Two and a half years ago, I launched
a website called IFoundADuck.com
-- 500 plastic ducks were left around the capital city
in the UK with the URL of the website and a unique ID number.
The idea being that members of the public would find them
and report the discovery online. They would then leave them
somewhere else, with the results being displayed on the
website for everyone to trace the progress of the ducks
on their travels. The site even had an affiliated music
site. Why did I do this? It was a publicity stunt to promote
a new book.
Now let me introduce Neesa Hart.
Who is she? Well, according to her website,
she is an American author who is 'broadening entertainment
horizons through innovation, collaboration and imagination.'
Got that?
Good.
A month ago, she launched a website
called IFoundAFrog.com
-- 500 plastic frogs were left around the capital city in
the US with the URL of the website and a unique ID number.
The idea being that members of the public will find them
and report the discovery online. They will then leave them
somewhere else, with the results being displayed on the
website for everyone to trace the progress of the frogs
on their travels. The site even has an affiliated music
site. Why did she do this? It was a publicity stunt to promote
a new book.
Now, I have no problem with ideas
inspiring others. I actually encouraged others to do the
idea themselves in 2002
and 2003.
PlasticDucks
carries links to other tracking sites on the web. The difference
in this case was that I set up the idea as a publicity stunt
for a novel and for another author to poach the idea entirely
and use it to promote their own book seemed a little out
of order.
Did I really want to enter into a dispute
over 500 plastic ducks? Not really, especially as the little
yellow gits have become a
small flock of plastic albatrosses round my neck. However,
there was a creative principle at stake and I was looking
for something to take my mind off proof-reading draft six
of Nix Ex Machina.
I e-mailed Hart to seek an explanation.
Below are a series of responses to three particular statements
she gave in defense of her actions:
"I sent several emails in
the fall while the frog project was under development and
they were not returned."
They were not returned as they
never arrived (All e-mails to IFoundADuck are kept and archived).
Dozens of e-mails come in to the IfoundADuck e-mail addresses
every day (Mostly spam, granted) and test e-mails are passed
through all accounts weekly. At the time of writing Hart's
sole e-mail address on her offical
site is wrong - it bounces all mail sent to it. I had
to trawl several other websites before I was able to successfully
contact her via another route. On IFoundADuck.com, there
is also a clear phone number on the press and media page
as an alternative form of contact. Does failure to make
contact, wherever the error, lead to automatic permission
being granted?
"Because we could find no
updated information on your duck site later than 2002...
I was forced to assume that you were no longer maintaining
the site and it had gone into dormancy."
At the time Hart was looking at
the site, Autumn 2003, the latest duck race to launch
was
clearly listed as 2003 and had been on the home page since
March 2003. That link takes you through to the FoundADuck.com
site which has featured regular updates throughout 2003.
What with the phone number not being found and a clear
date of 15.03.03 being missed, I can only assume Hart
gave the
site a cursory glance at most in seeking information.
"Actually -- if you check
the FAQ page -- we did you give you full credit for the
idea and linked to your site."
Actually, if Hart had given my
e-mails more than a cursory glance, she would have known
full well that it was this 'full credit' that I was complaining
about in the first place. As I stated to Hart -- I
eventually found a credit to me. It was hidden away, on
the FAQ page, the heavily reluctant final admission of the
truth behind the idea - No text to give proper credit, just
the tiny word 'here' linking to my original site.
Whereas, if you check the IFoundAFrog
media page, it states that The 3"
rubber amphibians are the brainchild of local author Neesa
Hart, The 'full credit' that appears only on the
FAQ page comes at the end of the third paragraph- In
all fairness, we borrowed the idea from here.
Hardly a 'full' credit, it comes across as almost reluctant.
Anyone merely reading the page without clicking the links
will be none the wiser.
I challenged Hart to resend the
original e-mails so I could check what address she was using
and also to give me full credit on both the media and FAQ
pages, if she actually ever intended to give full credit,
as she claimed. At the time of writing, neither has occurred.
I then turned my attention to PepFX,
the web design agency responsible for putting the site
together.
I was curious to discover if they would be willing to copy
the whole concept all over again if another author approached
them asking to poach 'Neesa Hart's idea.'
I e-mailed them and awaited their
response. (As the main issue I had was with Hart, I have
changed the names of the individuals involved.) What started
off as a simple query soon snowballed...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook
To: PepFX
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 11:22 AM
Subject: Contact
E-mail : christian.cook@btinternet.com
Location : UK
Referral : Recommended by a friend
Website : http://
Comments : I am a writer in the UK and loved the I Found
A Frog site.
Could you develop exactly the same thing for me, but with
something else,
chickens maybe? as a publicity stunt for a new book of
mine.
How much would this cost?
Thanks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent:
Tue Feb 3, 2004 12:20:36 Europe/London
Subject: Re:
Contact
Hello Christian,
Of course we can. The price for the site, incl. design,
the same number of
pages, and the system for reporting the toys (also includes
an admin panel)
would be about $3000.
When are you planning to start your publicity campaign?
Thank you for contacting us,
Trixie Mailer
Creative Director
PepFX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian Cook
To: PepFX
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 1:39 PM
Subject: Re: Contact
Hi
That sounds great. I'm a little concerned about the copyright
issue and intellectual property over the idea itself.
Would we need to get Neesa Hart's permission first before
we did something so similar?
Thanks
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent: Tue
Feb 3, 2004 13:17:40 Europe/London
Subject: Re:
Contact
Hello Christian,
Actually the idea is not her's. We are not quite sure where
the idea originated, but there are 2 other sites we know
of that have a similar concept.
Neesa even wrote on her site where the idea came from.
I believe it's on the FAQ page. You could do the same by
naming IfoundaFrog.com as the inspiration.
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian Cook
To: PepFX
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004
3:07 PM
Subject: Re: Contact
Hi Trixie
Well, that's great news. So, as long as we just put a
line about 'inspiration' in there, we can copy anybody's
idea at all. I'll start looking around to see if there
are any better sites we can be 'inspired' by.
I'm glad the copyright laws are so flexible. I thought you
needed permission and all that kind of thing. It reminds
me of something dear Father Ted once told me about Catholicism:
"You know that's the thing I love about Catholicism,
its so vague that nobody really understands anything about
it"
I was thinking, if we go with copying IFoundAFrog.com,
we could maybe use plastic ducks or something like that,
they're cheap for a start.
Do you know how we can check what domains are available?
Many thanks
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent: Tue
Feb 3, 2004 14:25:31 Europe/London
Subject: Re:
Contact
Hi Christian,
Someone already used ducks, that's what Neesa got inspired
by: http://www.ifoundaduck.com , just that she didn't like
the looks.
You can probably look at some toy store, or even an online
toy store and see what other toy animal you might like.
You can check domain names here: http://www.register.com but I recommend to then register them here: http://www.bluedomino.com because it costs a lot less.
Happy hunting!
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian Cook
To: PepFX
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004
5:35 PM
Subject: Re: Contact
Hi Trixie
I have settled on toy toads. I have found a supplier
that is quite reasonable and have ordered 1,500 of them.
I shall buy IFoundAToad.com as the URL by the end of
next week.
Toads should work really well and I have come up with
a really imaginative connection between them and my next
novel. The novel is called 'Me plus you equals five'
and is all about how some people cannot see what is obviously
right in front of their face. Prince turns into a frog
with a new twist? And it's like looking into a mirror
and not recognising who is there. However obvious it
might seem, some people just don't spot the blatant truth
that is staring back at them.
The book goes on to explore the concept of people's fear
of silence and completion. Those situations where a concept
comes to a neat ending and someone else suddenly feels
the need to add their own opinion or voice. Rather than
let the conclusion of an idea rest, they try and tack
on their own little spin on the theme as if to claim
ownership.
That's why the site will be so relevant as it fits in
with that idea so neatly in such a quirky and new way.
It's like frogs, but it's not frogs... It's toads! Brilliant,
huh?
Also, the idea of people wanting to add to something
that is completed will follow through with the toads
themselves. People will find them and go to the site,
thinking there must be something more, something significant
to say about all this. They will have their little 'to
add' moment. The 'Toad' will become the 'To add' and
the circle will be complete. 'Toad' and 'To add', do
you see? They are almost the same thing!
Doesn't it all just seem so obvious now you think about
it?
Anyway, I can't believe how far we've come. What would
the next stage be in all this?
Before I fully commit to this project, would there be
any chance of some rough preliminary sketches being done
to show how IFoundAToad.com might end up looking?
I look forward to hearing from you in due course,
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent: Tue Feb 3, 2004 20:10:04 Europe/London
Subject: The
next step
Hello Christian,
Well, that's great news! Everything seems to have worked
out rather nicely!
Will the toads be marked in any way, or is one as good
as the other?
What's next
First, about the design - We don't create free mockups,
but we have a pretty good system, and it always works.
Once you do fully commit to the project, we will start
of by creating a few (2-3) designs samples or sketches
and present them to you. Then you let us know which one
you like best, if there is anything you don't like about
it, and so on.
We will then make whatever modifications, if necessary,
or complete the design so you can see how the page will
look when it's finished. At this point, the design would
still be just an image.
Only after we have presented you with a design and you
have confirmed it and want us to proceed we will do so.
The next step would be to build the actual page. When
we are finished with that step, we will show it to you,
so you can see the whole thing in your browser. If any
small changes are required, they can again be made.
When you say that the page looks great, and we can proceed,
we do exactly that.
After this point there should be no more changes to the
design of the site itself, as everything else is being
built on it as a base.
I hope that answers your question.
Let me know if you have any other questions, or how you
would like to proceed.
Thank you,
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent: Wed Feb 4, 2004 11:39:10
Europe/London
Subject: Addendum
Hello Christian,
Of course, before we start with the design process, we
would first need to get to know you better, so what you
like, what you don't like, etc.
Could you show me some sites that would illustrate that?
2-3 sites that you think are especially well done, and
2-3 sites that represent the opposite.
Additionally, it would help if you could specifically say
what you like and what you don't like about the selected
web sites.
Thank you,
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The idea of
sending through a list of websitesI liked/disliked was
an intriguing thought (I like www.IFoundADuck.com, www.ChristianCook.com
etc. and do not like ww.IFoundAFrog.com), but I refrained,
as it would have brought everything to a swift close.
Still, things
were moving far too fast for my liking, so we needed
to hit a snag...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook
To: Pepfx
Sent: Thursday,
February 05, 2004 9:55 AM
Subject: RE:
The next stage
Hi Trixie,
I've a hit a huge problem this end. The order arrived
this morning as I paid extra for 48 hour delivery, but
the toy company have sent me 1,500 frogs. I rang them up
to find out why and they're claim I must have hit the 'buy
frogs' button by mistake, but I didn't. You see, there's
a frog icon next to the toad one, but I made sure I clicked
'buy toads' as that's what I wanted.
So this guy on the phone says that the frog icon and the
toad one look really similar and so it's an easy mistake
to make. I told him that they don't look anything like
each other as toads and frogs are different, toads are
bigger and darker. I know my frogs and toads and I clicked
on the toads. They're not having any of it though and refuse
to refund me or swap the toys, so I'm stuck with 1,500
frogs.
If I stick with IFoundAToad.com but leave frogs about
the place, people might notice and think that this is all
some cheap fraud. If I picked up a frog and it had a label
claiming toadship, then I'd be suspicious and suspect someone
was trying to con me.
I have had some ideas though of how we can get around
this and I wanted your opinion on what you think would
be the best option:
1) We could set up the site as IFoundSomeOtherFrogs.com
just to make sure there was no confusion.
2) Could you send me a quote of how much PepFX would charge
to repaint all the frogs slightly darker, so they'd look
more toad-like. I know we can't make them any bigger, so
we might be forced to go with IFoundABabyToad.com or IFoundASmallToad.com,
or maybe if we made the writing really small then people
would have to hold them closer to read and then they would
look bigger.
Let me know what you think is best and I'll start things
moving.
As for the list of sites I like and
don't like, I'll try and get a list together and send it
through.
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent:
Thu Feb 5, 2004 22:35:59 Europe/London
Subject: Re:
The next stage
Hello Christian,
I'm so sorry to hear that....
Can you send me a picture of one of the frogs? If you
don't have a digital camera, perhaps there is a picture
online, if you ordered them in an online shop?
We will see then what can be done.
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At this point
I was tempted to actually shell out the cash and post
them 1,500 toy frogs. The thought of a group of designers
sitting there painting them was almost too much of an
opportunity to miss.
Instead, I trawled
images.google.com
and turned up an image of a big frog... a really big
frog. I initially intended to state that I had 1,500 frogs,
all at about 4 to 5 feet in height. This was probably pushing
the plausibilty factor to breaking point and so I followed
a friend's suggestion of a swap...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent: On Friday, Feb 6,
2004, at 21:37
Subject: Re:
The next stage
Hello Christian,
Have you received my last e-mail in which I asked you
about a picture of the frogs you have bought?
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook
To: PepFX
Date: Sun
Feb 8, 2004 20:23:14 Europe/London
Subject: Re: The next
stage
Attachments: There is 1 attachment
Hi Trixie
Yes I got the e-mail. Sorry I didn't get back sooner,
but I was very busy and I'll let you know why...
On Friday, I got fed up and rang up the toy company again.
I spoke to a nice girl called Deborah and she passed me
onto the manager, which the other chap I spoke to wouldn't
do. I explained my situation to him and he said that although
they couldn't refund me or swap for toads he did have another
idea. They have this huge promotional frog that they tried
to sell a few years back but couldn't. It's about 4 or
5 feet high and as no one has bought it, he said they would
be willing to swap that for the 1,500 frogs.
So I drove up to their place yesterday and did the swap.
I have hired a small lock-up in Thames Docklands and will
keep the frog there as it's too big for the house. I borrowed
a friends digital camera and photographed it outside the
lock-up just before I covered it up and locked it in. Photo
is attached. (Sorry about the numbers on the side of the
image, it put those on there automatically and I couldn't
find where to turn them off. I had to turn the camera sideways
to fit the whole thing in!)
So now I have one big frog to leave somewhere and here's
the new idea...
www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
I'll leave the frog somewhere and people will move it
to different locations and photograph themselves in the
frog. Where's the big frog today and who is inside? Find
out only at ImInTheBigFrog.com
Just a quick question. Now I have a big frog rather than
a lot of little ones, will that affect the quote at all?
There will be full instructions on the back of it. We'll
have to work out all the insurance and legal issues. We
don't want the wrong sort of people using the frog to attract
people in for any inappropriate reasons or it could get
hi-jacked by spammers who try and sell illegal music through
the mouth or something.
Anyway, I've checked the domain and it's available so
I got the stationary and press releases ordered yesterday.
I will contact you again, when I am in a position to proceed.
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent: Mon
Feb 9, 2004 18:00:27 Europe/London
Subject: Re:
The next stage
Hello Christian,
Great, so now it's a completely different story. That's
good.
I am not sure how much this would affect the quote. What
all should your system be able to do?
When someone finds the frog, there will be instructions
on the back, with the web address (By the way, why not
www.TheBigFrog.com? Shorter is usually better for domain
names.)
Then people can go to the web site, and submit their
information, along with a picture, which would be optional.
Is that so far correct?
Would the form fields for the report stay the same as
on IfoundaFrog.com ?
Is there anything else that we need to know about the
site itself or the system?
How many pages would the site have?
Let me know what you expect (in as much detail as possible),
and I will give you our quote.
Thanks,
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Christian
Cook" <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: "PepFX"
Date: Thu Feb 12, 2004 22:24:01
Europe/London
Subject: Re: The next stage
Hi Trixie
I was more just thinking that the big frog rather than
little ones might push the price up as it's bigger. Other
than that, the site should be the same really. An area
for photos of people in the frog, about page, FAQ, a home
page, contact page, a philosophy page of thoughts from
the frog where I can upload meaningful insights into life
through focusing on the effect the big frog has had in
uplifting peoples' days.
As for the domain, I have decided to
stick with ImInTheBigFrog.com
as it's like a proud exclamation. People that get in the
big frog will want to shout out and tell the world that
they are in the big frog. I think that the feeling of liberation
and free thinking that is only achievable within a big plastic
frog will make people want to scream, 'I'm in the Big Frog
and I feel great!'
One of the things I loved about Neesa's site was the sheer
originality of the name, IFoundAFrog.com, brilliant! People
would find a frog and think, 'Hey, I found a frog!' suddenly
they read on the label and it says 'IFoundAFrog.com.' The
person is then thinking, 'This frog has read my mind!'
Also, I've got the stationery back from the printers with
ImInTheBigFrog.com on it, so I am committed to that address
now anyway. That reminds me, I must register that URL first
thing tomorrow. I checked this morning and it was still
free.
Once I have everything ready from my end, I will then
be able to proceed further and will get back to you.
Christian Cook.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was now at
a point where I either had to commit to the project and
pay up some serious cash or admit the truth. Unless another
unforseen freak mishap should befall the project. A quick
e-mail to a friend and Johann
Greedel was born. The domain name www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
has now expired, but all links in this article now point
to a mirrored version of the site hosted on thinctanc.co.uk.
The images on the site came from a COREL DRAW clip art CD
and the words just kind of spilled out of my head. His unique
grasp of English was acheived by babelfish.altavista.com
(English to French, then the generated French put back through
French to English).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
"Christian Cook" <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: "PepFX"
Date: Fri Feb 13, 2004 19:42:30
Europe/London
Subject: Thieving goat herder!
Trixie
I do not believe it! I have just gone
to buy the domain www.iminthebigfrog.com
and some thieving goat herder has grabbed it. The cheek
of some people!
Has someone leaked it, do you think? I'll ask around with
people in the know this end, just in case. It was free
when I last checked and I've got all the stationery printed
now.
I'm going to have to put things on hold until I can persuade
this guy to hand the domain over. Then we can start things
up again.
I'll keep you posted on the progress.
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
PepFX
To: Christian
Cook
Sent: Fri
Feb 13, 2004 19:53:53 Europe/London
Subject: RE:
Thieving goat herder!
That's..... I don't know what to say.
The same thing happened to us once, about 3 years ago.
We went to register a
domain name, it was free. 2 hours later, only 2 hours (!!)
it was gone...
I will check when the domain was taken and I'll get back
to you.
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
"PepFX"
To: Christian
Cook" <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
Date: Fri
Feb 13, 2004 19:56:10 Europe/London
Subject: RE: Thieving goat
herder!
Created February 12, so yesterday...
http://www.register.com/whois-results.cgi?[extraneous code
removed]
Registrant's e-mail address is [address
removed] and his name is [name
removed].
Keep me posted!
Thanks,
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to
keep up the pretense of
an aggrieved would-be-domain-holder, I needed to find
out if there really was a region in Switzerland called
The Big Frog. No, I know, of course there isn't, but
I wasn't supposed to know that...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
Christian Cook" <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: info.uk@switzerland.com
Date:
Mon Feb 16, 2004 08:45:14 Europe/London
Subject: Region in Switzerland
called 'The Big Frog.'
Hi
Sorry to bother you, but you may be able to help settle
a dispute. Is there a region in between Lake Lucerne
and Lake Zurich known as 'The Big Frog' due to its shape
and the rich green of the grass there?
Many thanks for any information you are able to provide.
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook" <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: Swiss
Embassy, London
Date: Montag, 16. Februar 2004 08:43
Subject: Region in Switzerland
called 'The Big Frog.'
Hi
Sorry to bother you, but you may be able to help settle
a dispute. Is there a region in between Lake Lucerne
and Lake Zurich known as 'The Big Frog' due to its shape
and the rich green of the grass there?
Many thanks for any information you are able to provide.
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The missing
word (shown as [not]) in the following e-mail almost
had me falling off my chair. It was only when I read
on that I realised the error.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Paul
Scott
To: "'shout@christiancook.com'"
<shout@christiancook.com>
Date: Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:05:53
Europe/London
Subject:
Hi there
Thank you for your email.
Ok I have checked with a few people in the office, who
a lot of them are Swiss and they have [not] heard of this
name, I myself have sold this region for a few years and
also have not come across this, it may be worth searching
on Google or something and see what it gives.
Sorry we cant be of anymore help.
Many thanks
FOR FREE INFORMATION ON SWITZERLAND PLEASE FREEPHONE 00800
100 200 30
Kind regards
Paul Scott
Call Centre Team Leader
Switzerland Travel Centre Ltd / Plus Travel
[address removed]
www.myswitzerland.com / www.plustravel.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
Swiss Embassy, London
To: shout@christiancook.com
Date: Mon Feb 16, 2004 11:06:14
Europe/London
Subject: Request
Dear Christian
Thank you for your email. My collegue
Mrs Heaper who is dealing with this request is on holiday
until Friday 20.2.04.
"The Big Frog" doesn't
ring a bell to me but I would suggest to contact the
Switzerland Travel Centre
- they might have some more information - Tel. 00800 100
200 30 or stc@stlondon.com
With kind regards
Martha Freud
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now it was
time to confront that thieving goat herder, and keep
PepFX posted, of course.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
Christian Cook" <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: JohannGreedel@iminthebigfrog.com
Cc: "PepFX"
Date: Mon Feb 16, 2004 21:26:56
Europe/London
Subject: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Dear Mr. Greedel,
I am a writer in the UK and have set up a publicity website
involving a big frog. People will appear in the big frog
and send in photos of their experiences in the big frog.
I have been in contact with a web design company called
PepFX and we were on course to launch a huge campaign with
the big frog. This has now had to be put on hold and the
entire project may not ever move a step further unless
we are able to secure the domain iminthebigfrog.com. I
was about to register this domain last week when I discovered
that you had beaten me to it by a matter of minutes.
I have contacted both the Swiss
Embassy in London and the Switzerland Travel Centre Ltd
and neither has ever
heard of anywhere called The Big Frog in Switzerland. If
you were really that bothered about your roots, why didn't
you get a .swiss domain or whatever it is! And, if you
had been really sensible, you would have gone for www.thebigfrog.com
or something.
How about if I buy that domain
and we can swap. I can't
use that domain as I already have the press releases printed.
Do you have printed stationery saying ImIntheBigFrog.com?
I do!
I really need that domain. My entire campaign is now in
jeopardy.
I hope we can resolve this as soon as possible.
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
JohannGreedel@iminthebigfrog.com
To: Christian
Cook" <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
Cc: "PepFX"
Date: Tue Feb 17, 2004 07:13:50
Europe/London
Subject: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Mister Cook
I am sorry that you printed your writings without buying
the fields necessary initially, but I live in The Big Frog
and I must say people thus they know where I am.
As for the people introducing the photographs of their
adventures into The Big Frog, we were in The Big Frog for
five generations. My large large father, Huban-Komes Greedel,
had many adventures and found the trunk of the drawers
local to the top of the tree of monkey, said to be employed
to hide the hand-cut out pigeons flowered of Jerome pope
during the rising of the fishmongers. It had adventures
without end in The Big Frog and I can send his much images
to you to show you.
We were here for five generations! Why can't you employ
the field www.thebigfrog.com yourself and reprint the writings?
I hope that this is useful for you.
J Greedel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: Johann
Greedel <JohannGreedel@iminthebigfrog.com>
Cc: PepFX
Date: Tue Feb 17, 2004 22:51:50
Europe/London
Subject: Re: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Dear Mr. Greedel,
Thank you for your reply.
I can't re-print the stationery
as I paid extra premium to get gilt-edged paper so it
would catch the eye
of journalists.
I accept that you may have been
in your cottage for five generations, but you've
hardly owned the domain for five minutes!
And as for your claim to be in the big frog, you cannot
be in the big frog as the big frog is currently sitting
in a lock-up in Thames Docklands.
I can't offer you any large
cash incentives to surrender the domain, as I have spent
everything I have on the big
frog and my press releases. I could possibly scrape together
a bit each month and maybe sponsor a goat or two, if that
would help sway you?
If that proposal meets with your approval then please
let me know
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Johann
Greedel <JohannGreedel@iminthebigfrog.com>
To: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
Cc: PepFX
Date: Wed Feb 18, 2004 07:06:32
Europe/London
Subject: Re: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Dear Mr. Cook
I sought a chart on the World Wide Web any sign of an
area in Great Britain called The Big Frog but do not can
find a trace simple of it. Because you are not thus in
The Big Frog then I cannot allow you to say that you are,
as people can approach you to live in troop of the occasions
for sheep and goats which you cannot provide a service
for.
As for your suggestion concerning my own goat's troop,
can I specify that these creatures are there to produce
wools and milk. They are not to the eating!
I am sorry that we cannot find the agreement. I offer
good day to you and the chance wishes elsewhere you.
J Greedel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: PepFX
To: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
Date: Wed Feb 18, 2004 17:48:14
Europe/London
Subject: Re: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Hi Christian,
I'm sorry about the domain development... Mr. Greedel
doesn't seem to want to cooperate.
It also seems that he was a bit upset by your first e-mail,
because he felt that you didn't think he had the "right" to
have that domain, kind of.
I have stopped writing you, and have written a letter
for Mr. Greedel, so I will send both e-mails now, and
we'll see..
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: PepFX
To: Johann
Greedel <JohannGreedel@iminthebigfrog.com>
Cc: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
Date: Wed Feb 18, 2004 17:56:24
Europe/London
Subject: Re: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Hello Mr. Greedel,
My name is Trixie Mailer I am the creative director of
PepFX. We are a web design company located in Vienna, Austria,
so we are neighbors in a way!
I understand your position completely, and I assure you
that nobody thinks that you don't have the right to have
your domain.
I know on the other side that Mr. Cook is getting desperate
because of the investments he has already made and they
are connected to that domain..
I know this is not your problem, and you have every right
to say that it simply doesn't interest you.
Despite of that I wanted to write you myself, and see
if there is any way at all to change your mind.
You could consider it a good deed towards another man,
and as everything in life is in balance, I am sure some
time later, when you least expect it, someone else will
help you, simply because you need help. And we all need
help and understanding sometimes.
Not to mention, you will have more free time, as you
won't have to keep replying to e-mails such as this one.
:)
By the way, just for your information, www.thebigfrog.com
is a better domain. The first rule with domain names
is to keep them as short as possible. That's one of the
reasons why we are PepFX - only 5 letters.It's a lot
easier for people to remember and there are less chances
of people making a typo.
I already said that to Mr. Cook before you reserved your
domain, so before all this, but he wanted to stay with ImintheBigFrog.com
because of the stationary that he had already ordered.
So, if you accept the proposition, or plea, you would
actually have a better domain name than Mr. Cook.
Please consider it.
Thank you,
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: Johann
Greedel <JohannGreedel@iminthebigfrog.com>
Cc: PepFX
Date: Wed Feb 18, 2004 22:42:00
Europe/London
Subject: Re: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Hi Johann
I am glad that Trixie has made a few
things a bit clearer. I hope there was no misunderstanding.
If you would like to have the domain www.thebigfrog.com
then I will personally arrange it so there will be no problems
for you during the transition. I thank you in advance for
your consideration in this matter.
I would also like to make another
matter clear as I feel that my use of convoluted vocabulary
may have obscured
our mutual understanding. I believe that the word 'sponsor' may
have jeopardised any agreement being reached through your
miscomprehension of its true definition.
It was never my intention, nor would it ever be, under
any circumstances, to make you an offer whereby two of
your goats would be eaten by myself, every month, in exchange
for regular cash payments.
If the above offer is agreeable with you, then please
let me know
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Johann
Greedel <JohannGreedel@iminthebigfrog.com>
To: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
Cc: PepFX
Date: Thu Feb 19, 2004 07:22:08
Europe/London
Subject: Re: www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
Trixie
Thank you of your pleasant E-mail.
It was very kind you to write in the name of Mr. Cook's
and I understand to them his needs and concern. Unfortunately,
I cannot
be of assistance, because I do not wish to employ the Domain
Name thebigfrog.com.
Although I know that a shorter field can be wiser for
the sale, I do not want to propose that my Web site is
about The Big Frog. I am simply saying to people that I
am in The Big Frog.
I am sorry that I cannot be of more than assistance, but
this decision is final. I wish you both good in your future
companies.
J Greedel
P.S. - Mr. Cook, you still do not seem to understand.
My goats are like brothers and sisters with me. Yes, I
employ their wools and milk but I would never dream to
eat them, however much you each month would pay me! Not
two, not one, not which of my goats. My goats are not to
eat!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: PepFX
Date: Thu Feb 19, 2004
Subject: The end of the
road
Hi Trixie
With the loss of the domain name, I am not able to continue
and do not have the resources to move onto another similar
project. Although we will not be proceeding any further,
I would still like to thank you for all your time and energy
in seeing things through thus far.
It has been a huge learning experience. One thing that
will stay with me forever is that we are all seeking something,
some of us are looking for small plastic ducks, some of
us are looking for small plastic frogs and some of us are
looking for new paths to herd our goats. I hope, that in
some way, what has happened here might help a few people
find their own plastic toads in life.
I may not own www.ImInTheBigFrog.com
but in some ways I am in it already because we are all in
the big frog that is life. I am in that big frog and I feel
great!
With that in mind, I will be
moving the big plastic frog by lorry tomorrow to the
centre of Trafalgar Square in
London and I will climb inside it and watch the world pass
by. To any that may linger near the mouth, I may share
my story or ask them for their own story of how they are
in life's big frog. Once I am in the big frog, I
will probably no longer have access to the internet so
this will probably be farewell.
Thank you again for all your help and efforts and I wish
you every success with future projects.
I will probably send one final e-mail just before I get
in the frog.
Kind regards,
Christian Cook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "PepFX"
To: shout@christiancook.com
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 04:18:09 +0100
Subject: Re: The end of the road
Hi Christian,
I'm sorry to hear that.
I wish you all the best with your endeavors and I hope
you will think of us if you need something again (in
web or graphic design, or maybe just a game?).
Sincerely,
Trixie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe just a
game? I think not... I am tired of games now. It is time
to enter The Big Frog...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Christian
Cook <christian.cook@btinternet.com>
To: PepFX
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 11:03:06
+0000 (GMT)
Subject: Last transmission--
The thing's hollow--it goes on
forever--and--oh, my Frog!-- it's full of stars!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
