Win - Win

Yesterday, AGA published a nasty bunch of lies about my software. Or, to be exact, not about my software per-sé - it was a FUD article. Fear, uncertainty, doubt. They said that nobody in the cyber-Go world was interested in my software, and that in the eyes of some of my competitors, I am a criminal. The situation is that the GoGoD dudes are friends with Roy Laird, an AGA board member. AGA has refused a Moyo Go review in the past, with the remark that GoGoD objects to using games from their CD, and that GoGoD thinks this is "criminal".

Of course, this is completely legal according to the Berne Convention on Copyright, and it became even ethical, after John Fairbairn of GoGoD said a few times in public (before I used the games on the GoGoD CD) that my software was not only very lousy, he also was afraid it would mess up his computer, that he lost all trust in my software etc. etc. I guess he was pissed off about my refusal to give my software to him, to be sold as part of his GoGoD CD.

I am not well-versed in the politics of the Go world, but I understand that the folks I am the biggest competitor to (e.g. Gobase and GoGod) won't link to me - fair enough - even though GoBase links to every other Go software - giving the impression that Moyo Go doesn't exist. Power-politics of asking distributors not to sell my software is illegal. Colluding with the Go-media to libel and slander a competitor is illegal. And Arno Hollosi's and Morten Pahle's decision of banning me from advertizing, taking the position as judges as to who is right and who is wrong in the dispute between myself and Go game record "appropriators" and punishing me is totally uncalled for. I had half a dozen online retailers eagerly promising to do business with me, Janice Kim even promised to purchase an initial minimum of 30 copies, after reviewing Moyo Go Studio. GoGoD's criminal operations of trying to dominate and monopolize the Go game record market and all software that uses it remind me of a case in Norway recently. A large diary company offered a supermarket a better price if they would stop selling a smaller competitors' products. This backfired in a spectacular way - their sales dropped overnight by 20% and the smaller one's doubled. And a police investigation was launched. GoGoD has told their distributors that I am a criminal (of course, only in their opinion), and that nobody should sell my products or link to me, and they have secured the cooperation of journaille like AGA to "spreak the word".

The FUD GoGoD spread amongst Go software retailers has proven very effective, which presumably has less to do with the "ethical" or "legal" side, but much more with the fact that the GoGoD CD is a hot seller, and that, when given the choice, retailers preferred to sell GoGoD than Moyo Go.

I feared that the AGA article - a vile pack of lies if there ever was one, several people have lodged official complaints with them about the article - would affect sales in a negative manner. Well.. I sold four copies yesterday! That is not "normal" by a long shot. Mr. Laird: The picture above is one I took just now, before going to the post office. On a very good day nowadays, I sell two copies a day. The average is about two or three a week.

I am grateful for the trust put in me by my new customers and I will do my best not to shame it.