From: Frank Guy
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 2:38 AM
To: Roy Rubenstein
Cc: Gary M Leonard ; Vanna Sereno ; Gregory Bock ; Piermaria Oddone ; sean.lev@hq.doe.gov
Subject: Questionable Action of FNAL Employee Boris Baldin
To: Dr. Roy Rubinstein, FNAL Assistant Director of Research
Subject: Questionable Action of FNAL Employee Boris Baldin
Dear Dr. Rubinstein,
You may recall a couple of email exchanges that we had earlier this year
regarding some scientific issues of the rules of the Leonardo da
Vinci competition. Thank you for forwarding Dr. Ramberg’s
comments. However, now one of FNAL’s employees (Boris Baldin)
has reported abuse to Go Daddy (the Internet domain registrar and
web hosting company) of the website www.leonardodavinciprize.org claiming the message he received is undesired marketing and advertising
from this site. As a result the site was closed. I have reviewed
the message Baldin received (copy attached) and cannot for the
life of me see anything objectionable about it. It contained a
link to the web site and instructions on how to use EVO to view
the meetings.
As I recall, the home page of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize web site contained
links to various sponsoring organizations (universities, hospitals,
organizations of physicians, public administrations and the like),
rules of the contest, information on how to submit projects and on
projects that had been submitted, etc. As far as I could see,
there was no marketing or advertising (unless you call
dissemination of information about the contest and the submitted
projects “advertising”).
I personally receive many solicitations or invitations to participate at
scientific conferences, attend meetings, submit abstracts,
participate in web casts, etc. I have not given my email address
to all these conference or meeting organizers but because my name
and email address is in the database of the scientific community,
I receive these solicitations. I cannot imagine reporting, as
abuse, the website of a conference or meeting because I do not
like the subject of that conference. I have been a research
physicist for forty years, at four national labs and consulting
with commercial firms, and I have seen some really underhanded
tricks. The information I have indicates Baldin’s complaint to
be unjustified and particularly dangerous because it has
silenced a legitimate scientific dialogue. This attempt at
censorship is unacceptable. Such unethical, unprofessional
behavior should be unequivocally and rapidly denounced and
rectified.
Vanna Sereno, the owner of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize website, reported
that she called Go Daddy from Italy (with an interpreter speaking
English) on June 16th and again on June 19th
trying to resolve this issue; their agent (Felicia) told her
that it was Baldin who had reported the abuse of the site for
marketing and advertising. Go Daddy also told Vanna that if
FERMIlab would retract their abuse statement, saying it was a
mistake, they will reactivate the website with no fee. Vanna (ws@isiline.it) can send you the written sponsorship with protocol numbers from the
universities and public administrations.
Please send FNAL’s clarification to Vanna so that she can forward it to Go
Daddy and get the website reactivated; also, if you care to,
please send me any information you have justifying Boris
Baldin’s action.
Sincerely,
Frank W. Guy,
PhD
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