Lawyers "Academic Advantage Scam" letters enrage bloggers

[TehBorken]

  Too funny.

The legal eagles at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are an  aggressive little law firm who represent some sort of tutoring service called  [a href="vny!://www.academicadvantage.com/"]Academic Advantage[/a]. One of their idiotic tactics is do searches for terms like "Academic Advantage  scam" to see who might be trash-talking poor old, helpless Academic Advantage or who might be using a phrase like ""Academic Advantage  is a scam!", and then they send a  legal threat demanding that the web site remove the page or the content that has those terrible, terrible words.

This is a completely untenable legal argument for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is this little doohickey called "the First Amendment". A blog or forum post that contains the words "academic" "advantage" and  "scam" doesn't really qualify as threatening, harmful, and it's not even really commercial libel unless it's done with the intent to defame. But those hard working lads at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh apparently don't let that deter them from the business at hand, which is threatening web sites and keeping their client's image free from the taint of any criticism or even being on the same page as the word "scam".

Whatta a buncha goofballs.

Maybe someone should tell them about the Streisand Effect, because my  guess is that their actions will do more to link the words "scam" and  "Academic Advantage" than anything else in the world. And I'm not even  saying that Academic Advantage is a scam, I'm just pointing out that if  they don't want the phrase "Academic Advantage scam" to be come  prominent then they shouldn't draw attention to sites that contain the  words Academic Advantage and scam. But what if Academic Advantage is a  scam, then what?

Classwork:
Please feel free to discuss this. If necessary, use the words "academic", "advantage", and "scam" to help debate or clarify the topic concepts.
 

[Gopher]

 Could you post a precis of this, TB?

[TehBorken]

  Gopher wrote:
[div style="font-style: italic;"]Could you post a precis of this, TB?[/div]
Your wish is my command.

As I understand it, using the words "Academic", "Advantage", and "scam" on the same web page will enrage the attorneys at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadehto the point that they will send you a letter insisting that you take down the page that has the words "Academic", "Advantage", and "scam" on it. Even though no one is claiming that Academic Advantage is a scam, or even if the words have nothing to do with each other they will foolishly demand that you censor the page. So if I said "Academic Advantage is a tutoring company" and two paragraphs later say that "I think if someone from Nigeria offers you a large sum of money,  it's a scam", somehow that constitutes libel or mopery or dopery or buggery or weapons of mass destruction or something, according to the fine upstanding folks at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadehto. So just to make it clear, I am NOT saying that "Academic Advantage is a scam", I am illustrating the circumstances that they will attempt to threaten you  if you happen to put the words "Academic", "Advantage", and "scam" on the same web page.


 

[Gopher]

L.O.L.

[Orik]

well that sure seems to be a big old bucket of horse manure.. for them then...


 

[DDD]

Akiva & Yagoubzadehto. So just to make it clear, I am NOT saying that "Academic Advantage is a scam", I am illustrating the circumstances that they will attempt to threaten you  if you happen to put the words "Academic", "Advantage", and "scam" on the same web page.


Sounds like a scam about scams in general.........no scamming about it