In the Mail

A few days ago I received this from the editor of Knitter's Magazine.

Hi Susan,

Just leaving TNNA and wanted to let you know that yarn is coming your way. Rick will contact you on specifics for the skirt. 
Didn't want you wondering what the yarn was for since it might arrive tomorrow before we get a chance to talk.

Karen
Knitter's Magazine
From my IPad

Then today there was an absolutely stuffed envelope in the mailbox

containing 11 skeins of Kraemer Perfection DK yarn.

I am sure Rick will be in touch soon. 

Oh my oh my YES!!!!!!  

Better get those baby gift sweaters done ASAP.

Primary Day

Today is a primary election in NYS.  We are selecting the democratic Congressional candidate for our new district in south western NY.  We are also selecting the republican candidate to run against Senator Gillibrand.

If you have a primary in your state, get out and

I really resent hearing from folks who do not make their preferences heard on the ballot and then complain about what is happening (or not happening) in Washington.  

Now going to get my food, drinks and snacks together for the marathon session today at our local polling place.  I am one of many Election Inspectors helping to keep NY's voting honest.

Polls open at noon, close at 9.  Get thee to one.

Commitment

OK -  I am now declaring my Tour de Fleece Challenge for all and sundry.

I will spin a 3 ply sock yarn from 2 fibers using a worsted (tighter) spinning method rather than soft as I normally do - the New MVOS otherwise know as myveryownsister as she wears these colors a lot (MVOS is still not on the website, but will be very soon) and this month's Fondle This! color - Sea Glass.
MVOS is in Woody top and Sea Glass is in superwash blue face leicester.
Very different spins, going to be very different yarn, albeit both into socks (which is a discussion for another day when we have another name for that period of time in July that shall no longer be named Ravelympics).

My intentions are thus:
Separate MVOS into 3 long strands, trying very hard to make them equivalent.  The spin each strand and ply together getting mostly same color to same color.  This will eventually become socks for MVOS.  I hope they will not look like mud.

The Sea Glass will be separated into colors, then each color will be divided into three parts.  This method should make for very long color changes.  Haven't done this before so it will be interesting. Since it is also a very soft fiber I may include thread as a 4th ply.

I also have not spun for a 3 ply fingering yarn ever before. Tour de Fleece is all about stretching one's self and one's skills for me. (For others it could be finishing up some UFO's or spinning many different fibers or cleaning up some stash.)  Going to need to be spinning something akin to frog hair, well, maybe chipmunk hair, but you get the drift.  Certainly thinner than the thinnest line on my wpi gauge which 'only' goes to 40.   The only is funny since 40 is thinner than most single plies need ever be.

It's very hard not to get started early.  Saturday is when the race begins so Saturday is our start too.  I am going to check and see if separating the fiber beforehand is allowed.  At least then I would be working somewhat on the project.  I have severe fiber and knitting ADD.  It is so difficult to maintain interest in a project once I find another one I want to do so with this type of challenge that has a definite starting and ending date, I am trying to maintain enthusiasm and NOT start something else meanwhile just to fill some space.

WE ROCK!!!!

In less than 24 hours we made quite a wave all over the internets and the media.  We do not roll over and play dead.  2+ million fiber artisans are not the stereotypical retiring grandmother these men thought we were.  We stand up for what we believe and for ourselves.

We received not one, but two apologies from Team USA Spokesperson, Patrick Sandusky.  Albeit the first is proforma and very patronizing.

"Thanks to all of you who have posted, tweeted, emailed and called regarding the letter sent to the organizers of the Ravelympics.

"Like you, we are extremely passionate about what we do. ...

"The letter sent to the organizers of the Ravelympics was a standard-form cease and desist letter that explained why we need to protect our trademarks in legal terms. Rest assured, as an organization that has many passionate knitters, we never intended to make this a personal attack on the knitting community or to suggest that knitters are not supportive of Team USA.

"We apologize for any insult and appreciate your support. We embrace hand-crafted American goods as we currently have the Annin Flagmakers of New Jersey stitching a custom-made American flag to accompany our team to the Olympic Games in London. To show our support of the Ravelry community, we would welcome any handmade items that you would like to create to travel with, and motivate, our team at the 2012 Games."

Right.  How many times have you apologized and then asked the apologee for something in the same breath?  This did not cut any ice with us.

Juliann S-T posted: "Thanks for the half hearted attempt at a maybe apology that keeps you clear of any blame. Now, you want us to give you free stuff?"

So we went back to flooding the internets.
              from Lynne Kiesling

"...Second, social media changes this calculation and the possible impact and awareness of this story. This story really became public yesterday, and now there are hundreds and hundreds of tweets to USOC objecting to their actions....The activity is the same over at the USOC’s Facebook page, where hundreds and hundreds of knitters are criticizing the USOC in their “recommendation” section (oh the irony of the forms of social media …).

Technology and social media exacerbate this kind of misstep and miscalculation and increase its potential cost, because if stories like this go viral they go beyond the initially affected population. And here’s another irony in the economics: USOC is aggressive in enforcing its trademark because it has to make money to support athletes, and having a strong brand is a way to attract corporate sponsors in the absence of taxpayer funding of athletic training. But if their trademark enforcement angers a large enough group of well-meaning consumers who are riffing off of the Olympics^TM name to honor the athletes and the inspiration they provide, what happens when those consumers use social media to communicate to the sponsors how angry they are and how much less likely they are to purchase their products? That’s what’s happening on Twitter right now at the #Ravelympics hashtag."  complete story here.

NPR did a story

Yahoo sports carried an article by an Olympian athlete.

The second apology was still insincere.

Statement Update:  "As a follow-up to our previous statement on this subject, we would again like to apologize to the members of the Ravelry community. While we stand by our obligation to protect the marks and terms associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in the United States, we sincerely regret the use of insensitive terms in relation to the actions of a group that was clearly not intending to denigrate or disrespect the Olympic Movement. We hope you’ll accept this apology and continue to support the Olympic Games."

I see this as more of a please go away now.  There is a month to go before the games and we don't want any more trouble.

International News France 24 has an AFP article.

London NYTimes did a story  Notice that now Sandusky says members of his family knit.  Gee but you don't value it much do you?

"Sandusky, who said his wife and mother-in-law were avid knitters — his mother-in-law just knitted sweaters for his twins’ birthday, for gosh sakes, he said — responded to the first onslaught of criticisms with a letter posted on the U.S.O.C.’s Web site. He said the letter to the Ravelympics organizers was a standard cease-and-desist one.

“Rest assured, as an organization that has many passionate knitters, we never intended to make this a personal attack on the knitting community or to suggest that knitters are not supportive of Team USA,” he wrote in the apology that was, undoubtedly, the first of its kind.Still, despite the apology, the U.S.O.C.’s stance remained the same — the committee wants the knitters to drop the name Ravelympics."

Because we like to have community fun and because the mods spent a great deal of time putting our games together we shall go on, probably with a new name but its the same Olympic parallel game.

        from Kimberli, one of our mods

What a Difference a Day Makes

After a whole day yesterday spent on the boards recovering from shock and watching the kerfuffle build… I log on tonight and SURPRISE! An apology already?! Now, instead of an update about all the blogs, pinterest, twitter(#ravelympics, #usoc), and facebook reactions to the USOC, I can stand back in awe at the collective power of Ravelry. So today I’m recovering from a much different kind of shock

We all know Ravelry is special. This place is unique in the world of social networks because it’s a big ole community. Thank you Casey and frecklegirl for dreaming it up and making it real. After the past 24 hours I’m just so humbled (impressed…speechless…thrilled…the list goes on…) by the response from all of Ravelry (and their loved-ones, friends, co-workers…). Your collective love of the Ravelympics just gives me goosebumps. It is more than just a trademark issue (that I get). But the letter went beyond legalese. Never did I expect to see “denigrate” used to describe our event….ever.

Modern life can be fast, frantic and impersonal. It’s easy to feel disconnected. But not here. Here in the Ravelympic Village we get it. Where else can millions of people around the world gather, create not only gazillions of beautiful handmade items, but this astoundingly wonderful, truly international community. United Nations…take note. This is how you go about creating world peace. One stitch at a time. :)

You’re enthusiasm and appreciation for the spirit of the Ravelympics has totally rekindled my spirit. 
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now…..let’s get back to training! Only 35 days left until our Mass-Cast On Heard Round the World! I for one will be casting on much more mindfully and appreciatively this year. :)

 For me, my glasses are no longer tinted with Olympic romanticism.  I have been forced to see the greed and corporate-ness of the USOC and read about what the athletes are forced to do to comply with that greed.  I so enjoyed the events, the ceremonies, the geography lessons and bios.  I will so again but not with the same feelings or enthusiasm and certainly not with my wallet.  Perhaps instead I will make a donation to Ravelry.

Oh and only 8 days to the start of the Tour de Fleece.   Go spinners.

Camel Privy*

Oh my.  Our knickers are definitely in knots.  Casey, at Ravelry, received this from the lawyers of the Olympic Committee.

Dear Mr. Forbes,

In March 14, 2011, my colleague, Carol Gross, corresponded with your attorney, Craig Selmach [sic], in regard to a pin listed as the "2010 Ravelympic Badge of Glory." At that time, she explained that the use of RAVELYMPIC infringed upon the USOC's intellectual property rights, and you kindly removed the pin from the website. I was hoping to close our file on this matter, but upon further review of your website, I found more infringing content.

By way of review, the USOC is a non-profit corporation chartered by Congress to coordinate, promote and govern all international amateur athletic activities in the United States. The USOC therefore is responsible for training, entering and underwriting U.S. Teams in the Olympic Games. Unlike the National Olympic Committees of many other countries, the USOC does not rely on federal funding to support all of its efforts. Therefore, in order to fulfill our responsibilities without the need for federal funding, (oho they just take millions from the likes of Dow Chemical) Congress granted the USOC the exclusive right to use and control the commercial use of the word OLYMPIC (oh my what happens to Olympia, WA?  Mount Olympus? etc) a and any simulation or combination thereof in the United States, as well as the OLYMPIC SYMBOL. See the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C. §220501 et seq. (the "Act"). (A copy of the relevant portion of the Act is enclosed for your convenience.) The Act prohibits the unauthorized use of the Olympic Symbol or the mark OLYMPIC and derivations thereof for any commercial purpose or for any competition, such as the one organized through your website. See 36 U.S.C. §220506(c). The USOC primarily relies on legitimate sponsorship fees and licensing revenues to support U.S. Olympic athletes and finance this country's participation in the Olympic Games. Other companies, like Nike and Ralph Lauren, have paid substantial sums for the right to use Olympic-related marks, and through their sponsorships support the U.S. Olympic Team. Therefore, it is important that we restrict the use of Olympic marks and protect the rights of companies who financially support Team USA.

In addition to the protections of the Act discussed above, the USOC also owns numerous trademark registration that include the mark OLYMPIC. These marks therefore are protected under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq. Thus, Ravelry.com's unauthorized use of the mark OLYMPIC or derivations thereof, such as RAVELYMPICS, may constitute trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution of our famous trademarks.

The USOC would like to settle this matter on an amicable basis. However, we must request the following actions be taken.

1. Changing the name of the event, the "Ravelympics."; The athletes of Team USA have usually spent the better part of their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them. For many, the Olympics represent the pinnacle of their sporting career. Over more than a century, the Olympic Games have brought athletes around the world together to compete in an event that has come to mean much more than just a competition between the world's best athletes. The Olympic Games represent ideals that go beyond sport to encompass culture and education, tolerance and respect, world peace and harmony.  (but it seems the lawyers don't have to respect anyone - see below)

The USOC is responsible for preserving the Olympic Movement and its ideals within the United States. Part of that responsibility is to ensure that Olympic trademarks, imagery and terminology are protected and given the appropriate respect. We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.  

It looks as if this is the third time that the Ravelympics have been organized, each coinciding with an Olympic year (2008, 2010, and 2012). The name Ravelympics is clearly derived from the terms "Ravelry" (the name of your website) and OLYMPICS, making RAVELYMPICS a simulation of the mark OLYMPIC tending to falsely suggest a connection to the Olympic Movement. Thus, the use of RAVELYMPICS is prohibited by the Act. Knowing this, we are sure that you can appreciate the need for you to re-name the event, to something like the Ravelry Games.  (No one on Ravelry thinks we are connected and we are 2 million strong.)

1. Removal of Olympic Symbols in patterns, projects, etc. As stated before, the USOC receives no funding from the government to support this country's Olympic athletes. The USOC relies upon official licensing and sponsorship fees to raise the funds necessary to fulfill its mission. Therefore, the USOC reserves use of Olympic terminology and trademarks to our official sponsors, suppliers and licensees. The patterns and projects featuring the Olympic Symbol on Ravelry.com's website are not licensed and therefore unauthorized. The USOC respectfully asks that all such patterns and projects be removed from your site.

For your convenience, we have listed some of the patterns featuring Olympic trademarks. However, this list should be viewed as illustrative rather than exhaustive. The USOC requests that all patterns involving Olympic trademarks be removed from the website. We further request that you rename various patterns that may not feature Olympic trademarks in the design but improperly use Olympic in the pattern name. (However since Ravelry does not own these patterns, they cannot be forced to do that.)

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympics-rings-af...\

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vancouver-2010-ol...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2010-olympics-inu...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympic-swimmer-d...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2008-olympic-ring...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympic-rings-nec...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bode-miller-hat-2...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/usa-olympic-hat

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/belgianwaffleknit/usa-oly...

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. We would appreciate a written reply to this letter by no later than June 19, 2012. If you would like to discuss this matter directly, please feel free to contact me at the number above, or you may reach my colleague, Carol Gross.

Kindest Regards,

Brett Hirsch

Law Clerk

Office of the General Counsel

United States Olympic Committee

1 Olympic Plaza

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

The forum threads on Ravelry are now close to 100 pages long of irate thoughts, and disappointment.

"wow. last time i participated in the Ravelympics i was more interested in the actual Olympics than i had been previously."


"I agree that they are legally required to go through this to defend their trademark, but saying that the Ravelympics denigrates the Olympic athletes… was that necessary?"


"I’m wondering if they’ve gone after the Mom and Pop business in my neighbourhood called Olympic Laundromat. I assume the owners called it Olympic because they’re from Olympia, Greece. Maybe they’re safe because we’re in Canada? Owning a word -- a word that existed long before the Committee existed -- it boggles the mind."

"The word olympics is from the ancient Greek games. Every country uses it to sponsor their own games. Why in particular would Ravelry be: 1. infringing on a name used for centuries and 2. abuse an imagined copyright for a word used by every country in the games not just America.

I feel that this item should be sent to David Letterman to mock. Its just another example of a bureaucrat using our Tax dollars to attempt to justify still having a job."

The Olympic Committee can be contacted at this address;  media@usoc.org

This is the letter I sent this morning.

Dear Mr. Hirsch & the USOC Legal Team,

I am writing to you regarding your recent Cease and Desist letter to Mr Forbes at Ravelry.com regarding their use of the term “Ravelympics” for a knitting, crocheting, weaving and fiber spinning event planned to coincide with the 2012 Olympic games in London. I understand that as the holder of the Olympic copyright in the United States, requesting that Ravelry remove patterns that use the Olympic name and trademarked rings symbols without proper permission is certainly within your purview and I am not taking issue with that section of the letter.  Although Ravelry does not own nor receive any money from those patterns.

What I do take issue with is your assertion that “using the name ‘Ravelympics’ for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, (and why did you choose those out of all the others?) tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.” 

The Ravelympics are designed to encourage viewing of the Olympic Games. Many of Ravelry’s two million INTERNATIONAL members are avid supporters of their respective country’s teams and were very enthusiastic about participating in treasured, historic and culturally important crafts while at the same time cheering on athletes and watching officially licensed broadcasts. However, after reading your condescending, rude, poorly worded and frightfully misguided letter, many of us find ourselves to be significantly less enthusiastic about the Olympic Games, which is rather unfortunate for all.  Many of us only watched the Olympics because we were involved in the redacted name and wouldn't otherwise.  So you see you are excising of a lot of potential viewers and purchasers with your mean spirited thinking.

To imply that physical prowess and feats of strength are somehow more valuable than practicing a craft is offensive and small minded. Not all of us can rise to the athletic level of the competing athletes, and that is why we enjoy watching them every four years. Your assertion that my knitting a sweater or a pair of socks while at the same time enjoying the Games is tantamount to reversing the Olympics' principles. Ravelry makes no money from its members participating in our fun, and finished items are not judged or scored. The entire event is purely designed to further enthusiasm and support for the Olympics while enjoying a fun, useful and skilled craft.

By now you have no doubt seen or heard of some of the thousands of Facebook posts, emails, Tweets, and blog postings about your C&D letter. The USOC is being rightfully exposed as an overly litigious money grubbing bully. If anything, your unfortunately dismissive attitude towards fiber artists and crafters is more of a “denigration of the true nature of the Olympic Games” than anything else. I may not be boycotting the Olympic Games (haven't yet decided that and it will be based on your response to our outrage) but I will be boycotting Olympic sponsors. I plan to vote with my wallet until you develop a sense of reason and perspective and realize that events such as the Ravelympics only bring positive publicity and increased support for the Olympic Games and Team USA.

Sincerely,

Susan Sarabasha




We are posting on the facebook pages of the Olympics plus tweeting and wonder when they will go after the hundreds of other fun things people have co-opted the phrase 'lympics" to use with their events?

And we are going viral --

Knitters Outraged After U.S. Olympic Committee Squashes Knitting Olympics—and Disses Knitters

*BTW Camel Privy is an anagram for Ravelympics.

That's ME!!!!!

 A couple days ago I received an email from the Yarn Harlot. I have corresponded with her before for various knitterly and spinnerly things but this was completely different.

Stephanie and her family are training for the Toronto People with Aids foundation 14th Annual Friends for Life Bike Rally from Toronto to Montreal.  She reports on her training fairly regularly and periodically asks us to help one or more of them with a donation as they each have monetary goals to meet.   She has also received donations from various companies and people to give out as prizes to the donors.  Each Monday a few people are randomly chosen and win something.

Last week I donated to Erin and Ken and planned to donate again as this is a worthwhile cause with folks who are really putting themselves out for it.

When to my surprise this appeared in my IN box!!!

Hi Susan! 

You've won a $100 gift certificate from Lantern Moon! I've cc'd Stephen from Lantern Moon on this email so that the two of you can work out the details of the very generous gift. I hope the sun shines on both of you today. 

thank you very much, 

Stephanie

I jumped up and down for a while then went to the Lantern Moon website to pick out my loot.  They have such beautiful items plus all those gorgeous needles.  Needles I don't need though as I sell Knit Picks and Dreamz so have my fill of any I might want.  I chose some smaller items, a book and a lovely shawl pin. Then I wrote to Stephen and promptly forgot all about it as I am still waiting for him to answer (and he is at TNNA).  One of these days I will be too.

But then this appeared in my IN box. 

Susan,

The Yarn Harlot announced that Susan S won $100.00 worth of Lantern Moon stuff, is that you?

Jim

Well, I had not gone to her site yet that day and just didn't think about the fact that she always announces things there.

For this week - Susan S and Chery H will each be receiving $100 of their choice of knitting needles and hooks from the generous souls at Lantern Moon.  (Isn't that nice?) 


Yes it most certainly is.   However I asked for those other things before I read this so hope I can trade.

I have been in endless sunshine since last Thursday.  For an easterner, and especially one from Ithaca, endless sunshine is a very unusual phenomena.  Whenever we are outside the plants and houses and streets and trees and cars look all sparkly and bright.  I don't think I have seen a cloud since I have been here.  At home I bring a raincoat in the car, just in case.  Here there doesn't seem to be a need for any other covering than sunscreen.

Friday night was Alicia's graduation from Granada HS.  We got there early enough to save bleacher seats for most of the family and could easily see Alicia down on the field.  The ceremony was just right as it was very windy so once the sun went behind the stadium the temps dropped dramatically to more like Ithaca temps.  I was OK in a light long sleeved shirt but most were in heavy sweaters or blankets. East coast / west coast differences are fun.

Yesterday we spend the day on the water.  Matt likes to pilot his boat on the Delta where he can go fast and the kids and Matt can wakeboard.  Temps were in the high 90's but on the water felt much nicer.

Andrew, 10, is a novice boarder so took a lesson with Matt holding him up.  Next time he will try standing up with the boat moving and the tension holding him.

Alicia is excellent at wakeboarding and looks good too.  Her many years of playing soccer and now Ballroom Dance keep her in shape.

Bryan, now 20 and back from college for a week before starting summer semester courses, used to wakeboard but since his second shoulder fix cannot hang on without tearing the shoulder apart again. He piloted for the boarders.  His tatt is of a bear.  He has been called Bear by all for years so his inner totem is now displayed for all pointing at his heart.  I love his dimples.

Matt attempted jumping the wake waves with some success.  Hopefully the next visit to the Delta will be even more successful.

I even got to pilot the boat for a bit.  Fun day on the water.

Today is my last day here.  Leaving on the red eye tonight so should be home by noon tomorrow.

Once I get settled in the fiber pages on the website will be corrected.

Demoted

It was a very short lived time as a techie.  However I did upload an older version of my fiber pages and that will suffice until I get back to my iMac to upload the pages I deleted from the ether.

Leveled Up

The last 2 weeks have been spent getting ready for 2 events which are both happening this weekend -
the CNY Fiber Festival in Bouckville, NY and my granddaughter's HS graduation in Livermore, CA.  Kinda 2 diffferent directions and moods. So yesterday was pack up the uHaul and get myself ready - pack the suitcase, decide which knitting was coming, decide what went into the carry on, my purse and the suitcase.  Oh and figure out what to bring to wear in 90+ degree temps (its in the high 60's, low 70's here).

In the midst of all this I needed to update a page on the Spinning Bunny website.  Only all of a sudden I was refused by my website carrier.  I checked the permissions and somehow they were no longer correct.

 OK - call earthlink and see what happened.  After waiting for a techie (had several last minute items to do in the shop anyway) I was told what should be on my ftp server page and before I could even try it my internet connection disappeared while I was online with the long awaited for techie.  Sheesh.  I had to hang up to reconnect which means shutting down my Mifi unit and reconnecting.  Once this seemed stable I tried to put up the page again but nothing changed online.  sigh

OK so I called earthlink, waited and got techie #2.  He tested from his end and all seemed OK but not from my end.  Then my internet connection failed again.  Again I had to apologize and hang up as I could not test what he wanted me to test.

I thought about this for while.  Actually the mifi was working just fine but my computer kept saying it could not connect with the mifi.  Odd.  Actually very odd and the more I thought about it the more I realized that whenever I was on the phone for more than a minute airport said no connection.  This happened several times Tuesday night while I was making calls into WI.  hmmmnnn  

Q: What's common?
A:The ancient cordless I have in the shop.

So I got my cell out and made call #3 to earthlink.  This time the connection did not fail.  HURRAY!!!
This time the techie said it was all working from her end but that she could see that the page I was sending up today was going outside the root folder up there in the ether.  Odd.  Eventually she asked to try this page - net2ftp.com.   They are a 3rd party ftp engine.  At first nothing worked but after a few tries the page actually appeared online.  WOW!  Meanwhile she said she'd put in a ticket for a more advanced look at my problem but until they figured it out I could use this free service.  Thank you thank you.

So I tried this on my own with hit or miss results.  Not acceptable.  By now 2+ hours had gone by and I was beginning to get agita.  Jim came by to start the Uhaul packing.  He does the first part by himself which is screwing uprights into the wooden bars inside the trailer.  We put our shelves onto these and the fibers onto the shelves with the bins inbetween.  Then all is bungee corded to keep them from shifting.    Once this is done the yarn triangle, tables, shelf stands, and other assorted needed items are loaded.

I went back to trying to fix my problem but had had some time to think.  I went online to earthlink's manage site pages.  Hmmmmnnnn outside the root folder along with the other stuff was a folder called fibers.  OK I have a folder called fibers in Dreamweaver which houses all my fiber pages.  This is called a directory for anyone interested.   I opened the outside fibers folder and found only 3 pages - 2 from over a year ago and one from just a few minutes before. hmmmmnnnn

Inside the root folder was another folder called fibers. So now I thought maybe the electrons were getting confused. I tried a test: root folder should say - /public but I had it say /public/fibers and put a page successfuly.  I tried this again with another page and it worked again.  Aha- no more hit or miss.

Now I got brave.  I highlighted that outside fibers folder, held my breath and DELETED it.  Yup! Now gone.  But really it shouldn't have ever been there in the wrong place.  Then I tested without the /public and it worked!!!!!  HIGH FIVE!!!!!

I am damn proud of myself  Well that was yesterday.

CRAP

Well so the kudos were shortlived.  I am too clever for my own good.  Rechecking I accidentally deleted ALL the fiber files.  The only backup is on my computer at home.
  I just undid the entire fibers folder.    And on this computer I do not have access to my current Dreamweaver files.  Major major major cursing going on.