I didn't read the whole thread so maybe this was answered but the video has been taken down. Wonder if Marfione got his attorneys involved like he did with that blogger?
Hah. No conspiracy theories or threats are needed to explain this one. Out of an overabundance of caution, when news of this lawsuit first broke, I chose to remove from my channel the only video featuring a Microtech knife, my review of the Marfione/Munroe Sigil. Legally speaking, the video was unproblematic, but with the lawsuit going, it seemed like the most cautious thing to do. Remember, reviewing is something I do for enjoyment, not my day job. No sense sailing into storms.
That and the poster above me said he wouldn't accept a microtech to review.
Actually, that policy was quietly in place well before their recent legal actions. I really,
really don't like proprietary screws, and they really,
really do, and given that me beating that dead horse doesn't make for a stellar review, I decided to focus my efforts elsewhere. The events of the last few months do make that policy unlikely to change, though.
Is this going to become a trend?? Reviewers afraid to say anything negative??
I think the vast majority of makers see that threatening reviewers, bloggers, or forum posters usually raises a massive PR crisis, and usually just fires up the Streisand Effect (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect), amplifying an opinion or fact which nobody would have cared about otherwise. I think the community reaction from this most recent case only serves to underscore this fact.
It's also worth saying that, out of that same overabundance of caution, I've had discussions with defamation and First Amendment lawyers in light of these recent events, and based on this, I believe that there is absolutely a way to avoid crossing the legal 'line in the sand', while still giving honest reviews which present both facts and opinions, and which accurately reflect the reviewer's true feelings and opinions on the product, positive or negative.
That said, I work very hard to be fair to everybody, to highlight the good and great, to constructively present the bad and ugly, while separating fact and opinion, and keeping facts accurate. I hope that makers, no matter their feelings for me, will agree. Plus, at the end of the day, I'm just one jackass giving my own personal opinions as entertainment, and people can agree, disagree, or perhaps best, disregard entirely, as they see fit.
So, I don't think this spells the end for balanced and honest reviewing in the knife world, just as it hasn't elsewhere. But, absolutely, the worst part of all of this has been the replacement of some passion in the community with fear.
).
