|The Telescan Saga... by Freak/NFA and Deck the Ripper/NFA with Telescan P.D. Well! When I inadvertedly mentioned the fact that Telescan were selling Bodyshop VIII and hadn't registered to do so I was expecting a note from Mr. Jordan, but I didn't realise it had upset him so much! Here's what he wrote... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- |Telescan COMPUTER SERVICES P.O.Box 1 Tel 0253 829292 Thornton Clevelys Lancs FY5 1SH NFA Thank you for slagging off my company in your latest releases The Word 5 and Big Girls 3. Although I can appreciate your grievance I cannot by any means find justification in the way you have done it. Yes I have not registered Bodyshop 8 and am at fault for not doing so, it was an oversight on my part true but a genuine one and in no way have I sought to take advantage monetary or otherwise from any individual or group nor have I ever done so in the past. I have been involved with the Amiga for the past 8 years and in PD for the past six and have mutual amicable dealings with authors, groups, PD houses etc in that time. NFA is such a group I have had dealings with over three to four years with various members by mail and via computer shows usually the All Formats at the Motorcycle Museum as Birmingham. Software has been supplied many times particularly the early Bodyshop series and always I have shown my appreciation by supplying money, free entrance tickets to the show and also lots of free blank disks. Packs of 50 or 25 have been handed over several times in gratitude (Deck was the last, 25 KAO branded). This has been abused on occasion by the odd member but I never held a grudge. Please do not get me wrong, I am not trying to show what a great guy I am, just stating I am no rip off merchant and I appreciate the effort fom guys like you in the past. I was supplied with a 2 disk version of Bodyshop 8 by another PD company several months ago and added it to my library. I was suprised as to the contents as some of the pictures were risque beinf naked models in various poses. I thought NFA were being somewhat adventurous but left it at that. Sometime later Deck phoned to sat that the official version was on three disks and why was I selling a two disk version, so I sent it to him and was told someone had ripped them off by putting out his version complete with the NFA logo screen etc. He sent me the three disk version (with no covering letter I might add) and the matter ended there, till now. Yes the opening intro does state you need written permission to sell but I never personally checked the disks and yes it was a mistake on our part. What I didn't expect was the holier that though attitude by yourselves being the Judge and Jury in condemning me without a chance to reply. Is a note or phone call too much to ask? Particularly from past dealings? Deck stated on the phone when I brought this up that Freak (aka Mr Monks?) sent out letters in the beginning bringing this to the attention of all PD houses, where was mine? I did move addresses over 12 months ago, that might account for it, but what's done is done, anyhow. I was originally going to send the requested £10 until I discovered you had downloaded your latest titles to several bulletin boards so the damage has already been done and you could not retract anything anyway. May I make a suggestion for the future? Think a little before you condemn anyone and give them the right to reply before you callin the Jury. The Amiga scene is going through a traumatic time at the moment and it needs all the help it can get. The Bodyshop and Fit Chix series plus all other NFA productions have now been removed from the library. Sorry but I cannot promote titles anymore after this sorry episode. Yours N.W.Jordan, Proprietor. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- After reading this I decided I'd get in touch with Deck the Ripper to confirm the bit about the disks, tickets and money being handed out at the show, but before I could do so I received a letter from Deck himself regarding Telescan. I thought that this was the only copy of the letter but it seems that it was also sent to Deck at Leicester, he wrote the following in his letter which included a copy of the Telescan letter: "I have included a letter from Norman at Telescan PD who has the hump with us, I am very annoyed at his letter as there are a few untruths in it. No member at any time has had money from him, I have had about thirty free entrance tickets to the All Formats fair from him and he gets them for nothing. As for the disks he had a private arrangement with a bloke called Vince, nothing to do with the group. No member has had any perks out of him except for the free tickets. Also he is still selling NFA disks in his library now. I rang him three times about registering Bodyshop v8 and he kept saying "I'll get round to it", I think he had no intention whatsoever of paying up as he's a tight old bugger. I also remember another group having a similar problem with him but I can't place who it was. " So who do you believe? There are a few points I'd like to clear up, and they partain to both of the above parties and myself: From the Telescan letter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Tickets for the All Formats fair are funny things, they all say "This ticket may be Photocopied" and allows you a couple of quid of the entrance fee, it's just a ploy to get more people through the doors, Deck must have sent me thousands of the buggers! 2. If someone abuses your generosity you don't repeat your offer, so if someone took advantage of these "free disks", why were they STILL handed out? 3. How can any company (not just Telescan) possible sell something that they haven't checked? If he'd loaded it up just once he'd have seen the registration warnings, you can't miss them! 4. From my records (THAT sounds good, doesn't it? ;) I can say that the letter to Telescan went out on the 4th November 1994, the 7th at the latest, and so changing addresses 12 months ago would not have meant missing it, especially as it went to his current P.O.Box address. From Deck's letter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Vince was a trouble-maker as I recall, so I'm not suprised to find him mentioned somewhere. 2. Still selling NFA stuff? I didn't think he'd junk a whole line as we know for a fact that they are good sellers, it just wouldn't make economic sense. I still get requests for BS1 and 2! 3. Deck phoned at least three times and a letter WAS sent out (okay so it COULD have gone missing), Norman must have seen the £10 mentioned before realising that he's been slated - he says so in his own letter - but still didn't bother to pay up. 4. The bit about the "Other Group" would be interesting reading, it if was you then let us know. This all makes jolly interesting reading, really. If Mr. Jordan was to write us an article regarding the situation then I'd gladly include it in the next issue, complete and unedited, then the readers of the mag (who are the people spending the money after all!) can make up their own minds about where they buy. If he feels he can no longer stock NFA productions then that's his choice, it all stems from not registering one title. I might add that those companies who HAVE registered have received all the latest NFA releases as soon as they were finished, often quicker than people in the group and the Amiga scene, plus we are more than willing to help them in any way possible. DiCK aka Freak of NFA