My first letter to them was to "the editor", not to Moira Dann specifically, although she was the one who replied.
I guess the generic editor passes the letters along to the appropriate department.
From what I've seen on my listserv and various blogs, lots of people have written in.
Your idea to write to the Globe editor was a good one. I'd be interested to know if he responds.
Hi Pauline,
They may be hoping it will all just blow over.
Have you written a letter to the editor?
I am thinking of writing one, though I've written several letters to the Globe and Mail over the years and have not been published except in their Report on Business magazine.
Hi Rosemary,
Yes I noticed the changes and inconsistencies (Congress and a Prime Minister, both!) What bothers me most is the paper's continued silence, at least, as far as I'm aware. If there is a reasonable explanation, as they contend privately, then explain it publicly!
Nice to meet you, too 
Hi Pauline,
Like you, I was puzzled about this piece--and I have thought many times about submitting something to the F&A page over the years. I hear they pay $100--perhaps not enough to deal with potential plagiarism issues that could ensue?
After reading about this on the Editors' Association email forum, I also wrote to the F&A editor (twice) and copied Edward Greenspon, the Globe editor, on my correspondence. I only got a response to my first query, the stock answer you quote. I also wrote to Snopes and to the author herself.
If you read the Snopes version (or the myriad other versions floating around the Internet over the past 10 years) and compare it to the Globe piece, you will note that some things have changed, and not just the names--the president is now the Prime Minister, the assignment must now be done by email, there's a mention of chai tea...
Would high school students in the late nineties use email to do an assignment? Was chai tea popular back then? Would a Canadian newspaper have a headline with the word "Congress" without mentioning the US?
Whether this event actually happened or not is still unclear to me. After reading the Globe essay, I remembered that I had received an email like this a few years ago (I think what struck me was the statement that the girl didn't realize she was about to die in 10 seconds).
Sounds like something that was written by one person or maybe a committee as a joke, perhaps to get people riled up by pinpointing the stereotypical differences between men and women.
I will be very interested to see where this goes, if anywhere. I agree that the Globe and Mail should clarify this.
Hi Marijke, nice to meet another Montreal writer!
Good post. I'm still trying to figure the whole thing out myself. At one point I considered submitting some work to F&A, now I don't think I"ll bother.
Excellent point, Rick. Thanks.
Wow, that's quite a story.
It doesn't take a lot of imagination to realize what would happen if this situation were reversed. Say a student had submitted the essay as an assignment. The teacher discovers remarkably similar versions of the essay all over the Internet, confronts the student, and the student replies, "Yes, it is indeed a coincidence and not one I’m very pleased with."
Of course the student would be even less pleased with the failing grade and perhaps even further plagiarism-related punishment. The onus would then be on the student to offer some shred of evidence to prove this coincidence.
But since it's a teacher, hey, I guess it's okay.
They think they are covering their asses. In reality, a "clarification" in which the whole thing is explained would do way more to cover the paper than ignoring the issue.
Come on Globe, do the right thing.
Well, after all the hemming and hawing it looks like the paper is doing nothing but covering their ass. Somethings never change.
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