"Roy Schestowitz" <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3626885.KhivHDgZUz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> __/ [ Oliver Wong ] on Thursday 11 January 2007 18:24 \__
>
>> "Roy Schestowitz" <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:10181412.LsVkh6K5l2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Yelp reviewers paid for their opinions
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>> | The Los Angeles Times in 2001 reported that Microsoft arranged
>>> | to have hundreds of letters criticizing the US Justice Department's
>>> | antitrust action against the software maker mailed to newspapers
>>> | across the country. In some cases the screeds bore the signatures
>>> | of dead people and non-existent addresses.
>>> `----
>>>
>>> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/10/yelp_reviewers_paid/
>>
>> Roy, you claimed that if the subject lines were misleading, it was
>> unintentional because you skimmed through the articles too quickly. So
>> I'm
>> pointing out to you now that this subject line is misleading. It implies
>> that Microsoft is "carrying on" astroturfing, but the article you posted
>> is
>> about an unrelated company called Yelp, and only mentions Microsoft in
>> passing for something they did 6 years ago (2001). (Incidentally, the
>> article also accuses Netscape and Sony of astroturfing).
>>
>> MS may or may not be astroturfing currently, but the evidence
>> presented
>> in this article do not support the claim either way.
>
> Have you read the related stories at all? This is still going on, at
> immense
> scale.
>
But no claim is made that these campaigns are being sponsored by Microsoft.
For that matter, the original Astroturf story was in regard to a suggestion
made by one of Microsoft's advertising agencies and not in regard to any
actual practice. The "proof" ordinarily submitted is the activities of some
Microsoft employee at the time who was posting to CompuServe without
acknowledging his employment by Microsoft. The incident described in the
Register article was widely publicized at the time and adjudicated as
perfectly valid based on the facts. The truth was not as intriguing as the
conspiracy that anti-Microsoft groups portrayed. Microsoft mere sent
letters to people who were deemed to be in favor of Microsoft's activities
and asked the recipient to petition the courts and the government
representatives to find equal favor. Naturally some of the people on the
mailing lists were then deceased and so the legend was born. I do not
recall any incident of a deceased person's name and signature appearing on
any letter actually sent, although it may have happened. If it did, though,
it was not due to any intent or act of Microsoft.
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