UPDATE: Penny Arcade Smacks Down Shady PR Dude
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No, he's not a blameless victim, and him losing his job and the article being on the internet for why he's lost his job are enough.Avatar Roku said:
He'll be hard pressed to find another worthwhile job. His reference will be bitter and his resume will have to answer why he got fired.
To that - fair enough.
But further unearthing these other things he has done, review bombing his products, sending him angry emails... I don't think these are fair actions. I think the mob mentality should be stopped before it gets to the dangerous levels where he becomes in personal danger. These things always escalate and every person clamouring in supporting them is egging the mob on to do more and more horrific things.
He's not a nice guy, but he's still a person, just because he's a jackass doesn't mean we should destroy his life.
It is not "won't someone think of the children".The_root_of_all_evil said:
I was using the example to explain my point. We teach children to not even seek an eye for an eye (to do no more injustice than was done to you), but to turn the other cheek.
Getting caught up in a crazy mob mentality that has a vindictive goal is not acceptable. The guy being a jackass doesn't make destroying his life any less of a vindictive goal.
I've been in the situation of doing vindictive things to bad people, and it just doesn't make it right. If you look in the cold light of day at a man you have broken, it just feels wrong. (My goddamn avatar is still fucking alex from a clockwork orange. Note to self - change that.)
David Kotkin - who runs a seperate business with Paul, and chose him to be his marketing director, has undeniably done good in creating this controller for disabled children, but I fail to see how this has relevance to what I am saying.
I am calling for people to stop baying for blood, to stop clamouring for this guy's life to be ruined. I seek not the heavy handed intervention that SOPA would bring.
I simply wish people to take a step back, think about what they are doing to the man, and question whether it is the right thing to do, or if all they are doing is heaping more and more pain upon someone who has clearly already suffered more than their fair share for his transgressions.
I regret ignoring this news telling myself "I'll check it out later". Its surprising how troll age group extends to people in their 30's and 40's. His undeserved ego is a comedy gold.
lol. He's a Celtics fan.
I mean... on company twitter?? BAD BAD!
TheGuy(wantstobe) said:Other things that he's done:vansau said:
His website has been stolen from various others
The about us [http://www.oceanmarketinginc.com/Aboutus.php] page came from here [http://www.seop.com/about-seop/]
The services [http://oceanmarketinginc.com/services.php] page from here [http://www.virtualsocialmedia.com/social-media-marketing-optimization-services/]
The Social networking [http://oceanmarketinginc.com/Socialnetworking.php] page from here [http://www.virtualsocialmedia.com/social-media-a-la-carte-services/social-networking-management-services/]
The search engine optimisation page [http://oceanmarketinginc.com/Search-Engine-Optimization.php] from here [http://www.whiteinkstudio.com/orange_county_seo.shtml]
Openly posted links to pirated cds using the company twitter
Lots more in the thread in gaming.
I mean... on company twitter?? BAD BAD!
In this case you've got the right guy, but when information on a different Paul Christoforo is raised and more charges are brought against the man, you can never have the full information.FelixG said:
The court case evidence (that I have seen) holds only two names, far from definitive proof. Whilst he posted about steroids - there is no way of telling if or not he was taking them legally - I have been prescribed steroids to deal with an illness that causes "miserable life conditions"
Most of the other complaints deal with the guy being a jackass, being a bit lazy or downloading a couple of albums, these are not appropriate reasons for persecution!
I do not shed a tear for him, but for the way I see everyone around me acting.
For the people acting as if the combined efforts of everyone involved in trying to destroy this man's life was a noble cause.
This is the way society works, for good or ill. The internet certainly isn't alone in this. I'd say the internet is far more lenient than past societies have been - at least the guy isn't being pelted with rotten vegetables, run out of town or even assaulted or hanged. It's just humiliation and harassment, which will go away when folks get bored of him - which will be soon enough. The community will soon forget about him, and he'll have learned a valuable lesson. Oh, will he learn.Flying Dagger said:
If you're looking over the top of bodies he has broken, it smells of justice.
That, my friend, is why you fail. Look at the evidence before making judgment.
I did also state in another post that the legal system was far from perfect.The_root_of_all_evil said:
However bringing this up adds absolutely nothing to the argument. The comparison of a law that involved the removing of people from places they were unauthorised to be (to shepherd them to places there were allowed to be) has little or not relevance to cases of drug abuse or domestic violence where the resolving of such issues is far better left to the police than to the rabid fury of the internet.
For good or ill? Certainly for ill. And if something is wrong - it should be changed.Moosejaw said:
In a months time when he's looking for a job will not the antics of the internet still be abound?
Or how about in six months, when his wife has left him, taken the kids and he still can't find a job?
Or then twelve months, when, feeling a complete failure, destitute and alone, decides to take his own life?
How far do you believe he deserves to be pushed?
How much does he deserve to be put through?
Uhm.... quite frankly, yes it does. You're usually not able to do it, but if this makes the next jackass stop and think, hey, if I do this jackass thing I usually do, my life may get ruined like that jackass before me, it's absolutely worth it.Flying Dagger said:
SOPA wouldn't have squat to do with this.
And no, the guy hasn't suffered for his fair share of transgressions. His "apology" only came about when he realized he actually stepped on someone's toes. And, frankly, I wouldn't believe an actual apology from him the same way no one trusts any public apology from public figures who get their hand caught in the cookie jar.
I really do have to wonder why some folks are trying to White Knight on the guy's side. Rather peculiar.
I'm just going to have to disagree.Cenzton said:
I don't believe being a bit of a loudmouth deserves this sort of punishment.
I don't see destroying his life as something noble or worthwhile.
Sorry.
I'm also not "white knighting" for the hell of it.
It just scares me the way people act in a mob.
Ah. The sweet sweet smell of justice. Let the smouldering ruins of his life serve as a warning to those who would do wrong.
I really can't see this as vigilantism in the strictest sense - Paul was given the opportunity to deal with it at an early stage, before it all went public and instead of handling things professionally he essentially dared Gabe to post on PA.
My bet is that he simply didn't believe Mike was Gabe and that his bluffing and bullying would work (it certainly gets you a fair distance until you meet someone who has the time, energy or real credentials to call you on it).
As it happens he finally tripped over someone who called his bluff, and in doing so his whole tawdry history of virtually identical poor customer service/PR came to light.
He basically walked right out in front of the Internet Gaming Community and said "come on then, I'll take you all on!"
I've not ruled out that he didn't know how big PA actually was (I know he said he loved it, but I'm not sure I believe anything he wrote) and that he thought "some no name guy called Mike" would whine on his "insignificant blog" and that he would pump some more iron in victory while chugging down some more steroids.
It reminds me of the Cooks Source debacle, where the editor really didn't know who she was dealing with - assuming it was some no-name blogger, when in reality she was messing with an Internet Blog Celebrity and that many, many people would pick it up an run with it.
My bet is that he simply didn't believe Mike was Gabe and that his bluffing and bullying would work (it certainly gets you a fair distance until you meet someone who has the time, energy or real credentials to call you on it).
As it happens he finally tripped over someone who called his bluff, and in doing so his whole tawdry history of virtually identical poor customer service/PR came to light.
He basically walked right out in front of the Internet Gaming Community and said "come on then, I'll take you all on!"
I've not ruled out that he didn't know how big PA actually was (I know he said he loved it, but I'm not sure I believe anything he wrote) and that he thought "some no name guy called Mike" would whine on his "insignificant blog" and that he would pump some more iron in victory while chugging down some more steroids.
It reminds me of the Cooks Source debacle, where the editor really didn't know who she was dealing with - assuming it was some no-name blogger, when in reality she was messing with an Internet Blog Celebrity and that many, many people would pick it up an run with it.
Trolling much?saruman31 said:
OT: I think I agree with Dagger on this one. We, the internet, have essentially burned his house to the ground and ruined his life because he was a dick. I have very little sympathy for the man, but if he does end up taking his life because of this, the blood is on our hands.
What makes me sad is the poor guys who made this controller are going to be really effected by this. And by what I've read it's actually a fantastic piece of equipment.
There's no need for the low rating on the product on Amazon and places, just because of this one arsehole.
There's no need for the low rating on the product on Amazon and places, just because of this one arsehole.
It makes me angry that people are giving one star reviews and a rant on how bad the company's PR is on amazon. This product is going to fail because an employee at a PR firm that was hired by the company that makes the controller add on sent out some nasty e-mails. Talk about secondary liability. I guess one person really can make all the difference. Way to kick the biggest hornet's nest you could find, Paul. And in the words of the all powerful Yahtzee "Go team retard!"
I simply don't understand how he could claim himself to be the president of a company... multiple companies, even. If he were really the president of such a mighty group of people that should not be fought, then why in the hell is he himself dealing with small fry orders? You have people representing you if you are the head of such a mighty and awesome company, so it's not bloody likely this guy has anyone working for him.
Your definition of "loudmouth" is taking someone's money and telling them they are a dick for asking where their product is? Read the emails, not just these ones but the other documented ones between Paul and his customers. You don't get away with treating people like dirt and threatening people (re-read what he said to Mike Krahulik and tell me he's not calling some sort of faux-mafia connections on him).Flying Dagger said:
If he is able to pick himself up, rebuild a better reputation and act like a decent member of society, then i'm sure nobody would be hostile toward him. This isn't people being a "mob". It's calling someone on their bullshit.
Wow, this has gone really far compared to yesterday when I first read about this. At first I agreed but people are taking this way too far. Of course it's much easier to hate one little asshole and distract yourself from other much bigger and more important problems.
Of course this is the internet so you can't expect any less, since they're also all just normal people but with the additional help of anonymity.
I personally don't see how it's worth getting so worked up over one idiot's mistakes. Oh well, if you're unhappy with your life, hate some elses life and destroy it to feel an acomplishmend.
Of course this is the internet so you can't expect any less, since they're also all just normal people but with the additional help of anonymity.
I personally don't see how it's worth getting so worked up over one idiot's mistakes. Oh well, if you're unhappy with your life, hate some elses life and destroy it to feel an acomplishmend.