I recently received an email from Rachel Chaikof explaining that her website, Cochlear Implant Online, has been removed from the active list of blogs because Deafread believes her website is a commercial website. What the.... I strongly disagree with Deafread's decision.
It's very obvious Rachel's website is not commercial. I wonder whether TaylorInfoMedia, the owner of Deafread, perceives her website as a threat to American Sign Language. It wouldn't surprise me because Rachel has done a great job of sharing the stories of various individuals, not just products of AVT, but also cuers too! The success of deaf adults with spoken language can be enticing for hearing parents who want to communicate in their own language with their children.
Lately I haven't spent much time on Deafread due to work and other engagements, but reading through the latest blogs I can see blogs that have no relation to deafness or hearing loss make it to the extra section, where my most two recent blogs on Cued Speech currently are located.
I have experienced the "dark side" of Deafread myself, when I tried to submit www.WeCue.net, a new blogsite for the Cued Speech community. One would think that WeCue.net should be easily accepted for submission to Deafread, but that's not the case. Two different submissions and almost two weeks later, I still yet have to see Deafread allow WeCue.net to be part of the "aggregator."
I have to state that I did contact Amy Cohen Efron, and she responded stating she would get in touch with the editors. I still yet have to hear back from her on why wecue.net was never added to Deafread.
What happened in the last six months for Deafread to be more exclusive instead of inclusive?
Email the people behind Deafread and let them know diversity and inclusiveness are the best policies.
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Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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32 comments:
Amen.
With due respect, Aaron.
I am with Tayler and the DeafRead editors' decision to regard the Cochlear Implant Online blog as "commerical", instead of community-based blog.
Please take a hard look at Rachel's so-called blog with "Shop" for selling related merchandises and other items.
Rachel surely have a freedom of doing her blog with captialistic approach somewhere.
The DeafRead editors are more than fair regarding countless blogs and vlogs.
The DR editors did sling my previous blog posting to the DR Extras which I considered it to be such unfair. I wrote the public apology to Aidan Mack for my mistatement. It ended up on the DR Extras.
The DR people do not play any favorites or practice censorship.
One thing is I strongly disagree with the DR policy is the ban of nudity and profanity and display of mature themes.
We have to live with the DR's policy. Any of us are much free to leave or stuck within the DR. :)
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLM,
Did you note that proceeds from Rachel's "Shop" go to the AVT Center in Atlanta, Georgia and not herself. I would think the AVT center is non-profit.
What if I was to do the same thing, create a shop so that proceeds would benefit the National Cued Speech Association, a 501c3 non-profit organization. Would that commercialize my website? I don't think so.
I am not with Tayler and the deafread editors. With due respect, shouldn't by the standard suggested by Tayler in his threatening response to me (see Rachel's site for more) every person who uses any device be asked now....do you volunteer for these companies? I have a feeling that we should see alot more "kicked out" of deafread b/c of this....however, I doubt we will.
The ridiculousness of this whole thing is that Rachel has never put Cochlear above any other product. She's been for CI's before she was a volunteer, and I'm sure long after. Can they show us where she profits from Cochlear? Can they show us how she is promoting Cochlear's company? For Heaven's sake, she received her CI's when she was 2 1/2.....she's 21....if she doesn't have the right to volunteer for Cochlear Implant Awareness, then no one has a right to volunteer for anything.
The Auditory-Verbal Center is a not for profit 501c organization. Rachel received her AVT training there. She is "giving back" to them for what they gave to her. So if that's commercialism, I'd like to see more of it! Kudos to Rachel.
The torch is now passed to those of you who haven't been kicked out of DR. Good Luck. I'm sure your days are numbered.
RLM,
The Auditory Verbal Center in Atlanta (see http://www.avchears.org/ ) is a non-profit organization. Scroll to bottom of webpage and you'll see the "501(c)(3) which means "non-profit."
Secondly, there are other blogs that do the commercialization thing. i711.com is one of them yet DR has no qualms in listing the links to their blogs.
Aaron,
I wonder why WeCue hasn't been accepted to DeafRead too. As you know I've been exploring cueing as an option for my husband who is having difficulties learning ASL. He's also HH. Since a person can speak English and simultaneously sign phenomes with cueing, it seems like the best of both worlds for those who are late-deafened.
I'm really upset with the way things are going here in DeafRead. I don't agree with their decision to pull Rachel's blog.
Talk about irony... Amy Cohen Efron's blog http://blog.deafread.com/abcohende/2007/03/17/the-greatest-irony/ is nothing but a huge commercial for her DVD that she sells for the benefit of... Amy Cohen Efron! I guess rules only apply to some people, not everyone, and certainly not to the DeafRead Human Editors.
I agree with RLM and Tayler and Deafread that they did the right thing.
Thank you, Aaron, for an intelligent and well-written post!
I think Tayler's beef is TRANSPARENCY.
Rachel disguised her blog as a "community blog" rather than a merchandising site that comes with a forum chat.
Amy Cohen Efron and i711 are openly transparent about their intents and what their blog is all about. Rachel was not. She knew there are many touchy feelings about CI so she disguised herself as a member of DeafRead community promoting CI when in reality she is an employee promoting ads for CI products and faciliating a forum. This is a false representation, guys. That is the central to Taylermedia's decision to boot her off.
It is not a hard concept to grasp. We don't need people like Rachel amongst us. We want honest and transparent people who represent themselves as they are without the cloak like the one Harry Potter wears.
Tayler himself said in his vlog he is personally fasncinated with CI reads ci blogs to learn more about CI and their products and the whole process of language development and therapy. He is not anti-CI and neither is Mishka Zena if I read her right. Mishka Zena promotes personal right to choice. I don't get the vibe that Amy is anti-Ci, either - it is more she promotes ASL along with CI, hearing aids, oralism, whatever...that ASL is essential to language development for deaf children. I think she is against the idea of removing ASL from language development during AVT therapy for CI receipents. It is not the CI device she is against but the idea that AVT removes ASL from therapy and language process. She promotes continuing with ASL during the process.
So, I don't see Rachel's oust as an anti-CI campaign by DeafRead but simply because she misrepresented herself. A code of ethics and honor.
Removing CI online from DeafRead would reduce culturally Deaf commentaries on Rachel's blog. Hearing parents of deaf children who stumble on Rachel's blog wouldnt see the balance of information among commentaries. It is DeafRead's act of stupidity.
I do wonder too about some other b/vlogs such as ACEfron and her DVD.
anna s
Cy,
You state that Rachel is an "employee". Absolutely false. She does not work for Cochlear Corp. She does not promote their product. She does not profit from them or their merchandise. She VOLUNTEERS as a CI awareness person. Basically she tells people about her implant. That is it. She has not misrepresented herself at all. If anything, Taylor is misrepresenting her by sliming her in DeafRead. There are lots of CI volunteers, and until now, DeafRead has not required any of them to disclose this on their blogs. They boot her off, then post the requirement that it is because she didn't state that she was a CI volunteer. Totally hypocritical.
Anna S.
I may be one of the culturally Deaf commentaries but Rachel blocked from my comments in her blogs.
I can image that there are others too.
Really, Rachel can be great person but she got an attitude problem.
Cy - "she is an employee promoting ads for CI products and faciliating a forum."
Rachel is NOT an employee of Cochlear Americas. That is a known fact. Volunteering her time is not an employment opportunity and furthermore she does not get any forms of compensation.
What DR is doing is grasping straws. No where in their guideline does it show that one must make publicly any professional affiliation.
"I may be one of the culturally Deaf commentaries but Rachel blocked from my comments in her blogs."
Anonymous June 3, 2008 5:54 PM
Yeah, you are right about she has to block me.
Cy --
Your statement is not what Tayler mentioned in his DR Blog. You need to read Tayler's announcement in the DR's blog as of today.
Think about Joey Baer's vlog. He has received his sponsor fund from Sprint. He has received $$$$ from the big corporation like the Sprint, for instance.
Amy Cohen Efron got the copyrighted and marketable DVDs. She have earned the $$$$.
It's the conflict of interest.
Rachel just volunteered to help people without earning the $$$$.
White Ghost
annonymous,
What Rachel does is called "moderating." She is no different from other bloggers who also moderate comments in their blogs. What you are doing is a strawman. The issue isn't about moderating blogs.
To Anony above,
Rachel is not the first to block comments on her blog in DR; her reason was to remove the hatred-filled invectives. Several CI bloggers/ commenters have had their comments blocked by some bloggers as well. It is the blogger's perogative to block comments.
Like Paotie said on Rachel's blog today, an "employed volunteer" is an oxymoron. Volunteers are not paid nor are they employed.
To All Bloggers,
DR editors oust Rachel's blog for "commercialism", then "lack of transparency", what next?
ALL bloggers should be wary that DR editorship practices arbitrariness and you could very well be next, CI blog, pro-ASL, whatever your stance. Tom's Deaf Advocacy blog was banned, and Tom is an intelligent ASL-user.
It can happen to ANYBODY's blog. To the DR editorship, just about anything can be used against you as a blogger. Already tried and convicted without so much as a warning.
Ann_C
Mike,
Rachel wasn't moderating my comments, she completely blocked my ip.
That is part of the moderating business. What do you think "moderating" means? A free for all? This includes blocking IP addresses by those who abuse or don't follow the moderator's rules and expectations.
The point was Rachel was not STRAIGHFORWARD with her intent on her blog. Doesn't matter if she is merely a volunteer - she still diguised herself as a community memer sharing experiences and stories on CI while trying to market CI products.
Amy, Joey, whoever else, were straighforward and said aloud what is going on. Amy said straight out she's selling DVD. Joey said straight out he's sponsored...the keyword is transparency and straightforwardness.
Yes, it can happen to any of us. After all it IS Tayler's website, not ours. HE can do whatever he believes is right.
So now you know what his beef is and don't make the same mistake.
Cy,
You are as ridiculous as Tayler Mayer and the others. Rachel isn't employed by Cochlear. Tayler's blog post is erroneous as well. I don't see them kicking other Cochlear Awareness Volunteers or Advanced Bionics Volunteers or DBC volunteers out. Come on. We all see this for what it really is. Don't try to disguise this as anything other than a bullying tactic. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Deafread can't have its cake and eat it too...they need to look long and hard if they are going to push a few people around and not all of those who don't comply. So much for the inclusiveness of the deaf community. I guess deafread is truly only for the "D"eaf community.
Amen brother!!
For justamotherofthreeboys,
If you think that deafread is truly only for the "D"eaf community, then why should you be concern about entering Deafread.
Why not go elsewhere?
Just what is so important about Deafread for you?
Deafread was actually created for "D"eaf community because there is no other in the world for Deaf people to come together to communicate until Mike McConnell ruined it by inviting people like yourself to invade and cause problems.
Please go elsewhere and enjoy your life according to your personality.
Rather comical. Not straightforward with her intent in her blog? You're just as bad as Tayler. Jumping the gun. Rachel's intent is to blog about her C.I. experiences and nothing more. She has been doing that since 2002 and has been transparent about that. What she does as a volunteer is her own business...not yours, nor Tayler's.
Cy, you're making an opinion as if it's a fact that Rachel went out of her way to "disguise" herself. You have no more proof of that. The very exact same thing that Tayler and Jared have done by accusing first and ask later.
To Anony said...
"...until Mike McConnell ruined it by inviting people like yourself to invade and cause problems."
Whoa! Mike did this all by hisself?!
Really now, that is ridiculous.
DeafRead should be important to ALL of us, including you Anony, if you don't want DR editorship banning your blog without so much as a warning. Don't forget that ASL-user blogs have been arbitrarily banned as well. (e.g., Tom's Deaf Advocacy blog)
Don't get ahead of yourself and gloat over a CI blogger's banishment-- it may very well be yours or another favorite blogger of yours next time.
I'm having a big laugh over this one! C'mon, anony. Blaming me for this mess? It was Taylor's undoing, not me, who went out his way to ban Rachel's blog without asking her for clarifications. Secondly, isn't DR about "diversity" and all that and anything that's "deaf-related"? Blaming me makes you the ultimate hypocrite on acceptance and diversity issues. I cannot force Deafread to accept cochlear implant related bloggers. Only they, or in this case, Tayler has the power to ultimately decide which blog to accept for their aggregator list. So, don't go around swinging mud by blaming this mess. It's all too easy of a crutch to try and do that. Learn to take the high road next time.
Cy --
Straightforward? Pfft.
It's about earning the $$$$. Rachel did not earn the $$$$. Joey Baer and Amy Cohen Efron have earned the $$$$. See, Amy Cohen Efron is the human editor of DR.
Dont you get that there is a conflict of interest?
Tayler is jumping the gun.
Can you tell me what is the word for the "volunteer"?
It's about the M*O*N*E*Y!
White Ghost
It s about time for Deafread woke up the truth. I am glad Deafread is getting smarter now.
Of course many CIers makes money to make a big scene for CI company that she did. It gets me the same old boring and turns me off in a big time by their own pushers. They don't want you to know the truth as far as I knew it so. CI is a big hoax as usual that goes for Hearing aid device too. Deaf people cannot hear everything from the spoken language itself alone. la la la la!
She is the one who accused me into her own real false comment about me and being harrassed. Also, she prevent me to post any comments that I like to say. That is not honest from her as well. CI is the one she has to talk about ... BLAH BLAH BLAH as the same old manure attitude toward Deaf ASLAN people.
Miss Self Centered and Know it all as I am seeing it all along that hasn't changed a bit.
Deaf will be always deaf that you need to face the Deaf reality.. NO such thing for a deaf child to be a hearing child that you need to clean up your negative attitude about our natural abilities and adaptation that you don't even know how to do it. since you were a ex hearing that is a big sneaky tricky impact.
It s always sneaky way out to cover up their buns as usual.. I am not surprised at all. :) NOthing new for years and years. They are a sucker and fall for it too easily as well.
American Sign Language is the winner that Deaf children have their rightful to have it in their lifetime. It works and free from damaging our Deaf ears. So be it.
Thank you.
Mike,
You have said this several times...
My plan is working flawlessly!
*rubbing hands* heh heh......
Care to explain your devilish tone?
SM,
Truth? The truth is that Tayler FAILED to contact Rachel for clarifications about her blogging and any affiliations elsewhere but instead ASSUMED the worse and banned her blog. Everybody nearly agrees with this assessment and saw that Tayler made that unprofessional error. He simply needs to own to this mistake and false charges. None of this conspiracy stuff does anybody any good.
Anonymous-- I can explain the "devilish" tone. It was a JOKE. And a damned funny one at that! hahaha! You've all painted Mike bigger than life, capable of ruining DeafRead single-handedly by posting opposing views to Deafhood and Deaf thought.
Mike is just a guy who used to have a blog on DeafRead. He has no more power than anyone else. It's hilarious he's STILL being accused of "ruining" DeafRead.
The fact is Rachel and her mother came on board after Mishka Zena invited them for a discussion on CI's. Of course other CIer's followed.
And finally. . .What you feel has "ruined" DeafRead, has actually made it far more interesting to me.
I don't always agree with Rachel, but I can disagree without calling her names. I've never been blocked from her blog.
And I am against AVT! Go figure!
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