I NEED YOUR Experience

[Guest FourAces]

The following is a fantasy situation. Names, places and whatever are not real at all.

I'm very curious as to how many of you would handle the following situation.

Lets pretend that you began a business venture with a man we will call A. It was informal in the sense no legal documents were created. Lets pretend that this business venture was Internet based and you and A live in different cities. We're also going to pretend that the majority of the idea was yours and that you and A corresponded frequently via email.

The venture begins with the purchase of several domain names. You were the one who sent A the list of domain names that would work best. A added a few of his own and purchased them all in his name telling you that once formal documents are created they'll be transferred to the corporation.

Now pretend a glacier melted and you decide it was a good opportunity to take advantage of this melting glacier by opening a web site. A is nowhere to be found so you go ahead and do so. When A appears he loves the idea and jumps right in.

The web site is popular only in the sense of unique visitors. There is no income being made from the site.

Now about 2 months after the site launched life dealt you one of those sorry Charlie let me fuck with your health for a while deals.

As we continue pretending here you inform A that you can't continue the administration of the site and want to turn it over to him. A is reluctant to have you step out of the picture but agrees to handle the administration of the site.

Keep in mind that all of this continues to be documented in emails between A and you.

Because you're dealing with health issues and other situations you forget about the domain names that need to be transferred. A stops communicating with you around the 4th month into the project.

You're busy playing chess tournaments, now that your health is better, and in the process of moving to a different city.

Now pretend you're settled in your new city and ready to conclude your business with A. You attempt to contact him to regain admin duties of your site and have the domain names changed to both you and As name.

A ignores all of your documented email requests.

Fast forward a month later.

This site still makes zero income but only because A never properly took advantage of the hits it gets. Bottom line A terribly mismanaged the site.

Meanwhile, life goes on for you. You get lucky and win a large sum of money at one of your chess tournaments.

Now you find out A has either sold or is giving the site away to S. Now S is a very unstable character, very shady character and never had anything to do with the site whatsoever.

You again attempt to contact A, again no response.

You hire an attorney in As city to discuss your options. You hate flying but fly in t meet with the attorney to review your options. After reading through the pile of emails the attorney feels you have a good case. Her fee would range from $5,000. - $15,000. depending on just how far she'll need to take the case through the court system if A doesn't cooperate.

Here is your decision, do you feel it's worth spending $5,000. Plus on a site and handful of domains that earn no income in the hope that one of them might take off under the right management?

Is the site's traffic (4000+ hits a month) enough to spend the money to regain ownership?

Doo you walk away from the site because the traffic alone and potential of income isn't sufficient compared to the potential cost with no guarantee of securing your 50% interest?

And if you walk away from the site do you also walk away from the dornmant domain names?

OR?

I really would like your thoughts on how you would handle this.

[Guest Conway]

I suppose that I wouldn't worry too much about it because I would suppose that the way that A and S operated it left it with no supposed credibility with its target audience. I suppose that it won't survive due to lack of supposed interest in it anymore.

I would supopose that Under S's guidance, it would become even less credible and less interesting than it is now if S truly has the lack of credibility that you claim.

I suppose that for some time, it attracted attention the same way that a bloody car wreck does. But, over time, the sight of blood became far less unique to those who were originally fascinated by it and they moved on to something else to satisfy their morbid curiosity.

[Guest straycat]

Why spend so much money on something that appears to have no current value? From what you wrote at best you could be awarded 50% of nothing.

I would simply forget about it and move forward.

[Guest BostonGuy]

I would add a kindly suggestion: The next time that you find yourself looking for something from someone else, remember this experience. You may find that it is best not to publicly rebuke and/or criticize the person with whom you hope to do business.

BG

[marcanthony]

I guess it depends on a couple of things:

1) Is the plaintiff's interest getting back the websites or punishing the others?

2) Are there potential damage awards (i.e. can the attorney get the plaintiff punitive awards above and beyond the value of the sites)?

I think the answers to those two questions guide the actions.

[Guest FourAces]

>I would add a kindly suggestion: The next time that you find

>yourself looking for something from someone else, remember

>this experience. You may find that it is best not to publicly

>rebuke and/or criticize the person with whom you hope to do

>business.

>

>BG

BG the issue in the above isn't someone looking for something from anyone else or wantingto do business with another person, since in the above fantasy I technically own the business and it was stolen from me; the object in the above exercise is to regain what is legally mine. But only at this point if it makes financial sense to do so.

My posting life has always been an open book. People on blogs post my name, address and cell number, people on other message centers post my name and city, people think I am people who I am not and so on. Each time I try to defend myself it comes off wrong I guess because I'm very outspoken. So be it. There are so many rumors and emails about me flying around people have actually forwaded some to me asking is this for real, I'm like no it isn't for real but H has a great imagination. But at this point I don't care anymore, post my name, post my cell number, post my address again I mean life is too short to be all that concerned. I am not doing anything illegal, if people are that interested in who I am, wow is all I can say. But you won't find a single piece of personal information on the Internet EVER POSTED BY ME regardless of how some try to spin it.

But back on the topic, I don't recall criticizing A in public, just pointing out contradictions in As public statements that try to make me look bad.

And using your assumption that A felt criticized does that give him the legal right to withhold what he knows and has documented to be legally mine?

You aren't shy BG about giving your opinion so I'm curious to know your thoughts on that question.

[Guest FourAces]

>I guess it depends on a couple of things:

>

>1) Is the plaintiff's interest getting back the websites or

>punishing the others?

>

Interesting way to look at it.

[Guest BostonGuy]

4A:

It still seems to boil down to trying to achieve a business objective that requires or would be made far easier by the cooperation of another person. In this case, as far as I can see, the other person is a (former) friend and (former) business partner. History is replete with bad deals gone worse between friends who became partners. Many of these bad experiences were fueled by bad feelings caused by unfortunate statements made by one person or the other.

I wasn't trying to address what you could do. I was only trying to address what you might want to consider in the future when dealing with another person as a friend, business partner or colleague. It's the old "discretion is the better part of valor" thing.

Telling a friend they have screwed up is bad enough. Telling the world your friend has screwed up is much, much worse. You may feel you have not done that and perhaps you haven't. But, from the point of this reader, you have done that and more. I'm not going to argue about it and my opinion doesn't mean a thing. All that matters, really, is how your former partner feels and if he is inclined or disinclined to make your life easy or hard.

In 1899, Elbert Hubbard wrote an essay entitled "A Message to Garcia." It was reprinted many, many times. One part of it reads:

If you work for a man, in Heaven's name work for him. If he pays wages that supply you your bread and butter, work for him, speak well of him, think well of him, and stand by him, and stand by the institution he represents. I think if I worked for a man, I would work for him. I would not work for him a part of his time, but all of his time. I would give an undivided service or none. If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage, why, resign your position, and when you are outside, damn to your heart's content. But, I pray you, so long as you are a part of an institution, do not condemn it. Not that you will injure the institution – not that – but when you disparage the concern of which you are a part, you disparage yourself. And don't forget – I forgot” won't do in business.

It doesn't directly address your situation but it comes close enough. We see from the excerpt that it was common enough in 1899 to criticize those you work for that Hubbard felt it necessary to address in an essay. Times have changed but it's still common for people to criticize their employers -- and also their business partners. Hubbard's advice is still current and still worth heeding. In your situation, it seems that you consider that you never really "left" the business but instead remained part owner (or full owner) and you wish to become an active part of it again. You are surprised, purplexed or simply angry or annoyed that your (former) business partner is moving in directions counter to your wishes. And I would once again suggest that you consider your public statements and their possible effect on your situation.

You asked for opinions and I've given mine. Having done so, I will not comment on this further.

BG

[Guest ChgoBoy]

This is yet another perfect example of public betrayal, of trust and respect, toward the “other” party in this “friendship in crisis.” There have been many of them like this, at a number of public message boards over the past few months. This time we’re using letters instead of names, as if that really makes it ok. Everyone knows who the players are and the author knows that as well. If I were “A,” after all the personal blame and discontent that has been publicly and selfishly placed upon me, behind my back, I would ignore this person as well. Pointing out another’s shortcomings, as another might subjectively perceive them to be, in public, without the opportunity to respond; only to make the author look good in the eyes of others, is equal to a sucker punch of the worst kind, in my mind. This continued blame, over and over and over again, here, there and over there, is the most childish, irrational and self serving behavior I have seen in quite some time, by an adult. These types of situations are meant to be handled behind closed doors, privately, between the two parties. This author is not looking for resolution; he is looking for the justification of strangers for his inappropriate behaviors. The author of this thread, just this past Wednesday, delivered to the inbox of the “Rico Report” 200 (by Rico’s count) private emails between him and “A”, not to mention communications from other board members as well, authorizing Rico to make this private, personal information public, on his blog. To Rico’s credit, he pulled his Wednesday blog entry an hour after its posting. He also stated he was uncomfortable being in the possession of this type of personal information; again, to Rico’s credit. I was fortunate to have copied the blog entry prior to it being pulled; hopefully, Rico will republish it, absent the personal and private information it originally contained.

Perhaps this author should be less involved in “fantasy” and a bit more in reality.

[AdamSmith]

>1) Is the plaintiff's interest getting back the websites or

>punishing the others?

"Overinvestment" is the cautionary term my shrink liked to use.

[Guest FourAces]

Cho Cho as usually I haven't a fucking clue what you're talking about. And that fact is comforting to me. I don[t want to be so far mentally gone that I've fallen to your level of rational. Do you think anyone has forgotten you're endless public breakdowns and attacking posts and releasing of public information?

[Guest FourAces]

BG I do want everyone's feedback. I asked you for clarification, you did so and I thank you for that.

[Guest FourAces]

>>1) Is the plaintiff's interest getting back the websites

>or

>>punishing the others?

>

>"Overinvestment" is the cautionary term my shrink

>liked to use.

LOL

[Guest ChgoBoy]

>Cho Cho as usually I haven't a fucking clue what you're

>talking about. And that fact is comforting to me. I don[t want

>to be so far mentally gone that I've fallen to your level of

>rational. Do you think anyone has forgotten you're endless

>public breakdowns and attacking posts and releasing of public

>information?

Try and remain on topic Aces, deflection is a weak defense.

This too, will be my last comment on this topic. I have a website to build.:-)

[Guest FourAces]

>>Cho Cho as usually I haven't a fucking clue what you're

>>talking about. And that fact is comforting to me. I don[t

>want

>>to be so far mentally gone that I've fallen to your level

>of

>>rational. Do you think anyone has forgotten you're

>endless

>>public breakdowns and attacking posts and releasing of

>public

>>information?

>

>Try and remain on topic Aces, deflection is a weak defense.

>

Cho Cho it's MY topic

You seem to have the art of stealing down well. Why not use your talent to steal someone elses thread?

It's obvious to all Cho Cho you couldn't create anything successful on your own, based on your blog and other Internet attempts you've proven time after time the people have no interest in what you do. You haven't even had ONE person congratulate you on what you feel is some sorto f victory, not ONE, lol.

It must be sad to be so uninteresting.

[Guest BewareofNick]

4A:

I know you have issues with EBP. You've made that clear in past postings elsewhere. I am not sure, though, what purpose is served by airing your dirty laundry in public.

Neal

[Guest jackhammer91406]

In what I have read (and heard about) your postings on this subject seem to be nothing more than therapy for you. I can see no benefit for you otherwise. I think it's time for you to move on with your life and let this thing go. The history you recount here seems revisionist at best.

You need to apply your time and talents to putting your own thing together without any help or hindrance, and see if it can stand or fall on it's own. Re-writing history, or worse, re-living it in such a public way is not only mentally unhealthy, but has become really boring to many. You and your nemesis Cho should stop trying to F_-K each other over and just have sex and get it over with.

Time to finish the therapy and start again.