I have received some bullying letters from Fox's corporate lawyers, demanding that I remove all Simpsons material from my site (which is basically a personal homepage that is run for fun, not for profit).
Not only that, but they have demanded that I remove even LINKS to other sites, for which there is no legal precedent. It is probably only a matter of time before MTV asks its lawyers to try and remove my Beavis & Butt-Head site too (hence the cross-posting).
This is NOT a plug or spam for my rather modest sites. I want you to know that the Internet is being taken away from us by stealth at this very moment. You may have wondered why so many of your favourite fansites have disappeared without a moment's notice - now you know.
Think about it - what will be the future for unofficial fansites if we can't even LINK to sites that corporate lawyers want to control? The obvious next step is that these "official" sites will become pay sites, and the whole Net will simply be a one-way channel where we pay for the privilege of downloading endless advertising material.
Let's stop the rot. I won't be going quietly, and I will ensure that Fox's actions are made very public. However, this will be a futile gesture if we don't stick together. What I'm asking for is a show of support - I'll be setting up a petition on the site and I would urge anyone else who runs a fansite to do likewise.
Please note - I don't want money, I'm not selling a product and you don't even have to visit my website (although you'll be welcome if you do).