Victoria Strauss -- How Warnings Can Backfire

Just saw this on the messageboard of a faux publisher that shall remain nameless (though I bet that most of you can guess which one it is):

I know that it is possible to find anything negative about anyone on the internet. Just look at the negative hype that is out there about [Publisher X]. If I had taken the time to research all the message boards that have negative posts about [Publisher X] I may not be a published author now. So time will tell if [Agency X] will be a good thing for me or not.

Agency X is one tentacle of an especially slimy scammer that Ann and I have been tracking since 2001. Since Agency X's scam model is based on volume, not discretion, its evil doings are just as--or maybe even more--widely known than those of Publisher X. The person who made the post I've quoted from above has been warned about Agency X by others on the messageboard, but has decided not to heed them. In a neat turnaround of what groups like Writer Beware try to accomplish, the warnings aren't driving him away from the scam, but toward it.

I know this person's reaction isn't typical. I also know that it has something to do with the, er, unique mindset of many of Publisher X's writers, who dismiss overwhelming evidence of the lying scumbaggery of their publisher as the carpings of an elitist industry scared of change. Still. It's kinda depressing.