Why are they going after piracy?

Because piracy is a threat to content producers; and, without content, we are all out of business.

Where you send your money is your business.

I respect anybody that reflects on a situation, takes positive action and puts their time and money where they believe it will do the best for our industry.

After all, we are all entitled to our opinions as to what course of action is best.

Ok lets separate the wheat from the chaff here

they are going after piracy because it sounds good, but are they really going after piracy? The answer is no What have they done to stop Pirate Bay or any tube site or any other form of piracy? The answer is nothing.

They crow about 2257 but truth is it was Rondee Kamins who got 2257 overturned with her own money and the FSC didnt so much as file an amicus brief.

When you ask them where the money has gone you get one of two answers...the infamous we spend it protecting the industry or if you were a member we'd tell you. Both are lies. i was a member and they wouldn't tell me and I'm not the only one. And they can never come up with anything substantive that they have accomplished.

Me run for the board of directors? Fat chance because the first thing I would do is dissolve it. Its name is synonymous with waste and ineptitude and the damage has been done over so long a period of time that it could never be undone.

They say all the board members are volunteers but I know that to be bullshit, at least at the Executive Director level. I know the salaries of a few former members, I have also seen expense reports that included ten dollar a day room service tips in Sacramento.

The FSC has been little more than a hole for the industry to dump money into, where it goes is anyones guess, they love to tell you where it didn't go, or at least where they claim it didn't go. So I get this email that was from someone inside the FSC who would be in a position to know these things and yes I believe this person.

You should too.

Our industry needs a good organization and Dave Cummings and Mark kernes would both be valuable members but it has to be an organization with vision, leadership, objectives and dedication. the FSC is NOT that organization.

Mike,

The Executive Director is not a member of the Board and doesn't vote on agenda items.

Over the past 6 years, I have known Bill Lyon, Kat Sunlove, Michelle Freridge and Diane Duke as EDs of the FSC. I can truthfully say that I feel there has been an improvement over time in the abilities of the ED to move the FSC forward.

Need copies from the business center, spill something on your pants and need them cleaned now, or need help hauling a load of documents to the car for a hundred congressmen. Depending on what you have room service doing for you, a ten dollar tip is chump change. There is no scandal here.

I should believe you because you received an email from some anonymous "insider" who was in the know......but, is yet to be revealled. (Deep Throat, maybe :1orglaugh).

You are entitled to your opinion. Have a pleasant morning.

wherver there is a carcass there will be buzzards

Why do people in this industry believe that if they donate to the FSC that their donations should be their own private "legal fund ?"

In any other industry, corporations financially support the trade industry group that represents their interests AND they hire their own lawyers to handle their own legal problems.

The FSC is not in existence to provide a defense to every adult company that gets into trouble nor should they. Each company has to take responsibility for themselves and actually provide for their own defense.

The FSC will step up and file amicus curiae briefs when necessary on behalf of the industry as a whole. Its myopic to think that "hey I gave $50,000 to the FSC this year, they will keep that money for me in case I need to get a lawyer."

Since Mike is so well versed on this.... please tell me what other industry's trade groups do for their members and how much they spend on various items ???

You cannot claim fiscal mismanagement without knowing what the budget is for an equally situated industry and their trade group. Please provide some facts in comparison before you make unsubstantiated claims. And please don't use a trade group like the NRA that is 10x the size of the FSC. Compare apples to apples.

Good post! Thanks. I almost sent them a shitload lol.

I cannot even trust charities nowadays...

so if they spent 20 million on heated mittens it isn't mismanagement unless an equally situated industry group spends more for their mitten warmers ?

Good one.... but they didnt spend $20 million on heated mittens. Nice try though.

Perhaps we will try this one....

What did another trade association that represents a $10 billion a year industry spend on lobbying last year ?

Im not camparing the FSC to any other entity Im comparing the FSC to the FSC and its an epic FAIL.


Time and time again its asked where the money goes, they never answer, time and time again they are asked to list what they have accomplished, they never answer

The FSC didnt get this rep just because I said the are irresponsible, bloated and worthless, trust me I dont carry that much weight. They got this rep because they have EARNED it.

Have they done the right thing a few times, yes, at least they have been on the right side of things although in the case of .XXX it took a strong stance from Bill Lyon to keep them from selling out to ICMRegistry.

The FSC has earned this reputation over the years so this year as a PR move they have this fluffed up accounting done which say nothing except that they spend 2.50 in fundraising for every dollar they raise. Ya you heard that right the spend 2.50 to get 1.00 YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG! IDIOTS!

Trust, transparency, and accomplishments are important when you take people's money.

Okay Mike.... complaining is every American's god given birth rite...

If you do not want to give me whom you think is the bastillion of fiscal responsibility of trade industry groups then ...

Perhaps a few suggestions as to what you think they should be doing would be great. We all now know what you think they are doing wrong.

Since you know... how much should lobbyist costs ? On a federal and a state basis ? Should they have lobbyist in every state or just California and DC ?

As far as fund raising goes, we know you wouldn't spend any money on it but then I am sure you would complain they were not doing it. You then come on the various boards and blog about how no one should give money to them and complain that no one does. Hmmm Cause=Effect ???

I can tell you that the FSC offices are in Canoga Park, a lower rent district, instead on Ventura Blvd in Encino. And their offices are basically the size of a closet. No bloat there. Also, instead of renting a board room at a local hotel to meet in, Diane has her staff meetings in my conference room which I donate to them. No bloat there.

Please enlighten me with the "How Mike South would Run the FSC ?" Be a part of the solution... if that means disbanding the current FSC so be it, but does that mean you would rather have no trade association or that it would be completely different ?

The first thing I would do is dissolve it. Plain and simple.

Heres you a list of trade groups that are probably all better than the Free Speech Coalition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States

But lets talk some specifics here.

Probably the single most important thing a trade association can do is to improve an industries image, admittedly that is difficult to do for the adult industry but hey its no more difficult a task than the American Bar Association has.

The FSC might start by educating the public about two issues that plague our industry; porn addiction and child pornography. For the former there is no such thing, as for the latter our industry has a way better track record than say teachers, daycare, police, politicians, clergy, coaches and family members.

But is that even what would serve the industry best? I doubt it.

Before we start trying to sell Sacramento or Washington DC on how responsible we are I would suggest we start acting responsibly. This industry would be far better served byan organization that actually invloves the people in it, the talent, the producers and directors, the crew.

When you ask me for money I expect something in return, something a lot more than saying we are using it help protect you, dont ask us how, just trust we now whats best for you.

Whatever org grows out of dissolving the FSC would START with clear objectives and timetables and a reasonable methodology for achieving those objectives, and accountability for those objectives would be the most important thing to be transmitted to the rank and file of the organization.

And as far as fund raising goes I think any idiot can see that spending 2.50 to bring in one dollar ( a 150% loss ) means YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG MORONS!

Now stop deflecting and start answering some of the questions that have been asked.

OK, I'm not Mike South but I'll offer up a few ideas and anyone can feel free to play devil's advocate with anything I suggest. I won't claim to know all the details of the FSC, but maybe that's a good thing as that places me on the outside looking in...

Let's start at with the basics and ask some questions:

2. What Is The Role Of The FSC? You can't form an organization and use a broad stroke pen when writing out what role the organization will play. To simply say "We want free speech yadda yadda yadda... won't cut it. Be specific. You can't measure success without pinpointing issues that the FSC will address. The members of the FSC will measure success and failures based upon the defined issues and will expect the efforts (and dollars) to be used for those specific issues.
   
   
3. What Segment Of The Industry Will The FSC Represent? Deciding this can be a little tricky because when you say Free Speech with a broad stroke, that can be interpreted to be free speech for sites such as PirateBay - but - PirateBay (and other such sites) aren't operated in the U.S.A. and as such do not qualify to be represented as Free Speech is a right for U.S. citizens. We need to be able to separate us from them - or at least the negative inpact they carry.
   
   
4. Who Is Going To Run The FSC? The people don't decide, they only choose the people who do - so, who do we entrust our faith to take our issues to "the man" and accomplish our goals? What are the qualifications we need for that position? Who decides those qualifications?
   
   
   
5. How Do Board Members Get Appointed/Elected? Who are these people and how did they arrive on the board of directors? Did they get 10 of their best buddies to suggest them? Are they qualified? The "Bro Club" has its' place, but this isn't the place for it. This needs to be a serious organization with serious people who focus on industry issues.
   
   
6. What Input Do We Have? How much of a voice will we have? Does the board listen to our issues or will it turn into an organization that decides what our important issues are (or should be)?

Start with those questions, kick em' around, add to and move on from there :upsidedow

$1 million isnt much to lobby with.

We are in total agreement. Its tough to put a shine on this industry, but it is possible. But hiring a PR firm would cost substantial money - a solid PR firm is going to be a minimum of $10k a month upwards up $30k. Would you be okay with a $360,000 outlay for someone to send out a couple of PRs each month and make an occasional TV appearance ?

Again 100% agreement. And the FSC isnt closed to anyone. Actually I think they should open it to consumers as well. Arent their rights to watch porn also on trial when Max and John ect. get prosecuted ? If no one wants to buy porn, do you think they would spend an extra $50 a year on a membership ? Or maybe a $1 month extra on a website membership billed monthly ?

Hard to raise money when a Mike South is on the forums blogging that no one should give the FSC a dime. But your point is well noted. There are a lot of ways to raise money they havent thought of.... spend a day on set to the highest bidder ? non sex walk on role in a Wicked movie... dinner with your favorite star ... ect - all of which costs nothing if its donated and could bring in money -- from the fans.

I think part of the problem was that the FSC was started as a war chest and people came to think of them as such. They have moved past that, but people in the industry still think that they should be.

Most trade associations exist to (1) lobby on behalf of the industry (2) educate and inform (3) allow for networking for its members (4) provide ancillary services ie., credit unions, health insurance, job banks ect for its members.

Paying member's legal costs isnt one of them.

And like the last poster stated, even if the FSC had $1,000,000 alone to lobby with, thats peanuts compared to what other industries throw around on politicians. The fact is few politicians want to be seen dining with the FSC or taking this money from us. You want to see a politician run, try to take a picture of him with Mary Carey during Lobbying Days in Sacramento. I know, I tried.

Mike you make it sound like $1,000,000 is huge money. Its not. My overhead is more than that every year and I run a small boutique law firm. Can I tell you where every dime goes - nope, cause I would spend all day searching for every one of them.

If you goal is to have 100% accountability on every dime, no one could do anything at the FSC that was remotely worthwhile. I can assure you that from everything that I have seen, Diane is not running bar bills and taking private jets and limos everywhere. Hell I end up paying the tab whenever we have lunch together.

My question is simple, what have they done for the industry lately? Shouldn't be a tough question to answer. They don't have anything on their site of value since 2005 mentioning what they've done. I have seen them in the news losing cases though.

Interesting how this all turned out... :Oh crap

I agree with Mike about educating. When some pundit is going to have some anti porn person I dont want Ron Jeremy as my voice. I want an clean shaven person in a suit who is well versed in actual facts. I dont think lobbying does enough I think its more important that fsc should spend 80 percent of what they make in legal be it giving advice to people in the industry having legal battles or actually sending lawyers on their behalf. Hire a professional fund raiser when you consider all the money this industry makes they are collecting nothing. Also stick to a set of principles, leave piracy to someone else. Also the industry has to police itself but this wont happen because as a industry there are too many hidden agendas,its my business I will do whatever the fuck I want types and megalomaniacs.

I'll gladly rep and lobby for the adult industry for half of what any other PR firm would charge.

People may laugh all they want-
But I never get bad press.

I am a spin doctor capable of putting the best MAC lipstick on a pig.

I guarantee 100% if people like me who deal with PRESS every sweeps week, and can get in front of celebrities and congressmen and talk to them like real people- things can change.

It's just that old guard stigma that is attached to the FSC that they can't shake.

I recall seeing receipts from dry cleaners for $100's of dollars and hotel bills Bill Lyon racked up years ago and knew then that this industry was doomed from a lobbying perspective.

The other problem is that some of the people who contribute the most to the FSC are felons.

That can never help our cause or put anyone in a positive light.
I am not saying that these people haven't served their time or have been reformed it is what it is... and something the entire Board of the FSC should already know.

The FSC was started to help book store owners an producers of porn.
It should have absolutely nothing to do with the internet at all.

How can the FSC watchover a global epidemic?

They can't.

It's like Interpol investigating a kidnaping in Florida.
It's not in their jurisdiction.

Maybe a bad analogy, but to me it is pretty simple.

Good points if I ever got rich I would have KB handle my pr :) But I think they can focus on the us, if the us got their shit together.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

lol I want him or her to look as conservative as the conservative scumbags. Think about it they got some real professional looking antiporn scumbag and very casual looking Ron. Now Ron is a really good guy and very smart but for someone who knows nothing about the industry the professional looking person gets instant credit because of the way they look.We need to take that away from them.

Tony I am more affordable than you think
:-))

Also I think I look pretty professional in my media appearances.
You guys decide

Press conference for Virgin Territory

http://a842.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...355f6b89b1.jpg

Me on Dr. Phil wearing my ASACP PIN!!!


http://a348.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...6744f1439b.jpg


ownin Catherine Crier on Court TV
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MmZ3XDW0x3k

Me on 20/20

http://www.marketingfirm.com/kbmedia.wmv

I was gonna be done with this thread but THIS just got to me....

Well for starters let me clarify by YOUR term of "This Industry" to be ONLINE PORN, and not necessarily the whole ball of wax, there is indeed two factions of porn, brick & mortar companies Like Elegant Angel, Vivid, Kick Ass, etc, they MAY or may not also have an online presence BUT the brick and mortar companies STARTED the biz NOT US, WE are the "new kids on the block" and WE as a collective have done more HARM then good since our birth.

To get back to the actual question... the BULK of your average adult webmasters are NOT biz savoy people, they are not college grads, biz majors, etc etc, SOME ARE, but MOST are NOT, now you have a major crisis (hell theres at LEAST one per month right?) and one org steps up and PRETENDS to be "Jesus Christ" (Meaning our only saviors from the powers that be) they CLAIMED "Give us money, and you WILL BE PROTECTED" they make all these wonderful claims about your safety, privacy, and well being, and they did nothing more then prey upon people's FEAR.

Now remember based on the assumption that the bulk of us are NOT biz majors, we join this org, and we assume we are protected and that would be enough right? WRONG, we STILL need our OWN legal representation.... or do we?

I remember one of the BIGGEST gripes I had with the FSC during the days of my radio shows was the blatant LIES and fear mongering people on their behalf were into, I recall a thread (here I think) where a person said something along the lines of "we have our own legal team WHY SHOULD WE JOIN THE FSC" and the "official response" was along the lines of: "If your NOT a member of the FSC you will NOT be covered in their 2257 injunction"

So this org, knows MORE then your own hired legal aid, and without them no matter who your legal team is your gonna be fucked??? guess I better join now huh? and with all this logic I don't need a lawyer on TOP of the FSC since as a member I'm covered so they say.

Again lets go back to the beginning of the FSC's internet fame, where they came to the sub porn niche (see beginning of this post) and filled our heads with promises of safety and a magic SEALED list that everyone upon that list would be SAFE and FREE of gov. inspections, WHY should I bother with my own lawyer when this wonderful org has me TOTALLY PROTECTED? (or so they claimed)

How about changing that to: "hey I gave $50,000 to the FSC this year, why didn't they do anything they 'promised' they would do pertaining the online porn industry?"

Here's a funny thing from me, I APPLAUD the FSC.... for their OFFLINE porn work, they have done ALLOT for the brick & mortar porn companies, BUT they have fleeced and raped the online portion of the industry and have done NOTHING that I can see.

Their simply "robbing peter to pay for paul" Peter being the internet porn people, Paul being the offline porn people

This is some skeevy shit, an org CLAIMING to need money to fund litigation, to file injunctions, to hire legal teams, to OVERTURN bills BILKS almost TWO MILLION dollars in a fiscal year and according to their own report spends the bulk of that money on WHAT?

I could care less how much EFD (fake org) spends on what from their 2mill MEMBER DONATED FUNDS, UNLESS they made grandiose claims and fell far more then short on actually making good on said claims, The FSC did and has been doing just that.

Really this is a subject that got me into some trouble years back, and these days you guys would call it a "bro issue" I call it a bullshit issue, we reap what we sow nothing more and nothing less. I love this industry and by that I mean the ENTIRE industry, but the damage this faction has done is really not fixable even by the best PR people we have, as a collective whole we have created an online empire based on fucking...

fucking our consumers, and then whining when the law tries to stop us, OR when someone "steals" our content.

porn is a BIZ nothing more nothing less, and contrary to popular belief not EVERYONE can make it in biz

/end rant
// steps off soap box

/// puts on Flame Retardant pants

-Loki-

Loki-

Thas was an excellent post.
Kudo's for you and your insight.

You and I agree on a lot of things
:-))

PS I am not looking to pound on the FSC.
I just have always called a spade a spade so to speak.

I believe that the FSC is like the UAW.
The both are pretty much vestigial right now.

We never expected the FSC to be our own private legal fund. We had an excellent attorney in Louis Sirkin (and Brad Shafer for our Michigan locations that were under fire) that we spent a ton of money on. We were simply looking for the FSC to get involved with some of the media surrounding our cases, and to let it be known they were on our side. These were pretty important cases in which multiple cities were trying to use public nuisance laws, which are used to shut down crackhouses, to close adult businesses. The FSC couldn't be bothered. It won't be forgotten...

yA KNOW THESE FSC GUYS ALWAYS VOMIT UP THE WHY DO YOU EXPECT US TO BE YOUR LEGAL DEFENSE FUND BLAH BLAH BLAH

I will fucking tell you why because when they come around begging for money they intentionally give people that impression they know its a con but the guy forking over his hard earned cash has no idea.

Greeeeeeeaaaaaat, now I gotta sit back and watch The FSC members fly out to Washington in private jets and beg for a bailout?????

All jokes aside, I'm pleased that you agree on some of what I touched on, I've always been a fan of both the Blatt brothers.

My biggest issue with the FSC is they out and out used bullshit scare tactics to TRICK people to join their org years back, made more promises and claims then ANY political party member, and delivered even less, again at least where it pertained to the ONLINE porn industry.

Allot of this COULD have been avoided, but sadly it seems to me that that entire "Chicken Little" recruiting was "Bro Approved" and if you spoke out LOUDLY against the "approved" speech, you got shitcanned or flamed like a match.

I do have to admit, this like other things makes me chuckle a bit, all be it a sad chuckle I said it before and I'll say it again.... we reap what we sow.

Last but not least... we need to chat one of these days, I have a few projects that could use you somewhere down the line

-Loki-

:1orglaugh


Back before the last ice age maybe.

Nowadays the FSC's job is to keep the 2257 boogymen away. Nothing more and nothing less.

I cant argue with this point or most of the others you have made. I was bothered by the same tactics and some of the chicken little tactics of some of the other attorneys in the industry. Fear should never be used as a motivator to part someone from their cash.

I will be meeting with Diane and will be passing along your arguments.

However, I am still of the belief that you do not throw out the baby with the bath water like Mike South would like to do. There are changes that should be made. Change occurs slowly especially in a group run by consensus.

I do not always agree with everything that the FSC does, but I also do not feel that this industry -- online or brick and mortar -- can do without an industry trade group. If the online industry feels, as a collective, under-represented by FSC, why hasnt this aspect of the industry started their own trade association. Most industries have several trade associations.

I have gone to Sacramento for years now on the FSC Lobbying Day and I can personally tell you, each year it gets easier and easier. We get less and less flax and more acceptance. We were able to kill a tax on porn all-the-while the state of California was having its worse state budget crisis in the state's history. It was amazing to meet with the Speaker of the House and be told that he would not support a tax on porn, no matter what.

If dont you think thats a major accomplishment. Think again. If California would have passed it, every other state would line up to do the same.

Its going to take more time and yes more money to get accomplished what needs to be accomplished before there is a radical shift in people's perceptions about porn and online porn especially.

And yet, it is used and far more often then not. And it's perfectly all well and good as LONG as you don't get caught, well enough times I guess, but seriously here, how can you sit/stand there and both AGREE that the FSC used pure scare tactics AND yet still endorse them... granted you also admit that you "don't always agree with everything they do"

That's great and all, but it would prolly do a bit better by doing a simple search here on the MANY other threads about the FSC and take it ALL to Diane, not that it will make much difference, what can they really do....

(1) Give back the money that was unfairly gained under misrepresentation of both membership "benefits" or the contents of their own "charter".... can't have that, we all should have read the fine print and had our own legal teams

(2) Actually put their .. well our money where their mouths are and DO what they claimed they would do for the ONLINE industryWell SURE we can do all that and more.... but were gonna need MORE of your money... but this time we've changed scouts honor!

(3) Release the "Pro FSC" people on the board and give us canned responses and DODGE any and ALL valid issues we may haveHmmm, sounds easy, and hell were good at it too

(4) The Almighty Epiphany...never gonna happen, there's no money in honesty.

Your honer, what my colleague is trying to say is that Mike south hates babies AND bathwater.... all jokes aside (it's late and I'm a funny guy lol) Theres a valid reason to want to throw the baby out with the bathwater in this respect, imagine trying to get people to like Hitler after the holocaust (I'm NOT calling the FSC Hitler mind you lol) How much would it take to convince people to give him say one more chance?

Same thing here (on much smaller scale mind you) in respects to the online porn faction the FSC told us all there were "showers and food" and we just needed to sign up and pay 'um. then we'd all be safe and snug and sealed in a magical list that would never be seen :1orglaugh sorry, again it's just too easy.

All be it an extreme example can you see the truth in it? how does one "fix" mistrust, misrepresentation, and exploitation? How does an industry give them a second chance, knowing what a clusterfuck the first went, and that literally the FSC got away with it, they got our money, and we got squat.

First off a POSSIBLE answer to WHY "This aspect" of the industry has not gone out and created such an org. lies in the fact that too many of the people involved do NOT take this as a biz. it's not a "job" or a "career" it's a "quick buck:1orglaugh" it's a "Party :helpme" It's a chance for "Free porn:winkwink:" and because of that mentality WHY would anyone waste their time?

Another thing I keep in mind is that in a industry built on lies, scams, and tricks and the money FLOWED like wine, WHY would they really want to "clean it up" and put on a public face" that would SHOW the public who they were, what they did and (when applicable) how they fucked them over.

The brick porn has already been doing that same thing for AGES theres really nothing FOR THEM TO HIDE, (less some drugs and taxes for some) but all in all they stand out in the public day after day trying to change the way people view adult entertainment, and adult sexual aides.

The FSC should have NEVER gotten involved with online porn, at the very LEAST a leg should have been created UNDER the main corp. that would handle this side, so at the very least again, we would have had some sort of better representation then we've gotten thus far.

And to all of you who would say:

"Do you have a better idea" "do something about it yourself" "fuck you" or whatever else, ask yourself this question

How would you be different RIGHT NOW, if there was NO FSC for your online porn, meaning would you feel any different about your rights, money, freedom etc?

Seems to me, if we can mostly agree that they've done nothing for us, why the hell could we say something like "better to have them then no one"

-Loki-

yes i do advocate throwing the baby out with the bathwater in this case.

for so long the FSC and its leadership have gained such a poor reputation that it can not be salvaged, plain and simple. you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear, it's just trying to put lipstick on a pig yada yada

in this case its best to simply start over and leave the name and the fuck ups behind.

Thats why its called an example. You said you couldn't claim any expense was fiscal mismanagement unless an equally sized group was spending more. I was merely pointing out that you were wrong.

Over the years, I've heard the arguement before that the FSC doesn't represent "my" segment, i.e. talent, directors, stage hands, editors, webmasters, consumers, etc.

The truth is that FSC membership is open to all and provides a lot of information on the website that has been discussed here including mission, strategic plan, and the 2007 annual report.

Link to Free Speech Coalition Information Page

With Alec Hemly of Xbiz, Adam Lucas of Unzipped Media, Morgan Sommer of Cybersocket, and Tim Valenti (incumbent) of Naked Sword running for board seats, I don't see how the online segment feels under represented. Tim was already on the Board along with Tom Hymes of Xbiz and Darklady. When you, the online community, look into the "FSC" mirror, you will see youself looking back.

The some members of the online community may feel that the FSC doesn't act in their best interest: The What Have You Done For Me Lately!!!! Crowd.

However, realize that the leaders of the online-community feel that the FSC is a valuable organization, that it is worth joining and participating in, that the online community is well represented on the Board of the FSC, and has participated in the budgetary, planning, and priority setting process.

If you don't like the budget, agenda, goals, etc, I would suggest that you join, get active, vote or run for the Board, and help the FSC reach it's goals, and communicate your concerns to Board members that share your interests.

Quitters, whiners, and haters who do nothing but bitch about the FSC while offering no alternatives do more harm to our industry than good. It is hard to raise the needed revenues to meet our goals when some folks are spewing their vitriol on the Boards.

If you really hate the FSC, do something about it: join and change it, or, create an alternative. Don't be passive.

I agree, I never heard shit from them either

The Free Speech Coalition is Anal Hobit Approved.
:thumbsup

Nuff Said.

redrob once again you state the obvious

the FSC will take money from anyone

and you fail to answer any questions that have been posed

tell yall what send me whatever money you were going to give to the FSC I welcome all contributors I will take money from all of you.

And I will tell you EXACTLY where it will go.

I will use it to pay cute amateur girls to shoot bukkakes for me, I will use it to go offshore fishing and diving and to do things that make me happy.

Now you will get exactly the same value for your money that the FSC is going to give you...NONE.... but with me you have full accountability. You know whats its being used for

paypal it to mikesouth at mikesouth.com

:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

good call

I have no crystal ball, but some suggestions based on alot of observations:

- mikesouth, run for the board of directors and get elected. The board needs passionate people like you who really do care about the porn industry (like connor and tom) and can communicate and share that energy with others.

- the larger adult companies are taking care of themselves. they have the revenue, the offshore coverage and offshore banking. in following the 80/20 rule.. there is still 80% of adult businesses out there that make up a large number, but don't make the combined revenue of the bigger boys. i say have ccbill and epoch raise processing rates by 1% and have that 1% be contributed to FSC.

meaning..if you are being charged 12% from CCbill/epoch, you would be charged 13%. Before you start crying about losing money, if you are making $500,000/year, the 1% would cost you $5,000 in a year. If $300M dollars processed in a year were charged 1%, that would give the FSC $3M to really do the PR and legal defenses.


As loki brilliantly posted: the brick and mortar companies STARTED the biz NOT US, WE are the "new kids on the block" and WE as a collective have done more HARM then good since our birth.


Those that have paid FSC dues and made contributions, truly do understand that money is necessary to fund the fight . The problem is that the greater majority do nothing and wait to others fund the fight which there is little in the coffers.

.XXX (start evil background soundtrack here) would have placed a "tax" on all adult businesses that had the .XXX domain, and that money might have gone to (ironically) help the adult industry with much better funding.

Porn taxes like what California was trying to pass would have done nothing to help the adult biz out. It would siphon money out of adult and into government pet projects as "found money". Don't forget there have been several congressional bills suggested for a porn tax of like 25%.

By forcing those who do not have a merchant account, to have to pay their contributions to fund the industry trade association, is a very small price to pay. I feel that some webmasters may grumble about the 1% and try to threaten (bluff) that they would leave ccbill/epoch, but the reality is these two companies are at the top of their game for a reason, they have their credibility and time spent in the industry. If some upstart comes in to charge less (which many have already), business owners would need to evaluate who is going to keep paying them their money and not fold up like so many processors have.

The motto "united we stand, divided we fall" is very much with rosy-glasses.

The reality is adult business are following the motto: "divided we stand, divided we fall", in thinking they will take care of their own problems.

But federal laws, current and pending, have a broader chilling effect, that the future is more like "divided we stand, united we fall".


Fight the 1 if by land, 2 if by sea!