Posted by DICK HELGELAND on September 30, 2002 at 12:23:19:
In Reply to: A suggestion about Internet Sites posted by Ken Wheaton on September 30, 2002 at 08:06:54:
I read with great interest each of your postings and recommended solutions. Obviously many good points and suggestions were shared.
However coming from a legal career..I probably tend to look at the "what if's" more in-depth than than most. In my "quick read" of your three postings, one concern jumped immediately into my mind... and that related to Ken's suggestion for Distributor Leaders becoming certified to monitor and approve their own group's efforts on the internet and perhaps other advertising as well.
I see the possibility of several pitfalls in that recommendation.
First, if you only have a very small number of distributors in your downline that have created their own websites...my concern of TIME COMMITMENT would be less significant for Leaders tasked to monitor their downline.. ALTHOUGH I DON'T WANT TO MINIMIZE THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM THERE AS WELL. What I am attempting to highlight, is some of these websites have a huge number of pages and graphics. I would guess some could have easily more than 100 pages. For example a good number of them have used within their "created website", parts of, or all of our Professional Networkers website. The Leader monitor and approving authority of that website surly would be taking a risk in assuming nothing was changed in that transfer (by accident or intent). Every single word of the Professional Networkers website, used in Distributor created website...would have to be checked.
To monitor these sites..... EVER SINGLE WORD AND GRAPHIC WOULD NEED TO BE CHECKED, for just substituting ONE WORD, could significantly change the site from being ok to a violation.
Can you imagine a Leader being responsible to catch EVERY SINGLE WORD.... Unless you have read 100 page plus contracts, on an ongoing basis as a element of you employment,I doubt if you realize how easily an unobvious change to just one word, or one diget in numbers can be overlooked.
Now bring into the picture a Leader with a very large downline....Can you begin to imagine the time commitment it would take to accomplish such a review.
EVEN MORE CRITICAL..AND CONCERNING... in the part of Ken's suggestion that the Leader would review the websites , and if the sites appears to be compliant, "approve" their own groups websites. Since they have "approved" the website,I think it would be quite likely that the FDA could come after the "approving" Leader as well. You would need to check that out with an attorney... I tend to think you might not like what you hear from the attorney.
AND EQUALLY AS DISTURBING...if the distributor having the non compliant site....is hit with a large fine... could there be a possibility they could turn around and sue the Leader that approved the website? You would also have to check that out with an attorney to learn the answer. But I think you pick up by now, I would certainly be concerned if I were the approving Leader.
As the saying goes "....other than that Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?"
Respectfully,
Dick Helgeland
International Diamond