looking back over the thread i see the words 'shock', 'betrayal', 'dishonesty' undeniably appearing. however, for those who reached out to help a fellow rhper, there can be nothing but honor.
phlabs, phisherman, sirlosealot, fulcherjl, royalchicken and all the others - your concern was real. your kindness was sincere and your friendship was genuine.
anyone can be easily 'fooled' on the internet - it isn't hard to do.
however, no amount of deception can even slightly diminish the beautiful spirit you all demonstrate. how fortunate to be part of rhp when it is permeated by the likes of you!
in friendship,
prad
Originally posted by pradtfThanks, but I still feel like a fool.
looking back over the thread i see the words 'shock', 'betrayal', 'dishonesty' undeniably appearing. however, for those who reached out to help a fellow rhper, there can be nothing but honor.
phlabs, phisherman, sirlosealot, fulcherjl, royalchicken and all the others - your concern was real. your kindness was sincere and your friendship was genuine. ...[text shortened]... ow fortunate to be part of rhp when it is permeated by the likes of you!
in friendship,
prad
Originally posted by royalchickenWe all bought into to it RC. But I do not think you, or anyone else should label yourselves foolish on account of trusting someone, and getting duped. Our culprit seemed so genuine on many levels. All of his/her personalities were believable, at least the ones that I dealt with. Big Melon seemed a little over the top, but I never really dealt with "her".
Thanks, but I still feel like a fool.
Thanks for the kind words Pradtf. I count you in that list of the genuine.
Still trusting,
Jonathan
Originally posted by fulcherjlZack wasn't also Jake the snake was he? I had him asking me to sponsor him.
We all bought into to it RC. But I do not think you, or anyone else should label yourselves foolish on account of trusting someone, and getting duped. Our culprit seemed so genuine on many levels. All of his/her personalities were believable, at least the ones that I dealt with. Big Melon seemed a little over the top, but I never really dealt with "he ...[text shortened]... nd words Pradtf. I count you in that list of the genuine.
Still trusting,
Jonathan
Time for my two cents. First off, all I can say is wow. I read this thread in disbelief. I'm confused at why you would need more then one star. It's not like he was using the names to play himself and bump up his rating.
Obviously there is a bigger issue here. Unless he is just a kid having fun at the expense of others, there is something going on behind the scenes in real life that taking on other personalities in a virtual community is another world in which he can escape in. I don't think zack is a bad person, so I'm guessing it's something else For instance, remember the "I'm leaving" thread? I think that was a call out for attention more then it was a goodbye. We don't know what has gone on in his life (he might have told some of you, but now how do you believe anything), so don't be too harsh to judgment of the kind of person he is. At the same point, trust is easily given, but once it is lost, its one of the hardest thing to earn back.
I think it's important to remember, that while you do have your share of non genuine people on this site, as well as everywhere else in the world, to let one or two incidents make you fearful of being friendly with people would be sad. I myself haven't taken too much time to get to know people personally on this site (outside my clan and a few others), but most people are fun and interesting and nice. Oh yah, there are a few disagreements now and again about this and that, but that is just people being people.
I think a few things do need to happen though. I think the sponsored star should go away. If you have internet access and you can't come up with 15$ a year, then you obviously don't care enough about this community to make it worth somebody else paying for you. I think if Russ had some sort of work for a star program for people that can help him out in other ways (moderators maybe, or code monkeys, or anything that somebody could contribute), then that would be ok.
I also think, that while there may be other issues involved, something stronger then a stern warning is in order. I feel that zack should be striped of his star for a month or so, and also I feel as though he should have to hand over the the fun clan "clan leader" and shouldn't be the leader of a clan for at least six months to a year. I think limiting his games would still allow him to be a part of the community, and maybe even more important, it seems like he needs to spend time away from the site to get some personal things straightened out anyway. As a member I'm not calling for this, but I feel like as a paying member, my voice should be heard. Also, I think that if there is a repeat of this behavior, lifetime banning isn't too harsh.
I'd also like to say that Russ, you've done a wonderful job at this site, and I'm sorry you have to be put in a situation like this.
~jason
Originally posted by RussRuss,
Just to rub salt in the wounds.
zach918 did confesss, which was great, but it wasn't that the guilt got too much for him - I had do confront him about it. It seemed a bit odd, as he is such a well established and liked player here - but there was evidence.
I was aware of a Zach/Miss Hope connection - but after hearing that 'Miss Hope' was tragically ...[text shortened]... uff like this (rare) the moment I suspect - rather than waiting for it to escalate.
-Russ
You do a great job on this site and I know this has hit you hard. I support you and your efforts 100%. Though I am trying to be a friend to Zach, I cannot condone his actions. You have shown great patience in all of this and I hope this situation doesn't discourage you too much.
This community will continue to thrive and it is because of your efforts and hard work along with Chris' as well as the many faithful members here. We are all in this together and together we will see this through. From reading this thread I see a great community which though upset with what has happened is willing to stand together and make this place better and stronger.
I hope we can help Zach, but that will be up to him. I am not a great contributor to the Forums or the site, but I do my best and help where I can. I appreciate everyone's efforts and though I was drawn here because of the opportunity to play chess, I have remained because of the leadership and the great individuals who play here and make it a great place to be.
Doug
All I can say after reading the posts is "wow". I hope most people out there come to RHP to play chess and meet people from around the world. I really have enjoyed this. I cant imagine trying to manage more than one membership (ID).....heck for all of you who are playing 50+ games at a time, dont even see how to manage that!! So lets play chess!! BTW ...... Go White Hats!
I remember being worried about Miss Hope when "her" clan became Really Lost. It seemed like a cry for help. When I found out Zach was Miss Hope, my concern transferred to him. You folks, especially those close to Zach and/or the alternate identities, have every reason to be angry and I don't condemn that in the slightest. I still worry about him. This is not the type of thing someone does just for fun. I don't know all the stories, I haven't been on RHP long. I just wanted to tell you folks that Zach told me he's leaving RHP. He brought this mess on himself, so I'm not saying this to make anyone feel guilty. Again, you are all quite justified in your anger and sadness. And I know we can't be 100% sure that he won't be around in yet another personality. He wanted to let everyone figure out he'd left on their own, and I hope he doesn't mind my ruining the "surprise," but I just thought you guys all should be told straight. I want to assure everyone that I am not in fact another Zach (and I'm not saying this to be funny). I know it seems strange that he would tell me, a near-stranger, of his leaving (he told one other person, too), but he did and I just thought it would be better for the sake of closure to let everyone know.
This site is great. This community is great. I've got some genuine friends here. Who knows? Maybe I have some fake friends, too. Maybe I don't know which are which. Maybe they're all fake (I doubt that highly). I'll take the risk, because my genuine friends are worth it. I'll take the risk and try to make some more friends, too.
-Larry
Originally posted by huntingbearI hope that Zach will keep in touch with some here so that he can be helped. I was hoping he wouldn't go.
I remember being worried about Miss Hope when "her" clan became Really Lost. It seemed like a cry for help. When I found out Zach was Miss Hope, my concern transferred to him. You folks, especially those close to Zach and/or the alternate identities, have every reason to be angry and I don't condemn that in the slightest. I still worry about him. This ...[text shortened]... uine friends are worth it. I'll take the risk and try to make some more friends, too.
-Larry
Doug
Originally posted by bbarrCada uno puede traducir el inglés a español y visado versa. Ruso, italiano, alemán o cualquier otra lengua realmente.
So are we expected to assume that Zach, the 14 yr. old from Oklahoma, is also fluent in spanish? Go read earthboy's posts. Either "Zach" is just another fake identity, or their are others here who were perpetuating this deception.
IMTranslate="Each one can translate English to Spanish and visa versa. Russian, Italian, German or any other language really."
You don't need to know a language to type it. I did this with an IE plug in that I use for my employment occasionally.
I would suggest to learn from your experiences and go on. I too got close to Zach, but I will not let it effect me in a negative manner. Some of you obviously feel embarrassed by this with good reason, but don't let it effect who you really are or your intentions of why you are here. Each one originally came here most likely because of the chess, then they got wrapped up in the forums, then the clans and tournaments started and everything started snowballing into a community that we know today. In every community there is the positive and the negative, the good and the bad. In this case an alter ego who's intent seems to be unclear. But we need to push forward and advance rather than be suspicious of how many others maybe doing this. We need to be proactive to problems rather than being reactive. One suggestion would be to label each multiple user IDs to that computer and place it in the profile and "yes" it can be done. I don't know how its done, but I would gladly give Russ or Chris links to other chess sites that employ it. At least we would have known that Zach, Melon and earthboy were from the same computer.
Regards,
-Bob
Originally posted by trekkieIf i'm not mistaken, Zach also had a thread titled "I'm leaving" or something of the sort
Actually Zach had no part in the "I'm leaving thread", it was chewie who said he was leaving.
BTW, Zach's name is spelt with a h not a k
-Tim
**EDIT**
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?id=6936&page=1
Originally posted by TimmyToiletSorry Tim, i was just about to post the same link. That thread is currently on page 6 of the forums. I missed it when i first scanned the general forum pages.
If i'm not mistaken, Zac[b]h also had a thread titled "I'm leaving" or something of the sort
-Tim
**EDIT**
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?id=6936&page=1[/b]
I stand corrected.
thanks Tim