Now that the shameful dust has settled, and we've learned which publications to avoid now and forevermore, our final installment of the Hall of Shame concerns what to do if and when you find yourself getting royally screwed. (See, we told you we weren't going to be afraid to be servicey.) To do so, we've enlisted the aid of a former magazine accounting department lackey—who admits to having screwed over more than one freelancer in their day.

Of all the Hall of Fame submissions we've received thus far, one really goes above and beyond typical accounting department shenanigans:

Well then! Based on the overwhelming response to our inquiries about publications that pretend you don't exist after you've poured your blood, sweat and tears into their piddling assignments, we've come up with a preliminary list of publications that should be avoided at all costs, even when their editors woo you with promises of fame, glory and on-time checks. We're still soliciting tales of woe for subsequent rounds, which you can send to the usual place. In the meantime, enjoy our list of offenders, including more Observer woes, post-jump.

It appears that the New York Observer has a long tradition of failing to pay not only Gawker editors who freelance for them, but pretty much everyone else, as a tipster reports:

In the spirit of the new year, as well as utter brokeitude, we've taken stock of our outstanding invoices from '06. One offender appears to be the New York Observer, which still owes us money from ages ago. (Confidential to J.K.: When you switch to a tabloid, you still have to pay people. Love, Us.)