Announcement

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 11:06 AM

The moderating team went into overdrive that night.

Ree signed up and found that the War Stories section had already been removed. However, the notice coming up when someone signs up was yet another direct copy. His skills of web design apparently involved hitting control-c and control-v. He was also planning a webcomic based on the tales from the forums. (Based on commentary from several observers) Sound familiar yet?

Thought so.

I found an email in my inbox and a PM awaiting me.

Quoth email

Is this end of this weekend soon enough for me to rewrite a few things?

I don't doubt your google-fu (nor your network of potential spammers! lol)
The basic structure of the forum will (most likely unless you can
reasonably persuade me otherwise) stay the same.

I wanted to enter into a discourse with you but can well imagine your
chagrin at my actions.

I would like to explain them a little further but can appreciate that
this may not have been the best way to go about things.
For that I truly offer you my sincere apologies, for what they are
worth, and can only tell you that there was in my mind a very strong
motivation to do that which I have done.

I did talk to you once briefly many months ago about these intentions
(more likely approaching a year now.)

While you have little evidence at this time to conclude such from at
this time I am not a bad man, though would not expect you to take my
word for it. I hope in time you will come to understand my
motivations, forgive my actions and see fit to talk to me again.
My reasoning though possibly flawed will I hope make you understand my
actions and the time sensitive nature of any future discourse on these
matters.

I am in admiration for your forthrightness (and in truth for you
giving me a chance to rectify as best I can some of this and for not
simply pulling out the bug guns and declaring all out war!)
I do not want to fight nor antagonise you any further than I already
most probably have.

I am however very serious about wishing to talk to you further on this matter.

To that end this is what I propose (if you disagree with anything
please get back to me and I'll try to amend still further.)...
I will change the language (as best I can.)

I will however keep the form of the forum as it's already structured.
War stories will be deleted (and yeah, yeah right!)

The forum rules I will look at and try to amend (though still keeping
the tone and intent.)

It may well already be too late to undone the harm to any possible
future relationship we might have had if so I can only blame myself
and offer again my absolute apologies.

If the above is agreeable to you then please simply contact me again
to let me know that's ok. I won't even try to enter into any further
discussion with you until I have done what I can to rectify this and
(in some small belated way) try to prove to you my utter sincerity in
this regard.

Small though this token is I would like to point one thing out...
While in time you may have well become aware of my site I would ask
that you bear in mind that fact that I brought it to your attention in
this fashion deliberately at this time to deal with these issues now.
You may think it's too little too late and you may well be right, but
please understand that as best I can I am trying to make this right.

******

Quoth pm

war stories and gtg forums deleted as a small sign of good faith (though I freely admit that phrase may well sound a little hollow under the circumstances!)

But nonetheless I wanted to show you that I intend to deliver on this.

Points of note - I wasn't impressed by him mentioning the members here as potential spammers (which did raise the idea of encouraging people to go there - as a person on a shared hosting site, it wouldn't be difficult to overload his CPU allowance - you'll note I didn't do that). He doesn't know what 'chagrin' means. His communications read like a 419er without the capital letters.

I was also grinning so much it hurt.

I have to admit that I couldn't remember him contacting me a year ago. What I noticed also was that he intended to pay a financial award every month to the 'best poster' - $100 via Paypal. He also had the link to the warning generator we had in 'check it out' at the time and had that on the front pages of his site.

Private opinion at the time was whether or not he'd discovered girls.

He had a Youtube and Myspace group going, and he'd also added Ree on Myspace. Ree had assumed he was another CS member and had added him.

Quoth Ree

I added you because, when you sent me the friend request, I wasn't sure if I might have known you as a member of www.customerssuck.com, the customer service complaint site that I already belong to.
I didn't realize you were spamming to gain members, or I probably would not have added you back.
I checked out your site, and I must say, it was more than a little upsetting to see my own words from that site plagiarized onto your site.
Imitation is the most sincere from of flattery, I guess, but having my very own words ripped off don't make me very happy.
Good luck with your site. Let's hope you can come up with some original and fresh ideas, rather than copying and pasting from an existing, very successful site.

I simply gave a response that there was no point in talking until all information ripped off from CS.com.

Thus the second day ended.

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 11:33 AM

21st July 2007

During the night, electronic communications were flying.

Ree got the brunt of it on Myspace.

It may well already be too late to undone the harm to any possible future relationship we might have had if so I can only blame myself and offer again my absolute apologies.

If the above[editor's note - a copy of his email to me] is agreeable to you then please simply contact me again to let me know that's ok. I won't even try to enter into any further discussion with you until I have done what I can to rectify this and
(in some small belated way) try to prove to you my utter sincerity in this regard.

Small though this token is I would like to point one thing out...

While in time you may have well become aware of my site I would ask that you bear in mind that fact that I brought it to your attention in this fashion deliberately at this time to deal with these issues now.
You may think it's too little too late and you may well be right, but please understand that as best I can I am trying to make this right.

***********

.................................................. ..................

Much, nay all of what I said to Raps I would happily say to you about my behaviour in this matter.

To have you understand that indeed plagiarism is the highest form of flattery is a decidedly mature way to look upon this.

I can not expect your forgiveness in this mater without making amends in some way.

Or without apologising to you directly...

For that which I have taken I can only offer you my sincerest most heartfelt of apologies. I can not begin to imagine how you must have felt finding your work, your effort, your toil, taken without regard of knowledge.

There were circumstances at play that in time may explain my actions and leave you with a greater appreciation for my motivations in this matter than you currently have now.

While forgiveness may be beyond me to hope for from yourself I accept the grievance and harm I have caused you and truly wish to make this right as I have said.

How to do that entirely is beyond me and I am loathe to share the absolute truth of what lead me to these actions with arguably strangers until such time as it becomes clearer to me that in doing so I would not open myself to even greater ridicule or resentment.

I time I hope to get to know you well enough to share the truth of these things so that you might one day see me in a better light than circumstances (completely of my making) currently bathe me in.

I can not undo that which has been done, nor in truth would I wish to. Too great was that which could have been lost to me without these actions taken to pay consideration for such things. Though a wrong was done and I have tried acknowledge that to those affected in the hope of setting things right.

*********

There's is I hope and feel more to me than this behaviour might suggest. In time maybe you might come to know that. It is one of smaller wishes.

Oh crap - this was starting to read like an 18th century man of leisure.

Another arrived to Ree.

Quoth more received by Ree

In the interim...

I notice you have signed up to the forum on ************.

I will not ban you nor hinder that which you feel you must do. Should you wish to contact other members about this feel free.

I would hope that you might note that while based on customerssuck that there is more to ******* than the extended forum and I should mention that there are many future plans for this site including a way to become a profit sharing venture with those contributors involved as well as recognition in a multitude of other ways.

Might I ask exactly what words of yours that I have used?

It occurs to me that I have offered a blanket apology for my actions thus far without ascertaining the specific wrong that I did.

I would be grateful to know so I might better acknowledge that which I have done to cause harm.

I would very much like to find a way forward that leaves people feeling less violated and acknowledges their work. I had considered simply notifying the forum members of the inspiration from customerssuck and leaving a link to your site from the forum. Though it may well be too late for that. Alternatively financial reimbursement for the work used is not out of the question should people be amenable to that.

(You might wish to pass this information on to Raps or not it is entirely up to you.)

I hope you can begin to understand my sincerity and resolve to rectify this matter. It has weighed on me long enough.

***********

Why disable the forum? We were baffled by that.

Quoth Ree saying 'Holy Crap!'

to keep you abreast of the situation.

I have email Raps with an offer to take down the forum on ******** entirely until this matter is resolved.

While I have not heard back from him yet I would also be interested to hear your thoughts on the offer and would take your wishes into consideration in this regard.

*******

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: Ree
Date: 21 Jul 2007, 05:32

Why would you just take down your site?
The internet is a big place.

I am sure there is plenty of room for another site where customer service people can go to vent.

There may be some people who find the structure of our board too confining, but who would find themselves right at home on your board. I am sure that they will not be identical once you rework a few things so it looks like less of a blatant ripoff or the work of someone with an excellent command of "Ctrl + C" and "Ctrl + V"

I see that you are using the same software, but I believe there are other options for skins. Perhaps changing the skin would go a long way to creating a divide of sorts.
Once you do that, then rework your forums and some of the wording.

As I see it, there are some forums that can be combined to make things less diluted.

I wish you all the best with your endeavour.

Ree

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: ***************
Date: 21/07/2007

Thank you Ree.

When/if I hear back from Raps on this matter I will be in a position to make a decision regarding the forum.

I am heartend by the simple compassion you have shown to me when you have every right to wish me no such success. You are an amazingly understanding person and I am truly more grateful for that than you can can imagine.

I would like to change the skin to differentiate things more and tie the forum into the colour scheme of the main site.

This is my first venture into anything of this nature and came about in a need for personal catharsis and at a time of much turmoil in my life. Hence the haste and poor judgement.

I would like to explain further but am loathe to until I have heard back from Raps and made good a few conditions first, it is not my wish to add insult to injury by explaining the particulars of my situation nor that which led me to do what I did until such time as a can be sure that such things will not cloud your respective considerations in this regard. My story is my own and can not alone excuse my actions. I hope someday you might though become privy to the particulars and the impact on my life that the formation of this site and the future plans for it have had on myself and indeed others.

I greatly appreciate your criticism of the structure of the forums and as I explained this is my first venture into the murky world of such things. I am (as you may have already noticed) prone to certain excesses in language and am never quite as succinct as I would wish to be. This shows in the forum as in all aspects of my life.

The internet is a big place and I'm sure big enough for the many sites there already are for retail staff that I have found and by addition to that growing number.

My plans for the site though are seemingly on a scale beyond that of any I have seen, whether it reaches the ambitions I have for it only time will tell and the plans change and evolve with the inclusion of ideas from willing others daily.

I am truly humbled by your manner in dealing with this and while I have never the taken the time to look around the posts in customerssuck so I knew nothing of your character before this exchange. I am it has to be said blown away by the humanity of it on your part and as such have done something you might think strange...

You said your intent in joining the forum on ******** was to "keep an eye on things" well baring that in mind and on the basis of my growing regard for you in how you have gone about this I have upgraded you to moderator status on the ******************** forum.

I am still learning this as I go and your knowledge is in all probability vastly superior to mine. I do not even in truth entirely know what access I have just granted you to the site though would hope (and admit I do believe) that you won't abuse such.

This is not intended to incite you to post nor contribute in any way as it seems apparent your love of cs is genuine and your efforts in running that considerable already.

This is simple a gesture of good faith on my part. Something that has been decidedly lacking up 'til now.

Please accept this in the spirit it is given. One of contrition and recompense for your humanity thus far and for an appreciation of such.

Someone signs up on the site and is given moderator status. I have to point out that standard moderator status on the VB software is very limited. He'd kept it as the basic standard of very limited abilities. I got an email in the meantime.

Fair point but I intended it as a sign while I amend the text not to
hide anything.
Though you have no reason to believe that or anything else I say for
that matter and I can't blame you but I am trying to make amends on
this.
I spoke to another concerned party regarding this and made an offer of
financial reimbursement for this slight (you may or may not have
heard) while I know it's highly unlikely that you will find this
sufficient the offer is nonetheless there should you wish to discuss
further. In the (likely) absence of any communication from yourself
regarding such a possibility I'll just go with the plan of action as
is.
If it is not how ever possible for me to amend all text by Sunday
night I will most likely take the forum off line and contact you at
some point after that once the text has been amended and the forum
is again live to prove such.
I'll be in touch when that's done.
Then hopefully you'll consider talking to me.

I did a WHOIS search. I found his name, address, and telephone number.

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 11:40 AM

22nd July 2007

I bought a birthday card. It had Scooby Doo on the front wishing him a 'Happy 6th Birthday'. It even had a badge he could wear.

Remember I got his address? I sent it.

"From all the friends you want at customerssuck.com."

In the meantime, Ree completely rewrote the rules section for him. He kept coming up with excuses as to why he hadn't altered anything.

By now, he'd started spamming Myspace with adverts.

Hi Rapscallion,

Well thanks to Ree's amazing gesture the rules for the ********* forum have been amended and are no longer a blatant copy of yours.

Also some of the thread titles have been changed
(though more may need to be.)

I hope this goes some small way to proving my sincerity to make amends over this.

Without Ree's kind help I would have been forced to close down the forum while working on a rewrite.

She has shown an understanding that I would have thought impossible.

If there is anything thing else that you would like to see changed that you feel would hinder the possibility of us entering into any further discussions please bring it to my attention and I'll attempt to deal with it.

I could go on apologising but I fear that without actions to prove as much they may ring hollow.

I truly regret my actions and hope that my attempts at making restitution for such proves as much.

I would very much like to discuss some things with you but could not blame you if now even after the removal of cs text from the site you would still rather not.

It would be sad if a second chance were beyond you to give me in this regard. Sad but understandable nonetheless.

Sincerely,

***********

My response was to point out the publicly available second copy of the rules and how the registration text was another ripoff.

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 11:42 AM

23rd July 2007

Thanks for getting back to me.

I had forgotten the rules were posted twice the copy that was still there has now been deleted.

The text upon enquiring about registration will be altered today.

As I may have mentioned Ree's gesture was an act of pure kindness and as I said before had she not done such I would have removed the board today to amend it myself.

Unfortunately I have had other more pressing obligations than these to attend to so I could not be as thorough editing out the copied texts as I would have liked.

Your attempts at making restitution so far involved someone else doing the work for you and you copying and pasting their effort into the appropriate place.

I did not ask nor expect such a generous gesture from Ree and while massively grateful for it other efforts had been made...

My attempts at restitution so far have if I'm not mistaken thus far included an offer of financial reimbursement for the works used, an offer to completely disable my forum until such time as I could have managed to remove all text (and check such), contacting you in the first place on this matter and bringing it directly to your attention, apologising wholeheartedly for my actions to yourself and to Ree and continuing to keep you informed at all stages of my progress in attempting to make amends.

You may not think it yet (and you may never think it at all in all honesty) but the things I wish to discuss could ultimately be of some less than inconsiderable benefit to all parties involved.

If however I feel that there is simply no possibility of reasoned future discourse with yourself on these matters then I shall simply discontinue trying to do so and go about making things as right as I can without contacting you further on this. While an opportunity may be lost, in the grand scheme of things these matters are trivial in the extreme and only because I would hate to simply pass this up without trying and because I felt that now was the time to do such did I contact you.

Unfortunately other circumstances have come into play that have meant my attentions have been divided.

If you can not see that I am indeed making an effort to rectify this then that is only because you are simply not aware of other more pressing considerations I could and possibly should be focussing on right now.

I hope you find it within yourself to forgive me my indiscretions and that we manage to find a way to move beyond this to discuss future possibilities.

If we can not then I have only myself to blame but life has this damnable way of moving on regardless.

We discussed a little more the 'merits' of a system where he paid the best poster to drum up traffic.

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 11:44 AM

24th July 2007

Ree mentioned to him the flaw in his plan and got a generic email.

"Hi there my lil' minions trapped out there in *******,

just a quickie to say hi to all you new members and to say thanks for joining my lil' underworld and also to mention that once we've reached the grand total of 100 members on the forum there will be a contest run to win $100 bucks a month for the next couple of months for registered members.

Details on how to win this princely sum will be announced once we've reached a 100 members signed up to the forum, so if you've got any friends who you think might also like a place to vent then send them this way.

Once we've hit the mark the competition will start, so get promoting my lil' lovies and you could be in with a chance to win $100!!! To spend on all that medication you'll probably need after a hard day at work dealing with those scumbag customers!

Stay as sane as you can buddies and remember when you do have a bad day share it here with the world! Because as they say "A problem shared is a problem everyone else can have a good old laugh about!!!"

Be well and all that jazz,

********

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 12:21 PM

25th July 2007

Reginald,

It is my hope that all traces of work from cs have now been removed from **********.

If you should find any still there please contact me as it should be apparent by now that I am attempting to undo the wrongs of the past on my part.

If you find anything of concern please bring it to my attention and I'll deal with it in a timely fashion.

That said, I would like to offer once again my apologies for my behaviour and actions and though in the grand scheme of things it was a small slight and no one died as a result of it I would however like you to know one thing...

Doing what I did saved my life.

You may choose to disbelieve such a statement but it is nonetheless true.

So for that reason Raps I offer you and yours my much belated, but sincerest of thanks. You saved me.

If I don't hear from you regarding any problems you may find then I shall consider this my last attempt to contact you about any of this (for a while.)

The reasons I initially contacted you in this fashion and at this time (while undoubtedly necessary) have altered somewhat. So the very things I had hoped to discuss with you are not after all as pressing as they once were (and would in all likelihood have fallen on deaf ears rightly so due to my actions.)

Still I am in truth thankful that this has at last been brought to light and righted (in as much as it can be.)

I would like to contact you again in a year or so to discuss my original plans and intentions (further to those already discussed with Ree, should she wish to make you aware of them, assuming that she has not done so already as the option was hers.)

I would like though to offer one small thing in recompense for my actions if you will allow me to and consent to such...

I would like to feature a link to www.customerssuck.com on the main page of ********.

And should anyone wish to write an article about customers suck I would feature it on the site.

These are small and possibly (from your vantage point of already having a flourishing community) unnecessary offers to be making at such a stage but I make them nonetheless and will honour them should you wish to take me up on them.

If I don't hear from you regarding any of this then I will consider all dealt with.

I thank you Rapscallion for all that you have done and (in part) inspired me to attempt. Even if this comes to nought I would not be here but for it. So I cannot in truth wholely regret my actions wrong though they were.

In life occasionally there are instances when a greater good can come from a lesser ill. It is my hope that in time you will see this as just such an occasion.

Time will tell, as it is often want to do in these matters.

Be well and I wish you and your associates at customersuck.com the very, very best.

*********

Talk. Keep it short. I was at work at six this morning, and I only just got home.

I want to hear what you have to say. I don't want reams of apologies. I don't want my eyes to glaze over as you waffle on.

Facts, **********. I want facts. What do you propose?

Rapscallion

Didn't take too long for a reply.

Well for now Reg, nothing. nada. zilch.

First I want to see if there's any merit to what I'm planning. If there is then I'll be in touch again in 6 months or so. As I said the timing for a few things in play has changed.

Until then I would simply like the opportunity to try out a few things and see if they work without hindrance.

I can appreciate you're a busy man so I'll let you get on.

If things go to plan I'll be in touch again at some point and throw a few ideas your way.

Keep up the good work,

***************

(Incidentally it's *** to my friends, only my mother calls me ***** any more!

)

A waste of time or still some amusement?

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 12:29 PM

26th July 2007

Myspace got spammed.

From: **********
Date: 25 Jul 2007 19:51
Subject: Want to win $100 bucks???
Body:

Hey you heathens hope all's going well in Retailia and the customers aren't treating you too bad.

Just a quickie to say make sure that you join the ********** Myspace Group and invite some friends if you want to be in with a chance of winning $100 bucks.

Yes that's right folks there's going to be a contest running soon to win $100 to spend on shoes/sweeties or whatever floats your lil' boat!

Details of the contest will be announced on the 30th.

So watch out for the group bulletin!!!!

And make sure you check the group page!!!!

JOIN GROUP HERE!!!

Now get back to work you bunch of slackers!!!

Since I have a soft heart, I sent him some advice.

Some thoughts.

Why did you ever think that ripping off someone else's material and copying it wholesale (save for minor alterations) was a good idea? That's grim enough, and by itself probably wouldn't be noticed, but then you decide to try and enter a business relationship with them. That's the equivalent of robbing a bank and then going into the same branch the next day to put the money in your account.

What was your reasoning?

Did you perhaps think that people would be able to decamp from CS.com and easily slip into *********? Hey, same skin and so many similarities, right? Just the ad revenue for you to dole out.

Wake-up call - the adverts don't generate the big bucks these days. That bubble burst some time ago. Sure, they help, but they're no longer as useful as they once were. I don't bother with adverts - it turns people off.

Maybe you thought you'd like to rule over a community? Time for a reality check - it's sodding hard work. The team at CS.com do the job because the community needs to exist. If any of the moderators were doing it for power, they wouldn't be a moderator. How many of your moderators have any experience in managing people?

That's another thing - you refer to the members of CS.com as many potential spammers. Do you really think that I'd encourage them to swarm onto your board and troll it? I have a rule specifically in place to stop people doing that in the name of CS.com - you'd know that if you'd read what you copied. The fact remains that you don't actually have any empathy with the members. You think of them as potential spammers, not as people.

You keep defining yourself as ruler of hell. You may claim to have your tongue in your cheek as you type, but I'm not so sure. You want people to come and be minions. Just what are you going to command them to do? That's the purpose of minions. CS? We've got a community. Learn the difference.

Maybe I'm mistaken and you just want the adulation. That can only be earned, yet your bulletins are offering money to people for coming to your site. That's bribery, and that only lasts as long as the money holds out.

Perhaps you want a bigger community than CS.com. It's not a contest. I run the place because it's the right thing to do, not to piss on my neighbour's lawn.

I can see no virtue in your contact, either. First of all, you come along and try to engage in a business deal with someone who isn't bothered on the financial side of things. You use overly flowery language - I understand all you have to say, but you read like a 419er and seem not to understand that it's far easier to understand plain language. Your apologies are overwrought and convoluted, as are the rest of your messages, and quite frankly my eyes glazed over as I waited for you to get to the point. When I finally asked what it is you've been offering for so long, you backed out, waving as you went, saying that you'd be back in six months or so.

I doubt you'll understand or appreciate any of these comments, and I could quite easily go into further specifics, but I'm to bed shortly. I don't know what you're planning, ******, but I have serious misgivings about any chance you have of succeeding.

Rapscallion

His response, a day later, was to add a chat section. By now he was up to 33 members, one of them being Ree and three of them being him and his admins/moderators from before.

His response:

Thanks. Noted.

All the best. Speak to you another time.

P.s I don't doubt your sincerity but you don't know me or what I'm planning to do with **********.

Delusions of grandeur notwithstanding ******* a character, a necessary evil if you will for reasons you may come to understand in time.

As to C.S members spamming my board I meant that partly in jest though I note you imply such actions might be undertaken towards someone who had joined your board to spam.

As for everything else time will tell.

Maybe you'll change your opinion and regard for me over time? Maybe not.

Still it's a big wide world and stranger things have happened as they say.

As for flowery language for a gay frustrated tortured artistic poetic wannabe I think I've shown pretty good restraint thus far (you should really have seen the first few draughts of some of those messages!)

Be well and keep up the good work.

All the best and all that jazz,

*** (seriously Reginald only my mother calls me ******!)

My response:

Looks to me like you intended to profit from the member base on cs.com.

[deleted a quote of his poetic inclinations]

Oh dear. Let me guess, free verse? If so, just remember that if it doesn't rhyme or scan, it's not poetry.

Gay, frustrated, tortured, poetic - all in one package. Teenager, by any chance? Just a hint, you're not a unique snowflake unless you create your own mould. The more moulds you take on, the more limited you are. Gay - nothing you can do anything about. The rest you can grow out of.

Rapscallion

Looks can be deceiving!

When you've cooled off a little and when (or indeed even if) there's a slightly bigger user base on the ********** forum I'll get in touch and you may just be surprised as to my reasoning behind choosing the design.

Feel free to judge me when you get to know me a little better.

As for my poetry I won't bore you with it but I'm completely with you all the way on that free verse hippy shit my friend!

Still another time maybe!

Be in touch as and when...?

Be well buddy I knew I'd like you.

***...

P.S

Cheers for the card dude you rock. I love getting random fun posted to me! More badges please.

Though on a serious note... Nicely done that man!

P.P.S

A teen? Ah if only! Those were the days, I almost remember them well.

Looks like the card got there.

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 12:31 PM

1st August 2007

He posted a large apology on his Myspace account. Apparently he'd received 300 complaints about spamming. The 'explanation' was that he'd talked a chum of his to help on Myspace and she didn't stop.

I checked his membership numbers. He didn't get anyone signing up from this.

Rapscallion

**Rapscallion** · 03-13-2009, 12:42 PM

25th August 2007

Ree received a message.

What do you suggest I do about the attempts by some members of cs to sabotage the small amount adsense revenue I'm making from *****?

I've been storing the i.p addresses for a while and I've sorted it out with google but it's a bit miffing to be honest. Not sure if it's worth telling Raps about it since he didn't seem to wish to start any trouble when I last spoke to him.

Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

Admitedlly my cousin did try to convince me to limit your access to the site after these attacks but the way I see it I can understand why some folks were pissed at me and no one died and minimal damage was done and really it's just more of an annoyance at this point.

Some hacker friends of mine wanted to avenge me but seriously I didn't want to take them up on the offers as that's just adding insult to injury and as far as I'm concerned completely uncalled for.

A few of the I.P addresses are as follows:

**************************IP addies deleted

A few of the interesting things I noted were that all that attacks were made at night by people repeatedly clicking the ads and only on the main page (where I can only assume they didn't know I have software installed on the site to catalogue peoples I.P addresses and that most of the I.P addresses were registered to computers in the States.)

Anywho like I say "Bygones"

thanks for the help but really don't kick up a fuss or anything, I understand people are peeved and hope in time that people will see what I do with the revenue from the site and be assuaged from making further attempts in this vein. Also at some point I do intend to contact Raps again and make my intentinos clear when the time is right.

All the best,

******

We'd not even mentioned his place publicly. He was eventually happy that we hadn't had a part in this.

Things from here got far slower. He did actually pay the first two or three best posters on his site. He then started a similarly priced contest based on the warning sign generator, and I assume he paid out on those.

We kept going back to his site when we could be bothered, and he did try to resurrect it in March 2008. He also included what appeared to be the idea of the CS glossary Ree began a while back, but there was a problem. He hadn't updated the board software, and it had either crashed or been hacked. Clicking on a link raised just gibberish.

I checked the site earlier this week. The domain registration has ended and the site is gone, so we're putting this up as a tale of what sometimes goes on behind the scenes.

Rapscallion

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Well F*ck

Well F*ck

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