D_Smart May 11, 2010

Gosh, space games just tickle my fancy!





~Warlord Supreme~











^ This. All of it. ^



College Slice





Eye of Widesauron posted: I have a problem with him because I Googled him when he posted here and he had built himself up to be this internet badass and then he saw some retard make a lovely toxx and a FB post some of us quoted and he ran off



I was let down and by golly developers do that too much to us these days



Fox final destination no items



Well, here's the thing. It's not about that.



I know that some of you, even grown men with pubic hair growing in the places you didn't think hair could grow, tend to have way too much fun here. I have been around since SA was a "thing", and the good thing is that, even with all the goon poo poo that goes on, there is some level of restraint. Very, very rarely, do things around here devolve to 4Chan, 8Chan or similar places. That's the only reason why, from time to time, I post here. I have never - ever - posted in those other places. I don't post because I want to be a part of the poo poo posting forum denizens. I post for the sheer fun of it, and once in a while there's actually something worth posting about.



So, even though the 5 page Facebook post didn't have anything in there that wasn't going to be made public in tomorrow's article anyway, my feeling is that, you guys really shouldn't encourage that here. Those doing it, will think it's OK, because they don't know any better. And they will do it elsewhere, since they don't know any better. That's why doxing is not something to engage in either, even for shits 'n giggles.



So that's why I left because I don't want to be a part of that. Now that I have been assured they would be removed, here I am again.



As I mentioned in my Gaming Urban Legend blog which I wrote (for the benefit of the new gen who don't know who I am or where my rep comes from) last week, I have always been a gamer. A human one, no less. So, unlike those "other" guys who wouldn't dare come to places like this, let alone sink to the level of interacting with gamers who are *not* their fans, I engage everybody.



The SA denizens have made fun of me for years, but as I grew older (though I don't think the average SA denizen ever grows up), I learned to take in stride; especially if nobody crosses the line. Abuse, harassment, threats, SWATting, doxing, etc are never OK. In any form.



I see myself as that neighborhood kid in a small town, who left for the big city, got famous, but still comes to the neighborhood once in a while. A place where everyone is equal, and credentials, fame etc, are all patently meaningless cuz nobody gives a poo poo.



Hal_2005 posted: Derek Smart, video game corporate raider. We have just hit a new level of retard where some dipshit actually thinks they can use the FTC to block sales of virtual goods. This post has more legitimacy than complaining to the FTC because FTC has no say on virtual good deliveries and has repeatedly stated that unless a product violates consumer rights/safety it has zero jurisdiction. Whatever Roberts promised and what he actually delivers is totally on the customer's dumb rear end.



Now: IF Derek Smart somehow managed to argue "pledges" are not a form of charity or pre-sale but an unlicensed market offering of non-voting stake in the project (note I didn't say Equity internet lawyers), then that would be a case the federal FTC & SEC would have to get involved in.



http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/06...abst-beer/?_r=0



But Derek could barely get a stupid clone of Planetside 1 launched and trying to prove RSI was lawfully incompetent would be tougher than trying to prove Herbalife intentionally was making Mexicans fat.



Well, this dipshit clearly knows a lot more than you, apparently. This goes beyond, and has nothing to do with just virtual items.



First, the article you posted, is from 2011.



Second, the FTC came up with new rules in 2013, and which they have used to go after, not only crowd-funding sites (Indiegogo, Kickstarter etc), but also crowd-funders. Their first investigated case, made headlines earlier this year.



You can learn a lot more in this 85 mins podcast that I did a few days ago.



Straight from the FTC.



quote: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. Stipulated orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.



The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook(link is external), follow us on Twitter(link is external), and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.



This quote from this article



quote: What can we learn from all of this activity? The Federal Trade Commission and the states are paying close attention to crowdfunding, and to the promises that entrepreneur are making to their backers when raising money in such campaigns. And although crowdfunding may seem like an easy way to raise money to make your fabulous new idea a reality, regulators will not shy away from applying the tried-and-true FTC Act and its state law equivalents to police any bad behavior; not only that there may be some new laws to contend with as well.



Another quote from this article



quote: The Federal Trade Commission makes and enforces rules to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive business practices, and its consumer protection principles apply to crowdfunding sites in the same way they apply to things like catalogs, direct mail and TV commercials, according to Helen Wong, an attorney with the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Sellers can’t make deceptive representations, and they have to fulfill promises they’ve made to consumers, for starters.



So yeah, the fact is, the FTC does have the full authority over this. And given the amount ($85m) of money involved, and the number (over 900K) of people who have pledged to this, they have no excuse to ignore it. It's their biggest case thus far, it being the biggest crowd-funding in history.



Jethro_E7 posted: Still can't believe Derek Smart posted here.

By the time I saw the messages, he was already gone.



Mind you, the whole experience probably will remind everyone at CIG (like ) not to post here.



I'm suprised Derek didn't know that once you hit the post button on facebook, there is no undo of any meaningful use.



So.. Desktop commander - that was seriously a thing once - that was amazing enough. But what I found even more amazing was his response at the time:



"The fact is, JeffK, while being a tasteless, untalented, peabrain, can be quite hilarious. But, thats his gig. Can't fault him for it. To each his own. Jim Carey made a name for himself by making his buttcheeks talk. Go figure.



Lets put it this way, if I had a problem with JeffK, his site would CEASE TO EXIST in heartbeat for something like that video. With all the downward losses these ISPs have to contend with, the LAST thing they want, is to hear from Derek Smart and with a valid complaint.

However, the fact that he is deriving income from that video, casts a whole new light on things. I already put a call out to my attorney. We'll see how it shakes."



Did anything come of those threats?



Source : http://www.somethingawful.com/news/derek-smart-not/



Indeed. But as I said above; I left for a specific reason.