What would we think if Simon were issued such a notification? We would want him to fight it!
I think Simon has complied with takedown requests in the past. Why ever wouldn't you? The information is out there, job done
Exactly.
The reality is that none of us can fight the Watchtower over a legal issue like this. It's difficult and risky enough even if we are in 100% the right but when the law is against you ... what would you accomplish other than to hand the Watchtower your own head to them on a plate?
The DMCA laws are pretty good and provide some protection against litigation provided that you comply with the take-down notice (only issuing a counter notice if you are 100% in the right - quite rare). Without the DMCA very few people could host sites critical of organizations like the Watchtower.
I've had numerous DMCA take-down requests over the years. I could jump up and down and wave my arms to get attention and claim that it proves I'm special or their no 1 enemy but really it only means that some copyrighted material was posted to the site and the owner wants it removed. If anything the WTS actually seems fairly restrained and in my experience always does things by the book (in these cases).
Your site isn't taken down (unless you are an idiot who doesn't check your emails!) and all there really is to do is to remove the content. What else can you do? Does someone expect me to put my home and family's future on the line just so someone can read a page of an elder's letter for another few days? That would be insane.
It's easy for exJW's to be all so very excited about certain things but often the things that we find so convincing are only so convincing to us because we're already convinced. Ultimately, I'm convinced that the majority of people leave the WTS because they are personally impacted by something, not for what are procedural changes.
Yes, knowledge about how the WTS works can put your mind at ease that you've made the right choice once you are out or leaving and the realization that they don't control information flows with 100% efficiency is interesting I guess but I think someone finding out about what is really just a change to the service meeting format a few days before the official announcement is getting blown a little out of proportion. That is really all we're talking about here. Hardly anything earth shattering when you really think about it!
It's a bit like someone discovering a feature of the next soon-to-be released iPad and telling the world. Well done, but it doesn't make you Steve Jobs and people will still buy their new iPad.