
What happens when politician doesn't pay his bill? This. - f1gm3nt
http://timgobble.com/GobbleForCongress/Gobble_Congress_2010.html
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gkoberger
I find it odd that I can't find anything about BornDigital on Google. A web
design firm without a website? Also, they spell their name differently on the
page ("BornDigital" and "Born.Digital")- something seems off to me.

=======================

Here's the official response, by the way (via
<http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_181227.asp>)

"This former volunteer did, during the early stages of the campaign, assist
with website construction and maintenance on a strictly voluntary basis as no
contracts or agreements were ever entered into. This is not uncommon, and FEC
guidelines do not require payment for these types of services.

"For a variety of reasons, this volunteer is no longer with the campaign.
Several months after this volunteer departed the campaign, he sent a bill for
more than $30,000 for his previous volunteer work.

"We do not owe this volunteer any money, and we are currently hosting our full
website at votetimgobble.com.

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fleitz
With out a contract the effort he put in is his. Therefore he owns the
copyrights, sites, etc, for all the work he created. Therefore a bill is quite
appropriate if the campaign wishes to continue using his creation.

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gkoberger
That's wrong. He volunteered. It's not like you can bill the Salvation Army
for the clothes you donated.

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derobert
Congress dreamed up some weird criteria to determine copyright ownership, and
no matter how wrong it is, it still the law. Unless it was a work for hire,
which it probably isn't under 17 U.S.C. §101 as there was neither employment
nor anything in writing, the copyright belongs to the author.

There are probably implied licenses, but that is definitely a question for a
lawyer.

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francoisdevlin
I'd redirect the page to his opponent. Admittedly, it's unprofessional, but a
lot more fun.

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sbolen
I think this tells you all you need to know about BornDigital:

<meta name="Generator" content="iWeb 3.0.1" />

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postfuturist
Lesson: take control of your domain. When someone leaves the team, change the
auth keys / passwords to servers / facebook / twitter accounts, etc.

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qq66
While this strategy might put pressure on this client to pay this bill, the
long-term damage to this firm could be quite high. I would never hire a vendor
who airs grievances in public like this, and although they may need the cash
now and not have the luxury of thinking long-term, this doesn't seem like a
good way of brand-building.

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brazzy
Considering the widespread disdain for dishones politicians, it may actually
do the brand more good than bad.

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f1gm3nt
[http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/HSProcessContributorList...](http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/HSProcessContributorList.do)

Appears that Tim Gobble paid some cash to BornDigital o.O

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gyardley
The candidate placed third in his primary - so it's not looking so good for
the firm.

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illumin8
I would have asked for at least some of the money up front - especially if the
candidate is not an incumbent and not a front-runner. I guess politicians feel
that if they didn't place first in the primary they probably don't have to pay
any of their bills... their campaigns can just claim bankruptcy and let the
creditors get nothing. This says something about the moral bankruptcy of
politicians in general and our political system in particular.

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jim_h
Nice to know that is the first result when they google his name.

edit: Why was I down voted? If someone screws you, you wouldn't want other
people to hear your side of the story?

edit2: Seems like gkoberger might have dug up details that make it seem like a
shakedown.

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alphadog
BornDigital clearly doesn't understand basic SEO.

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lurchpop
? why the downvotes?

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surlyadopter
Striking a blow against jerk customers who don't pay their bill, I like it.

Also, obligatory "lol, Gobble"

