Having spoken to my attorneys today (not about the article, but about a link in the article which was the subject of a lawsuit), I have been advised to extract myself from this discussion.
I think all that needed to be said, has been. Time to move on.
I couldn't find the Tweet with your original image in it. I even searched topsy.com and didn't see it. I searched your Twitter feed and didn't see it either (e.g. in your media).
Which is why I indicated that it may have been lost/deleted when I blocked you because it no longer appeared in my feeds or yours. And again, I pointed those asking, to topsy and similar sites.
I see now why I couldn't find it. You had it on an external link and not on Twitter. Which explains why I couldn't find it. And since I no longer had your Tweet, I couldn't see that reference or I would have included it in my first missive of this morning. So thanks for clearing that up.
I wasn't prickly at all. As evidenced by my Tweets, I was puzzled by what you were asking me. Even when I saw your image, my Tweet - to you - clearly indicated that it was taken out of context. My follow-up Tweets and DM to you, specifically indicated that it was nonsense and that I didn't know what you were going on about.
Since the trolling situation was on-going, and having received Tweets from 2-3 of your followers, I didn't particular know wtf what going on. So I erred on the side of caution - and blocked everyone until I figure out wtf you were going on about.
I consider you - and Tim - to be credible people, so I don't expect that these events would be tainted (by either of you) or distorted just for fun or for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon. But since it's not the first time that someone would be sandbagged in an online campaign, I guess this sort of thing comes with the territory.
But all of this is besides the point John. Why? Because - despite what transpired - what I am being accused of is completely FALSE. If it were true, there would be no drama and nothing to defend against.
1) Nobody deleted valid posts
2) Nobody deleted valid posts about game reviews/opinions
3) Nobody threatened to sue anyone over reviews
That is pretty much the gist of it. Instead of reading all the resources, the lynch mob is just happy to have - yet another Internet target (famous or infamous depending on who you ask) to attack.
Yeah, they've all be deleted. Which, in and of itself, is the source of this angst - and confusion. :(
And in order to defend myself, when I said that I would take screen caps of - or restore - said deleted posts/threads - since the Steam forum system allows it, this is what happened next.
To just keep things quiet, I didn't do it. Though I had every single right to do it since it would simply have meant undeleting the posts.
In fact, it is our opinion that the opposition was because the guilty didn't want this to be revealed because I would be proven right.
I can prove - without a shadow of a doubt - that at NO time did we delete VALID posts (reviews or otherwise) which were in compliance with Steam's code of conduct; which you can see here in its entirety.
As I said before, while I'm not the poster child for good online behavior, what I am being accused of here is completely FALSE.
I can take the hits, but it needs to be fair. When you have an unfair fight, it's called bullying.
And when things go too far, that's when my bank a/c and attorneys get involved. And that's when people cry foul. And THAT is what I was explaining in this post which was completely and totally taken out of context. See paragraph six (6)
Cry me a river. I don't care about you enough to be concerned about whether or not you are being civil. The fact that I banned, then blocked you, should be a clear sign that I want nothing to do with you. Take a hint.
There is a reason that you were banned on the forums and my blocking you (and the rest of your quartet who are now here - doing the same thing). This would be it. And it's called HARASSMENT. Look it up.
And you don't have any of my games. People who own my games - let alone play them - have a lot more sense that you exhibited in your posts and here.
Well yeah, if there were dick jokes in the article, it would have probably put things into better context: another day on the glorious Internet
I disagree with your comments which clearly show either a lack of understanding or pure unadulterated and willful ignorance.
Especially when you consider that I backed everything I posted with links to original sourced material. Instead, all you did was use conjecture and misdirection to attack me.
That's cute.
And as someone who is published, maybe one day when someone actually writes a review of your books, then you will see what it's like when the shoe is on the other foot. It is always nice to be on the outside looking in.
But again, I have to repeat this here lest it get lost in translation, at no time do I threaten anyone with a lawsuit over any review. Period. End of story.
And again, the thread/post that started this crap, is here
Sorry, I don't know what you are going on about. I know how the law works and I didn't take any action against the SA review you are talking about.
And if you look at the timeline, that was so many years ago - through many changes to the law wrt online defamation, satire etc - that I have no idea why it is even a topic for discussion.
Also, anything left standing on the Steam forums, are neither abusive nor trolling. That's why they are up.
I have been doing this for 20+ years. I have shipped a total of 16 games. Not once have I sued or threatened to sue anyone over a review.
As I said on Twitter (see the link I posted), that is completely silly.
I still don't see how my missive could be taken out of context, though I do pride myself in my ability to articulate my thoughts. But as they say, if you look hard enough for something, you'll probably find it.
He started this whole thing about me violating Steam's conditions in this thread if I were to undelete posts/threads proving that a select few were violating the forum rules and trolling us.
I had NO idea - until it was pointed out to me today by someone - that the person in that thread and the author of this TechDirt article - were the same person. And now he has confirmed it himself.
So, not only did he FAIL to document - in his article - my side of the story - as EVERY reporter is obligate to - he was in collusion with Adam all along to do this to me - as a revenge piece.
Aside from that, he posted a link to a defamatory website which was taken down years ago (which is why it is no longer on Google or elsewhere) and he had to go and dig it up from the Internet wayback archives - where is should NOT exist either. But the attorneys are already on it and he has seen the email related to that.
He started this whole thing about me violating Steam's conditions in this thread if I were to undelete posts/threads proving that a select few were violating the forum rules and trolling us.
I had NO idea - until it was pointed out to me today by someone - that the person in that thread and the author of this TechDirt article - were the same person. And now he has confirmed it himself.
So, not only did he FAIL to document - in his article - my side of the story - as EVERY reporter is obligate to - he was in collusion with Adam all along to do this to me - as a revenge piece.
Aside from that, he posted a link to a defamatory website which was taken down years ago (which is why it is no longer on Google or elsewhere) and he had to go and dig it up from the Internet wayback archives - where is should NOT exist either. But the attorneys are already on it and he has seen the email related to that.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Tweet Detweeted
Having spoken to my attorneys today (not about the article, but about a link in the article which was the subject of a lawsuit), I have been advised to extract myself from this discussion.
I think all that needed to be said, has been. Time to move on.
Re: Re: Re: Tweet Detweeted
Adam,
I couldn't find the Tweet with your original image in it. I even searched topsy.com and didn't see it. I searched your Twitter feed and didn't see it either (e.g. in your media).
Which is why I indicated that it may have been lost/deleted when I blocked you because it no longer appeared in my feeds or yours. And again, I pointed those asking, to topsy and similar sites.
I see now why I couldn't find it. You had it on an external link and not on Twitter. Which explains why I couldn't find it. And since I no longer had your Tweet, I couldn't see that reference or I would have included it in my first missive of this morning. So thanks for clearing that up.
I wasn't prickly at all. As evidenced by my Tweets, I was puzzled by what you were asking me. Even when I saw your image, my Tweet - to you - clearly indicated that it was taken out of context. My follow-up Tweets and DM to you, specifically indicated that it was nonsense and that I didn't know what you were going on about.
Since the trolling situation was on-going, and having received Tweets from 2-3 of your followers, I didn't particular know wtf what going on. So I erred on the side of caution - and blocked everyone until I figure out wtf you were going on about.
I consider you - and Tim - to be credible people, so I don't expect that these events would be tainted (by either of you) or distorted just for fun or for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon. But since it's not the first time that someone would be sandbagged in an online campaign, I guess this sort of thing comes with the territory.
Re: Golden Oldie
Get your facts right. You didn't buy anything from me. You bought it from Take Two.
And I subsequently released the game for free - after I had fixed it. What more did you want?
And while you're at it, get over it. It was a lifetime ago and most of us grew up.
Re: Re: Re: Re: This is simply untrue
Totally agreed.
See my other reply (just wrote it before this one) to you here:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140217/10000126251/game-dev-derek-smart-again-responds-to-negative-review-making-vague-legal-threats-banning-commenters.shtml#c1398
But all of this is besides the point John. Why? Because - despite what transpired - what I am being accused of is completely FALSE. If it were true, there would be no drama and nothing to defend against.
1) Nobody deleted valid posts
2) Nobody deleted valid posts about game reviews/opinions
3) Nobody threatened to sue anyone over reviews
That is pretty much the gist of it. Instead of reading all the resources, the lynch mob is just happy to have - yet another Internet target (famous or infamous depending on who you ask) to attack.
Re: Re: Re: Re: This is simply untrue
Hi John,
Yeah, they've all be deleted. Which, in and of itself, is the source of this angst - and confusion. :(
And in order to defend myself, when I said that I would take screen caps of - or restore - said deleted posts/threads - since the Steam forum system allows it, this is what happened next.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#c558747922871699599
And this was my response to that:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#c558747922881506787
To just keep things quiet, I didn't do it. Though I had every single right to do it since it would simply have meant undeleting the posts.
In fact, it is our opinion that the opposition was because the guilty didn't want this to be revealed because I would be proven right.
I can prove - without a shadow of a doubt - that at NO time did we delete VALID posts (reviews or otherwise) which were in compliance with Steam's code of conduct; which you can see here in its entirety.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747921876712816/
As I said before, while I'm not the poster child for good online behavior, what I am being accused of here is completely FALSE.
I can take the hits, but it needs to be fair. When you have an unfair fight, it's called bullying.
And when things go too far, that's when my bank a/c and attorneys get involved. And that's when people cry foul. And THAT is what I was explaining in this post which was completely and totally taken out of context. See paragraph six (6)
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922073278815/#c558747922190856124
Re: Re: Re: Re: This is simply untrue
Cry me a river. I don't care about you enough to be concerned about whether or not you are being civil. The fact that I banned, then blocked you, should be a clear sign that I want nothing to do with you. Take a hint.
There is a reason that you were banned on the forums and my blocking you (and the rest of your quartet who are now here - doing the same thing). This would be it. And it's called HARASSMENT. Look it up.
And you don't have any of my games. People who own my games - let alone play them - have a lot more sense that you exhibited in your posts and here.
Have a nice day. I think I'm done here.
Re: Re: This is simply untrue
Well yeah, if there were dick jokes in the article, it would have probably put things into better context: another day on the glorious Internet
I disagree with your comments which clearly show either a lack of understanding or pure unadulterated and willful ignorance.
Especially when you consider that I backed everything I posted with links to original sourced material. Instead, all you did was use conjecture and misdirection to attack me.
That's cute.
And as someone who is published, maybe one day when someone actually writes a review of your books, then you will see what it's like when the shoe is on the other foot. It is always nice to be on the outside looking in.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is simply untrue
Well, that's pretty much exactly how all this got taken out of context.
Re: Re: Re: I see this shit-storm as only escalated even more.
Yes - pretty much.
But again, I have to repeat this here lest it get lost in translation, at no time do I threaten anyone with a lawsuit over any review. Period. End of story.
And again, the thread/post that started this crap, is here
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922073278815/#c558747922190856124
Re: Re: Re: Re: This is simply untrue
Which is exactly what I tried to do here. See how that turned out?
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#c558747922881506787
Re: Re: Re: A case of a not so Smart ass
Yes, I know. It's all messed up. I already apologized over here for my mistake.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140217/10000126251/game-dev-derek-smart-again-responds-to-negative-review-making-vague-legal-threats-banning-commenters.shtml#c521
Again, sorry about that. It's one of those days. :(
Re: Re: Re: Re: A case of a not so Smart ass
Sorry, I don't know what you are going on about. I know how the law works and I didn't take any action against the SA review you are talking about.
And if you look at the timeline, that was so many years ago - through many changes to the law wrt online defamation, satire etc - that I have no idea why it is even a topic for discussion.
Re: Re: This is simply untrue
neither one of them was banned for THOSE posts
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/search/?q=zylche
This is why he was banned. And for the same reasons that he was blocked on Twitter.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922465212923/#c558747922833028484
You, him and everyone in those images you posted, were banned for violating Steams community guidelines. After many warnings, we had no choice.
Re: I see this shit-storm as only escalated even more.
First, what is written in online forums has nothing to do with the US constitution. Never did.
Second, deleting inappropriate posts on forums is perfectly fine. I stand by my decisions and actions taken.
That is all.
Re: Re: Re: Re: A case of a not so Smart ass
Looks like you did the same thing I did. Mix up the comment target.
If you scroll up, you will see where I realized my mistake and the ensuing confusion.
Our conversation has only taken place on Steam.
Re: Re: Re: Re: A case of a not so Smart ass
Yeah, that was my mistake due to my misreading the comment threads.
Re: Re: Re: A case of a not so Smart ass
This is my fault. I didn't look at the links closely due to how they flow here on TechDirt. And I just had to go back to the Steam link to verify it.
So I seemingly made the mistake of thinking that they were the same person.
My apologies to Tim Cushing for the mistake.
Re: Re: This is simply untrue
Hi John,
Which review are you referring to?
Also, anything left standing on the Steam forums, are neither abusive nor trolling. That's why they are up.
I have been doing this for 20+ years. I have shipped a total of 16 games. Not once have I sued or threatened to sue anyone over a review.
As I said on Twitter (see the link I posted), that is completely silly.
I still don't see how my missive could be taken out of context, though I do pride myself in my ability to articulate my thoughts. But as they say, if you look hard enough for something, you'll probably find it.
Re: This is simply untrue
Also, this is the link to Tom's exchange on Twitter regarding this issue.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#c558747922884736562
http ://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/search/?author=46456482
He started this whole thing about me violating Steam's conditions in this thread if I were to undelete posts/threads proving that a select few were violating the forum rules and trolling us.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#p1
This is my detailed response:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#c558747922881506787
I had NO idea - until it was pointed out to me today by someone - that the person in that thread and the author of this TechDirt article - were the same person. And now he has confirmed it himself.
So, not only did he FAIL to document - in his article - my side of the story - as EVERY reporter is obligate to - he was in collusion with Adam all along to do this to me - as a revenge piece.
Aside from that, he posted a link to a defamatory website which was taken down years ago (which is why it is no longer on Google or elsewhere) and he had to go and dig it up from the Internet wayback archives - where is should NOT exist either. But the attorneys are already on it and he has seen the email related to that.
Re: Re: A case of a not so Smart ass
Also, this is the link to Tom's exchange on Twitter regarding this issue.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#c558747922884736562
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/search/?author=46456482
He started this whole thing about me violating Steam's conditions in this thread if I were to undelete posts/threads proving that a select few were violating the forum rules and trolling us.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#p1
This is my detailed response:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/267220/discussions/0/558747922844651077/#c558747922881506787
I had NO idea - until it was pointed out to me today by someone - that the person in that thread and the author of this TechDirt article - were the same person. And now he has confirmed it himself.
So, not only did he FAIL to document - in his article - my side of the story - as EVERY reporter is obligate to - he was in collusion with Adam all along to do this to me - as a revenge piece.
Aside from that, he posted a link to a defamatory website which was taken down years ago (which is why it is no longer on Google or elsewhere) and he had to go and dig it up from the Internet wayback archives - where is should NOT exist either. But the attorneys are already on it and he has seen the email related to that.