Naria- That annoyed me too how Wu didn’t understand the mythological story. In all my greek mythology studies Arachne was struck down for her hubris and inhumility towards the gods. So, in a way one could compare the Steve Vander Ark story to Arachne , the moral being don’t mess with the gods!! To bad Wu misinterpreted it : (
No, he isn’t a Harry Potter fan but he is a BAD Harry Potter fan!!! How can a true fan does this to our lovely Jo!
Stupid SVA. Stupid reporter. i am so angry. SVA deserves to be an outcast after what he has done.
stitch – your points are well taken. Since you are not a Leaky regular you probably aren’t aware that when this all started it was Melissa and company who asked everyone to not over-react and take a wait and see stance. It wasn’t until SVA started making negative comments in the press that Leaky discontinued its relationship with Lexicon. I think this may be why some of the fans are reacting so strongly. Many of us were willing to give SVA the benefit of the doubt until he made comments that were out of line. Just my two cents.
Max - I never loved or raved about the HP Lexicon. If you want to know the truth. I agree with Jo’s comment, A for effort. To express further, his site sucks. SVA site is so poorly designed. One can tell just by looking at the site that it is not a clean site, not to mention lacking in personal creativity. I have never been a SVA fan. He made my skin crawl from day one, but I never commented on this because it is impolite. But now I am a little pissed that you are lumping all fans together. WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT. WE DON’T ALL HAVE TO AGREE. YET, WE SHARE A COMMON DISCONTENT WITH STEVE AND HIS FOUL ACTIONS. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND ALLOW US TO HAVE AN OPINION.
Katie – I agree. I have to admit that while I had a bookmark on my computer for Lexion I very rarely went there. I much preferred to reread original books.
.... Is this for real? That’s in horrible taste.
Melissa, let me just add my two cents and say that you are a wonderful reporter, mod, and fan, and I support you 100%. I hope you won’t take what this ill informed and rather Skeeter-ish man says seriously, because we’re all very lucky to have you on the scene. Leaky is the only source I’ve trusted for Potter information since I discovered the fandom. I’ll be buying your book the day it’s published. You keep rocking the magic, girl!
“Melissa has done more to hurt me than Rowling,” Vander Ark said during a recess. “I can’t blame her for liking her status.” After all, he said, Rowling “is God and Melissa is her prophet.”
I still cannot believe he said that. I, and I know many others, feel deeply insulted and hurt and angry for Melissa- she used to call him a friend, and for him to take such an extreme and hurtful dig at her is absolutely dispicable.
And, gosh, Steve, I wonder why you feel like and outcast? Hmm, breaking the law, turning your back on the fandom and people who used to love and support you, all in favor making yourself some cash… hmm, whodathunk… I am disgusted.
I’m so shocking about these kind of journalist who yesterday celebrate JK Rowling talents and now she finished Harry Potter do all they can to demystifiate her They’re so PATHETICS they’re true weather vanes.
If we’re looking for honest statements here, I actually always found the HP Lex rather bewildering to navigate. I’d blame it on age if it weren’t that SVA was about a decade older than me. But then again, I’m positive that the “Jo is God and Melissa is her prophet” statement, though hard to conceive, is probably edited for maximum offense value. Highly offensive though the original context surely is, I hesitate to believe SVA has descended into such a state of mental instability that he would make such a statement as it lays ‘flat on the page’. ( I really loved that statement by Jo about reading quotes from Gambon! )
I think the comparison with Athena is wrong. Contrary to Arachne, SVA didn’t produce anything new, better, or inventive, just a compendium of facts taken by JKR’s books.
It is very easy from the journalists’ point of view depict Jo as the devouring billionaire, squashing everything and everyone in her path; it is very easy to attack successful people because they inspire envy. It’s the “David against Goliath” syndrome. Pity that JKR doesn’t deserve it at all, considering all her success doesn’t come from a Goddess’ supernatural capabilities, but from her hard, long work. And I think she has all the right to dispose of her work and her world as she wants. Journalists in these cases never mention that she allowed the creation of huge fan and fanfiction sites, even giving awards to them. SVA’s mistake was thinking that being a devoted fan would allow him to gain from it without JKR’s consent.
Considering what he said about JK and Melissa in this post, I think he just lost the sense of proportions. I can be sorry for him but I have no real pity for his self-induced misfortunes.
Wow its amazing how the people that are paid to inform us with hard facts cant even get hsi facts straight. I think that was kind of a low blow from Steve to Melissa, I mean they were friends before the lawsuit,
Let Steve say what he likes to reporters. Let him say what he likes in public. Let him have his majority of supporters. As long as we (who now may be in the minority thanks to these brilliant so called journalists and news media) know the truth (thanks to Leaky’s detailed unbiased reports) then that is all that matters. Through the likes of Leaky team, I am sure Jo knows she has her supporters and I hope that would be enough for her. And it doesn’t matter if even the judge rules against her either. It was enough for Sirius Black that only very few knew of his innocence.
I was already disgusted by SVA, but this catty behavior is unbelievably immature. He’s been rejected by the fandom because they recognize him for what he is, unlike the media and the peanut gallery celebs who comment on the situation without knowing the facts.
Strange, isn’t it, how we all thought SVA was a fan and now when he can’t make money off plagiarism he starts turning on people he called friends?