Piracy. Plain and simple.
Pirates Helen Sosso (Sarasota Association of Realtors president) and Kathy Roberts (SAR CEO) decided they wanted the online authority of another website – a site owned by Marc Rasmussen.
After years of taking money and fees from REALTORS the Sarasota Association of Realtors decided they wanted to rank better in search engines. Instead of working for it they hatched a plan to steal it.
So, the SAR pirates landed in Sarasota.
Instead of using the money they collect from their members to help them, they targeted one to destroy – all for selfish gain.
Instead of accepting they had lost an ethics hearing, they pressed on to hijack a successful members’ website.
Crying petty and legally undefendable reasons, they complained to ICANN and had Marc’s website transferred to them, the SAR Pirates.
Though pending legal processes kept the domain frozen, the registrar in their bumbling abilities transferred the domain to them.
Helen and Kathy (SAR CEO pictured above) found what they wanted – a treasure. (Rumor says Helen wanted more lipstick)
Immediately the SAR Pirates redirected the domain to their own – proving their intent to absorb the online authority that came with the domain.
The domain, keep in mind has tens of thousands of Marc’s earned dollars put into it. He’s spent years WORKING on it, he EARNED its status as number one in search. It was HIS investment, HIS business.
Marc has to fight this, spend his money and time trying to get what he had paid for and earned. The Sarasota Association of Realtors, remember has been pillaging members for a long time and have a war-chest of legal money to spend. Marc does not, and now doesn’t even have a website to generate business to help earn money to fight, much less feed his family.
Marc has friends though. Friends in real estate. Friends online. Friends from places he didn’t even know and they are coming together.
Not just to help Marc, as a friend or a stranger. But to stand against evil and set a precedent in case law that sets the record straight.
Don’t let mini-governments think they own you, your website, your name, your business and don’t let them believe they are above the law and outside of ethical constraints.
Help Marc, help the Realtors across the country and see that he gets his livelihood back from Helen Sosso and her pirate friends..
Together, real estate professionals will be confident that pirates like these won’t try to steal from anyone in this manner again.
Fight SAR. Change the real estate world for the better. Fight Realtor Associations everywhere by creating case law against such theivery. Don’t let pirates prevail!
LOL! Unfortunately, I think they look too good in the pics! What a great analogy. I’ve got to get this link up on my links list at REW and I’m creating another one at AR.
They won’t be lookin’ too good when it’s over
Knox:
Great graphics! The creative minds of the grass-roots Realtor community is being unleashed on the SAR, they won’t know what hit them.
I see you got the domain “notthesarasotamls.com“. Excellent touch.
-Tom W.
Thanks! Oh, aaaaahhh – you noticed that?
No domain is better than this one though.
great post. An ethical association would give Marc back the domain and allow him to redirect it to his new site.
Knox,
I love the graphics, It would be so funny if the local news in Sarasota called you up for permission to use them on the news.
Keep up the great work. I am still snickering at the gunslinger image.
Jim
[...] Pirates in Sarasota [...]
[...] Pirates in Sarasota [...]
[...] management in play here. Helen Sosso is known as the “SAR Snatch” because what her Sarasota Association of Realtors has done to one of her [...]
http://www.luxurysarasotarealestate.com/blog/sarasota/sarasota-association-of-realtors-says-august-2008-sees-continuation-of-summer-sales-slowdown/show/
That is a real funny story. Yall keep on them. I wonder if they will ever give it back to get rid of the bad pub.