Life isn't fair...
I’ve often written on this blog about my detox/cleanse/weight loss about the friends I've made online and the support system. I used to know NOTHING about nutrition and have slowly been learning to love healthy, organic food instead of sugars and carbs. My body craves musli, almonds, raspberries, and greek yoghurt instead of cheerios. I’ve swapped out rice and breads for tuna, tahini, sesame oil, tomatoes, cucumbers, and tabullah. Snacks are nuts, fruits, veggies and cheeses rather than chocolate and chips.
I would NEVER have gotten here without the support system that I found through Ketomist. Suzanne Jackson, one of the administrators on the website, took a personal interest in my shedding – to the point where I would call her a true friend. She and my mom even met up last month in Southern California for a coffee!! BUT Suzanne has been treated so unfairly by the Ketomist site and is no longer a part of it. The way she and others have been treated makes me question whether I want to be a part of the Ketomist community either.
Suzanne never seemed to log off from the website, going above and beyond as an administrator. Suzanne was hired as an independent consultant (as per the owner of Ketomist request). No taxes were taken out, no benefits were given. She was NOT an employee and there was NEVER any signed agreement between them at any time.
Suzanne decided to copyright her materials – not as a ploy to steal from the company, but because she believed it would act as a safeguard for her hard work. In researching copyright laws, she learned that in order for Ketomist to ‘own’ the content of her work, Suzanne would have to be paid by the article with a signed agreement for EACH submission. Most publishing contracts give the writer the capability to publish the same content themselves, with options such as a time restriction, being able to publish ‘in part’, or to give full links and notification that the original content was published in such-and such manner and by such-and-such magazine, etc.
Once Suzanne decided to copyright her materials, the “dark side” of Ketomist showed up. Her account was suspended and ultimately she was terminated. Ketomist released the following memo, “Suzanne Jackson is no longer with Ketomist. She has made the decision to move on. Even though we don’t think anyone can actually replace her, we will have someone doing their best to try and fill her shoes shortly.” The memo claims she left Ketomist voluntarily - but she did NOT!
Interestingly, within days of Suzanne’s termination, her copyrighted materials were re-written, slightly re-worded and placed in a new area on the site - in the new Knowledge Base on the Ketomist site (dated back in January – hmmm, had this been in the works for a few months). Apparently, Ketomist was taking her materials and making them their own, without giving her the credit. I’m not stupid. I was 17 once and in university. I “re-wrote” papers and quotes and credited them as my own. I know what plagiarism is. I was a pro. Ketomist can’t trick me. And why would they want to? And why have they treated Suzanne so unfairly? Why couldn't they have worked WITH Suzanne instead of against her? And what will they do to others if they can do this to Suzanne?
Ketomist took the insult one step further by censoring the members. After they accused Suzanne of abandoning the people she so faithfully mentors, they started censoring and deleting members. SERIOUSLY??? I thought that the point of the website was to support people on their journey towards weight loss, not protect Rob's side of events or censor members who dared to acknowledge that Rob's version was not the entire story. One member had the audacity to state that there were two sides to every story and that we wouldn’t really ever know what happened – trusting that both parties had done what they thought was best. A few hours later she was ejected from the site, comments deleted, and the comment section closed.
Thankfully there is a happy ending to this story. Because of her termination, Suzanne has been forced to branch out on her own. She was not planning this move, was not planning to become a small business owner. But – she is embracing the change and opportunity to help others in their journey towards health. She has been gifted with the desire as well as the knowledge to help others. Suzanne is very patient, kind, sympathetic and understanding. She was the support that made the product so wonderful. She related to her clients in a very personal way. Suzanne has missed everyone on the Ketomist site and has a lot of concern for them. The ONLY thing that made Ketomist different than other HCG protocols was that Suzanne’s entire heart was poured into the project. She was the difference – her sincerity, knowledge, and LOVE for each member of Ketomist. She did not leave by choice, abandoning the protocol.
Suzanne is available for consult through her website,
protocol2health. What Ketomist does not seem to understand is that the support Suzanne provided cannot be summed up in a static FAQ page, or rewritten into some kind of 'Knowledge Base'. Suzanne answered everyone, she made herself available at all hours, and she had good information - all of which combined to make her support invaluable. (When you are struggling, and you ask a question and you get an answer - a real, solid and personal answer - your chances of success are incalculably improved. I know, because it happened to me.)
I hope that you will support Suzanne in her new endeavor. It’s easy to just let it slide, it wasn’t my job lost – BUT I love Suzanne, I trust her – and I know that my successful weight loss was due to her love and compassion for me – first for my emotional, psychological, spiritual and THEN for physical healing.
