The basics
I consider myself to be a reasonable person (others may disagree). So when my employer let me go a little less than two months before this post, I didn't raise a stink. Even though the operations manager saw fit to berate me as I was gathering my things, I feel that I remained fairly calm and collected (although I did have an unfortunate outburst when he whined that I was inconveniencing him). I bore no grudge against them: They simply didn't feel that they needed me anymore, and that was that.
Within days of my leaving, they ripped the vast majority of content that I had created for them off their websites (knowing the owners of the business as I do, I am certain that it has been permanently deleted). I kept busy, gathered up some stuff and attempted to create a portfolio that showcased some of the work that I had done for said employer, and posted it to a new site for viewers and employers to check it out. I didn't feel that it was an issue, as it was free advertising for them and a way for me to show off what I had done. It took me weeks of choosing, organizing, and tweaking, but I finally got it up.
Falling down
That's when I received the DMCA takedown notice. Now, protecting your brand is one thing, but really all my portfolio site did was give them free advertising (I even linked their site to many of the ads). All they had to do was ask me to take down the works and I would have, but they decided to get litigious. Two days later, my unemployment claim was challenged. I want to mention this, because it is a key point in this discussion: I still have received NO reason for my termination. None was ever given, even after I asked them directly.
I'm done making excuses and being nice to them. From here on in, I will no longer defend them, the business processes which (while I cannot discuss) I cannot condone, nor their treatment of their employees. Make no mistake: They have some extremely talented, warm, and motivated people working for them, and I bear those people no grudge, but their draconian, outdated management strategy keeps me amazed that those people stick around. I have nothing against these people and I don't want them to be hurt by any ugliness that may arise in the future.
I will not name my employer in this post to avoid any sort of libel, although with about three seconds of research you could find out who I am referring to.
Regardless, I have updated the now nearly empty portfolio page with this notice:
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