Steve,
In response to your recent letter regarding CompareRewards, which included inaccurate and misleading statements, I urge both you and my readers to read this entire response.
You were absolutely right about my inaccurate description of Dragon*Con. I truly appreciate your bringing this to my attention. I corrected my post and apologized to Dragon*Con privately. Dragon*Con did have several adult-oriented discussion panels in 2006, and former porn star Traci Lords was a featured guest.
I’m not sure if it’s relevant whether Xpeeps and NetWinner each sponsored one adult-industry panel at Dragon*Con 2006 or if they sponsored both of them jointly. That both were sponsors of one or both discussions is not an “unfounded insinuation” but a direct quote from a porn industry newsletter. NetWinner.com was listed by name in the article I excerpted in this post. The link is here for anyone who doesn’t mind viewing adult content. Re-read the source. If the source is inaccurate, your quarrel is with them. Provide me with a source for what NetWinner’s panel really was about, one that contradicts the source I already have, or go on the record personally with an explicit denial that NetWinner’s panel was adult-oriented and a description of what it WAS about, and I will happily append my post.
The article that I excerpted has been posted online since 2006. Why am I the bad guy for providing the same information on this website? Have you threatened that website with legal action, too?
I’m not sure how you can say that sponsoring an adult industry-related panel discussion is insulting and damaging to NetWinner. You admitted that NetWinner is financed, at least in part, by the Adult Entertainment Broadcasting Network’s founder, Scott Coffman. I noticed that Xpeeps, the sponsor of the other adult-themed panel, is owned by AEBN.
You offered the movie “Pulp Fiction” as an example of “adult content.” You call NetWinner’s connection to the porn industry “loose.” We must have different dictionaries, Steve. This is what I see:
- You admit that Scott Coffman, founder of the Adult Entertainment Broadcasting Network, is an investor at NetWinner. (I’d love to know what percentage of the company’s stock he holds. Care to disclose?)
- You admit that you and Coffman go way back, that you had interviewed him about his porn business and that you admired him, before being offered your position at NetWinner.
- You didn’t deny that NetWinner VP Matt Coapman, the self-described “Porn Peddler,” was a former Global (International) Divison Supervisor for AEBN/Coffman.
- You didn’t deny that Coffman is the registered agent for process service at both AEBN and NetWinner, LLC.
I wouldn’t call these connections “loose.”
In fact, I would add that:
- NetWinner’s CTO, Arion Hardison, is the CEO [sorry, former CEO; also edited to remove the dates due to conflicting information] of CameraPhonePorn.com,
- AEBN registered AdStreams.com,
- and that AdStreams, in turn, registered NetWinner.com.
How can you have connections like these and then get indignant when they’re pointed out? (Oh, by the way, when you changed the WHOIS information for AdStreams to get AEBN’s name off of it, you forgot to update its Alexa page… it still shows AEBN as owning the domain. You might want to get on that.)
In your letter, you said, “NetWinner is a game that gives people a chance to win. There are no ‘earnings’ here; playing a free online game is not a job.” What exactly do you call the money you owe your members? Winnings? Okay, then, are you denying that the members’ “winnings” are a debt that your company owes and is extremely delinquent in paying? Saying that this wasn’t “earnings” and that it came from “playing a free online game” doesn’t get you off the hook for paying people what you owe them in a timely manner.
I was thrilled to see yesterday and today that some members are reporting finally receiving some of the payments (sorry, “winnings”) owed them by NetWinner. I have two sources that tell me they received a phone call from Matt Coapman asking them to keep the their conversation confidential, in which one was offered a partial payment on her account, and another was offered full payment when it was clear that partial payment was unsatisfactory. One source said that Mr. Coapman admitted NetWinner was paying the vocal, “disgruntled members” ahead of everyone else, and not to tell anyone. This source feels guilty for being paid out of order, which is she they told me. While I’m happy for those who are getting some or all of what they were owed, is this fair to those who have been waiting longer?
You stated that the delays are “primarily due to the company’s growth and continued diligence towards fraud protection.” But fraud has been a concern of NW since the beginning, as seen in this post by your Chief Technical Officer, Arion Hardison (aka “Netwinner”), as far back as July of 2006. Your head forum moderator, mjp, also posted about fraud at NW in July 2006. That was almost two years ago. What’s the holdup in getting this problem addressed?
My post regarding the status of Ecount payments was neither false NOR misleading, and I didn’t see you deny that NetWinner had made no payments to Ecount between March 13 and the time of my post, April 27. Did I miss that? Or were you just trying to deflect attention by saying that Ecount would have had to break their contract with you in order to divulge it? Not only did I have a source for that information (who emailed me personally in great detail), but I went a step further and talked to Theresa Wabler, Ecount’s VP and Marketing Manager. She told me that when Ecount receives funds from a client, they pay it out in 24 to 48 hours. If NW’s members haven’t been paid, she said, it’s because NetWinner didn’t pay us. That sounds like good enough confirmation for me, when you put that together with the payment reports (or lack thereof) that were on your own forum at the time. Are you accusing Ecount of being the holdup in your payments, or are you just upset that they told your members THEY weren’t?
“What is NetWinner?” Good question; glad you posed it. The definition seems to have changed. Formerly, members won not just instant-win prizes, but also points that converted to gift cards, merchandise, and more recently, Ecount credit. Now, it sounds like you’re saying that people should only play it for fun, not with the expectation of getting anything out of it. Did I misunderstand you, or is that the new NW model? I’m sure your members want to know.
Lastly, the email to which I’m responding (attached below for reference), which was posted on my site, yours, and all around the internet, appears to have been made not to address your members’ concerns, but to cast aspersions on my website and my personal reputation, as it was addressed “Company response to Compare Rewards” and “Becky.” If the true intent of NetWinner was to address its members concerns, some sort of email communication would have been sent to your members directly. My legal counsel has advised me that your characterization of my articles on NetWinner as “unsubstantiated,” “misleading,” “biased,” “[not] presenting the whole truth,” “unfounded insinuation,” “false and misleading, “insulting and damaging,” posted all over the internet, may constitute harassment, libel, defamation, and wire fraud.
While it will not repair the damage you have already done, I DO NOT expect a retraction, but I do expect that you will instead take the time and effort to communicate directly with your members so they don’t have to come looking to me, or at other websites, for the answers to questions like, “What’s going on at Netwinner?” “Why did they change their games?” and “Why haven’t I been paid?” I would also request that you change your terms of service to reflect the current, more realistic time frame of 180 days. Further, I would recommend that NetWinner close its doors to new members until it can pay the ones it has right now. These actions would help me and your current members restore our faith in NW and serve as a good faith example of your company’s ethics and fairness.
In closing, I suggest that you please consider carefully before making any further misrepresentations about me, my website, Ecount, or the members who have stepped forward as information sources.
Oh, and by the way…I also reserve the right to take further action as necessary.
- – - – -
Becky:
In response to your recent posts regarding NetWinner, which have been inaccurate and misleading, I urge both you and your readers to read this entire response.
In our previous exchange, I found you to be diligent in trying to present the “truth” and both sides of a discussion to your audience. More recently though, your “reporting” has become biased and unsubstantiated and is a disservice to your readers.
With more than 25 years experience as an investigative reporter/writer, and now under contract to NetWinner, I do my fact checking with great diligence. If you had done your research properly, you would have let your readers know that the annual Dragon*Con in Atlanta with more than 30,000 attendees does not have anything to do with “porn” but is actually, according to their site, “the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the U.S.” It’s a family friendly event with fans dressing as Klingons, Superman, Harry Potter, and other characters. More information can be found at www.dragoncon.org.
If you were presenting the whole truth, you would also have made the distinction by reading the industry newsletter that you excerpted that there were in fact “two separate discussion panels sponsored by xpeeps.com and NetWinner.com” and determined that the discussion panel hosted by NetWinner at Dragon*Con had nothing to do with the other one.
Your unfounded insinuation is both insulting and damaging to both Dragon*Con and NetWinner. There was nothing odd about the “business decision”. Why wouldn’t the company want to see if NetWinner’s casual games could find an audience with a sci-fi, game-oriented gathering?
NetWinner is a game that gives people a chance to win. There are no “earnings” here; playing a free online game is not a job. It’s a privilege. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t play. If you do, please continue.
As a venture-backed start-up company, NetWinner is unbiased in its pursuit of potential investors, as any company should be. Mr. Coffman has invested in NetWinner, as well as many other companies and industries, not unlike many other successful businesspeople. If your readers have issues with loose connections to “adult” content, they may also consider boycotting HBO, Cinemax, or Showtime, reading any magazines from Time Warner or Hearst Corporation, buying any products from General Electric, and staying in any hotels with pay-per-view movies. They might also boycott Hannah Montana and other Disney content, perhaps even Disney’s advertisers, since their companies produce controversial “adult” content including movies such as Pulp Fiction, Cold Mountain, and many others.
You are indeed correct I wrote an article about Mr. Coffman. I was assigned the article six years ago by a business magazine and was very impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit and success of the man I interviewed. I also wrote for that magazine about a professional bass fisherman, an auto racing safety expert, a billionaire auto dealership owner, and an Olympic track coach. I have written for hundreds of major magazines and newspapers including Time, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle and Playboy among others. I’m proud of all my work. When presented the opportunity to work for NetWinner several years later, I gladly accepted.
As for the backlog in prize fulfillment, it is a primary concern here and we are working fervently to not only bring it up to date but improve it going forward. The reality remains that NetWinner has paid over 20,000 individuals in instant win and redeemed cash and prizes since its inception less than two years ago. The delays in fulfillment are an ongoing concern and are primarily due to the company’s growth and continued diligence towards fraud prevention.
Your information regarding the company’s status with Ecount, a MasterCard solutions provider owned by Citi Group was also false and misleading. Any person at Ecount who would divulge company information would violate legal confidentiality agreements, which would constitute an egregious breach of contract.
What is NetWinner? It’s a business based on giving lots and lots of people a place to have fun while playing engaging casual games with the chance to win some cash and prizes. It is and will always be free to play because of its advertising-supported model. For the player, it’s meant to be an enjoyable diversion, not a career. It’s an opportunity to win cash and prizes, not an obligation.
Lastly, reviews of posts made by you on your site and others such as gather.com, by legal counsel has caused them to inform senior NetWinner management that these false representations, as disseminated, may constitute malice aforethought, libel, and wire fraud. While it will not repair the damage you have already done, we expect a retraction and ask that you please consider carefully before making any further misrepresentations about NetWinner. We reserve the right to take further action as necessary.
–
Steve Goldberg
Director of Communications
NetWinner LLC
steve.goldberg@netwinner.com
{ 24 comments }
Becky,
I find that you are a much better investigative reporter than Steve Goldberg. Why?
1) Your info is written in such a way that it flows.
2) You stick to the topic at hand and don’t blow smoke.
3) You back your findings up with links.
4) You don’t talk down to your readers.
Seems to me that NW really has done a very sloppy job at putting together their site. It is obvious that there was no thought put into what the perception of the site should be. If there was an intent to make NW a family site, no porn of any degree then it would seem to me that there would be no connections to porn whatsoever. That is apparently not the case.
Thanks for using your time to help protect those that don’t have the voice, knowledge or time to bring this information to light. Thank you for being so thorough and the guts to stand up for what is right. So many times simply because it is “on the Internet”, non-payment of funds is the norm. Thanks for helping to change that!
You have my support and thanks!
Ginger
I have an idea…how about we all go find all the information available on Rebecca Ford and put it all over the internet. I am sure we can find something that she does not want her friends and family to know. If its ok for her to do this then I am sure she has no problem if we do the same; right? Oh wait…i forgot I am above personal attacks and do not feel the need to destroy the reputations of other for my own personal gain.
–thx
The sources that told you about the phone call stating disgruntled members getting paid first, do you trust ur sources 100 percent?
Well, according to the writ of coram nobis, my legal counsel has informed me that any and all quantum meruits are heretofore preceeded by an informant’s fungible things during testimony of the common statutes as provided by parens patriae. In addition, notwithstanding further unimpeachable rights by the bill of attainder, one must always use original Latin terms when ascertaining hencetoforth bequeathments of ejusdem generis.
Excellent response, Becky!
Dear Arion,
Please let me head you off at the pass here. I see that you’ve posted about this already on NWC and have characterized it as a personal attack. It was not intended that way. If you read the message in context, it was to show that despite what Mr. Goldberg said was a “loose” connection between NetWinner.com and porn, there is much more than a loose connection.
You neglected to say, in your post on NWC, that AEBN also was the owner of your domain for a while. You neglected, also, to quote other pertinent parts of the press release I linked to, such as (in your words):
“These are real girls. Not the professional and generic porn stars you’ll find on other adult mobile sites. Just real people connecting — in a very sexy way — with real people. The amateur aspect gives CameraPhonePorn.com a ight-hearted feel so even people that are not into hardcore porn come and trade pics. Some girls come onto the site and host live shows just to tease…and the guys love it.”
And,
“Some amateurs and strippers from local clubs put on live request shows and live strip teases that you can watch in real time. Watch a live strip tease while you catch a quick lunch at your desk? Yeah, that’s hot…”
I have been accused of not giving the whole truth, but it looks like that’s what you’re doing.
Why would anyone make those claims, Curt, if they weren’t true? Soon it’ll be easy enough to determine if members are getting paid out of turn, don’t ya think?
“I have an idea…how about we all go find all the information available on Rebecca Ford and put it all over the internet.”
I hope you do realize all information Becky posted is publicly available right? She isn’t hiding in Netwinner’s back yard trying to spy on them…
RandomPerson: I think you misunderstand the point of my post. It was not to attack anyone’s reputation; it was to defend my own. Mr. Goldberg said that I didn’t do my research. He claimed NetWinner’s connection to the porn industry was “loose.” I displayed concrete examples to back up my assertion that, well, “loose” depends on your definition.
The only “personal gain” that I’m interested in is defending myself against an ugly email to me that was distributed around the internet.
Unlike NetWinner, which has been online for a whopping almost-two years, I have run CompareRewards.com for almost seven. Research that. It’s true. I have a vested interest in my integrity. Mr. Goldberg attacked it, and of course I’m going to defend myself with the facts I used to make my initial assertion, that there is a connection between NW and the porn industry.
If you think I’m wrong, please share your proof. If I am mistaken, I will make a retraction and apologize to any and all injured parties. But if all you can come up with is something like, “I bet you wouldn’t like it if somebody researched you,” that’s not proving me wrong, is it?
Curt: I have been threatened with legal action by NetWinner if I misrepresented their actions in any way. Do you think I would post it if I wasn’t 100% sure? Yes, I’m sure.
Now, I think this is looking as if your attacking Netwinner. I have read your other blogs and now when I see that your posting one blog of retraction/response to another. Your taking it to another level. Players do not want to see you defend yourself on here. Nor Netwinner. I like both. And seeing this only makes me wonder the motives other than to get more traffic here. This will be my last undieing post because I will not worry to read this anymore and move along and wait for my prizes while I do other stuff online.
Curt said:
The sources that told you about the phone call stating disgruntled members getting paid first, do you trust ur sources 100 percent?
I think what he states is true. And you should take a few steps back and listen to that. I know I was angry about my prizes oh yes I surely was. Even I know people say things our of haste many times over and when you snoop to get facts sometimes you have to make sure they are correct and true . Like others I think your now on a smear campaign and I think both sides need to swallow down a few and move on. There are more interesting things you could be informing us all about like you have in the past. I loved it! Please get back to being that person again. Your reputation is not hurt there will always be biased sides. Take your wounds and let them heal and show us something else were missing. Anything new coming out on the web. I like that and appreciate that both sides can come to some kind of a level head and play nice.
RandomPerson, I just want to tell you that you’d be wasting your time. But then again, you’d prove to yourself that Becky has not one thing to hide.
I’ve been hanging around with Beck for at least 3 years. Probably known of her for 4 or 5 years. Before I would allow myself to get into a friendship with Becky, I did the research on her. Did she know that at the time? I don’t know. Probably not. I’m sure that she would say “that is a surprise to me”. I got to know her little by little. She became my friend and I became hers. We talk on the phone all the time. We’ve never met in person. I love her like a sister….probably better.
Dig all you like. You won’t find anything. Nothing, nadda, zip. Wait, if she didn’t take it down, you’ll find one family picture that she hates how she looks. She’s got a clean slate. She’s not perfect but then again her name isn’t Jesus Christ either. If she called me in the middle of the night and said, “I need your help. Please come.” I’d be driving in the dark or hopping on a jet to help a friend in need that I have never laid eyes on except in pictures. I only hope you find someone you can learn to accept and trust from a distance.
How many of us can say we genuinely like, admire, respect or trust someone online? I can.
Thanks Becky!
Please don’t fall for their ploy, guys. It’s to deflect attention from the real issues. This is not about the messenger at all. Anyone could’ve posted the facts, including Hugh Hefner himself and they’d still be facts about the questionable dealings of people who run a supposedly “family-oriented” game-advertising site. The same company that, while being a half of a year behind on payouts still found the time, money and energy to put into obtaining and paying over 75 partner sites, creating new games, paying raffle winners and starring in their own blog ads. I believe in educating and protecting our children, not supplying them with inappropriate content via cell-phones and computers. This is a personal choice I make based on information that was not made known to me before joining. I also believe unsuspecting people deserve to know the facts about any site before becoming involved as a member, partner or affiliate. If a business has nothing to hide then they have nothing to fear by public knowledge.
Off-topic: I recall seeing several advertisements with unsavory content, (one contained the “f” word) and which I personally notified the advertiser that I would not be purchasing their products.
NW Player: “Now, I think this is looking as if your attacking Netwinner…I see that your posting one blog of retraction/response to another…Your taking it to another level. Players do not want to see you defend yourself on here…I think your[sic] now on a smear campaign…”
I don’t know how I can make this any more clear: I am DEFENDING my reputation. I am BACKING UP my assertions. I’m providing my sources. If I’m saying anything inaccurate, show me. I’ll fix it.
I will continue to aggressively defend myself on this website. It’s MY website. I can’t follow NetWinner around to every website where they posted their letter to me to show that I wasn’t making “false,” “unsubstantiated,” “unfounded insinuations.” But I can damn well set the record straight here.
“And seeing this only makes me wonder the motives other than to get more traffic here.” I’m just incredulous. I post news and reviews of rewards and points programs. People were getting zero communication from NW and asked me to look into it. Did I not provide NW members with useful information, MORE information than NW themselves have provided? Have they even emailed their members yet to say, “Sorry, our payouts are running a little late,” or ANYTHING? No. It’s not good news, but what little news you’re getting is coming from me.
I’m not concerned with site traffic. I’m not owed any money from NW. My motive? A desire to see NW communicate with their members honestly and pay them as promised. Nothing would make me happier than for this to happen, so I can close the book on this and move on to the less contentious topics that I prefer to cover on this site.
Your post said “Arion Hardison” is the CEO of CameraPhonePorn but I did a little looking myself and this is neither a company nor a functional website and has not been for some time. I think the issue is that he no longer runs or is affiliated with adult sites [as far as i can tell] but if you google his name your site is one of the 1st things that comes up. If someone was go see this information they would not have the whole story because your information is wrong and no matter what happened years ago etc… the statement “is the CEO” of camera phone porn was wrong
FYI: Yes I see that you have changed this but not actually apologized for your incorrect statement which was read by several people even before you corrected it to say “former”
Curt I can verify Becky 100% on the conversation via telephone call! the company name number date and time are recorded in my caller Id. And my parents instilled some rules for life I do not lie!
I would be careful bringing up peoples names and there connections in the past.
JQ,
I’ve updated the post to put my error back in so I could publicly correct it for anyone who might have read it in the 30 minutes between when I posted it and when I corrected it.
This wasn’t something that happened “years ago” — if you had read the press release I linked to, Arion was CEO last July and issued a press release to actively promote the cameraphoneporn.com website.
Arion — who I’m sure is a very nice guy, btw — did found the site in 2004. He was actively advertising it in July of 2005: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ukraine_sexy_girls/message/304
And he was actively advertising it by sending out a press release, as its CEO, just last July (here’s that link again, since you seemed to have missed it): http://www.adultchamber.com/press/release/693.html
AEBN took over registration from him in May 2006 (you’ll need a pay account at a site like DomainTools to see this; or I’d be happy to screencap it and post it if you want to see), but despite this, Arion was still its CEO in July 2007.
AEBN’s ownership of the domain lapsed in October of 2007 and the domain was registered in December by Domains By Proxy. It’s now just being used as a search engine landing page.
I don’t know whether Arion owns or runs any other adult websites at this time. In his defense, it does look like he got out of that business last fall. (Not “years ago,” though.)
My apologies if my wording of “CEO” vs. “CEO of a company that shut down last October,” corrected within minutes, did any harm or misled anyone in any way.
Wrong again becky…i know Arion very well. He started that in 04 and sent that release in 05. In the beginning of 06 he left the adult biz for good and has been working with NetWinner etc…
It was reposted on the site you are referencing in 07 which is why the site says “Posted on: 2007-07-20″ and not Released on: if you would like to verify this please e-mail marketing@adultchamber.com
PS: Arion has asked that this issue be left alone because it serves none of us.
I for one think its kind of cool that a kid his age shows more maturity than you and is willing to take the high road instead of engaging you in a petty bickering match
JQ,
I don’t want to bicker with you about this or prolong a discussion that’s obviously uncomfortable to your friend. If you would pass this along to him, I’d really appreciate it.
Dear Arion,
I apologize if my bringing up your past caused you embarassment or distress. It was not done to cause you any harm — it was to substantiate the fact, disputed by NW’s Steve Goldberg, that there is more than just a “loose” connection between NW and porn. You can be proud of your success, in starting companies and in achieving the status of CTO at such a young age. That’s way more than I can say about me!
At your request, I won’t bring up your past again. That way, instead of worrying about what CompareRewards might be saying about you, you can apply your intelligence and hard-work ethic toward getting NetWinner’s house back in order.
If there’s anything I can do for you now or in the future, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Becky Ford
I was one of the people who filed a complaint with the BBB. Sure enough, I also received a phone call from Matt Coapman at Netwinner. I did not speak to him, but he left a message on my answering machine. He only mentioned submitting my oldest cashout to ecount for payment (from Nov. 6), the others owed to me were not mentioned.
If they appear to be paying people out of order, it may be because those individuals also filed complaints and NW only has a certain amount of time to respond before they get another black mark against them on their BBB rating report. That is just an idea on why people may be getting paid out of order (believe me, I’m NOT trying to make excuses for Netwinner!).
My hope is that they pay everyone what they are owed and they start doing it SOON.
Suddenly, I’m reminded of another conversation containing a request for the definition of the word “is”.
Anyone else find it insulting that time and energy can be utilized arguing semantics yet correspondence regarding payouts and member dissatisfaction with the latest changes have gone unanswered?
These people that come on this website and support netwinner really get me. They have been lied to so often, they think its the truth.
They got a few payments from netwinner and think that the faucet won’t dry up.
It would seem that most of the top people are/were connected with the porn industry. That’s a bullet that cann’t be dodged. If this Arion, guy, is embarrassed about his connection with the porn industry, maybe he should have thought alot harder before he started his site.
The bottom line is that netwinner is not paying its members. Period, no discussion, they cann’t deny that, they cann’t spin it.
And lastly, I hear that when you finally do have enough points to cash out, they still infer on the confirmation screen, that you’ll be paid within 60 days. That takes alot of bananas.
I mailed my report to B.B.B. and attorney general the same day as the phone call. I believe they paid vocal gripers on their forumn! I was told this specifically during phone conversations.
“These people that come on this website and support netwinner really get me.”
Oh, you mean the Netford Wives, John? I always thought it incredulous when people identify with their abusers more than they do with fellow victims. More often than not, change only occurs when people band together, but in this case change is agonizingly slow because there’s too much dissention among members. The wrong message has been sent by the pro-NW people and that same wrong message has been received by staff.
In the real world, businesses open to the public only after they’ve thoroughly researched the market. We’ve been led to believe that a significant reason for payment delays has been fraud. (Notice lack of communication and using funds to pay partner sites has still not been addressed).
In the real world fraud is dealt with in an unobtrusive, non-invasive way. When a company discovers embezzlement, for instance, they do not fire all employees and re-hire new ones. They do not withhold paychecks to everyone. They do not require strip-searches and lie detector tests of all workers. They implement non-intrusive strategies and techniques to zero in and catch the culprit(s)only. Same with department stores. When theft occurs, all patrons are not arrested, hand-cuffed and searched. No, instead the premises are analyzed and then the appropriate security measures are put in place to catch the perpetrators without intefering with the routines of normal shoppers.
In the movie, Stepford Wives, all it took was one man to recognize that things weren’t right.
I was asked to check into the problems at NetWinner because points programs are what I cover on this website. Without having a professional background in journalism, I did the best that I could. I think my site has provided information that you couldn’t have gotten anywhere else, particularly on the highly-moderated NetWinnerCentral.
Is the question, “Is NW connected to the porn industry” really relevant to its current problems? Not really. I found that they had sponsored what was described as an adult-industry discussion panel, felt it was a strange strategic fit, and when the porn connection was downplayed, I provided my documentation.
Getting caught up in the minutiae like, how did YOU find out we didn’t pay Ecount, it’s not earnings, it’s winnings, and other companies have porn backing, too… detracts from the questions I originally set out to answer:
Why isn’t NetWinner paying its members on time? And why isn’t NetWinner communicating about the delays with its members? The blog and the video blog are completely glossing over the site’s problems and aren’t addressing member concerns at all. Posts made attacking me don’t qualify as “communicating with members.” How hard it is to send out an email saying, “This is the reason you haven’t been paid…and this is what we’re doing about it”?
I appreciate EVERYONE’s comments, both those who believe in NW and those who do not. I’m happy to have provided a forum for people to speak their minds without breaking NWC’s rules. However, I’ve decided to close all NW posts on CompareRewards to new comments.
The reason for this post was to counter the allegations against me that were made in various forums around the internet, including my own site. When someone says your information is false and unsubstantiated, and it’s not, you can either sit quiet and allow your reputation to be maligned, or you can stand up for yourself and provide your documentation. That’s what I chose to do.
Folks, I don’t think there’s anything else I can bring to light that’s going to help you get paid. I did what I could, and I think the subject’s pretty much talked out. I’m ready to go on to news and reviews of other programs.
If you find anything that I posted anything that is inaccurate, please document your source and send it to me in an email at comparerewards@yahoo.com. I will make corrections, retractions, or apologies if necessary.
Thanks for visiting CompareRewards.com, and my sincerest best wishes to all parties involved…yes, including NetWinner.
Becky Ford
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