Austin Appalling

Given that Austin Macauley is a vanity press that charges thousands of dollars, has a terrible contract, and throws threatening letters from lawyers around like confetti, I have one question....

...What does that say about so-called indie publisher groups that they are officially "associated with"?

• Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) -- "IBPA's MISSION is to lead and serve the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success."
• Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) -- "The IPG helps publishers to do better business and become part of a real community"
• The Publishers Association -- "Our objective as an association is to provide our members with the influence, insight and services necessary to compete and prosper."