Think Secret, one of those Apple rumor sites was finally shut down after a long, drawn out legal battle where Apple demanded to know rumor sources and Nick dePlume refused to comply.

I was initially going to take a “pass” on this issue, as I didn’t really have an opinion one way or the other. But after thinking about it a bit more, I’ve decided I don’t like the move and have some obligation to come out on the side of the little guy and against the big, powerful corporation - even if that corporation is Apple, whose products I love - and own some stock in.

Nick’s big mistake was inviting Apple employees to violate their NDAs and divulge “trade secrets.” This doesn’t seem like the best way to befriend the company you’re covering.

But other than that lapse in judgement - I’m hard pressed to think how Think Secret actually hurt Apple. Most rumors came out so close to MacWorld that there simply wasn’t enough time for a competitor to react with a competing product. It’s not like Microsoft could have read the Mini-rumor and produced competing hardware in a few days.

There is one instance where Nick DePlume revealed information so early it could have screwed up Apple’s plans. It was Apple’s development of OS X for Intel - Marklar, in a story that emerged in 2005 - two years before Apple did announce the surprise switch. But at the time nobody took it seriously and the true information was largely laughed at or ignored, even by Apple zealots.

Second, Think Secret wasn’t posting rumors that painted Apple in a negative light, like some blogs that seem intent on painting corporations in the worst light possible - and yet continue to exist.

So I feel the only reason why Apple strove to silence Think Secret was to retain tight control over PR. That’s totally understandable. But to use legal threats and money to protect that desire is rather unnerving. So I feel Apple has crossed the line.

Make no mistake that I love Apple products. But I’d be annoyed if Microsoft had shut down a blogger leaking information about Windows 7. So I can’t give Apple a pass on this just because I love their iProducts.

Anyhow, with Apple’s current stance, people can verify a rumor’s truth by seeing what website gets slapped with a cease-and-desist order. That order is in effect, a statement about an unannounced product - which is supposedly not what Apple does:

Mr. Jobs: No, we just don’t comment on future stuff.

So perhaps Apple should take its own PR policy seriously and ignore Apple rumors. Without the lawyers, the blogosphere will basically have have nothing concrete to pick the truth from the disinformation - and judging from the Marklar example, I don’t believe Apple fans can discern fact from fiction even when they’re staring them in the face (myself included).

Disclosure: I own a tiny amount of Apple stock.

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