all appear realistic.
He stands almost no chance of having an opinion about him taken offline and sure didn’t do much to help himself by reviving the issue after over 7 years passed.
He would have better luck contacting Google (and by better luck I mean they won’t do it either, but he won’t be bugging us) Even if he somehow managed to threaten his way into having it taken off the Dope or even Google it would still live forever in the internet archives, bloggers and rebloggers, clone sites that repost all the messages here, etc.
It is part of internet history now that someone thought he acted like an asshole at the 2007 Oscars. He’s just going to have to carry on somehow despite this.
Seems to me that you didn’t even really say anything that bad about him, either. It was other sites and reporters that you quoted, who witnessed him do it and brought it up first, that were at the core of your post.
If they haven’t contacted the site about this, then I wouldn’t worry about it. AFter all, as you have stated, you have no control over what is posted after it’s done and no ability to have a posting removed. ALso, if this person was serious they would send a “lawyer letter” to your home address and make their intent clear.
As long the posting wasn’t libelous and the same information can be found on other sites or other places on the Internet, I wouldn’t worry about it. I would ignore it until either Straight Dope contacts you about the posting or you receive a notification offline.
Then I would suggest having a brief chat with an attorney with regard to your options.
Hard to believe that Minkler could be moronic enough to dredge up interest in this after 7 years. Maybe a fan (even the most obscure figures in movies could have fans, I suppose)?
If it’s any comfort, the OP is still way behind this guy when it comes to receiving vacuous legal threats.
It might just be time to go to a forum, like reddit, that a huge percentage of the population actually reads and let everyone know that Michael Minkler is a massive asshole.
The OP could offer to meet Minkler in Bangkok, then I could have a motorcycle taxi driver take it from there. I haven’t lived here this long without knowing how to have a motorcycle taxi driver, er, “take care of things.”