> Start from Part 1

In early November, I went back to move2nz and announced that as per Tammy's angry suggestions, we the critical expats had put together our own site. I admit fully to being sarcastic about it. I don't take well to having my friends threatened, particularly when, as the admins well know, they are having a very hard time in New Zealand.

The result was the following e-mail.

November 8, 2007 6:15:30 PM GMT+13:00 Re: expatexposed.com

I noticed your posting on move2nz under the name 'Wintersmith' and reviewed your site.

Statements have been posted in the public areas of your site which are defamatory and untrue:

"What happened between you and move2nz?
We the founding members and bloggers all met on the move2nz forum. We banded together because each of us increasingly found ourselves under attack by the administrators and other members for discussing the negative aspects of life here, despite the fact that we contributed other kinds of posts and took care to observe the rules as well as be sensitive to others' feelings.

"We also felt that the admins were verbally abusive and overly controlling, ejecting members for organizing their own meetups, threatening legal action without merit and seemingly taking the view that they owned the very idea of Web-based networking for expats in New Zealand. Most of us founding members are Web/IT professionals, and this type of attitude was particularly dismaying to us."

"I'm a move2nz member... Am I welcome here?"
"move2nz. A smaller-scale site with Christchurch focus."

Comments and inferences have also been made about the move2nz site and it's administrators in other areas of your site. I regret that you and your associates feel it necessary to attack move2nz is this way.

Please immediately remove any and all mention of and inference to the move2nz website, it's administrators, agents, associates and moderators. If you have not complied with this request by 12pm Monday 12th November NZT I shall seek legal advice on taking matters futher.

Mike
move2nz - helping migrants become kiwis

In a quirky move, they then immediately proceeded to register with Expat Exposed, which happens to be an open board readable to non-members. Having approved their membership, I replied as follows:

November 8, 2007 9:23:36 PM GMT+13:00

Hi Mike and Tammy,

First of all, welcome to Expat Exposed. Mike, I've approved you for the Christchurch usergroup, as requested.

As for the other request, there's no need for you to wait until Monday the 12th--please go ahead and consult your lawyer today.

Best regards,

Agness Kaku

P.S. I think you mean "mentions and references". "Inference" is something you would have to come up with from the former.

"Then start your own website...its simple and I will even have a link directing people to it!" "Maybe you lot should start your own website or maybe Mike and I will walk away from move2nz, let it get full of advertsing and go the same way as the other forums."

"Per Tammy's suggestion, I've thrown together a community site that focuses on the downsides of migrating to New Zealand. Thank you to Tammy and Mike for inviting us to link off of move2nz, and hope to see some of you at Expat Exposed!"

"Tell you what, come to South Africa and see how you get treated, you'll get used to that treatment."


"s**t happens, get over it ! You have been allowed to emigrate to NZ, you probably have a job, a house, a car... Advanced Democratic countries like NZ are not racist ."


"Is this site such an eyesore on the Internet? Is the idea of people trying to help others for nothing upsetting you? Or do you have another reason to try and damage this site?"


"this destructive pillock... If I had a vote, mine would be to remove his posts and his profile." etc., etc.

Well, I could easily switch it out to "bullying" or "paranoiac".

"A long standing member that was very active here and organised many of the move2nz meetups, decided to set up her own "BRAND" using our members and effectivily cutting move2nz out of the Wellington Network. Mike and I...have worked so hard over the last 2.5 year....and I don't think its fair that someone should come along and take the credit... today this ex member has used current move2nz members to post about her meetup on the move2nz website."

So... they cut out move2nz by posting on the move2nz site? And that "brand" consists of a Blogger page detailing the gatherings.

Hm, do they really want to try and prove they're bigger than British Expat, EmigrateNZ or Expat Focus?

If you're going to bluff, you should at least give yourself fully to dramatics. "At exactly one past midnight, November the 12th..." would be a good place to start.

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