P&E: Warning List

P&E: Warning List

Important Update

Most of our warnings have been moved to our regular listings so you won't have to check here to find out if anyone has a complaint lodged against them. This section will contain only those businesses for which we don't have a category established.

Angelfire: this service provider has a provision in its service agreement that threatens copyrights.

AOL: this service provider has placed a provision in its service agreement that threatens copyrights.

Central Publishers Services, Inc.: A subscription service. Unfortunately, this business sends out material with the appearance of a bill. Contact at:
2180 S. Loudoun St.
PMB 303
Winchester, VA 22601-3615

Cyber Patrol: visit this link for more information.

Cybersitter: visit this link for more information.

Prodigy: this network has blocked web sites more than once without giving the owners warning, notice, or an explanation.

Publishers Agency: A subscription service. Unfortunately, this business sends out material with the appearance of a bill. Their form has "Subscription" and "Tracking No." listed so that it almost appears you're already dealing with them. Contact at:
PMB 103
1739 E. Carson St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Readers Publication Services: A subscription service. Unfortunately, this business sends out material with the appearance of a bill. Their form has "Notice of Renewal/New Order" in large red lettering so that it almost appears you're already dealing with them. Contact at:
5445 Maint St.
Suite 201
Stephens City, Va 22655-2800

Subscription Services: unbelievable as it sounds, this outfit sent an offer that looked like a bill to P&E's editor on the same day that a renewal arrived from the publisher of the same magazine offered in both. Subscription Services wanted to charge $100 for 44 issues versus the publisher's price of $69.97 for 44 issues. If you really want to deal with them, contact at:

Customer Data Center
4960 Almaden Expy #259
San Jose, CA 95118

Tripod: this service provider has a provision in its service agreement that threatens copyrights.

U.S. Consumer Protection Agency: this appears to be a sham since the US government doesn't license people for a fee to work for the real Consumer Protection Agency. Our heartfelt thanks to the FTC who pointed this site out to us since we had it listed for awhile as the real thing. Our apologies to anyone who went to this site seeking real assistance or information.

XOOM: this service provider kicked off a publisher site based on unsubstantiated complaints and without any apparent investigation. Also, this service provider has a provision in its service agreement that threatens copyrights.

Yahoo/GeoCities: this service provider has placed a provision in its service agreement that threatens copyrights.


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Other Sites With Useful Warnings

Absolute Write: Check the Bewares and Background Check forum. Highly recommended.

Anti-Phishing Working Group: Well worth the visit. Recommended.

C Sign Page, The: rates businesses.

CIAC Internet Hoaxes: list and explanations of recent Internet virus hoaxes.

Copyscape: Online copyright protection and detection. Recommended.

Cruel Site of the Day: need I say more?

Crusader Rabbit's HP: more info on Woodside Literary Agency. Link reported broken.

Ethical Spectacle, The: tracks censorship and other injustices.

FictionAddiction.Net's Watchdog: Provides excellent coverage of some publishers and agencies that writers should be aware of. Recommended.

File Room Censorship Archive, The: site interested in preserving the First Amendment.

First Amendment.Org: site interested in preserving the First Amendment. Site URL reported now linking to XXX porn site.

Free Expression Clearinghouse: site interested in preserving the First Amendment.

Freelance Writing on the Internet: a resource site worth visiting. Be sure to check out the info on agents. Link reported broken.

Frequently Asked Questions About Edit Ink: here's a site to check before picking an agent or publisher. Link reported broken.

Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC): "a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
IFCC's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet. For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels, IFCC offers a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud, works to quantify fraud patterns, and provides timely statistical data of current fraud trends." Recommended.

Internet ScamBusters: tracks scams. Offers free ezine.

Karen's World: rates businesses.

Literary Contest Caution: the truth about many of the poetry contests. Provided by Wind Magazine. Recommended.

Literary Scams: appears to be dead: looks like a new site dedicated to tracking down scams for the benefit of writers.

MIT Student Association for Freedom of Expression (SAFE) Home Page: informative site about net-blocking programs and threats to freedom of expression.

National Consumers League: consumer protection advocacy group.

P E A C E F I R E: informative site about net-blocking programs.

Poetry Scams: Looks like some interesting statistics and decent advice here. Worth a visit. Link reported broken.

Publishing Scams: Features lots of input from writers. Highly recommended.

The Renaissance Papers / A.L. Sirois: worth a look. The site is gone, but there's a clever 404 error worth sitting through.

Rip-off Report™: "ALL complaints remain public in order to create a working history on the Company or Individual in question; unedited." Recommended.

Short Order, The: this writers' magazine has a scam alert column.

SongShark: must visit site for musicians and lyricists that warns of various music scams.

Speculations.com Rumormill: Look in the Caveat Scrivener section. Highly recommended.

Tony Pittarese's Business Sense: rates businesses.

Write Connection: check this site for great information about agents. Editor's note: regrettably, this site has closed shop.

Writer Beware: Features excellent advice. Highly recommended.

Writers Net: Besides the Discussion forum, check their main page for a listing of topics. Highly recommended.

WritersWeekly Whispers and Warnings: Well worth the visit. Highly recommended.

Yahoo's Censorship Site: worth visiting.