I'm assuming, at this point, that only VIDEO WATCHDOG has responded in its pages about the publication of plagiarized material. I'm aware that FANGORIA's Chris Alexander made a statement on his personal Facebook page about the matter, but that seems to be about it. (If someone knows different, please correct me.) And I don't believe there has been any public response at all from FAMOUS MONSTERS on the matter. (A correction is very welcome, too.)

As I was eating breakfast this morning, something began to bother me and it wasn't the hot turkey sandwich in front of me or the decaf coffee nearby.

As someone whose writing was ripped off (by THE DARK SIDE), I know one of the antagonistic points for me was the lack of a public response from THE DARK SIDE. When it eventually came, it was insulting, of course, but at least it was a response, a public acknowledgement that something went wrong. I emailed DARK SIDE editor Bryce about what I think he should have done: namely, made of disclosure of the work that was stolen for his magazine. Of course, he didn't do this.

Yet, I think this is the honorable and decent thing to do. (And I apologize for bringing honor and decency into the picture.) While Bryce may have been handicapped in offering such a disclosure (admitting the plagiarism would have possibly placed him in considerable legal jeopardy), there really is no similar legal jeopardy for the magazines that published Lianne's work. They could, at the very least, make some statement within their pages about the matter and offer an apology to the writers whose work was used, without authorization, in their magazines. But silence??? Come on, boys, step up to the plate and do the right thing.



Mirek