Singnet's Response: "But We didn't Consent!" Ya Right...

So Singnet finally responded just when everyone was wondering how long they'd take to warm up to the fact that they were rapidly getting to be the target of abject hatred by anime and non-anime fans alike. Even big, iconic, Singaporean companies are not immune to the fallout from a PR disaster caused by one very huge glaring mistake. And we were wondering just how they intended to justify their appalling actions or lack thereof in the Odex saga.

Their response yesterday was as newsworthy as it was incredulous. So much so, it makes one wonder if they really believe what they proferred as justification and clarification for their shortcomings. 'Say it repeatedly and with enough conviction and the masses will believe' must have been the guiding sentiment behind the corporate mind that came up with this 'clarification'.

Let's see, here's what they 'clarified': Singnet never consented to Odex. They reject all requests from third parties for information pertaining to our customers and only release such information only under a court order or if the law enforcement and regulatory agencies demand such information from them. They "entrust the courts to apply the law and make a ruling". This part made the entire gang burst out laughing in sheer disbelief at the incredulity and brazenness of the statement.

A lot you will realise depends on how Singnet defines consent. Which to them is not the commonsensical average man on the street definition of consent: i.e, Failing to engage lawyers to even contest the application, NOT turning up at the court hearing and simply consenting to Odex's application without bothering to contest it. No, to Singnet, the definition of consent is so narrowly defined as to make it ludicrous. Consent, to them, is defined as not giving customer's information to any third parties who request for it unless under a court order (an application for the said order they will apparently consent to) or if demanded from by law enforcement agencies.

It should be bloody obvious that Singnet or any ISP for that matter can't go around giving customer information to any Tom, Dick or Harry who asks for it. They'll definitely be in contravention of the code then. Come on, the definition of consent should be commonsensical, they didn't bother to engage lawyers to contest Odex's application, consented to the Odex application and didn't send lawyers to attend the hearing since they already consented. Which one makes more sense? We're not idiots please.

Oh and Singnet 'entrusts the courts to apply the law and make a ruling.' Other than the fact that the language certainly sounds dismissive (i.e.: imagine a client or bigshot instructing a service provider: I trust you will do this, i trust you will do that.. that's the impression I get from that tone), the courts cannot apply the law if you don't even contest the application/subject matter, consent to the application by the opposing party and fail to turn up in court.

And you wonder why the court then rules in the opposing party's favour? There's nothing to rule on what, you yourself consented to it and failed to contest the application/claims. Entrusting the courts to apply the law will do nothing if you're not going to take the requisite action yourself. So say what you like, I remain totally unconvinced by Singnet's attempts at clarification, if anything it only makes them look worse.

In other news, apparently the rumours regarding Odex and Games Mart have been confirmed to be true and a short blurb has been published in the newspapers. While it has no direct impact on the Odex saga, it certainly doesn't help Odex's already battered image that a one-time firm started by the men behind Odex, was itself raided by police for copyright infringement.

It's amazing how much dirt people can dig up when they're determined to and gauging from the multitudes of people Odex pissed off, it really isn't too surprising. For now, it'll be interesting to see how Singnet responds.