My Parting Gift to Chris Cohan

[Nuck Chorris]

* Before we get started I want to say that this is not about the people that run fan sites. AT ALL.



Long before the "Flunkster Dude" incident happened I had wondered about the pervasiveness of Warriors employees (or those contracted by the Warriors) in social media and discourse communities. There's the obvious connection to Fitz being on the radio, but Fitz sucks and I don't want to talk about Fitz. Fitz is just the visible tip of the iceberg.



I'm talking about having paid employees (unpaid if intern... lol), whether they work with the team or a separate PR firm, anonymously representing the team in forums or in the comment sections of blogs. The only purpose of which is to improve the public image of the team, and thereby sell tickets. Of course, it's a business.



Then I wonder how many times they either lied to or misdirected the print and TV media (by complicit nature or otherwise). Everything from reporting injuries to the "Good-ole-boy" routine the Warriors did with Jack to claiming they didn't know they were trading for damaged goods. The list goes on and on, from "saving money to resign morrow" to blowing the cover on the Memphis trade and lying about it too.



Now recall Flunkster Dude. Some have said that the incident was planned damage control to keep other sites or reporters from really breaking it open. That may or may not be the case, but for the purpose of this discussion it is irrelevant. Still the Flunkster incident is case in point that we know the Warriors are willing to represent themselves anonymously on the forums. We can also assume that the Warriors never stopped since, well, they never said they would stop.


If the Warriors are lying in the public sphere that is fine (TV, Radio) because there are independent reputations at stake. Everyone can judge for themselves. Their obvious manipulation of injuries for insurance or tank purposes is a good example. Same with the team's feelings/future intentions with past and present players. These are things every team lies about.

However, if the Warriors' interests are also anonymously represented (either primarily or via proxy) to defend these deceptions in fan forums then that constitutes a clear conflict of interest/representation from which the consumer has no protection. Similar reasoning applies to discussion of the team's value in a potential sale. If the PR appendages are anonymously saying that the team is worth more than it is or if they try to smear the value of potential buyers the same applies. We'll call this the artificial inflation of the team's public image.

It's called wire fraud.

In order to commit wire fraud one must (Thanks Wikipedia):

1. devise, or intend to devise, a scheme or artifice to defraud another person on the basis of a material representation,

There's our artificial inflation of the team's public image.

2. do it with the intent to defraud

Better public image (with fraudulent foundation) = more ticket sales.

3. do it through the use of interstate wire facilities


Forums, comments sections, fan sites. The interwebs.




So as my parting gift to you Mr. Cohan I suggest that all your employees or hired PR appendages with knowledge of these fraudulent practices make the necessary provisions and preparations prior to the sale. I also hope that someone with the time and resources sues you for wire fraud. Preferably a season ticket holder. That's what you get for raping the communities that would support you regardless. Anyways, it's been great, and I look forward to a Warriors future without you. Have a nice day.

[FNQ]

[St.Nick]

omg wtf lol ibtl

[Nuck Chorris]

Thanks for wasting my effing time reading that.

[holding my breath for "wire fraud" charges]

Chances of it happening: Minimal.

Chances of employees turning on Cohan for extra cheddar: pretty good.

Rowell "earned" his extension recently, and he still had about 3 years left.

[tmd_10]

While I have little doubt that the Warriors (along with other sports organizations) represent themselves falsely on the internet in order to improve PR and increase revenue, right now all that exists in regards to tangible proof is the "flunkster dude" incident which I believe the organization attributed to a lone ranger that wasn't acting under the instruction of the organization at large. We can only speculate on the organization's behavior at this point, even if the speculation is reasonable if only because we have had a notoriously incompetent front office for years on end. I think that people aren't looking to file any lawsuits at this point. We just want it to end.

[Nuck Chorris]

While I have little doubt that the Warriors (along with other sports organizations) represent themselves falsely on the internet in order to improve PR and increase revenue, right now all that exists in regards to tangible proof is the "flunkster dude" incident which I believe the organization attributed to a lone ranger that wasn't acting under the instruction of the organization at large. We can only speculate on the organization's behavior at this point, even if the speculation is reasonable if only because we have had a notoriously incompetent front office for years on end. I think that people aren't looking to file any lawsuits at this point. We just want it to end.

That was the party line. However a more technical analysis from Lauridsen and Kawakami proved that there were multiple instances with different handles (voices) coming from the same IP. This was a simple mistake that could easily be remedied by using a proxy IP. The Warriors also have PR ties to a Santa Clara group and another in Australia or New Zealand. Not to mention that they encourage interns to call KNBR with team friendly talk points. I'd say it wasn't a lone ranger. Rather one instance that fits into a pattern of of clearly modeled behaviors.

[tmd_10]

Fun scenario to think about, even if it's a pipe dream at best: if there's anyone who could dangle the prospect of such a lawsuit over Chris Cohan's head by reaching out to his people, it's Larry Ellison, if only in order to expedite the sale of the team. It's a possible out card, and a pretty sick one at that.

[Nuck Chorris]

All this being said, if there's anyone who could dangle the prospect of such a lawsuit over Chris Cohan's head by reaching out to his people, it's Larry Ellison, if only in order to expedite the sale of the team. It's a possible out card, and a pretty sick one at that.

[Mylie10]

I think most of the teams positive posting is done by Bob Fitzgerald under a false name. He seems to be worried about his job with the organization and is in freak out mode. Damon Bruce FTW!

[tmd_10]

I think most of the teams positive posting is done by Bob Fitzgerald under a false name. He seems to be worried about his job with the organization and is in freak out mode. Damon Bruce FTW!

Meanwhile Jim Barnett is still trying to figure out how to turn on a computer.

[KR4]

* Before we get started I want to say that this is not about the people that run fan sites. AT ALL.



Long before the "Flunkster Dude" incident happened I had wondered about the pervasiveness of Warriors employees (or those contracted by the Warriors) in social media and discourse communities. There's the obvious connection to Fitz being on the radio, but Fitz sucks and I don't want to talk about Fitz. Fitz is just the visible tip of the iceberg.



I'm talking about having paid employees (unpaid if intern... lol), whether they work with the team or a separate PR firm, anonymously representing the team in forums or in the comment sections of blogs. The only purpose of which is to improve the public image of the team, and thereby sell tickets. Of course, it's a business.



Then I wonder how many times they either lied to or misdirected the print and TV media (by complicit nature or otherwise). Everything from reporting injuries to the "Good-ole-boy" routine the Warriors did with Jack to claiming they didn't know they were trading for damaged goods. The list goes on and on, from "saving money to resign morrow" to blowing the cover on the Memphis trade and lying about it too.



Now recall Flunkster dude. Some have said that the incident was planned damage control to keep other sites or reporters from really breaking it open. That may or may not be the case, but for the purpose of this discussion it is irrelevant. Regardless, it is case in point that we know the Warriors are willing to represent themselves anonymously on the forums. We can also assume that the Warriors never stopped since well, they never said they would.


If the Warriors are lying in the public sphere that is fine. Everyone can judge for themselves. Their obvious manipulation of injuries for insurance or tank purposes is a good example. Same with the team's feelings/future intentions with past and present players. These are things every team lies about.

However, if the Warriors' interests are also anonymously represented (either primarily or via proxy) to defend these deceptions in fan forums then that constitutes a clear conflict of interest/representation from which the consumer has no protection. The same applies when talking about the value of the team. If the PR appendages are anonymously saying that the team is worth more than it is or if they try to smear the value of potential buyers the same applies. We'll call this the artificial inflation of the team's public image.

It's called wire fraud.

In order to commit wire fraud one must (Thanks Wikipedia):

1. devise, or intend to devise, a scheme or artifice to defraud another person on the basis of a material representation,

There's our artificial inflation of the team's public image.

2. do it with the intent to defraud

Better public image (with fraudulent foundation) = more ticket sales.

3. do it through the use of interstate wire facilities


Forums, comments sections, fan sites. The interwebs.





So as my parting gift to you Mr. Cohan I suggest that all your employees or hired PR appendages with knowledge of this practice make the necessary provisions and preparations prior to the sale. I also hope that someone with the time and resources sues you for Wire Fraud. Preferably a season ticket holder. That's what you get for raping the communities that would support you regardless. Anyways, it's been great, and I look forward to a Warriors future without you. Have a nice day.

Well done.

[Khoee]

lol at CC...

[Coxy]

lol at CC...

[GSWbandwagon]

sigh. i can see it now... someone actually files this ridiculous suit. cohan countersues for defamation or whatever and wins a big settlement. cohan uses the money to keep the team. you do realize that cohan has made his money and gotten the team by suing former friends and business partners? unless... you are working for cohan and trying to encourage such an outcome.

[tmd_10]

sigh. i can see it now... someone actually files this ridiculous suit. cohan countersues for defamation or whatever and wins a big settlement. cohan uses the money to keep the team. you do realize that cohan has made his money and gotten the team by suing former friends and business partners? unless... you are working for cohan and trying to encourage such an outcome.

That would be the ultimate FML Warriors fan moment.

[Souvlaki]

So ah, is the op cc? Just need to know so I can update my ignore list.

[Nuck Chorris]

So ah, is the op cc? Just need to know so I can update my ignore list.

No, but ignorance is bliss I suppose.

[and1GS]

If you're so swayed by PR driven flunkster dude comments like “I actually enjoyed the call and appreciate their honesty” (in reference to some season tix holder call thing) then you're probably a knucklehead to begin with.

I don't know how that website works but it's only natural to give people that have low post counts very little credibility...I would have given flunkster dude's 4 posts 0 cred and simply cycled over them.

[Nuck Chorris]

If you're so swayed by PR driven flunkster dude comments like “I actually enjoyed the call and appreciate their honesty” (in reference to some season tix holder call thing) then you're probably a knucklehead to begin with.

I don't know how that website works but it's only natural to give people that have low post counts very little credibility...I would have given flunkster dude's 4 posts 0 cred and simply cycled over them.

Don't personalize this towards me. I may not be swayed, but some people who don't critically engage the discourse communities are certainly affected. That the Warriors failed (in one instance) at cheating the public perception is irrelevant in light of the fact they they attempted to do so in the first place.

That you have to engage in secondary or tertiary levels of reasoning to pass judgment on an instance of astroturfing speaks directly to the problem.

Thanks.

[and1GS]

Wasn't trying to personalize, was trying to make a general statement. My bad doggie.