Well Buttercups, we have some sad news to share today. After
two years, AMC finally reached out to us! But it wasn’t a request not to post
any info about the Lucille Victim or any type of friendly attempt at compromise,
it was a cease and desist and a threat of a lawsuit by AMC Holdings, LLC’s
attorney, Dennis Wilson. They say we can’t make any type of prediction about
the Lucille Victim. Their stance is that
making such a prediction would be considered copyright infringement. AMC tells
us that we made some claim somewhere that says we received “copyright protected, trade secret information about the most critical
plot information in the unreleased next season of The Walking Dead” and that we announced we were going to disclose this
protected information. We still aren’t sure where we supposedly made this claim
because they did not identify where it was.The
truth is, we have become victims of our own success. We hold a track record for
accuracy and now AMC perceives us as a threat. We can understand why. We were
once just a small community, but now we are 400,000 strong among all our
outlets. The TSDF Army, originally named in jest, is now very real in this
little cottage industry. We are a threat because of our accuracy. However, it
was never our intention to cause harm to this show (and we don’t believe we have),
only to satisfy the curiosity of thousands of fans who wanted what we offered. Millions
of other fans tune in to this show unspoiled and are none the wiser about who
we are. We are a dedicated community of enthusiastic, passionate fans that love
this show so much we always want to know what’s going to happen and speculate
on all those possibilities. Our spoilers are intended only for fans that seek
them out to enhance their own viewing experience.Basically
what it all comes down to is if we post our Lucille Victim prediction and we’re
right, AMC says they will sue us. Whether there are grounds for it or not is
not the issue, it still costs money to defend. That is the way our justice
system works. Would we have defenses?
Sure. But it also costs money to mount that defense. If someone brings us a potential Lucille
spoiler and we confirm it and it turns out accurate we could get sued. That
doesn’t mean they’re right and we’re wrong, but like so many other situations
in this world, they have the money and power and we do not. So we lose.
In the past two years, AMC has filed several wrongful DMCA notices against
us with full knowledge that we could not file counter-notices, hired
investigators to intimidate our members, and threatened our local members with
arrest, among other questionable acts. We’re also pretty sure they had
something to do with the DOS attack on our site just before the finale last
season. They have exhibited every quality of a bully pounding its chest. That sucks for us. It’s very disappointing to see the network that hosts our favorite show
attack one of their biggest fan bases. Especially when they could have taken a
more diplomatic approach that could have given them the same results.Please
respect our decision not to put our livelihoods at risk. AMC has been harassing us for four days now by
contacting our homes, our family members and our employers; even posting on
this page and personal social media accounts. We are fans of this show just like you and
aren’t a commercial operation that makes profit. We have families and careers
to think about. No spoiler will ever be worth compromising those things. If you
think this makes us pussies that are bowing down to AMC then so be it.After
consultation with our legal counsel, we have responded to AMC that the TSDF
staff will not be posting our prediction on who gets Lucilled on any of our
outlets. We will also not be answering any questions about who we think it is.
If you hear a potential spoiler elsewhere and bring it to us for confirmation,
we will not confirm or deny it. If you message us privately and ask who we
think gets Lucilled, we will not respond. The info may find another outlet on
its own, but an official prediction will not come from the TSDF staff.But
let’s be real here. It’s unreasonable to think for a moment that the Lucille
spoiler won’t come out before the air date. Our 2% of the viewership knows
better. First, we aren’t the only spoiler business in the game. Also, simple
observation and deduction can’t be prohibited. With much help, we have become
very good at watching, listening, waiting, researching and separating the truth
from the lies and being savvy when it comes to this show’s filming process.
That typically reaches our goals. We are the reporters of this information. So
while we will continue to post set reports, it will be up to you guys to take
that information and make your own assumptions about who it is. We cannot
assist by giving our speculation.Just
to clarify, we will continue to post all of our filming updates, eyewitness
reports and all photos taken legally throughout the filming season just like we
always have. We are by no means getting shut down. It’s still business as usual
here, we just won’t be spoiling the biggest moment so far. Yes, we have taken a
bit of a fall. But why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up
again. (Thanks, Alfred!)
#AMC
