I don't think the site is really in shambles.. if you read the crawl at the top, it states that the current site is a staging area for "The Furthermore News Portal" They're looking to get people to download Mambo from their site, and are offering hosting, training, and other services to go along with the downloads. What do you want to bet that the open letter threatening legal action is followed closely by one offering amnesty to any site who will agree to use their Mambo tools and host with Furthermore????
I'm wondering if the "loser pays" is what is keeping Katie J. from suing? If so, she should reconsider because that rule only applies if she sues in a British Court. If she takes Penguin on in an American court, it's our good ol' legal system that will dictate who pays. In the British system big companies can bludgeon small plaintiff's into submission with a heap of lawyers and pleadings because if they make the litigation too expensive for the plaintiff, the case will be dropped and big business gets their money back. Here, companies can try the same tactic, but in most cases, unless they can demonstrate that the plaintiff showed extreme bad faith in bringing the suit in the first place, they won't be able to recover their own costs.
In the late 80's I took two college english courses at Michigan that used the CONFER II online system. (One of the earlier message board systems) I personally found the classes to be very enjoyable and very informative.
The classes met 3 times a week and one of those class times was designated as an online meeting where spontaneous discussions could occur.
We were also required to post our assignments on the board and review (and discuss) the work of other students. Instead of depriving us of face-time and limiting our normal interactions, the board system actually improved class discussions quite a bit. The system helped to quickly create a community within the classroom that translated into our face to face sessions.
It was also extremely helpful to be able to get feedback from many sources rather than just the professor. (He also responded with his comments not only on our assigned work, but also on our analysis of others work, thereby improving our editing and analytical skills.)
We have a similar setup with a PR firm here in the states. The end-client hires them to handle things like Press Releases, Marketing Brochures, Etc... the PR firm subcontracts us to do the web work.
First up I would recommend getting a deposit at the outset of the contract. We designate this as non-refundable so even if the client changes their mind we still got something for our efforts.
Secondly, since you are actually contracting with the intermediary agency. Your due dates and payment dates should not be tied into the contract they have with the end client. This way, even if they haven't completed their obligations, or decided on the color of the submit button, you should still get paid.
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I don't think the site is really in shambles.. if you read the crawl at the top, it states that the current site is a staging area for "The Furthermore News Portal" They're looking to get people to download Mambo from their site, and are offering hosting, training, and other services to go along with the downloads. What do you want to bet that the open letter threatening legal action is followed closely by one offering amnesty to any site who will agree to use their Mambo tools and host with Furthermore????
I'm wondering if the "loser pays" is what is keeping Katie J. from suing? If so, she should reconsider because that rule only applies if she sues in a British Court. If she takes Penguin on in an American court, it's our good ol' legal system that will dictate who pays. In the British system big companies can bludgeon small plaintiff's into submission with a heap of lawyers and pleadings because if they make the litigation too expensive for the plaintiff, the case will be dropped and big business gets their money back. Here, companies can try the same tactic, but in most cases, unless they can demonstrate that the plaintiff showed extreme bad faith in bringing the suit in the first place, they won't be able to recover their own costs.
In the late 80's I took two college english courses at Michigan that used the CONFER II online system. (One of the earlier message board systems) I personally found the classes to be very enjoyable and very informative.
The classes met 3 times a week and one of those class times was designated as an online meeting where spontaneous discussions could occur.
We were also required to post our assignments on the board and review (and discuss) the work of other students. Instead of depriving us of face-time and limiting our normal interactions, the board system actually improved class discussions quite a bit. The system helped to quickly create a community within the classroom that translated into our face to face sessions.
It was also extremely helpful to be able to get feedback from many sources rather than just the professor. (He also responded with his comments not only on our assigned work, but also on our analysis of others work, thereby improving our editing and analytical skills.)
No seriously, an idea like that would never see the light of day.
We have a similar setup with a PR firm here in the states. The end-client hires them to handle things like Press Releases, Marketing Brochures, Etc... the PR firm subcontracts us to do the web work.
First up I would recommend getting a deposit at the outset of the contract. We designate this as non-refundable so even if the client changes their mind we still got something for our efforts.
Secondly, since you are actually contracting with the intermediary agency. Your due dates and payment dates should not be tied into the contract they have with the end client. This way, even if they haven't completed their obligations, or decided on the color of the submit button, you should still get paid.