FAQ Part II: One year later

Legally, things are now proceeding on multiple fronts. We'll update everyone when counsel gives us the greenlight.

Today, we wanted to answer publicly some of the questions that have come to us privately over the last year. We will also append this content to our Joint Public Statement from April 2014.

FAQ Part II

(June 17, 2015)

What is this site and why should we care?

The VersusJS blog provides coverage of our lawsuit against John Szczepaniak, who for the past 18 months has conducted a campaign of defamation and endangerment against Agness Kaku, Hanako Abe, and their families. The case is interesting for a number of reasons, but unless you're involved personally, as a backer of John's Kickstarter project or as a victim of John's past behaviour, you have little reason to care.

Aren't you supposed to keep quiet about court cases?

We needed a bulwark against John’s mounting libel, so we asked our lawyer if a blog providing factual information about the case would be acceptable. He said it would be fine.

If John has no money, what good is suing him?

Without a verdict, we cannot compel Kickstarter to remove the libelous content from public view, or even to enforce their own policy against personal attacks. Our requests for help from Kickstarter have been consistently ignored.

What if you never get a verdict?

If we get no justice from the courts, we can at least prevent John from ever doing this again, to anyone. That’s a pure good, and enough to keep us fighting.

Why didn't Hanako just pay John the disputed $150 booking fee?

To do so would have implied wrongdoing. Had she some sort of guarantee that John would desist from false claims, Hanako would gladly have paid John $150 out of pocket. She had no such guarantee, and John had already destroyed whatever trust she placed in him at the beginning of the project.

If this is between John and Hanako, why is John attacking Agness?

The short answer is that John really, really hates Agness.

Prior to John's attacks, the history of interaction between John and Agness consisted entirely of John asking for favours, and Agness granting them. The last favour Agness granted was giving him Hanako's personal contact info, so that he could consult her directly. Six months later, John throws Hanako and her colleagues under the bus, and includes Agness purely out of spite.

So, you did nothing wrong?

We did absolutely nothing wrong, but the real kicker is that Hanako bent over backwards to help John, and for very little pay. She even gave half of her proceeds to another Kickstarter project as a sign of good faith to John's backers. (John promptly removed all mention of this fact from project comments, and has since refund-banned any backer who challenges his version of events.)

Do we have regrets? Yes. Hanako regrets that she continued to ask John for things when she should have demanded them. Agness regrets granting John's request to interview her in 2011.

Isn't this just "he said, she said"?

No, it really isn't. If you want a formula, it’s more like he lied, then he lied again, then he lied a third time, and then she sued. People who say this is a case of "he said, she said" are being lazy, and they are helping the libeler do his damage. If you must form an opinion, please look at the evidence, ask us questions, and then decide for yourself one way or the other. If you can't do that, then don't spread the damage through indiscriminate gossip.

Have you tried contacting John’s parents?

Yes, just before the initial hearing, we sent this letter via registered mail. We did not expect a reply, but we did hope that John’s parents would take positive action.

Have you thought about trying ... ?

Yes, we have thought about getting more press attention, moving the debate to youtube, filing a police complaint (especially after John's outreach to #gamergate), and several other courses of action. All options remain on the table.

What’s your gut feeling about the case?

Our feeling is that John’s behaviour will only improve when he has been forced to take responsibility for his failures. We also feel that the time is ripe for someone to make a real stand against online trolls and their enablers.