Thread of the Living Dead (Shemp)

Well understood Jenna. I apologize for my ignorant indiscretions.

Since you have not been a communist controller here to by removing my posting rights, I'll welcome you to delete those right amicably.

When one is lulled to sleep by a sheep in wolves clothing, feels an allegiance to ones comrades, and fights for what they believe to be right, they can, and often do find they are wrong. I’ll admit that I was one of those people. Whether the apology is accepted, I can’t control, but I do see the light, and hope your fight, is a successful one.

Thanks for the invite Ed, though in vain, I appreciate your effort of hospitality.

As I have tried to make the jump-I see it will be unsuccessful here.

Thanks for the board time. Good luck to all here. Better to write and mind ones own business, than post and mind everyone’s.


kas

For the PA authors who are cruising by:

Do you really think that the folks who jumped ship were all "whiners" and "losers" who "refused to promote" their books?

Read some of their stories:

Here's how Rebecca Easton promoted her book.

Here's how Molly Marx Brent promoted her book.

Here's how Diana Hignutt promoted her book.

All of these people were major PA boosters.

What makes you think that your results will be any better?

changling said:

Okay Joe, but I need to ask one more confirming question.

What is the first initial of your e-mail buddy today.

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Huh?
I'm not sure what you getting at....Today is Monday and I haven't checked my e-mail yet. Plus I have more than one e-mail address- so I will answer your vexing quextion by asaying "What is the sound of one hand clapping if there is no one in the forsest to see the trees?"

Joe

changling said:

As I have tried to make the jump-I see it will be unsuccessful here.

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Don't bet on it.

If you have some time (sound of hollow laughter) ... check back in these boards, all the way back to summer of '03 ... and see the "Dave and James show." Do you know why the "Take It Outside" board was created?

Learning the history of another board is tough.

Learning the personalities on another board is tough.

Being publicly slammed is tough.

Changing is tough.

Lots of things in life are tough.

Jenna's cool. All's well. And your insights and observations are valuable.

I'm workin' on it!

I am working on changing my username to something less disagreeable....I'm just not sure how to do it without uh, er, "killing off" myself and coming back as a new board user.

HEY!! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!!
Yes it was.


Hey I never said I was the brightest.... a little help here?

Y'know, it strikes me that the Campout is going to be Very Interesting.

the real joeshmoe said:

I am working on changing my username to something less disagreeable....I'm just not sure how to do it without uh, er, "killing off" myself and coming back as a new board user.

HEY!! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!!
Yes it was.


Hey I never said I was the brightest.... a little help here?

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only the admins can change a username but it's not that hard to do so I would send a request for it with your chosen new name. That way you don't lose your post count.

Changling, some of us will have problems with some PA authors but not with others depending on our experiences. I don't have a problem with you but there are others I will have problems with if/when they show up here... And I'm not a PA author or one the "Big 8" as we all know they are lovingly called by those who hate them.

Stick around and learn. Those of us who don't have a problem with you can help you settle in while others who might have past problems can take the time to warm up to you now being a wiser person. You aren't the first person to have had a change of heart and mind and you certainly won't be the last.

Eventually, it all works out for the best for all concerned. And in this instance, time is on your side. You have whatever is left of your 7 year contract to accomplish whatever you wish.

James D. Macdonald said:

Y'know, it strikes me that the Campout is going to be Very Interesting.

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Yeah, especially when I show up!
Hey, I was invited ya' know......

While merely a messenger truly believing, at the time, to be
helping to protect a friend and his family from grave harm by
posting these messages

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I'm sorry. I just don't get it. If someone lived close enough to HB to cause "grave harm" to him and his family, wouldn't they live close enough to know he was really alive? Or am I missing something?

Jenna, sigh, Jenna, as you know I have no posting rights at PA and am unable to view the private board. I'm so sorry such nastiness was said/written about you. The two times I tried to reach out and touch a still-brainwashed PA author by contacting them through e-mail, I found myself defending AW. I've always found you and many others to be full of non-biased info and more importantly, to be fair to all sides. The "big three" at PA could never say the same about themselves. I think that's why the sheep bite as they do. Take heart in knowing you've helped at least one author, me, try and move on with life and with writing.

ps and I'm not just saying this because I want a free membership to your club!

the real joeshmoe said:

Yeah, especially when I show up!
Hey, I was invited ya' know......

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I wouldn't unpack right away if I were you.

Kas, I hope you'll reconsider...

....there are going to be raw and hurt feelings on account of a lot of things connected with PA for a good number of people. I sure hope you'll stay, there is more than one person posting now on our boards that had a "past" with PA, and they are now well respected members of our community. You know, I actually think discussing these type things, resolving them, and pushing forward are the marks of maturity and inclusion. And above all else, we should always want to be as inclusive as possible, a lot of people over at PA are guilty of overzealous promotion of their publisher, but they are salvageable. I think everyone deserves a chance to start over if their hearts are sincere....

been there...

hey, *I* was one of those nits back once in a lifetime - you don't have to go back too far in the fat thread overhead to find my name up there, blathering away and attacking everyone in order to defend PA.

then, of course, I got a clue.

but that didn't/doesn't excuse my behavior to a certain degree, since I do happen to have control over my own mind. Yes, I was scammed into the PA mentality and joined the cult, but I'm old enough to take responsibility for my own actions and my ill-chosen words back then.

thankfully, most have forgiven me. Hopefully, everyone will over time.

it's a hard, harsh hit of reality, folks - I've been slammed as well in public on the PA boards where an author was recruiting for people to find out where I lived and come visit me. I asked PA to delete the thread and they told me they wouldn't. Fortunately the author in question wandered off into the mist and that thread died a fast death in two weeks, but I was seriously concerned for my safety. Well, not that much - 15 years in security, being a Guardian Angel and married to an ex USAF boyo doesn't give me that much worry.

the fact is that everyone has to take their lumps for their mistakes, even if you did do them with the best of intentions to defend PA. I'm willing to do it and have taken them and will continue to take them because they were *my* words, not those of the Infocenter. Thank goodness I didn't cause as much harm as some, but that was only by the grace of God.

I can't tell anyone to forgive and forget and wouldn't dare do so - and, of course, I'd hug Jenna to death if I could except for this cyberspace thingie.

just try to love the sinner, hate the sin and move on along to becoming better authors, better people and help bring down PublishAmerica.

peas, out.

Wow, I just went to the link about Jenna and am shocked. I would love to see you here Kas because you are one of them that made my life a bit miserable too for the "only" week I was able to post at PA. I do know that people here are different. We have respect for each other. It would be fun to debate with you now knowing that I would not be banned for my opinions or tarred and feathered by the PA followers. I too say come and join us. I know that Jenna is obviously a forgiving person and has made that clear, so come and be with us...we can all learn from each other and we can learn from our mistakes...~Mem

Kas if nothing else at least come over and apologize to Jenna. I think you owe her that much! She has worked hard to fight for people that are screwed by PA and change of heart or not (only you know that) she deserves a lot of respect for what she has done in her life and ours!

T42 said:

Kas if nothing else at least come over and apologize to Jenna. I think you owe her that much! She has worked hard to fight for people that are screwed by PA and change of heart or not (only you know that) she deserves a lot of respect for what she has done in her life and ours!

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Kas, I have been made aware that you have apologized and that is good. Now, I'm sorry that I didn't pick up on it. So, let's all be friends and fight the real enemy.

Back to the subject at hand, in the apology thread you see a severe case of mass not-reading-carefully. As mentioned above, the guy admits to lying about the whole thing, and only one or two people understand what he's saying.

And right after I posted this, Philwit clarified his initial apology, which is not going to turn out good for him:

As I indicated, I responded to what sounded like a genuinely
desperate and terrified plea by H.B. who - regardless of whether
paranoid or panicked - felt genuinely threatened. Whatever the
nature of his ultimate aim or design was (the logic of which still
escapes me), it was NOT a hoax, nor a self-promo stunt - of
that I am utterly convinced. To be sure, I would NEVER have
participated in any fashion, had it been such.

To put it bluntly, H.B. felt his life and that of his family's,
threatened, and he gave me at the time convincing reasons why
he felt that. And it was the credibility of his anxiety-ridden
state, that motivated me to concede to his plea.

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"It wasn't a hoax, just a claim I knew not to be true."

Ooooooooooooooooooooookay.

Kas, stay please. You were my bud on the PA board, and I still consider you my bud. We have all been blinded by PA's lies, some just took a little longer to put on their shades. Now, I know you are a hell of a researcher. Remember Brian? We proved his lies with ease, so why you didn't research Jenna is beyond me. I'm not going to bash you for it, but if Jenna is willing, I would welcome you here. I repect you and I think you could bring a lot of good info here. Reconsider staying.

Jenna, you know I love you. You are doing a great job and I hope you keep it up. But I would like to comment on the Kas situation. I know what it's like to be lead astray. To be forced, unknowingly, to believe the lies you are told. You have your publisher telling you lies disguised as facts, all your friends towing the line. You get into the mindset that everybody else is wrong. You come to love your friends, your publisher and anybody that you see as telling lies in order to hurt them will bring up a rise in you that you feel must be vented. Kas is a great guy. And I hope you don't let our past mistakes haunt us. We were wrong. We found the truth and we are trying to rectify that. I know you are a good person and you will probably let Kas post here, and I know it will hurt, and I don't blame you for hurting, but that reason is just one of the reasons that seperates you from PA. You will forgive, unlike them.

I commend you, I respect you, and I think you are doing a helluva job. You were one of the first people to offer an apology to me when I revealed my story about PA sending the cops to my house. It was unneeded because you didn't know, but you did it anyway. I love you for that. I hope we can all let things go. There is going to be an influx of new PA authors over here and some of those authors have done things in the past to hurt many of us. If we don't show that we are better than PA then what will seperate us from them? The more PA authors we have, even the more vocal one, will give us a leg up in the fight against PA. I mean, who better to have in a fight than a one time cheerleader?

Thank you Jenna for this board and for giving me a place to tell my story.

Galoot said:

I understand the reason for suspicion, but wow, would I ever hate to be put in the position of having to prove I'm not a certain madman simply because I admitted to associating with him. You all know I could be HB, right? The picture in my profile does appear elsewhere on the net, after all. Without taking photo requests, I can't prove that's me.

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???? Are you...HB?

What's in a real apology?

It seems to me that words like sincere, and guts, and honorable are being handed out as compliments by alot of people, both here and in the Land of Poz.

I guess I'm just different (or cruel, or mean), but I take honor very seriously. If I had spent alot of time maliciously attcking someone based on lies, fabrications, and half-truths, had done so in a public place, and was proud of myself at the time for what I was doing, how would I apologize for my actions (when I realized how wrong I was) honorably?

Well first, my apology would be fully public; maybe I'd even start my own thread for it to make sure alot of people saw it (better yet, a whole website). Next, I'd apologize for each thing that I did that was wrong and hurtful (at least to the best of my knowledge). Finally, I would never try to defend my actions or absolve myself of some measure of responsibility for them because of the actions of others. We do have free will after all, at least in my world.

But maybe that's just me...

Rob

Eulogy for Kevin. By Purple.

I have just learned that our good friend and PA critic Kevin has passed on to the big publisher in the sky. I received an email from his 10 month old last night. Through all of the garbled words and drool I have deciphered this.

Kevin had been suffering from a huge boil on his a s s. He had been fighting it and refused to go see the proctologist. Last night, the boil burst. Kevin was in his favorite place, his crapper, when he went to wipe his a s s and accidently burst it. He bled out on the floor, his pants around his ankles with a picture of Joy in his hand. When they took him to the hospital they tried to revive him as he posted on the internet, downloaded porn, and made jokes about his condition. The doctors said it was a good sign that a dead man could do this and gave him a good prognosis. But alas, they were wrong. He was still gone and nothing they could do would bring him back.

Upon autopsy they found that the boil was only the size of a pimple but it had infiltrated the carotid artery. Never seeing anything like this before his body will be donated to science. His a s s will forever be permanetly displayed on the net for all the world to see.

It is said that his pony, Purple, will be the speaker at his mock funeral. Any donations can be sent to Purple since he will not be able to buy his own food or pay for internet bills.

To me, a simple "I'm sorry" followed by future actions that uphold the sincerity of the apology is enough for me. I don't need abject grovellings or public declarations. Neither of those would convince me the person is truly sorry for the hurt she or he has done. All that would say to me is the person has a penchant for making grandiose statements. Nor should they expect that an apology makes for immediate trust.

Anybody can mouth off an apology but living up to actually meaning it is something else.