Hello Deborah.I have been active in the ex-JW online community for over a decade now. I share your respect for Ray Franz as his writings were instrumental for me and many, many others to break free from Watchtower indoctrination. Crisis of Conscience has power that has not diminished over time. It's important that people have access to it today as yesterday.I was fortunate to have been able to get original copies when they were still available. However in recent years they have not been easy to come by and originals have become collectible -- often commanding hundreds of dollars. As a published author and now a publisher myself, I understand the value of copyright. I cannot speak for every instance of unauthorized duplication. I will say that what I have seen has not been for financial gain, but rather to get this important work in the hands of cult victims.Had the authorized work not fallen out of distribution and affordable copies made available on Amazon these past few years, I doubt you would have had to deal with bootlegging to the extent you have. Frankly, it was the lack of authorized editions and the murkiness of who even held copyright that has helped to create this problem. In your open letter you spoke of not wanting to sully Ray Franz legacy and work. I never had the privilege to meet the man, but in reading his books he struck me as a caring person who was sincerely interested in helping Jehovah's Witnesses struggling with their own "Crisis of Conscience". Did he author the book for financial gain or to help others who found themselves in the same situation that he went through?I own a publishing company and am willing to help you get an authorized book back in circulation. We can do print with distribution access to online booksellers as well as thousands of bookshops around the world. We can also make it available on Kindle, Nook, and other electronic formats. We could have the work reprinted in less than a couple of months.I'm willing to do this without cost because I believe in the importance of making this work available. It's more important to Ray Franz legacy to have this book available to Jehovah's Witnesses then to enrich any one person. If you share my interest in using the copyright gifted you to make the work available without personal gain please feel free to contact me.Thank you. PS - In my opinion, the YouTube situation you mentioned has been entirely blown out of proportion. My understanding is that an individual from Europe produced a few printed copies of Crisis of Conscience to gift to family and friends. A few copies were provided to another European ex-JW activist who offered a copy to one of his viewers as a gift. When some raised objection to this, he instead gave away his original authorized version. At no time did I ever witness an attempt to distribute this work for financial gain or sell it online. Again, it was the lack of affordable and easily available copies that created this situation. In my view it's important not to use a copyright misunderstanding to besmirch the good name of one of the leading activists working on behalf of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide today.
Publisher offers to print CofC without cost!
by Diogenesister 27 Replies latest members adult
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the girl next door
Would have been a more powerful offer if the "opinion" section was redacted. -
Giordano
Well it's an offer but I agree......... the opinion sorta muddied the waters. -
cappytan
Would have been a more powerful offer if the "opinion" section was redacted.
That's just your opinion. :-P haha
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Marvin Shilmer
Then make your offer to Deborah and leave it at that. -
talesin
A few copies were provided to another European ex-JW activist who offered a copy to one of his viewers as a gift. When some raised objection to this, he instead gave away his original authorized version.
Whoever this "we" is, they have certainly put an interesting spin on what actually happened before our very eyes on Reddit and youtube. This is all very murky.
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OUTLAW
Whoever this "we" is, they have certainly put an interesting spin on what actually happened before our very eyes on Reddit and youtube. This is all very murky.....Talesin
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Spin (public relations)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to persuade public opinion in favor or against some organization or public figure. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation of the facts, "spin" often implies the use of disingenuous, deceptive, and highly manipulative tactics.[1]
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problemaddict 2
Well I think its reasonable to take an offer like this. If Deborah has fees incured in trying to help their family, perhaps a nominal fee until those fees are recouped with interest would be reasonable. I'm sure a couple dollars a copy would be fine in digital format, to be damn near free, but also help Deborah witht he expenses incured in coming this far.
I agree, Ray passed away, his wife passed away......they in my humble opinion would want to make it available to as many as possible. Probably translated into other languages too.
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the girl next door
Interesting the number of downvotes my comment above received. It appears many of you read through the nuanced language of the OP and failed to realize that the author:
1. Insinuates that Deborah has not been interested in giving access to Ray Franz' CoC.
2. Asserts that bootlegging of CoC has not been for profit. (patently false by Deborah's own statement)
3. Accusatory to the extent Deborah is responsible, as the copyright holder of CoC, for the lack of authorized versions and ambiguity as to actual copyright holder.
4. Implies Deborah may be interested only in personal enrichment rather than the potential audience of CoC.
5. Makes light of recent "bootlegging" activities that Deborah has clearly been frustrated over.
6. Again places blame for these activities on Deborah(as the copyright holder) and her failure to make CoC available.
If I was Deborah, I would send a short message in reply. "Go fuck yourself."
