Bill, there's quite a few bloggers out there that would gladly help you out for free.

Don't let this little encounter with a "designer" get to you.

Bill, by publicly airing this very minor dispute you:

1. Sunk to the same level as your vendor;

2. Used your much greater bully pulpit to, well, bully her; and

3. Trivialized your site.

All of these are disappointing, since I very much admire your work.

ultraloser -

I did not publicly air this dispute, she did. I wasn't even aware that there was a dispute until she wrote a post that accused me of thievery for services rendered. The blogging community is small and information spreads quickly, so I have been forced to publicize an honest defense lest my credibility plummets among writers in a tight-knit media environment.

I have no desire to deal with this in this manner, but her post, followed by the many posts that link to her and parrot her accusations against me demand a response.

If you still don't understand my need to respond to a public attack on my credibility, please move on and read another site that meets your needs.

Ahhhhh...revisionist history at its finest. Kudos. Funny how on a client list of well over a hundred, you are the first and only to refuse payment AFTER SERVICES RENDERED (and be publicly outed for doing so).

It's not revisionist, it's the truth, and I have others that can back up all elements of my story, including all relevant e-mails.

Bill:

I agree with Val above, and with point 3 (c) from ultraloser's first post, in that "I very much admire your work"

I really applaud you for giving a night's thought to your response to the Monday email you got from your design service. I'm sorry they decided to go public, and I'm sorry you felt the need to vent publicly as well.

This is just a "pat on the back" and "carry on" to you, and a hopeful encouragement to your design company to try to do a better job of communicating with your clients, no matter how wronged you think you might be.

Now, all of you, back to work!

Bill, did this problem seem to arise out of the blue after the election? Ouside the box. You've seen the moonbat venom fly like Fallujan bullets. Might you know Ms. Tabb's political leanings?

Or I could just be barking up a dead tree.

Hood,

I dont think politics are relevant here. What is relevant is - and this is for you Robyn - the interesting dichotomy of the posts.

One shows dignity and class, while the other shows a complete lack of thereof.

That's a good point Val. But unless Bill is lying, it appears completely unjustified on one half. I was just digging for the explanation behind the crass and that was the first avenue arrived at - given the subject matter of Bill's blog.

Like I said, my point could be baseless. It doesn't make much sense in context. Unless there's a behind-the-scenes love affair gone awry.

I think I just chopped down that dead tree...

Bill,

Shit happens. Most people who read this blog aren't aware of this conflict and wouldn't care either way. Put this whole post in an extended comments section such that those who are interested can read about it. But most people don't need to hear this.

When I first started reading this post, I asked myself, "What the hell is Bill doing?!" Then, as I read Bill's typically comprehensive recitation of events, I saw perfectly well what Bill was doing: defending himself.

Seki accused Bill of being a deadbeat, with no further explanation. And as is usually the case, others (with apparently zero knowledge about the situation other than Seki's ill-defined and unexplained accusation) started spreading the rumor.

As Val said, compare the posts (Bill's and Seki's). While the truth is always a bit different depending on your perspective, it seems pretty clear to me that Bill's version of events is a whole lot closer to the truth than Seki's. Well, I can't really say that, because Seki hasn't said much. She's only called Bill a thief.

Pfft. And I don't give a rat's patootie about Seki's client list. If she's gone 'round the bend or something, somebody had to catch the first round.

The next commenter that complains about me writing this post is encouraged to read another blog. This post is not for you, skip it. This post is an effort to defend my credibility among the bloggers that largely determine my traffic, from false accustations made by another blogger.

If you fail to understand that and have a problem with the concept, please move on.

Thank you.

(And thanks Boyd, exactly)