Re: Amused

["alarman" <alarman2000@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Stanley Barthfarkle" <sbarth@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9CGih.976$sR.200@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Roland,
>
> Here's a little background. I'll try to be as objective and unbiased as
> possible.
>
> Robert Bass came here in the mid-90's. Back then, this forum was almost
> exclusively dedicated to discussion among alarm professionals about
> installation, service, products, and business issues specific to our
> industry. Usenet had not become as widespread as it is today, so we rarely
> had homeowners come in asking questions.
>
> Bass came here like a bull in a china shop, espousing a long, storied
> career in "the trade", and spouting off about just how much he knew, how
> much smarter he was than any of the rest of us, and telling what turned
> out to be outright lies about his background in "the trade". (He has also
> done the same thing in other groups such as alt.aviation, telling tall
> tales and baiting flame wars, and alt.home.automation, where he has a
> somewhat sympathetic ear because of morons like Mikey (("Group Moderator",
> inside joke)) who are obsessed with trying to hurt Bass) He pissed a few
> people off with his sociopathic cyber-arguments, and a couple of them took
> him to task about his background, checking publicly available info such as
> licensing, etc.
>
> They found several interesting facts, which exposed his lies about his
> length and breadth of service in "the trade", and uncovered a Felony
> conviction that he had in the late 70's involving a firearm and a family
> member, and a DUI accident during the same period in which he was
> responsible for killing a young woman. One needs to keep in mind that in
> most places, convicted felons are not allowed to install, service, or sell
> security systems or equipment, or own an alarm company.
>
> Of course, when confronted with this information, Robert at first denied,
> then, when confronted with evidence, spun the information into new tales.
> IE: He's been a "prison minister", he's been "saved" as a Christian, etc.
> He's denied using "shell" companies involving relatives to both cover his
> activities, (as a felon who is involved with security systems illegally)
> and to avoid paying his fair share of taxes. Of course, none of these
> things are Robert's fault; oh no, it's the people who dared to take him to
> task. If he had come here and played nicely with others instead of
> purposely causing a ruckus, we may have never known of his past. But of
> course, he isn't as smart as he likes to think he is- at least not in a
> "big picture" sense.
>
> The regular posters to this group are mostly "old-school" alarm pros- we
> install and service systems, or own companies that do. We have paid our
> "dues", worked hard within an industry which has become very hard to make
> a living at thanks to "giveaway" systems from the big companies, and take
> pride in providing quality systems. We take pride in helping to protect
> people from the dangers of fire and criminals, and work within the law.
> There aren't any "trunk-slammers" here, at least not any that stay very
> long.
>
> When Robert's marriage and business (another whole story) began to fail,
> he started an online store. Where would his customers come from? You
> guessed it- ASA. He would (and continues to do today) start a thread to
> "discuss" something, in which the main objective was/is to gather new
> customers for his DROP SHIPPING operation (Robert doesn't stock anything,
> he has items sent from professional-only not-for-sale-to-the-public alarm
> wholesale suppliers) via this message board. He has developed a "them vs.
> us" diatribe where he pits the "greedy alarm pros" against "poor small
> benevolent businessman Robert and his DIY customers" to some effect.
>
> Of course, many of his activities within "the trade" continue to remain,
> if not wholly illegal, against all professional ethics. To wit, he sells
> things to people that were only meant to be sold to professionally trained
> installers, and provides "free" manuals and software to DIY customers that
> are clearly marked and advertised for properly trained and licensed
> industry pros only. He now operates his "store" from his Florida, where
> licensing is less strict than his former Hartford Connecticut home base.
> Still, he is clearly using loopholes to skirt the law by providing third
> party monitoring service and technical assistance to DIY customers (he
> needs a license that he can't get to do these things) through
> intermediaries.
>
> He has stolen the written work from many here, including myself, (need to
> know how to defeat a phone-line cut attempt without a cell backup? My
> article is there) for his "help" pages. He has literally called people's
> employers and gotten at least one (who is still here, and will probably
> pipe in any moment now) fired from his job for posting obscenities to
> Robert. He has taken many people here "real life", and has gotten a few
> "real life" types doing the same to him in return.
>
> I could go on, but this is the gist. Hope it helps those who havent been
> here since the mid-90's to understand a bit about the flame wars that go
> on here. My next dictionary item will probably be the definition of
> "dirtbag".

Excellent post.
js