Fair warning they're going to put out a hit piece? Or a "We will put this out if you don't do X, Y and Z".
That sort of fair warning runs awfully close to "extortion" in the layman's use of the word.
I don't KNOW either party or the facts. One or the other could have acted horribly here. But "fair warning" with a demand for value is pretty good definition of extortion.
I'm not really excited about a business relationship with either side of this spat.
I absolutely agree. I was merely pointing out that Pasco tweeting a screenshot that was essentially a threat does nothing to support his side of the story. All it shows is that he knew it was coming: He had received a fair amount of warning from Casantas. Not that I think it's fair to publicly air grievances in a manner that is frankly libelous.
Anyhow, I think this whole thing is tasteless and obnoxious.
I disagree with you about it not supporting his side of the story. Extortion is gaining something via a threat of coercion. The SMS (if authentic) is pretty clearly a threat, leaving us just in the dark about the exact action demanded.
Whether or not a crime or tort occurred here is for those with JD's to discern.
You are correct about the obnoxious part of it, but I'm uncertain that Pasco had any opportunity to avoid this public crap beyond giving into the demands of Casasanta according to Pasco's twitter, he got a threat in the mail yesterday this was going to happen: http://twitter.com/#!/dlpasco/status/33271220623384576
EDIT: OH, you're talking about the "Oh is this enough work" part that Casasanta is talking about. I was talking about the "Why did this dispute go highly public" part.