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Merged StopSylvia emails

Well, you are the Go To Guy on anything Sylvia. Yay, Robert!

Keep an eye out for more emails like that.
 
Seconded.
I'm curious to see how often you're asked for you're interviewed on the subject.
 
I'm curious to know why after all of your efforts in the past you gave them a 12 hour limit at 8.30pm.
 
Orphia Nay said:
Well, you are the Go To Guy on anything Sylvia. Yay, Robert!

Keep an eye out for more emails like that.
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Will do.

Today I received a request for some information from a man who is writing a "Goodbye, Sylvia" article for Skeptical Inquirer. I have responded.

pakeha said:
Seconded.
I'm curious to see how often you're asked for you're interviewed on the subject.
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I intend to announce any such interviews here on the forum.

cullennz said:
I'm curious to know why after all of your efforts in the past you gave them a 12 hour limit at 8.30pm.
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Perhaps I should have been clearer. At 8:30pm I replied, giving a twelve hour period (10am-10pm West Coast time) when I would be available the next day (today).

Orphia Nay said:
I took that to mean he gave them a twelve hour window for an interview tomorrow.
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Thanks for successfully translating RSLese!

cullennz said:
Cool.

So if asked in two days or so you would agree?
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Most likely, yes. I guess it would depend on where the interview would be published/broadcast.
 
StopSylvia email "Sylvia Browne passing"

I received the following email at StopSylvia, with the subject "Sylvia Browne passing":

Remove your website please, as Sylvia has passed on. Whether anyone believes she was a fraud or not, I'd appreciate if you'd respect her passing by removing the negativity, for her memory, be it good or bad, and for her family. There's no point for it to be up anymore. Regards.
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My reply:

[name]:

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me, but at present I have no intentions of closing the site down.

Even though Browne has passed, I think that the site remains useful if only as warning. The fact that Browne, with absolutely NO evidence of any "psychic powers", could amass such a following and media presence shows that any other "media psychics" (such as John Edward, James vanPraagh and Teresa Caputo - the "Long Island Medium") should be closely examined for evidence of the same fraudulent stage techniques (such as "cold reading") which Browne used to successfully fool so many people into believing that she was "psychic".

I also feel that the site, which strongly shows that there are FAR more reasons to doubt Browne' claimed "abilities" than there are reasons to believe in them, will help to prevent, or at least, to lessen, the effort that is likely to be put forth to make her more popular in death than she was in life (a frequent occurance when celebrities pass away).

Also, the site is linked to from many web pages all over the web (particularly where Browne' "abilities" are being debated), and I do not want all of those links to suddenly stop working because I have closed the site.

As far as "respecting her passing by removing the 'negativity': The site is a collection of FACTS, with supporting evidence of those facts. If the facts about Browne are "negativity", that is not my fault. And I believe them to be important facts in the effort to educate the public about the fraudulent practices of many (perhaps all) "psychics".

Best regards,

Robert S. Lancaster

Founder & webmaster,
www.StopSylvia.com
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Since I'm sure her business is going to continue, it makes sense to keep the site up. To me, the name of the site does seem a little awkward now though.
 
Maybe an update could be added one day soon, acknowledging her passing and repeating some of what was said in the letter above along with condolences to her family. I don't know, something along those lines.
 
Well put, Robert. Never ceases to amaze me how polite and gentlemanly you always are. I couldn't manage it, myself.

Delighted to see you planning to keep the site up. Hopefully, as you say, it will deter people from putting their trust in other frauds.

You done good. :)
 
It's not perhaps the best time to make the observation, but it's pretty audacious and deeply ironic to request the removal of a factual site about Sylvia Browne "for her memory".

Nil nisi bonum, and all that, but is her remembrance not to be factual?
 
ExMinister said:
Maybe an update could be added one day soon, acknowledging her passing and repeating some of what was said in the letter above along with condolences to her family. I don't know, something along those lines.
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No, why? Should we also have removed bad things written about Usama Bin Laden when he was killed, and instead post condolences to his family? I don't think so. Just because a person is dead does not make them better than they were while living.
 
svenax said:
No, why? Should we also have removed bad things written about Usama Bin Laden when he was killed, and instead post condolences to his family? I don't think so. Just because a person is dead does not make them better than they were while living.
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Hitler gets that a lot too.
 
svenax said:
No, why? Should we also have removed bad things written about Usama Bin Laden when he was killed, and instead post condolences to his family? I don't think so. Just because a person is dead does not make them better than they were while living.
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Well, I guess if I had said take the web site down and post a letter of condolences to her family in its place, that would be a fair comparison.

My suggestion was in response to Denver's suggestion that the name of the site might seem a little awkward to believers, to update the site to perhaps deflect that possibility a bit.
 
If anyone complains just tell them that Sylvia isn't really dead. If they complain about that being insensitive go "See?"
 
Denver said:
Since I'm sure her business is going to continue, it makes sense to keep the site up.
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Well, evidently, the business' office is up for sale, but the business of selling her books, DVDs, tapes, etcetera is sure to go on for some time.

To me, the name of the site does seem a little awkward now though.
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True, but the site is already moderately well-known as "Stop Sylvia Browne", and changing it to something like "Stop Sylvia Browne's posthumous reputation" just doesn't have a "ring" to it, you know?

There is a possibility that some day (don't hold your breath) both StopSylvia and StopKaz could become just subsections of a larger "Stop Frauds"-type site, to which I could eventually add my planned Stop sites/sections on John Edward, James VanPraagh, Benny Hinn, Peter Popoff, Kevin Trudeau and Phil Plait <== (TAM 5.5 IN-JOKE)

Unfortunately, I am currently still distracted by my recovery/therapy, but after that, who knows?

ExMinister said:
Maybe an update could be added one day soon, acknowledging her passing and repeating some of what was said in the letter above along with condolences to her family. I don't know, something along those lines.
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ExM, I have already composed just such an article in my mind, and was planning on typing it in and running it by the forum for comment!

Empress said:
Well put, Robert. Never ceases to amaze me how polite and gentlemanly you always are. I couldn't manage it, myself.
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Thanks, but one should never expect gentlemanliness from an Empress - especially a piggish one! :)

Delighted to see you planning to keep the site up. Hopefully, as you say, it will deter people from putting their trust in other frauds.

You done good. :)
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Thanks again!

Jack by the hedge said:
It's not perhaps the best time to make the observation, but it's pretty audacious and deeply ironic to request the removal of a factual site about Sylvia Browne "for her memory".
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I had not noticed that, but you are absolutely right!

Nil nisi bonum, and all that, but is her remembrance not to be factual?
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It will be if I have any say in it!

svenax said:
No, why? Should we also have removed bad things written about Usama Bin Laden when he was killed, and instead post condolences to his family? I don't think so. Just because a person is dead does not make them better than they were while living.
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Indeed. but Browne's family will still receive condolences from me if/when I add an article about her death to the site. How bad a person was should not prevent anyone from giving condolences to that person's family after that person dies.

Giving condolences is not praising the deceased, but offering compassion to the survivors of the deceased. And yes, many, if not most of the members of her family profited (directly or indirectly) from her fraud, some even participating in it to varying degrees, but that does not make them unworthy of compassion, at least not in my book.

YMMV, obviously.
 
Robert

It's funny, I was just wondering what you would do with the site now.

In my own humble opinion with me being an idiot who happens to own a PC. That was extremely well handled.
 
RSLancastr said:
Well, evidently, the business' office is up for sale, but the business of selling her books, DVDs, tapes, etcetera is sure to go on for some time.




True, but the site is already moderately well-known as "Stop Sylvia Browne", and changing it to something like "Stop Sylvia Browne's posthumous reputation" just doesn't have a "ring" to it, you know?
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May I suggest a name change for your page Robert...

Sylvia Browne nonPsychic Stopped
 
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