Um,

I think a lot of people would be open if Cybersocket would break their silence and make a statement that was honest and direct. However, I think any statement about "Oh, we meant to and money was tight" would simply be BS and would do more harm than good.

When an advertiser spends hard earned cash based on a representation that circulation has been verified, and it hasn't, that's pretty much fraud, and bogus explanations are not the appropriate response, honesty is.

Forgiveness happens after someone has asked for it, or when there's some indication that they've done something to deserve it, and usually implies that whomever is being forgiven wants to change/improve.

As far as I've seen from the boards, there's been no such indication whatsoever from Cybersocket. What we have seen is that, as of just now when I checked, their webpage still says they are audited by CVC, while letters and emails provided by CVC indicate they've never, ever been audited. That's a discrepancy that is a little hard to ignore.

Also, as Patti has said, this is not the first time that Cybersocket has been accused of shady stuff. From cancelling buses at Internext that were supposed to take people to parties thrown by competitors, to crushing Lee's parties, to being involved in the scheduling of the GayVN show that resulted in cancellation of Gay Phoenix Forum to accusations of cronyism with the Cybersocket awards... not to mention the various rumors that distribution of Cybersocket magazine (and, indeed, the actual press run) has been decreasing substantially for years, there are just an awful lot of rumors and accusations... I have no proof of any of this, and it's just conjecture that others have made, but usually, when there's smoke, there's fire. The difference is that, for the first time, it's hard for Cybersocket to make a plausible denial when CVC who is in a position to know, is stating in writing otherwise. And that is the only possible reason why they've been silent, since in this case, nothing else makes sense.

I am a total believer in people's ability to change. I've seen it many times in friends, models, even companies. But for someone to change, they have to be willing to change, acknowledge their past mistakes, take their lumps, and move forward.

Mansion did this when they were found to have put a "shave" feature in MPA-2. I'm sure it was a hard decision to own up to it, and occasionally people still slam them for it, but they did come clean, corrected the situation with the release of MPA-3, and I think in most people's minds, they've turned around to become a company that people respect and trust.

Cybersocket could do exactly the same thing. But I agree with Patti that until they give the slightest indication that they plan on changing their behavior, people will continue to be skeptical, and I believe that continued silence will also further tarnish other Cybersocket activities, such as the awards.

It's also pretty baffling why you'd see fit to be defending them in a circumstance like this. If they were truly good people, they would own up to the issue, correct the problem, and move forward.

It's really too bad. The problem is easily solveable, it just takes someone willing to stand and face the music.