To those who wish to vilify the Melanie Rieger Conference a message from Marc Klaas

[Cara's Mom]

I was one who did write to the foundation. I DID NOT write under the WS umbrella, there was no need to mention this. I was writing as a concerned, private citizen, as is my right (it still is, isn't it?). In no way did I malign this organization for their choice of speakers. I googled this group and learned what they were all about and what the Reigers have done. Seeing that Mr. Klaas is active with this group showed me that it is an above-board organization. I have great respect and admiration for this gentleman, seeing how he has conducted himself over the years; and for all the good works he has been a part of.

I only asked that this group review the A's interviews with LE and their subsequent interviews with various news organizations and their depositions. By seeing their inconsistencies in their statements, the A's come across as people who lack any credibilty; they come across as more concerned with Casey's "innocence" than as grieving grandparents. I fear they will use this conference as a platform for Casey, rather than as a forum to discuss their ordeal as family members of a murder victim.

If that was "wrong", so be it. I was stating my opinion as a mature, educated woman; these people are free to ignore it. However, I didn't want the A's denigrating the reputation of what appears to be a highly respected organization. A circus atmosphere seems to follow the A's whereever they go-and I believe they revel in the chaos and drama. I don't think a serious conference is a proper venue for the A's and their antics.

Respectfully,
Ann

 

[MAMABEAR]

So, I would venture to say that if W/S wasn't mentioned in the emails that it might not be a W/Ser. Right? Or that it just might be somebody who used the name. OK. I am gittin as confused about this as I am about bamboo shoots----off to me lil corner.:blowkiss:

 

[sua_sponte]

sua_sponte, if a link was provided by this forum both the people who agree and dissenters could use it. It does not mean that the forum from which that link was found supports it or not.

The "truth" is that we're provided discussion boards to express our opinions here under moderation that are well within reasonable limits. We've been asked that if we have become emboldened enough by like opinions to want to further express those opinions not to do it under the united front of WS. I don't think this is asking too much.

ExpectingUnicorns - I agree with you 100%. I also want to be a "good guest" and abide by Tricia's wishes. But, I only can say that for myself.
My point was that not everyone is so considerate. If she allows the contact info to be posted on her forums, the natural consequence is that people will disregard her wishes, and talk about where they got it, or where they heard about it, or where they have talked about it. The only way to stop it for sure, is to stop the posting of it.
I don't think it's too much for her to ask either... but realisticly, I just don't think she's going to get what she's asking for.

 

[sua_sponte]

I was one who did write to the foundation. I DID NOT write under the WS umbrella, there was no need to mention this. I was writing as a concerned, private citizen, as is my right (it still is, isn't it?).

Respectfully snipped.

I agree with you that there is no need to mention WS, in fact I think it would actually lessen the impact of the letter if an affiliation was mentioned. I don't know why anyone would want to. When I write a "concern" letter, I always write as an individual and never mention any affiliation with a group or campaign...even if one exists. I think it gives more power to a letter if it seems to be self prompted, and not the result of some group lobbying its members to work together.

 

[ExpectingUnicorns]

I am kinda confused ExpectingUnicorns because you stated on the Conference thread that "In any case ~ Thanks to everyone who participated in writing them!! I think our voices count! Thank you all for helping me become an activist. You all are making this old body feel young again!"

I do not mean to be snarky... but it certainly sounds that you were thanking WS's for helping you. Kudos, for at least coming to this thread and realizing the severity of email campaigns.

Please do not take this all as a direct comment to you. This is how I generally feel.


As a poster that really comes here to "figure out" the crime, the intricacies, the what if's and hows.. it is hard to wade through hateful, opinion based only posts. I really respect Tricia, her board and her mods. They do not have to do this. Anything IT related can be a real pain and time consuming. I look at this place as her house and I want to be a good guest.


Last night, I had the lovely experience of seeing a "opinion-based" type poster, that I often would wonder if they read any documentation or looked at the resource thread before posting start to see the light. We were discussing the Cell phone records and trying to pin down a theory that worked with the timeline. ( I was mostly lurking) It makes so much sense to analyze the documentation before laying out an "I think.. ". This poster was "just blown away at all the hard work that was DONE LAST OCTOBER!!" At this late stage, should we be blown away by all the hard work that some sleuthers here do?

I love WS because we have talented posters like JWG,BJB, QuietStorm, HP, Georgia PI and many others. I like the back and forth converstations and the reconsiderations.

Yes, the Anthony's are messed up. Whatever. I am sure they loved Caylee. I am sure they are torn. I am sure they do not want us to know what they know. I am sure they do not want to believe the truth. I am sure they will live hell here on earth for all of their days. What good does it do it keep beating them up? Do we have to have use the Anthony's as a punching bag to make ourselves feel better? Picking on the gum chewing, clothes is so tiring to read through. At the end of the day, they will hear the truth and whether or not they believe it.... well.. we can be calm in knowing that justice was served and that should satisfy us.

It just really old rehashing George and Cindy and pure hatred.

Maybe that conference would have been a good place for them to go. Maybe it would help them deal with the pain and discovering the truth.


Anyway, I am sorry.. so sorry that Tricia has to write that letter. I would rather see her get attention for the great sleuthers that spent hours working out a timeline, calendar and cell ping trackings.
BTW, here is the link to the most important threads on the Caylee forum

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=233

:blowkiss:

You are right, ibyounger! I stand by that quote. I am thankful that this forum has given me the opportunity and link to voice my opinion. Is there something wrong in that? Did you read the same link I did? Did you take the same opportunity? Do you think I did something wrong or duplicitous? I did not make any reference to Websleuths ~ What are you trying to say? I don't understand. Really, I don't. Not being combative.

 

[suzihawk]

Well, I'll step up to say that I did write the foundation - as an individual, not as part of any group. I read about what the foundation was about and it's apparent they do great work. My email wasn't angry and it wasn't disrespectful. Quite the contrary. I said that I believed having the Anthonys as key note speakers might bring negative attention to their organization and dissuade some from attending. I also said that it was a shame that a man as honorable as Mark Klass, who rose from the devastating murder of his daughter only to dedicate his life to helping others, had to share the stage with the Anthonys who appear to be his very opposite.

I'm sorry that this has caused Tricia and WS embarrassment. But I'm not sorry that I wrote the e-mail. I feel it's not right for the Anthonys to use these venues for their own personal gain. And I have to stand up for what I feel is right by voicing my opinion.

 

[Brattigirle]

I really wish Tricia would leave her first post up here and move the rest of this discussion to the basement. There is too much finger pointing and nagging about how other ppl post in here. It doesn't look good for us to turn on each other. and yes again I am new here but I know that this makes me feel uncomfortable, it's like airing dirty laundry in front of your neighbors.

 

[mitzi]

I had good intentions of writing a very respectful email to the founders of the conference, and stating that because of the inconsistencies in the Anthony's statements that perhaps they should reconsider having them as keynote speakers. Then real life got in the way, and I never did send off an email. If I had, I would definitely not have mentioned WS in my email as I am aware of the TOS.

Tricia, I am so sorry that you have been put in a bad spot, but it may not have actually been someone from here, as we know there are those elsewhere who like nothing better than to denegrate WS.

:blowkiss:

 

[TURBOTHINK]

I received a call from Marc Klaas today. It seems members of Websleuths have been sending some angry emails to a wonderful organization based on what Marc said on Nancy the other night. I asked Marc to put his concerns in writing for me to post. Below is from Marc to us.

****************​

The other night you apparently heard, or somebody told you about, comments that I made on the Nancy Grace Show about George and Cindy Anthony’s scheduled appearance at the upcoming Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference. From those comments much has been imagined, speculated upon, and regurgitated in unfortunate ways. I would like to provide some context in hopes that you will modify your opinion and re-direct your anger.

Melanie Ilene Rieger, a college student, was murdered by her boyfriend on May 24, 1994. The conference was established by her parents Sam and Wanda, in her memory with the hope that others would avoid such tragedy. This year will mark my eleventh appearance at the conference. Not only am I honored and humbled by each and every invitation, but I consider my attendance as one of the high points of my year.


You see, the Melanie Rieger Conference is a serious forum that gathers amazing people with diverse perspectives about violent crime. Victims, service providers, law enforcement representatives, politicians and other advocates gather to find commonality, to discuss issues and to provide solutions to the myriad problems faced by crime victims. Over the course of my attendance I have met a diverse population of individuals who have educated and enlightened me, who have contributed to the body of literature and understanding, and have eased the burden of victimization. To malign these people and this conference based upon a few words or a single reference is unfair.


Anyone who has ever attended the Melanie Rieger Conference understands that it is a respectful forum that refuses to promote itself in an undignified way. The first mention that George and Cindy Anthony had been invited to attend was when I mentioned that fact on the Nancy Grace Show on April 20. Therefore, it is disingenuous to suggest that they are appearing as a way to drum up publicity for the conference. Anyone who would do so speaks from a lack of knowledge.


No single individual establishes the agenda or the guest list for the Melanie Rieger Conference, nor are these considerations made in a vacuum. The Conference Committee invites individual presenters months in advance, without foreknowledge of how events will affect those choices. Everyone invited to present at the Melanie Rieger Conference is considered carefully and chosen because they are either a member of the victim’s community or they are in a position to impact the community of victims. They are not chosen based on popularity or their contribution to pop culture.


I have known Sam and Wanda Rieger for more than a decade. They founded the Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference as a way to give meaning to their daughter’s murder. They are two of the finest people that I have ever met and two of the most steadfast and dedicated victim’s advocates in the United States.


Sincerely,

PollyDad

******************​

What bothers me is it seems some members took it upon themselves to use Websleuths to organize an actual email campaign against Sam and Wanda Rieger.

First, any email campaign, any petition, any sort of organized anything, has to be approved by me. That has always been a hard and fast rule here.

Of course what you do off the forum is none of my business but when an organization like the Melanie Rieger Conference receives emails from people saying they are from Websleuths then it becomes my business.

If the people who did this would have followed the rules and contacted me we could have avoided this embarrassing situation.

This is a totally different situation that Oprah. Even so, when someone posted about an "email campaign" Jbean pulled that thread until I approved it. I made the mistake of not posting a reminder about organizing email campaigns.

Websleuths is a very different forum in that it is privately owned by one person. I take a very active role in setting the rules for Websleuths. I am blessed with a great team of moderators who share my goals and make sure the forum runs smoothly.

I will be sending a letter to everyone involved in the Melanie Rieger Conference explaining that this was not endorsed by Websleuths in any way.

I don't know how many people were involved in this but apparently it was enough people from Websleuths writing some very angry and unfair emails to prompt Marc to contact me.

What I have found is Websleuths is a very respected forum. That has everything to do with you as the poster. With posters like you who post within reason and without name calling. When something like this happens it hurts all of us.

I'll leave the thread open if anyone has any questions or would like to comment.

Tricia

Trish,

I can't imagine anyone sending an email or snail mail which involved WS. I am familiar with the Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference and theirs is highly respected and a great place for information and support for victims of crime.

I must say, I did email them and the reason I did had nothing to do with WS. It had to do with true crime victims and how having them as speakers would affect them when they realize who the true Anthonys are.

Can you imagine watching a speaker for an hour and then later finding out that person had done everything in their power to protect the perp and not the victim? I believe that would be more damaging to crime victims than anything I could think of recently and that is why I wrote.

I can't even fathom how disturbing that would be to a person who lost a child or grandchild to learn later a "featured speaker" protected the person who killed her and all they said in their speech was lies to further that end.

There was just something about that which overwhelmed me with a sense of injustice and I had to email them, to try to preserve the professionalism of their conference and hopefully to get them to investigate the situation much more thoroughly before this occurred.

I honestly don't believe anyone on this forum would implicate WS if they wrote. I know I wouldn't and can't imagine anyone else doing it either.

I am sorry Mark felt it might have some from WS, but I would really like for you to investigate and see if that is really what happened or if this is just a rumor.

 

[JBean]

As most of you know I spend a lot of time on this issue.. ahem
Sometimes, it's not necessarily that people say they are from WS. But once they come on here and post that they think we should all write letters,or if they even just post that they did that, the goal is typically to encourage others to do the same.
Then WS becomes a platform for furthering that agenda and it happens fast.
So, as always, if you would like to use WS that way, just be sure to go to Tricia first and get her ok.
Sometimes she says yes
and sometimes she says no.

 

[ibyoungr]

You are right, ibyounger! I stand by that quote. I am thankful that this forum has given me the opportunity and link to voice my opinion. Is there something wrong in that? Did you read the same link I did? Did you take the same opportunity? Do you think I did something wrong or duplicitous? I did not make any reference to Websleuths ~ What are you trying to say? I don't understand. Really, I don't. Not being combative.

Yes, you do have a right to voice your opinion but thanking the ws'rs for turning you into an activist only made it sound like it was organized on this board. Guess, I understood not only were are NOT to use WS in our emails or boycotts but we should not use the board to organize. Must have read it wrong when you thanked fellow posters. I would assume if you had written the email, not posted that you sent the email ,and then not thanked everyone for helping you then it would completely look like you sent it totally on your own accord...without prodding from the WS community.

That is why I am confused.

Guess I am trying to look at it from the outside as if one of the conference organizers came to the board. It would look like it was an organized effort.



I do not care that anyone wrote the email or about their opinions.

I guess I am just the kind of person to think that maybe the Anthony's needed that conference more than anyone. Kinda like a sinner needing church.


JMHO

 

[Tricia]

OK. I am going to close this thread because this has the potential to get really ugly.

Two things we (meaning anyone who is reading here be it member or not)should all take away from this..

First and very much so foremost: Before you criticize something it is always a good idea to find out what the whole and complete story is

Also, no email campaigns are to be conducted on WS without permission from the owner. That means if you want to email and complain about something FEEL FREE but don't mention you are doing so on Websleuths. That will constitue and "organized campagn." All it takes is for one person to say, "Well I am going to email them and see if we can stop this. Here is the email address." And they are off.

Sorry, but I don't allow that on WS unless you get permission first. It takes one little comment like that and before you know it you have a full fledged out of control email sending.

I don't want to know who wrote and who did not and who mentioned WS and who did not. The point is there was an organized effort to try and stop the Anthony's from appearing at this conference. The organized effort was started at Websleuths. It was started without knowing the whole purpose of the event.

Remember, people from all over the world read here. Members or not if they read about emailing someone to stop the Anthony's from doing something they might jump on that train.

In this case we did not have all the facts. Now we do. Of course it is totally your business if you still want to write and complain but after reading Marc's letter I hope you change your mind.

One more thing. I can't imagine the Rieger conference gets much email. So when they came to work and started their computers only to find a large amount of email complaining about what they were doing (because people had heard Marc mention this on NG) I am sure they were stunned. Here they are trying to do nothing but good work, offering a platform to everyone, only to find their email boxes full of complaints.

. If they wanted the Anthony's who the hell are we to tell them anything different. They know full well what the Anthony's are about and they made a decision that the Anthony's had something to offer. We are not going. We haven't paid to go on the cruise. Who the hell are we to demand they not have the Anthony's? Pretty arrogant when you think about it.


OK, closing this and lets move on please.

Tricia

 

[JBean]

OK. I am going to close this thread because this has the potential to get really ugly.

Two things we (meaning anyone who is reading here be it member or not)should all take away from this..

First and very much so foremost: Before you criticize something it is always a good idea to find out what the whole and complete story is

Also, no email campaigns are to be conducted on WS without permission from the owner. That means if you want to email and complain about something FEEL FREE but don't mention you are doing so on Websleuths. That will constitue and "organized campagn." All it takes is for one person to say, "Well I am going to email them and see if we can stop this. Here is the email address." And they are off.

Sorry, but I don't allow that on WS unless you get permission first. It takes one little comment like that and before you know it you have a full fledged out of control email sending.

I don't want to know who wrote and who did not and who mentioned WS and who did not. The point is there was an organized effort to try and stop the Anthony's from appearing at this conference. The organized effort was started at Websleuths. It was started without knowing the whole purpose of the event.

Remember, people from all over the world read here. Members or not if they read about emailing someone to stop the Anthony's from doing something they might jump on that train.

In this case we did not have all the facts. Now we do. Of course it is totally your business if you still want to write and complain but after reading Marc's letter I hope you change your mind.

One more thing. I can't imagine the Rieger conference gets much email. So when they came to work and started their computers only to find a large amount of email complaining about what they were doing (because people had heard Marc mention this on NG) I am sure they were stunned. Here they are trying to do nothing but good work, offering a platform to everyone, only to find their email boxes full of complaints.

. If they wanted the Anthony's who the hell are we to tell them anything different. They know full well what the Anthony's are about and they made a decision that the Anthony's had something to offer. We are not going. We haven't paid to go on the cruise. Who the hell are we to demand they not have the Anthony's? Pretty arrogant when you think about it.


OK, closing this and lets move on please.

Tricia

PLease, please, please read this thread and the bolded section of the quoted post for clarification. It doesn't seem to be getting across.

 

[JBean]

bumpity bump bump

snipped
Also, no email campaigns are to be conducted on WS without permission from the owner. That means if you want to email and complain about something FEEL FREE but don't mention you are doing so on Websleuths. That will constitue and "organized campagn." All it takes is for one person to say, "Well I am going to email them and see if we can stop this. Here is the email address." And they are off.

Sorry, but I don't allow that on WS unless you get permission first. It takes one little comment like that and before you know it you have a full fledged out of control email sending.

I don't want to know who wrote and who did not and who mentioned WS and who did not. The point is there was an organized effort to try and stop the Anthony's from appearing at this conference. The organized effort was started at Websleuths. It was started without knowing the whole purpose of the event.

Remember, people from all over the world read here. Members or not if they read about emailing someone to stop the Anthony's from doing something they might jump on that train.