Real English Victim of Extreme Plagiarism

I reproduce the comments I have received by email before writing this blog entry. Many of the comments come from the Webhead Community Forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evonline2002_webheads/
and from other friends of Real English.

A Brazilian friend, Marcela, wrote:
Hi Michael,
I’m just shocked! I fell terribly sorry for you and so ashamed because he is
Brazilian!!!

Aiden wrote: “You have worked so hard in putting up Real English and you have been so generous to let us use your videos in our classrooms. I hope that you’d be able to get your evidence and yes, justice, too.

Cris, also Brazilian, wrote:
That’s Awful Mike!
This is really sad that people think they can take just like this.

Susana wrote:
I’m really sorry. Every Webhead has the spirit of sharing , but all of us, who use material that belongs to anybody else, explain the origin of it. That way, all of you are as famous as Rock stars in my classroom.
I’m ready to help you, just tell me how.You’ve been so generous sharing your material, you don’t deserve this attitude from Rodrigo Faria.
A hug from Argentina

Christine wrote:
This is horrible! I don’t speak Portuguese but if you can think of how I or others in the U.S. can help, please say so and consider it done.
Your wonderful work must be protected. I am truly sorry to learn about this agonizing experience.

Malila wrote:
I couldn´t believe my eyes when I read these messages. What a shame! I´m from Brazil, and I´m feeling terrible about this right now.

Rita wrote:
This is a crime, and as such, needs to be punished.
Our messages to Rodrigo and the blog where his work was aqvertised will, at least, make this criminal realize his theft is
going global. Do let me know, Mike, if there is anything I can do from Argentina.

Cintia wrote:
This is very very sad…..I feel ashamed of being a Brazilian…

Martin wrote:
Hi Michael,
Just adding a word of support to what’s already been said. I’ve been an admirer of your project for some years. It’s clear how much sustained effort has gone into its development over a number of years. It’s particularly unfair that you’ve been the victim of this plagiarism as you’ve been so generous with your own work in the past. Anyway, the incident did give me an opportunity to revive my rusty Portuguese and send off the following (no doubt fruitless) missive to Mr Faria:
Prezado Rodrigo,
Estou escrevendo-lhe so para juntar minha voz ao coro de desaprovacao provocada por sua apropriacao desonhesta e vergonhosa do trabalho feito durante anos por Michael Marcio, um profesor globalmente conhecido e respetuado. Acabei de notar que seu site pretende dar dicas de como evitar ‘passar vergonha’. Sem comentarios. O minimo que se possa ser feito seria retirar todo o conteudo roubado e publicar uma desculpa no seu site.
Esperando sua resposta (em acoes, nao so palavras),

which should read something like:
Dear Rodrigo,
I’m writing to add my voice to the chorus of disapproval of your dishonest and shameful appropriation of the work produced over many years by Michael Marzio, a teacher of global renown. I note that your site claims to give advice on how to
avoid social embarrassment. No comment. The minimum that ought to be done is to remove all the stolen content and publish an apology on your site. Looking forward to your response (in actions, not only words)

Alicia wrote:
It’s a shame that inside a group of Educators this can happen. Thanks God I guess it’s not that often. We are always open to help. This boy had no need to do this harm. He could have asked Michael and guess he would have certainly shared his work in someway. BTW, congratulations on your hard job Michael! It’s great…

Jane wrote:
“Plagiarism” seems too kind of a word–it’s more like grand theft! I sent a message as Gavin suggested.

Carla wrote:
I feel totally ashamed and wish this was not happening, mainly in my country!
On his site, Rodrigo Faria says he’s American. In fact, I think everything is fake, for from what I could hear in the beginning of the recording before he starts using your audio, he seems to have a Brazilian accent. It’s outrageous! I can’t believe what I’ve seen there…

Bee wrote:
Hi Mike,
I have sent your call for help to two friends of mine who are
journalists. Let’s hope they cover it. I will let you know what. If
they don’t, I will report him on the various Brazilian educational
lists I am a member of.
Warm regards,
Bee

Don wrote:
Use the power of the internet. Shame this person for the dishonesty and unethical behavior. The more messages the better.
Make sure every teacher, journalist and English student knows about this.

Graham wrote:
I agree with Don: This shameless crook is trying to use the Web, a place where the Webheads exert a considerable influence. Even if 10% of us blog about this we can make sure that anyone using Google to check out this scoundrel’s reputation will come across a large number of testimonials
exposing him for what he is. I also recommend leaving comments all over the blogosphere wherever appropriate.
Let us take this bad situation and make an example of it – use the power of our community turn it into a ’cause celebre’ to stop (or at least prevent or make others think twice) others from following the same path.
I’m confident we can make a wave big enough not only to overturn this guy’s boat, but to cause ripples to stop you being ripped off again.

Fernanda wrote:
Hi Mike
I imagine how you feeel about that! I have some difficulty in
understanding such kind of dishonesty. It’s perfectly outrageous!
I hope you can get the justice you deserve for your great work with RealEnglish.
If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.
Hugs
Fernanda