JohnG

Guys, I am really sorry. Most of all to Trailboss, but to all of you as well. I have always been a prankster, but yesterday I let one go too far. I set up fake id's on Klink's new site. It went to far and resulted in him shutting down his site. I am ashamed and I have posted threads in all the forums in General Discussion. I expect I will be banned soon. So it was great knowing you guys and I hope you know that I am not all bad. I will miss you all. I mean it. I did a bad thing - I thought it was funny but I think it really hurt Klink. Greg and the other guys, please don't give up on the RWG1... Alpha and Greg can get it going. Greg I am pm'ing you the info I have for JB. Later guys.

I don't even know how to begin this post so I guess I will just say it. I am the person who created the "ghost" members at Klink's new site, RC. Specifically, FakeMaster, LegendofSpeed, Daytona4me, Sub4me, By-Tor, Anubis, and Piratedzeus. At the time I was doing this, it seemed funny. Now I am deeply ashamed of my behavior. I had had a very brief and unpleasant interaction with Klink on RWI when I was a new arrival. I have become aware over time of some of the shenanigans that Klink engaged in himself when he was a member with considerable responsibility at RWI. So two days ago when I saw the thread started at RWGjr in which he used a membership created in Cybee's name to post, I became curious about the site and joined. I quickly realized that the vast majority of the content at the site had been copied without permission. Somehow in my own mind I used this fact and my own over all impression of Klink to rationalize doing a prank. So I created the fictional Fakemaster personality, posting some of his content to RC, and generally interacting with the site as I thought Fakemaster might. What seemed incredible to me was that when Klink found out that Fakemaster had denied posting on his site, Klink assumed it was a plot to sabotage the site. And those outside the site, almost to a person, assumed Klink was the author of the fake Fakemaster personality. My prank, in my mind, had been a bigger success than I could have imagined. At this point I lost control over what might have been funny if I had come clean at that time. Yesterday I created the remaining ghosts - and I found the resulting confusion and accusations and counter accusations entertaining, for the simple reason that Klink's own past conduct had created a situation in which both he suspected many different people of sabotaging him and those same people by and large suspected him of playing strange games on his own site. I made my puppets speak as I thought their genuine counterparts might in reality by sampling some of their posts to get a sense of their posting style. I had Fakemaster post useful information and admiration for the site, LOS express disappointment in the use of content without permission and the ghosting of members, Daytona4me back up LOS, By-Tor ask for his content to be taken down, and Sub4me be generally raucous. As I sit here and type this I am ashamed to admit that at this hour yesterday I was watching with great amusement as Klink ran around accusing most of these individuals of being spiteful or ungrateful, or both. I never once stopped to consider what lasting damage this might actually have to existing relationships within the entire replica community. I never stopped and thought about the considerable time and effort that Klink must have put into creating his site. Or the joy and pride that it must have given him. Last night before the last of my id's was shut down at RC, I saw a post by Trailboss (who I don't know if I will ever be able to face again, given that he has always been a friend but I feigned ignorance to him about what was happening), replying to a noob question, "Who is Klink." In this reply, among other things, Trailboss posted a picture of Klink. For the first time I saw him as a human being. Undoubtedly a human being with many flaws, much like myself, but a person deserving of a level of respect far above what I was showing him. At this point, my "prank" ceased to be fun. And I looked at the threads running in three forums in a different light. How could the prank be undone? Why hadn't I stopped earlier? Later I read that Klink has been battling cancer and speculation that his mind may have been affected by affected by his treatment. Someone described the sadness of a lonely sick person just trying to hang onto his hobby. At this point I began to feel like a monster. And this morning I awoke to find that the site has been taken down. I do not know what punishment I deserve but I am sure that it is greater than anything that anyone here can mete out. I deserve and fully expect to be banned from all of the forums. Nevertheless, I want the truth to be known. And I want to apologize to everyone. Members whose time I have wasted, the friends who I have disappointed and trust betrayed, the members whose names I appropriated for my own sick fun, and most of all, to Phil. I am so sorry. I read at one of the forums that someone has phone contact with him. Perhaps there are more that can reach him. Please communicate to him the truth and encourage him to put the site back up. If I were to be the cause of the destruction of this person's only joy, I don't know how I could bear it. I myself am a sick person as is clear from my conduct. But I have no excuse, no justification, no right to behave as I have. To FakeMaster, LegendofSpeed, Daytona4me, Sub4me, By-Tor, Anubis, and Piratedzeus... and all the other people I have been mean to in the past, and to the friends here whose respect I will now have deservedly lost, and most of all to Klink himself, please know that I am deeply, deeply, sorry. JohnG

I posted over there after I saw By-Tor asked to have his stuff removed (I guess Klink just copied posts and reviews, tutorials, etc. from all the forums without permission), and Klink is REFUSING. He says because he can find it on Google, he doesn't have to take it down.

Dexter = ?

Guys, had a big day today, got back late from Oviedo, talked to Neil on Skype (he is sending me a new GMTIIc and we had a nice conversation about rep forums in general), and I am tired so I am leaving calling JB until tomorrow. I am going to have some dinner, watch an episode of The Unit and post a little... fun tonight, call tomorrow, kay? I will be around tonight for a bit...

:lol:

Speaking of which, it looks like Fakemaster is a member there! Weren't those guys fueding? I lost track of all the intrigue but I thought they hated each other... or was that someone else?

I wonder what the REAL story behind that pic is. I'll be it is a good one. I will call the number I think is for JB's work this afternoon. I think most of would like to get the database - there is good info there, lots of history, OUR history, and it is our home. As much as I like the other forums, that one is the only one I have ever felt truly at home in. Will let you guys know how the call goes...

We'll talk more tomorrow. I am off to bed guys! Sleep tight!

Neither is property. Pardon me, but this is completely inaccurate. There is ZERO evidence that the framers intended for blacks to vote. In fact, the evidence is overwhelmingly to the CONTRARY. THAT is why the Constitution had to be amended - not to "clarify" its meaning, but to change its meaning. Whatever the defeat of Prop 8 is, it isn't an ATROCITY. I believe it to be an injustice, but it is no atrocity. Let's not be hysterical.

Just FYI guys... rights are whatever the state says they are. We are talking legal rights here (not abstract "divine rights" which you could argue about for the next century and not arrive at a satisfactory definition of). If prop 8 had been defeated, same-sex marriage WOULD be a right in the state of California. The state is not permitted to arbitrarily deny marriage to a heterosexual couple. With a few very limited exceptions (close relatives, minor/adult, etc...) a marriage license is an entitlement granted by the state, and therefore a RIGHT. At the moment, it is not a right for homosexuals, but one for which they are fighting.

So what you are saying is, until people recognize that you are right about everything above, there can be no civilized discussion. Nonsense. There already is a civilized discussion here. I am engaging in it. So is Doc. So are others. Why don't you and Downtown go start your own thread - you two were made for each other.

Omega Aqua Terra Chrono - sexiest watch not currently repped... If you can't get laid with THIS watch, you are a loser!

Yup. RWGjr is doing just fine. And it is a much better forum if you want hardcore technical info. The franken projects being done here are far beyond anything I see being done at any of the other forums...

Nope - that's exactly how it goes down.

Well let's see if Demsey is willing to make contact with either JB or Blade (being the person they know best), and if not, I will try the number I have (which is different than the one posted before - it is a business phone I believe).

Jesus, use some [censored] common sense. I pm'd Nanuq and asked him to edit - he logged in...

Finally, some honesty.

ummm... precious time and narikaa DON'T dropship. Are you confused about that? Puretime and Precious time are two different dealers... Is that what you meant - you thought we were contradicting each other?

Oh don't pretend like you don't miss it too... Just think, you could have your old post count back...

Cool. I have found what I think is JB's contact info but am going to wait until I hear from Demsey. As Demsey knows these guys better than I do I would rather he contact them on our behalf, but if necessary I can try the number I have for him. He knows me well enough I don't think he would be upset by a call from me. If Blade is willing to transfer the domain name that would be preferable I would think - to maintain continuity. Also, if the database transfer would take time, I myself would be willing to wait however long it takes. I don't know about others, but I could be very patient if I knew that we had control of the database and that we would get it up and running eventually. I am in no hurry, I would just like to know it will not be lost for all time. Otherwise, it is just another new forum, but un-moderated. I am kind of sentimental I guess - hell, I would even prefer to keep the logo the same - and that recycle symbol would make more sense now that ever...

Well he can at least contact Blade, which is more than we here can do...

It is becoming increasingly clear that RWG1 is not coming back up. It has been suggested several times that we make an effort to retrieve the database and start the forum back up. I am inclined to agree. There is a lot of historical interest on the site and I like its particular chaotic un-moderated style. I don't want to start a new forum. I want the old forum. Demsey posted this recently over at RWS: I am hoping that if he can contact "the source" - either JB or Blade, and communicate our interest in recovering the database and restoring the site. I think it would be rather easy to transfer the account to another owner and I would be happy to organize a transfer either to my own name or to any other member who wants to take over that responsibility. I might also be willing to front the money to get new software up and running and perhaps greater bandwidth if that is what is necessary. I don't want to spend much of my own money on this but I have no doubt that enough members would be willing to help out that we could keep it afloat easily. How much can it cost? Greg, if you have any idea please chime in. I would want the forum to stay the same - un-moderated and open to all ideas, intelligent, silly, immature, thoughtful, contentious, or otherwise. Anyway, the big question now is, Demsey, can you help us contact JB or Blade, and of course, there needs to be some kind of consensus that enough people want to do this we also need to have some idea of what the minimum costs would be... Comment away...

I used my same username, but I used a random password, a throw-away email (though the site doesn't require activation of membership so any false email would word), and an incorrect b-day. But yes, people should be careful - would be an easy way to hijack accounts on other sites...