What happens when politician doesn't pay his bill? This. | Hacker News Reader

What happens when politician doesn't pay his bill? This.

timgobble.com

63 pointsf1gm3nt21 comments

I find it odd that I can't find anything about BornDigital on Google. A web design firm without a website? Also, they spell their name differently on the page ("BornDigital" and "Born.Digital")- something seems off to me.

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Here's the official response, by the way (via http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_181227.asp)

"This former volunteer did, during the early stages of the campaign, assist with website construction and maintenance on a strictly voluntary basis as no contracts or agreements were ever entered into. This is not uncommon, and FEC guidelines do not require payment for these types of services.

"For a variety of reasons, this volunteer is no longer with the campaign. Several months after this volunteer departed the campaign, he sent a bill for more than $30,000 for his previous volunteer work.

"We do not owe this volunteer any money, and we are currently hosting our full website at votetimgobble.com.

http://www.borndigitalwebdesign.com/

I assume it's this company. Not sure if BornDigital is a local company or not.

You're right, it is. The whois info matches up.

However, look when that site was registered: "May 03, 2010"

TimGobble, on the other hand, was registered on "May 21, 2008"

And it's barely ranked on Google. Seems like the official version is right, since the company was created very recently. Looks to me like a shakedown due to a volunteer-based relationship gone bad.

[Note: Person below me might be onto something.. and if he is, it makes the argument that its a "fake" company even stronger]

And if you look at the Born Digital website they're based in Enfield. If they're the designer, then they're only local if he's running for the Greater London Assembly. Last I checked we didn't have a congress.

I think you've fingered the wrong firm here. Looking at the site, the proprietor of Born Digital Web Design (http://www.borndigitalwebdesign.com/about-us/) is Tim Fox, whereas this guy is meant to be called Perk Evans (http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/8998094/artic...). The whois matching is just Domains By Proxy.

Interestingly enough, if one goes to votetimgobble.com, the logo in the upper right (which appears throughout the site) shows timgobble.com

With out a contract the effort he put in is his. Therefore he owns the copyrights, sites, etc, for all the work he created. Therefore a bill is quite appropriate if the campaign wishes to continue using his creation.

That's wrong. He volunteered. It's not like you can bill the Salvation Army for the clothes you donated.

Congress dreamed up some weird criteria to determine copyright ownership, and no matter how wrong it is, it still the law. Unless it was a work for hire, which it probably isn't under 17 U.S.C. §101 as there was neither employment nor anything in writing, the copyright belongs to the author.

There are probably implied licenses, but that is definitely a question for a lawyer.

http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/8998094/artic...

According to that article:

"Today, Gobble identified BornDigital.com as a “one-man show” and named Perk Evans as the administrator."

So the awesome http://www.BornDigital.com is the company that did work for Mr. Tim Gobble.

UPDATE: http://bradleynewsgroup.blogspot.com/search?q=perk

Seems like the two knew each other as that article says Perk Evans was a volunteer at the police station. Not sure why Gobble would want to do business with this guy, but oh well. It's his $30K

I'd redirect the page to his opponent. Admittedly, it's unprofessional, but a lot more fun.

I think this tells you all you need to know about BornDigital:

Lesson: take control of your domain. When someone leaves the team, change the auth keys / passwords to servers / facebook / twitter accounts, etc.

While this strategy might put pressure on this client to pay this bill, the long-term damage to this firm could be quite high. I would never hire a vendor who airs grievances in public like this, and although they may need the cash now and not have the luxury of thinking long-term, this doesn't seem like a good way of brand-building.

Considering the widespread disdain for dishones politicians, it may actually do the brand more good than bad.

http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/HSProcessContributorList...

Appears that Tim Gobble paid some cash to BornDigital o.O

The candidate placed third in his primary - so it's not looking so good for the firm.

I would have asked for at least some of the money up front - especially if the candidate is not an incumbent and not a front-runner. I guess politicians feel that if they didn't place first in the primary they probably don't have to pay any of their bills... their campaigns can just claim bankruptcy and let the creditors get nothing. This says something about the moral bankruptcy of politicians in general and our political system in particular.

Nice to know that is the first result when they google his name.

edit: Why was I down voted? If someone screws you, you wouldn't want other people to hear your side of the story?

edit2: Seems like gkoberger might have dug up details that make it seem like a shakedown.

BornDigital clearly doesn't understand basic SEO.

? why the downvotes?

Striking a blow against jerk customers who don't pay their bill, I like it.

Also, obligatory "lol, Gobble"

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