Back Towards The Locus

The following explains why I am Dave Walker, and why you should be too.

David Keen reports on this new episode of internet nastiness:

“Dave Walker, who has been flying the flag for the beleagured SPCK bookshop chain, has been threatened with libel by the St. Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG), who took over the chain last year. Since then, most (if not all) of the SPCK bookshops have closed, and there have been various questions about management practices. One former bookshop manager, Steve Jeynes, tragically took his own life just a few weeks ago.

Dave has been keeping a close eye on all of this, and providing a forum for people to share news about the chain. He has been told he’ll be sued unless all SPCK posts are removed from his website.”

Unity has brandished his magnifying glass and dredged up some interesting information regarding the SSG, while Scott Gunn quotes from a post of Dave (since deleted). I’ve emphasised the last lines as I believe that they show exactly why this form of litigation is mere bullying:

“I have…removed all of the SPCK/SSG posts on this blog, as, although I believe I have not done anything wrong I do not have the money to face a legal battle. The removal of these posts is in no way an admission of guilt.“

Here, via Matt Wardman, is a list of blogs that are supporting Dave:

1. St Aidan to Abbey Manor – David Keen – Vicar (Yeovil)
2. The Wardman Wire – Matt Wardman (audio of BBC interview from 12/2007)
3. Gentle Wisdom – Peter Kirk
4. Bishop Alan’s Blog – Alan Wilson, Area Bishop of Buckingham
5. Blogula-Rasa – Ginny (detailed – worth a read)
6. Metacatholic – Doug Chaplin – Vicar (West Midlands)
7. Of course, I could be wrong – Madpriest – Priest (somewhere in England)
8. Seven whole days – Scott Gunn – Parish Priest (Rhode Island) and Lambeth Conference.
9. Thinking Anglicans – Simon Kershaw – Cambridge, England (likely to follow further press coverage)
10. The Jewish Blog Network – How to recover deleted pages. Firefox Resurrect Pages add-on.
11. Lingamish – Blogger Bludgeoned by Bozos – David Ker – Mozambique. Kudos for the cartoon above.
12. [Update: 23/07/2008] SPCK Watch – Gagging attempts by Mark Brewer – SPCK Watch. (Somewhere in Europe). Whole blog devoted to SPCK saga.
13. [Update: 23/07/2008] Elizaphanian – We are all Dave Walkers now – Sam Norton, Rector of West Mersea, Essex. Suggests that we reposts Dave’s ex-posts from Google Cache
14. [Update: 23/07/2008]Mad Hare – Solidarity post – SPCK/SSG and Dave Walker (New Mexico : United States).
15. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]The Cartoon Blog – Cease and Desist Demand from Mark Brewer Dave’s original post – now gone
16. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]GOD, CHRIST: QUESTIONS & FAITH – More and More on the Exploding SPCK Story & Dave Walker’s Cartoon Church Blog Check out the illustration from the 1950s
17. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Saintly Ramblings – Dave Walker Solidarity Post
18. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info – Comments on Moderation Expect comment when owner returns from holiday
19. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]PamBG’s Blog – Those Christian Bookshops
20. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Scatter Cushions – Nothing like like having an informed debate
21. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]connexions – Cartoon blogger silenced
22. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Turbulent Cleric – Libel law used as censorship Reflections on the Craig Murray case
23. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Exigency In Specie – Bullying the Bloggers Southern England
24. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Asingleblog – Brewers are challenged in court More detail on the attempt to put SPCK UK into Chapter 11 in the USA
25. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Philip’s Tree House – I’m also Dave Walker
26. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]John Inbetween – Yet another Dave Walker
27. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Wormwood’s Doxy – Because there’s nothing I hate more than a bully….Standing up for Dave Walker & SPCK

Update: This website seems to put the incident in context (and, yes, we do like to copy interesting posts for later reading.)

Update 2: Phil Groom of the SPCK/SSG News, Notes & Info blog points me towards this post, which should be read by all who wish to involve themselves in this.