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sky1flygirl

1800skyride scam

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Personally, I see nothing wrong with the service itself.



Booking agencies are a viable business model. You did a great job of explaining that.

A lot of people think SkyRide is a simple booking agent. [There is nothing wrong with a booking agency.] It is far from that.

Beyond what I wrote on my website, there is also another aspect of this that was related to me by yet another DZO about a year ago. This past week I heard the identical 'speculation about the future' from a different DZO from a different part of the country.

The speculation goes like this:
SkyRide makes the DZs happy by recruiting tandems for them. After a year or two, SkyRide has made its name in the whuffo public. It has branded itself in the minds of one-time jumpers. Skydive Detroit, Skydive Sacramento, Skydive Philiadelphia, Skydive Knoxville etc etc dominate the public's awareness. Someone that does a jump through SkyRide today, meets someone a couple of years from now and highly reccomends SkyRide. Only thing is, a couple of years from now - the scene may be very different. One day, a couple of years from know, SkyRide opens its own DZs across the country - nearly simultaneously. At this instant, referrals to all of the real DZs (that we know today) are cut off from SkyRide. SkyRide saves up other people's money to buy a fleet to support the operations. It's much better to use OPM than your own, right?

SkyRide is run by DZOs. That's a significant difference than an airline booking agency run by people that would not know much about starting an airline. It's kind of strange that it is working at all. Can you imagine one DZO saying to his neighboring DZO - 'Hey I'll take care of advertising for both of our DZs. We'll split the customers.' Maybe the SkyRide long term plan might be realized by 'competing' DZOs and they may do cooperative adverting in their area with their branding. One can only hope that DZOs realize how good Cary's advertizing is.

There is a big picture here that many people do not see.

Think of Cary and Ben's new twin otter with the SkyRide logo paint job flying into an airport near you.

If you think this is far-fetched, go look at this url that someone sent me yesterday.
Fine Livivng


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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

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Does anyone have a phone number for Cary Quattrocci? AKA owner of Skyride.com.

He is using over 100+ copies of my photographs online and will NOT return my phone calls.

He gave his "home" phone number to Jan Meyer at a USPA DZ owner meeting over 6 months ago. It was her specific request so that he and I could talk about this issue.

I want him to Take down my feature photos which I believe he stole right here off of DZ.com as well as my web site.

I know he will claim that he bought them from some "company" who farms images off the internet, but the fact is that he is still responsible for copyright infringement, even if he didn't steal them himself.

I have left messages at 1800 skyride. I have called his DZ where they claim to not even know WHO Cary Quattrocci is!!!!

If anyone has a phone number for him... or know him personally... have him Call me!

602-550-6103
Thanks,

Brent Finley
www.brentfinley.com
[email protected]

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Have you tried talking to a lawyer about this?

Also - if he as a biz manager purchased the pictures - then he should be able to produce a credit card receipt or some proof of purchase. Also he should name the company as well so you can get money for the infrigment on your rights.

Or maybe its time to make a trip to Atlanta and talk to him in person.
_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

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If anyone has a phone number for him... or know him personally... have him Call me!

And call me at 204 479 3483.

Tim Eason
Adventure Skydiving

Their clone sites have me as their chief Instructor.
Man, I must really get around.

>:(
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

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www.skydivepennridge.com has our (Skydive City's) AFF student guide copied as their own, removed the cover and re-published the PDF file. Talked with Ben at ASC/800skyride whatever and they agreed to change it

so far no changes have been made.
good luck at reaching them

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Have you tried contacting Network Solutions, the hosting service that is allowing the site to operate with photos that violate copyright law? From a cehck of the whyois server it looks like 1800skyride may be having trouble with their host too.

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Domain Name: 1800SKYRIDE.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: B.NS.INTERLAND.NET
Name Server: C.NS.INTERLAND.NET
Name Server: A.NS.INTERLAND.NET
Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK
Updated Date: 11-aug-2004
Creation Date: 28-sep-2002
Expiration Date: 28-sep-2011


Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

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Have you tried contacting Network Solutions, the hosting service that is allowing the site to operate with photos that violate copyright law? From a cehck of the whyois server it looks like 1800skyride may be having trouble with their host too.

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Domain Name: 1800SKYRIDE.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: B.NS.INTERLAND.NET
Name Server: C.NS.INTERLAND.NET
Name Server: A.NS.INTERLAND.NET
Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK
Updated Date: 11-aug-2004
Creation Date: 28-sep-2002
Expiration Date: 28-sep-2011



Why would they contact network solutions? They are simply the registrar of the domain name. Network solutions is not a hosting company. Their site is being hosted by Interland as you can see by the record above. Interland is a very large well known hosting company that will shut down services if a company is doing something illegal. No, they are not in any trouble according to the info above. Registar lock is simply a service registrars offer to prevent whois info from getting changed.

However, i dont see that these guys are doing anything wrong. They are running a business. Thats it. I have even thought about selling tandem jumps to whuffos, not so much for the money, more so to get free jumps at my dz. These guys simply have chosen to make money from it. So what?

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Um, copyright infringement is against the law . . . looking forward to you starting your business, though.

Kelly



Are we certain that the pictures on the site are copyrighted photos? I understand people getting pissy about their pictures being used w/o their permission but unless the picture has been copyrighted (which i bet they have not) then there is nothing to stop someone from using it.

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Are we certain that the pictures on the site are copyrighted photos? I understand people getting pissy about their pictures being used w/o their permission but unless the picture has been copyrighted (which i bet they have not) then there is nothing to stop someone from using it.



I don't think a picture has to be copyrighted, if I took the picture, it is mine, and you will have to ask for permission to use it.
If nobody asked Brent for permission to use his pictures, it is copyright infringement.

Looks like they took a lot of pictures from Jussi Laine and Mark Lichtle as well..

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Are we certain that the pictures on the site are copyrighted photos? I understand people getting pissy about their pictures being used w/o their permission but unless the picture has been copyrighted (which i bet they have not) then there is nothing to stop someone from using it.



I don't think a picture has to be copyrighted, if I took the picture, it is mine, and you will have to ask for permission to use it.
If nobody asked Brent for permission to use his pictures, it is copyright infringement.

Looks like they took a lot of pictures from Jussi Laine and Mark Lichtle as well..



If a picture is not copyrighted then how can it be copyright infringement???

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Are we certain that the pictures on the site are copyrighted photos? I understand people getting pissy about their pictures being used w/o their permission but unless the picture has been copyrighted (which i bet they have not) then there is nothing to stop someone from using it.



Well, nothing personal but you aren’t going to make a living as an intellectual property attorney. I’m not either but I have researched the issue before and you don’t actually have to officially apply for a copyright to have one. There are any number of other ways to have a copyright. Public performance, or display, is sufficient. You do have to be able to prove that you created it. If this company took other peoples original photos off the net and used them in its advertising then it is in violation of copyright laws. It should at minimum take them down immediately upon request. A photographer could sue have them pulled down and for compensation, but that’s a lot of work for a little gain; which is what the offender is counting on.
"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

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Are we certain that the pictures on the site are copyrighted photos?



In a word..yes and it isnt just about photo theft.
I suggest you read the other thread, as well as visit Jan's site.
People have talked about the unsavvory business practices, the BBB listings and findings. Its best to be informed when responding to threads such as these.
B2








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I sum up what they're doing as: attempting to make money by being an advertising middleman, and nothing else.

Unfortunately, some people at either end of the middle (customers on one side, and dropzone owners/workers at the other) don't find this savory. That, combined with some economics issues, leads 1800SkyRide to conduct what I would call "information management", and that's where things have gotten ugly.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

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I sum up what they're doing as: attempting to make money by being an advertising middleman, and nothing else.



So it is ok then to sell skyride coupons to people that purchase a certificate to jump at a certain drop zone, even though that drop zone doesn't do business with skyride and won't honor them?
I say it doesn't do justice to the skydiving industry as a whole and casts a negative light on the sport of skydiving.
Furthermore, if you don't think that the likes of Brent Finley, Michael McGowan and Greg Gasson don't copy write their photos, its already been stated that they do. Even here on Dropzone.com there is copywrite protection.
Some of the photos in question were taken without permission from websites where said photos were the only place they could be found.








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I never mentioned copyright or condoned stealing. And if someone is selling someone else's services without an agreement that it will work out, obviously that's not a workable business practice.

But that's not all that upsets people about Skyride's practices. Skyride could have never stolen a photo or a FJC text, and only ever have sold tickets to DZs that had agreed to honor them, and still there would be people upset because Skyride doesn't tell the customers that they're just a middleman who advertises to get new customers hooked up with DZs, and doesn't do much else, for a fee.

I believe Skyride is in the unenviable position of having to step on toes to get the most business for themselves - some of their customers would have found the DZ and scheduled a jump on their own, but ran into Skyride's advertisements first and now are paying more money for a diminutive benefit, and the DZO can expect to see a harder time selling video, as well as a harder time getting that customer's friends to come out unless he can reeducate them that his direct price is less. And if the DZ really does have a willful relationship with Skyride, that reeducation could be awkward.

Then, there are what I would call "advertising property space" issues. Skyride, I believe it is, has claimed Internet domain names that other skydiving organizations would believe infringing. But without doing this, Skyride can't as well do what they want to do: make money by being an advertising middleman.

So all I'm saying is that besides alleged copyright allegations and allegedly selling things they aren't entitled to sell, Skyride is in a business niche that a lot of people look down on, for some good reasons. (That second part is what I'm trying to add to the conversation.)

With respect to the alleged copyright allegations and the like, I say use the law. Writing something mean about a company on dropzone.com doesn't hurt or help anyone much. Court-assessed fines and orders to cease and desist, public admissions of fault, juicy monetary settlements, and/or jail time makes real differences.

And there's no gain to converting me "against" skyride. I consider the company useless to me personally so I wouldn't lift a finger to help it and whenever I find anyone who wants a tandem I tell them what a great place with great TMs my home DZ is and give them the number.

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I sum up what they're doing as: attempting to make money by being an advertising middleman, and nothing else.



Actully, they're skimming internet traffic from legit DZs. They have a large number of site under DZ names that don't exist. I know, they have over 23 sites that are direct clones of my website. They use our logo, pictures, and on some sites I'm at the top banner with the meta tag "Tim, Chief Instructor!"
That takes stones!>:(

If there are two DZs in a given market and 8 web sites (6bogus with Skyride numbers) then they will get a large percentage of the calls and the bookings. These sites don't add to Skydiving awareness through bold marketing, they canabalize web traffic from an already established medium. They are making money by saturating the internet with their bogus sites and directing potential jumpers through an unnessisary middleman and skimming the take. DZs would make more money and students would get better value if they didn't exist.

>:(
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

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So why accept any business through them? If you and the other DZ refused their vouchers, telling the customers that they're frauds, doesn't the problem go away? Customer has VISA reverse the charge, comes directly to you, has a good time?

On a different question, how can you identify them from the real DZ web pages if they're stealing content left and right? Is 800skyride always part of it?

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So why accept any business through them? If you and the other DZ refused their vouchers, telling the customers that they're frauds, doesn't the problem go away?



Sure, but DZs are businesses. If there are 8 DZs in a 300 mile radius, 7 of them stop using Skyride, guess who gets ALL of the skyride business, aka more money?

There's not a real simple solution besides getting the company on enough fraud charges and some DZOs taking them to court. Even then, that's not real simple.
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

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On a different question, how can you identify them from the real DZ web pages if they're stealing content left and right? Is 800skyride always part of it?



Good question.
Take a look at thiswww.tnskydiving.comthem
www.339jump.comus
We've changed it a little since they copied (we enlarged itto fit more displays) it but you get the idea!

p.s. yes, that is me on their site!>:(
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

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