I have in my possession an email that I've been told I can't post because of a statement that it was not to be forwarded, posted, or shared. I was told I can reference it without quoting any of the text. This particular email almost pulled me back into the miasma of hate mongering and sheer nastiness of the community in question. I almost emailed the board admin to give him instructions how to restore the databases. Luckily, a couple of very smart people reminded me of what this community has done and that it's not my problem anymore. My husband was one of those, a friend who knows the whole story from both sides, the other. I believe, should this issue go to court, I can share it with our lawyer under priveliged communications. This was before the site owner found another sucker to do the work for her.
Yes, I feel like a sucker. I put a lot of personal time into keeping that site running and the one time I asked for something I got the preceeding pages. Such a wonderful community worthy of anything you can contribute, right? However, I took it another way because I realized that the more we bent over backwards, the more would be expected of us for nothing in return.
For months the site owners were urged to do something about the drainage of bandwidth and server resources. Every invoice for bandwidth overages had a statement that they needed to discuss upgrade or other options for their site. It took something like this incident to force the issues because as long as it was only us bending over backwards to keep the site going in spite of the abuses nothing would be done. Forcing the issues got us the preceeding pages. I expect the site will be jumping from one hosting company to another forever because none of them will put up with that kind of abuse for long. It's one site amongst others. Are they supposed to sacrifice all the others for that one site? Or it will jump until they find a sucker to manage a dedicated server for them for nothing?
The site owner is a charismatic leader who has surrounded herself with some other self-proclaimed leaders. I'm a simple person; simple in my ways and actions. People like the site owner and her leaders mistake simplicity for stupidity. The worst you can call me is naive because I tend to give some modicum of respect and trust before someone has earned it. However, once that is lost, it's lost forever and I question everything that has to do with such people. These days I have to fight very hard with myself to keep from becoming the worst cynic. Given incidences such as the preceeding pages, it's a struggle I've lost.
The site owner's leaders are the ones she listens to, right or wrong. I have noticed the more "clout" they have, the more she listens to them rather than her own conscience, if she has one. That's a fact I have to question in the face of my experiences. If I take everything that has happened in the past month, one must wonder if everything isn't all about her. That would put to question also the image of the benefactress out to save the scammed from being further scammed.
Her leaders furthered this notion when they decided it was okay to post our contact information and googlebomb us. This led to harassment of our persons and our company and for what? Power? An attempt to save themselves some embarrassment? Because they can get away with it? All of those and more?
Still my favorite quote: " Some people are just not smart enough to be allowed to run loose on the Internet." You might fool all of the people for awhile then some of the people for awhile longer but eventually somebody will have the "balls" to call you on it. Somebody who has absolutely nothing to lose by doing so.
This whole incident has left me with many many questions.
- What are the ramifications of a lawyer who is a member of the community in question emailing my husband about the release of intellectual property while claiming to be the site owner's legal counsel? Don't actions such as those ethically constitute a conflict of interest on the part of the lawyer? Be sure I will be researching that issue. In addition, there were many claiming we were holding their intellectual property which begs the question: Whose intellectual property was it? Don't you think that all you who were claiming such research that issue before harassing us?
- How much of the information on scammers is actually factual now that we know they will go after anyone with whom they think they have a grudge, regardless of the facts or based on very little fact? Doesn't it seem more like a bunch of bullies picking on people they know they can denigrate and get away with it?
- I don't have screenshots saved for everything that has been said because that would simply take up more room than I'm willing to give all of you, however, when Angela Hoy, someone who used the screen name CC, and others spoke up about their similar experiences at the hands of this community, why did everyone rip them apart for doing so? Is it because you were afraid that you'd have to go through the same thing if you didn't, so you made sure you wouldn't by parroting the "facts"? Where does any law give you the right to harass innocent people, our other customers, because you don't care to act like decent human beings? There is also a page where someone threatened to contact all our customers and tell them "about us".
- How many of you would act like this in real life, especially those of you who purport to be devout Christians? I know of at least one of you who does claim such, yet, was one of the worst for obnoxious behavior and belittling of us. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me... " Isn't that one of the ten commandments, yet, how many of you have deified a community who operates by trashing everyone else?
- FTC complaints... yes I have a screenshot of that but haven't posted it. What do you think the FTC would think of your actions in this issue if they choose to take the opportunity to investigate? Do you think they will investigate us only? What do you think they will have to say when they investigate you and the affiliated sites as well?
- What would happen if I reported those sites claiming to be businesses to the Better Business Bureau and the FTC? What if I gave them all the evidence we have gathered? Don't such actions constitute Unfair Trade Practices?
- Does anyone else think it's rather hypocritcal that the site owner in question thought threatening us would get her everywhere while telling us not to bow down to threats from other sources? Doesn't that sound a lot like: "Do as I say, not as I do?" Not that it worked for anyone who threw out threats. What did we have to lose by not giving into threats? Oh wait, I can answer that one: not a thing except self respect.
- How many of you will continue to act like the internet's biggest bullies in spite of this? Does anyone remember the saying: "There's always a bigger _______ (fill in the blank)?" Someday.... It won't be me because I don't have that kind of behavior in me. My only purpose in these pages is catharsis. Why should I let your hate and nastiness continue to fester inside instead of getting it out in the open?
- How many have lost their credibility by reporting "facts"? Did your editors ask you where and how you verified your information? Was it worth it? Who benefited from it?
- How would you feel if sometime in the future someone actually carried out the physical threats made against us, especially the one who stated that he knows where we live? How would you feel if it were you who was the target of such hate?
-How many of you trolled personal sites looking for ammunition to harass and otherwise bully us? How many of you could stand up to the same actions you took against us?
- For all those who spouted about Karma: If karma is based upon your own actions, how do you fit what you've done into good karma?
- For those who spouted gall: Whose gall were you talking about? Ours? For what? Because we refuse to be bullied into something that would affect not only ourselves but anyone connected to us through business or personal ties?
- For those who spouted no class or unprofessional: Do you call those screenshots classy or professional? By what measurement?
- How many of you have children? Can you pretend it's not you on these pages and honestly say this is how you'd like your children to act? Are there any excuses for this kind of behavior in a so called civilized society? Did you forget children learn by example?
- It's all very well to spout freedom of speech but don't you realize freedom of speech goes both ways? Has anybody forgotten what happened to the "Dixie Chicks" when they forgot thinking that they were too powerful to be chastised by anyone? All it takes is some poor schmuck who has nothing to lose to bring it out into the open.
You can find all the grammar and spelling errors in these pages you want. One thing about catharsis is you don't have to spend a lot of time editing and correcting such things. They might comfort you as you use them to ridicule me or the next person to cross you.
I could go on and on but the truth is that you were duped much as I once was, whether you realize it or not. I could care less about whether you do or not.. This is simply my catharsis. I did get something out it, in spite of you, so I suppose in a weird sort of way, I should be grateful to you. I have fodder for novels for at least the next decade, complete with characterizations. So far, I've come up with: a thriller, a children's book on bullies (you know, all the schoolyard behavior), a comic book about good guys and bad guys(don't the bad guys always outnumber the good guys), and the pathology/cultism of social internet communities, in addition to being able to use a lot of the same concepts in my preferred genre. That's only the fiction... so far. I also have several examples I can use for nonfiction articles. I already have a good start on the research.
Back to the Beginning for Those Strong of Heart.