No Ed, the public is not with you!
As you may have heard, the Albertan Premier Ed Stelmach is threatening legal action against a Dave Cournoyer, a blogger, who registered the domain name edstelmach.ca. Rather than admitting that the publicity and communications people associated with his office made a blunder that most school children wouldn’t make, Stelmach and associates are attempting to bully Dave into giving up the domain and call him a liberal conspirator. Worse, they think that the public supports their actions (see CBC article)!
Action item:
Share this post with those you know to show Ed Stelmach and the Albertan Government that you are upset by the misuse of public office and bullying tactics surrounding this issue. We want a government that can admit its own faults—such as this mistake of not registering a domain name; not one that refuses to admit wrong and then blames its faults on the person pointing them out (David). I’m sure Ed thinks this is a small issue, however it reflects on the entire character of his style of government, making me want no part of the Albertan Tories.
Ed Stelmach sends a signal that he has no understanding about the importance of the internet to engage young voters like myself. Ed didn’t care enough to have an online presence last April, and now he’s trying to go outside of the law (domain names are on a first come first serve basis) because his office couldn’t be bothered to spend $14 for 5 minutes work. WTF?
If you want more the facts, here’s a CBC article on it, as well as an Edmonton Journal article. If you don’t trust liberal media, why don’t you see what Ezra Levant says on the issue… Even Ezra thinks Ed is humiliating himself, sorta like watching someone punch himself in the face repeatedly.
Note: Ed and anyone from Ed’s office. Please read Wikinomics, drop this issue, before you tangle yourself in a self-perpetuated publicity nightmare. Or, if you need marketing advice, I would happily provide some consultation to you about improving your online image, although it would entail more personal and organizational transparency, which you might not be up for.
Thanks to Debbie and Dave who inspired me to actually post on this, rather than just think about how ridiculous it is…
http://www.chickenandegg.ca/node/65
Also, what sort of lawyer would advise his client to pursue this action?
The lawyer’s name can be found in the letter sent to Dave Cournoyer:
http://david.cournoyer.googlepages.com/edstelmach.ca.pdf
Leif,
Nice post, it was good to get that link to the letter to the editor from the domain name association clarifying how that works.
Hope Ed takes you up on your offer for consulting assistant!
Ben
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the comment. Ed and associates don’t seem to even understand Web 1.0, so I doubt they’ll be up for ANYTHING Web 2.0!
L
I can’t understand why I haven’t heard about this… this is amazing!
i don’t think people should be able to buy a website domain of someone elses name and use it for something that that person would disapprove of.
It is true that ed’s people (and ed) should have known to register all the domains they could with ed stelmach’s name. This reflects a general ignorance of the internet. It is also true that they could have approached it with more tact. This reflects the general arrogance of his government. This story isn’t going to convince someone Ed’s a bit of a tool if they didn’t think that already…
I’m sure if they wrote Mr. Courneyer a polite letter or gave him a ring he would have more than obliged to hand over the website… or he probably would have posted those letters and recorded phone calls and the same outcome would have happened anyways. But that’s just gross speculation… or sarcasm
I would like to hear a convincing argument on why (legally and morally) someone can buy a domain of someone elses name and do whatever they want with it.
Also, this is one of the last issues I would want the Alberta gov’t to be worrying about… I bet you they have received more letters and phone calls on this then the current injustices facing the Native population (which I do write to them about). I hate to throw out that card but that’s how I feel… it doesn’t seem important enough to make a big deal about…
Hey Brian! Thanks for commenting. A few points: it is difficult to legislate or even have very good laws around who uses domain names. I mean, what about all the other Ed Stelmach’s who would feel misrepresented if Alberta’s Ed got the domain? Moreover, Cournoyer’s site is malicious or defaming. . . In fact, I think he’s offering fair criticism, which is in his rights. There’s a few people who’ve blogged about whether Cournoyer is a cybersquatter or not. I believe that he is not, because he is not trying to make money nor is he using the site to misrepresent Ed Stelmach.
I definitely agree that this issue is perhaps one of the few that the Alberta government should be worrying about, other than the fact that Ed seems committed to making it an issue. When they first go media attention, Ed refused to back off of his rhetoric or present the issue as a minor incident. I will reiterate that the way this issue was handled certainly causes me worry about how they will hire the more important issues. If you can’t trust someone in the little things, can you trust them in the big issues? I really don’t think so.
I won’t speak for Mr. Cournoyer, but if I were him I certainly would have reacted the same way if I received a bullying legal letter that states litigation will be pursued if I don’t comply. Ed’s office certainly walks right into the bully trap on this one, so, despite your sarcasm, we should only deal with the facts of what really happened, not what might have happened if the govn’t had asked nicely.
I actually didn’t know much about Ed until this story, so I am an “Ed is a tool” convert–at least right now. Admittedly, he’s made a blunder and this is the most info. I’ve cared to know about him since he was elected. I should note that I was rooting for him in the Alta. Tory leadership race.
Again, you’re right to point to the more impactful issues, such as Native rights and rent controls . . . I’ll work to do a few posts on the bigger issue too. However, those more concerning issues certainly don’t mean that this blunder has no importance or meaning.
Thanks for commenting!