Several people have mentioned that the Zablotskyy case is difficult and hard to follow. And that is true. I often find that if I can arrange difficult situations in chronological order ... in a timeline ... they are easier to understand.
This post is not intended to be slanderous. It is intended to be a simple recital of the events, as reconstructed through other already published sources.
Sometime in June 2007, Vlad wrote his initial post about ePerks, titled "ePerks - A New Approach to Real Estate". That post has since been removed from the web. It was favorable towards ePerks.
It was also a paid post. If you are not familiar with paid posts, Google the words "Pay Per Post" or "ReviewMe". Pay Per Post is a legitimate (if somewhat controversial) way to monetize a blog. John Chow reports making several thousand dollars per month with ReviewMe.
So, ePerks evidently placed an Advertiser offer on a Pay Per Post marketplace site. Vlad accepted the offer, wrote the post, and probably received his check.
Vlad's "ePerks - A New Approach to Real Estate" post also generated several comments. A number of the comments about ePerks were not favorable.
Evidently, given the number of comments, and their content, Vlad felt it was important to investigate further, and post a reponse. Which he did on August 10, 2007 with this post titled "ePerks- A Scam or A Gem?" This post generated 163 comments. Many of the comments about ePerks were quite negative. Other commenters came to ePerk's defense. The identity of some of the defending commenters has been called into question.
On October 2, 2007 Vlad posted another follow-up post, titled "ePerks: Three Critical Mistakes A New Startup Should Avoid" This is not the same blog on which he published the previous two posts.
On January 22, 2008 Vlad tried to move on to other things with this post.
Sometime in late January, 2008 This disturbing item was posted on Yahoo Answers. It has since been removed. Much has been written about the possible identity of the poster. The IP address (Internet Protocol address) appears to have originated on the West Coast, not New Jersey.
On February 13, 2008, Vlad was served with a Cease and Desist letter. Vlad copied the text of the C&D letter into his post dated March 17, 2008 http://www.go-beyond-mls.com/eperks/
Vlad's post of March 20, 2008 http://www.go-beyond-mls.com/and-the-question-remains-why/
Vlad's post of March 26, 2008 http://www.go-beyond-mls.com/more-threats/
Vlad's post of April 2, 2008 http://www.go-beyond-mls.com/silencing-a-blogger-with-discusting-tactics/
Sometime in May (the date is not clear in the screenshot), 2008, a "Vlad Zablotskyy ALERT" blog appears, then disappears:
Vlad's post of May 21, 2008 http://www.go-beyond-mls.com/i-am-being-sued-by-eperks/
Vlad was served with a Summons and Complaint on June 7, 2008. On June 8, 2008, Vlad posted this blog about being served.
June 8, 2008. Gregg Swann of Bloodhound Blog set up a legal defense fund for Vlad.
Support Vlad Zablotskyy's Defense Fund
Defend your own right to free speech!
Trace Richardson created the canonical guide here.
Mary McKnight explores the situation in detail here.
