[ArtWilliams]

Excellent post UW! You said what needed to be said.

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

A little advice for the ten or so free site submitters still out there:

People make mistakes, steal, borrow, lie, use search terms they shouldn't, etc. As awful as getting caught red-handed is, handle the situation honorably. Don't let the emotion of the situation get the better of you. In other words, avoid fight or flight syndrome.

Mike, I wish you would have stepped up and offered to pay for the design(s). Sy is a respected and honorable guy. I'm sure he would have far preferred payment over seeing you getting banned at a few link lists. He's a businessman, not a revenge-seeking bastard. This situation didn't work out well for you, Sy, or link list owners.

I took a quick look at Filthy Earl. I didn't see any of your sites using Sy's designs, so I didn't delete anything. (I doubt Earl sends 2 clicks a month anyway.) Your angry rant bothers me more than the design theft. But I've laid out more angry rants and giant, incomprehensible "fuck you's" than probably anyone on this board, so I'm not one who can fairly judge the situation. Attacks like that, though, leave a longer lasting impression than design theft.

If you have it in you, Mike, come back and apologize to those who may have been offended. Maybe the income from free sites isn't enough to get you to eat a small piece of humble pie. I don't know. All I can tell you is that this crowd is often much more forgiving than what might appear on the surface.