This is not good...message from HornsManiac enclosed...

[Ben E Lou]

You know, Horns I and have had our differences here, but there has certainly remained between the two of us a large measure of human civility and kindness. If everything he writes below is true, then someone has taken these little online feuds waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy too far. This is pretty shocking.

The names below have been removed, as I see no good in casting suspicion on those he mentions by name. If what is in those sentences is true, then those mentioned will know who they are.

EDIT: I also decided to hide the phone number. No point in broadcasting it to the world (could cause more potential problems), but if anyone wants it, they should contact Kyle.

I really don't know what else to say, other than that it appears that someone takes this little diversion that is FOFC too seriously.

--Ben

Here's what Horns/Kyle had to say, exactly as he put it, with the exception of the names EDIT: and phone number being removed:

I would like to take this time to get a few things off of my chest. A million thanks to SkyDog for letting me do so. I am not one for long drawn out dramas so I will get right to the point.

Yesterday (Wednesday) the VP of my department called me into a conference room to meet with her. This is a little unusual considering we did not have a meeting planned for today. So I put down what I was doing and went in there to meet with her. I was shocked to see that she wasn’t alone. Apparently, our department’s HR representative decided to stop by as well. The VP is just really busy and both of us need to talk to her, right? Wrong. I sit down wondering what this is about. I wasn’t asked to bring any files. The VP did not have her laptop turned on and her PDA wasn’t in sight either.

“Kyle, tell us about HornsManiac” came out of her mouth and when those words hit my ears my stomach knotted up, I felt queasy, and could barely breathe. I was speechless both from shock and from the physical sickness that had just overcome me. “It seems you are quite the character in your secret life, aren’t you?” Umm. Umm, actually... “Stop Kyle, we are here to let you know that we are not comfortable knowing about some of the things you do or could be doing both at home and here in the office. It is funny, Kyle, that I never knew you used drugs and associated with drug users. I also never expected you to be the type that meets women online during business hours, especially with a romantic mindset. Does your wife know that you boast about your ability to so easily cheat on her? Finally, I would have never thought you could possibly violate the trust and lose the respect of so many people that liked you.”

At that point my eyes moistened with both tears of rage and sorrow. I tried to explain, but for the first time ever I was completely without words. I did manage to ask them how we could get by this and apologized for them having to get involved in such an ordeal. It did not do any good.

The HR lady spoke next and proceeded to tell me about their severance offer and how I could utilize C.O.B.R.A. to continue my health insurance for up to eighteen months. Her words fell on deaf ears, because I just wanted to get the hell out of there.

Never before in my 28 years had I been as humiliated as I was then. Three years of blood, sweat, and tears had been poured into that company and my unconditional dedication to its success. Only seventeen more years to go and then I could begin thinking about retirement. Around that time our first child would be preparing to leave home for college and my wife and I could start thinking about our time together and how proud we are of the son or daughter we were sending away to school.

Now, here is the bitter reality. That first child is roughly seven months away from being born and I have no job in an incredibly difficult job market. It is not that I don’t have a job, but the reasons I don’t have one that hurt the most. I don’t have a job, because one of you decided it would be cute to destroy my life, career, my hopes, and my dreams.

I have said in the past that the internet is like another world and another life to me that remains separate from my real world life. Some of you refuted that and swore that cyber world and the real world are much closer together than I realize. I argued with you and said that is not the way I look at them. How in the fuck could you be so disgustingly sick to think you had to prove me wrong? How could you not realize that I am BANNED from here and will never again be a thorn in your side? How could you not think about this economy and the fact that unemployment is higher than it has been in ages? How could you not think about my wife and the fact that she is carrying my unborn child? Well, I hate to do it, but I must once again use the HornsManiac trademark quote from a song. As George Strait said, “If you planned on hurting me, you’re an overnight success.”

I am sure no more than a few of you at the most were involved in this or even knew what was going down. For this reason I want to make it clear that I do not have ill feelings toward everyone on this board. Hell, the people I clashed with here probably make up less than 2% of the registered members. That means I respect and cherish some of the memories I have with almost all of you. I know that most of you are good people and therefore I want to implore each of you to stand up to the real menace(s) you have here and do all you can to determine who is behind this. You can bet your ass that I will not rest until I find out and SkyDog’s ban is not nearly strong enough to keep me from sorting out all of this.

I also know that some of you have a lot of unnecessary hatred that is just boiling over. You know who you are AAAAAAAA, BBBBBBBB, CCCCCCCC, and others like you. While many of you did not particularly care for me you (for the most part) kept it to yourself or at worst kept it here at FOFC. However, a few of you (AAAAAAAA, BBBBBBBB, CCCCCCCC) have gone out of your way to seek revenge against me. BBBBBBBB, do you remember the emails to the other league’s members? AAAAAAAA, do you remember telling me you will always get off by making my life hell when I post here? CCCCCCCC, do you remember the senseless rant you posted on multiple message boards telling the world how much you hated me and how utterly despicable I am?

This is no doubt a terrible situation, but with the positive outlook I have toward life I know I will bounce back soon. Even as I look at a pile of wadded up tissues still damp from my wife’s sobbing eyes I can see the good in this. I owe some of you a sincere thank you. Now from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for showing me the wall separating cyberspace and our earth is not a very high or strong one. As a result of this I have learned to take everyone seriously even if they are just a faceless username out in cyberspace somewhere. I have also been able to realize living human beings control these usernames and should always be treated as such. I love and respect my neighbors and now I have learned that my cyber neighbors in communities like this shouldn’t be treated any differently.

From this I want each of you to take something as well. That annoying little bastard of a smart ass troll that we all love to hate is still a living, breathing, and dying human being that bleeds just like you do. They are not your literal punching bag. So as I prepare to end this and sign off one last time I will share one final quote from a song and if you pay close attention you will see the meaning behind the words and how they relate to all of us.

In the land of the killers, a sinner's mind is a sanctum
Only you're unholy, only have one homey
Only this gun, lonely, cuz don't anyone know me
But everybody just feels like they can relate
I guess words are a motherfucker, they can be great
Or they can degrate, or even worse, they can teach hate

~~ Eminem

Thank you all for reading this and if it made an impact on at least one of you it was well worth it. Sorry it was so long, because I said I wasn’t one for long drawn out dramas. J

Best, Horns

PS… Feel free to call toll free (EDIT: I {SkyDog} decided to remove the phone number. Contact Kyle if you want it.) should thoughts of this being a hoax cross your mind.

[GrantDawg]

That is messed up to no end. Wow. I know that we had talked about this sort of thing happening on other message boards, but I never thought anyone here would be the vindictive.

Praying for you, Kyle.

[Ben E Lou]

Dola---he said that if anyone wanted to contact him, his e-mail address is [email protected]

[JonInMiddleGA]

That's eerie.

{and what happened, did the whole Georgia contingent set alarm clocks for the same time this morning?}

[Fritz]

HM needs to realize that the only person to get pissed at here is himself.

I wish him well in his post Dell life.

[Bee]

Not sure if I'm allowed to post here or not since I'm not from Georgia...

If this is true (I'll assume it is since SD posted it), this is pretty sick. I didn't care much for HM online, but I always assumed he was "playing a character" and ignored most of his comments. To carry that over to real life is pretty horrible.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by JonInMiddleGA
That's eerie.

{and what happened, did the whole Georgia contingent set alarm clocks for the same time this morning?}

[Senator]

That seems odd. Why would a VP care what you did outside of the office ON the internet? I mean, is this grounds for firing?

Now, if they have been logging his work computer and see that he was on message boards 7 out 8 hours a day, I think THAT might be the real reason he would be let go.

I find it much more plausible that they caught him using company time to surf the net and post on message boards, than someone from this community getting all the way to the department VP to give them a scoop.

Am I off here? Can you imagine someone from here getting ahold of your boss, and your boss believing THEM over YOU? Surely, they have had issues with Kyle and there were other reason for this. I mean, if my boss took the word of some stranger over me then I would not want to work there anyway.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Fritz
HM needs to realize that the only person to get pissed at here is himself.

I wish him well in his post Dell life.

In a way you’re right. It was his words and attitudes that got him fired. In another way you’re wrong, in that I can see where he could be mad at the person who turned this in to his boss. That was a bit much, you know? As silly some of the things he did and said was it was not worthy of having his livelihood ripped out from under him.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Senator
That seems odd. Why would a VP care what you did outside of the office ON the internet? I mean, is this grounds for firing?

Now, if they have been logging his work computer and see that he was on message boards 7 out 8 hours a day, I think THAT might be the real reason he would be let go.

I find it much more plausible that they caught him using company time to surf the net and post on message boards, than someone from this community getting all the way to the department VP to give them a scoop.

Am I off here? Can you imagine someone from here getting ahold of your boss, and your boss believing THEM over YOU? Surely, they have had issues with Kyle and there were other reason for this. I mean, if my boss took the word of some stranger over me then I would not want to work there anyway.

Well, the post about meeting women on company time could play a part in it.

[ISiddiqui]

Man, if this is true, this is just sick!

I mean, I don't post on here all that often, but I, of course, know about the feuds. However, these feuds reaching into the personal lives of the participants? I simply cannot believe someone would do something this assholish!

We all got stuff that we admit on message boards that we won't say to others in our lives (except close friends). By trying to wreck someone's life with that is just below despicable.

[Fritz]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
In a way you’re right.

you had me here.

Originally posted by GrantDawg
In another way you’re wrong, in that I can see where he could be mad at the person who turned this in to his boss. That was a bit much, you know?

A bit much, probably. Not something I would have done.

Originally posted by GrantDawg
As silly some of the things he did and said was it was not worthy of having his livelihood ripped out from under him.

Well, they canned him for his actions, not what was reported. You can be darn sure that they monitored him for a while.
---

I post this knowing full well that I, as well as many of the other posters, could have a similar thing happen.

[JonInMiddleGA]

This is the third time I've seen this happen on a message board so from that standpoint I can't really say I'm surprised by it.

On the other hand, I would have put HM in the category of "irritant" not "repulsive", so from that standpoint I'm surprised that it (appears to have) happened to him. If pushed to make a bet, I'd have even said that was the mainstream view, but maybe some see/saw it differently.

Combine this sort of thing with the number of cyber and/or online stalkings I've seen and it reinforces my desire to be increasingly careful with the amount of personal details I reveal online. I still reveal an awful lot but I'm trying to curb that, anything else is just making it too easy.

In this specific case, I'm probably not going to invest much time in wondering about exactly what happened or in "whodunnit". Past experiences suggest to me that we'll never really know for sure. What I will wonder about though is this:

Assuming a phone call was made, did the caller have this outcome in mind or were they just trying to be cute?

Although I'll probably get ripped for saying it, I'd have more respect for the former than the latter. If this is the result of somebody's idea of a gag, then they're either naive or stupid or both. I've said it before & I'll say it again -- the dividing line between cyber & "RL" is very thin, if it exists at all.

Jon

[Samdari]

In that letter from HM, it does not say that these people were contacted by anyone from FOFC. How does he know that Dell did not notice a lot of internet traffic from his IP and monitor it on his own?

Not to kick the guy while he is down (if it is even true, I doubt he is 28, married, or ever worked at Dell) but would this not just be another case of him blaming everyone else for situations he got himself into?

By the way, just last week, his wife was late for the first cycle, and this week she is two months pregnant. Sometimes it is tough to keep all the lies straight, I guess.

[Senator]

The line between truth and lies with him is rather narrow.

By the way, just last week, his wife was late for the first cycle, and this week she is two months pregnant.

How can we even assume someone from this board did anything? In my government world, everything is logged, and if I started chasing women on the internet, I would probably be standing tall before the man as well.

Blaming someone on FOFC is just another example of not taking responsibility for your own choices.

[Marmel]

I call bullshit.

[Samdari]

By the way, I agree that we do not all need to call the number. Did anyone call it? Please report here.

[Ksyrup]

First of all, I'm going into this with the assumption that it is true. I don't know if anyone has verified any of this, but if SD is sufficiently satisfied that this isn't a joke or ploy for attention, then I will accept it as being as serious and true as it sounds.

Having said that, I don't think it's beyond belief that someone could get the attention of his boss and direct them to a bunch of posts HM made here. A simple well-placed email could at the very least draw someone's attention to this site, and what they choose to read and believe from that point is anyone's guess. Those posts would pretty much identify who he was, and of course, the comments he makes are there for anyone to read. They could match up dates and times to see that he posted during business hours.

It doesn't sound like there was really a credibility issue - I don't think HM denied it was his username. Perhaps there were other, unlrelated work issues that they had been dealing with, and this gave them the perfect chance to make a clean break without getting into the other things, but who knows. We've only got one side of it. Since the vast majority of us are "at-will" employees, a business can get rid of any of us for pretty much any reason.

And really, it doesn't matter, because even if HM had just gotten a slap on the wrist and kept his job, it doesn't change the fact that someone from this board did what they did.

This is a very scary thing. I don't think anyone here hasn't made a post or even just a single comment that wouldn't cause them some amount of embarrassment, shame, etc., either at home, among friends, or at work - even if it was meant as a joke. A number of people have bared their souls on this board in an honest attempt to get advice about their lives. You've got to wonder if any of this is really worth the price you might pay in your "real life" for things you say on a stupid message board. Even if you are "in character."

[Butter]

Originally posted by Fritz
I post this knowing full well that I, as well as many of the other posters, could have a similar thing happen.

2 friends of mine who work at the same place had this same thing happen. They were called into the office, and shown printout after printout of posts each of them had made to another message board. Some of them were derogatory towards their co-workers. Some were profane. All were during work hours.

They got reprimanded but not dismissed. They both still work there, and actually have a new boss who told them it was ok to surf as long as they're getting their work done. They're both on those other boards a lot less, but they do pop up now and then.

I'm at a workplace where I know I could be monitored, but have been told by several people that as long as I get my work done it's not a problem. You just have to know what your limits are, and follow them. I once stopped posting to all the message boards I frequent for 2 weeks, just to prove to myself that I could. It becomes addictive, after a time.

[The Afoci]

Originally posted by Marmel
I call bullshit.

Agreed.

[CamEdwards]

Skydog,

Did you happen to call this number to verify Kyle's story?

[Bee]

Originally posted by Butter_of_69

I'm at a workplace where I know I could be monitored, but have been told by several people that as long as I get my work done it's not a problem.

That's generally the way it is in places I've been. I post a lot, but I have dual monitors and am working the entire time. When things get really humping, I don't post as much. As long as you're productive, I think that's what is important. Would you rather have someone who surfs the net while producing work, or someone who sits at their desk staring out the window waiting until quitting time?

[Cards4ever]

What I don't understand is, what company gives severance pay when they are terminating someone?

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by Cards4ever
What I don't understand is, what company gives severance pay when they are terminating someone?

That happens all of the time, actually. We've fired/let go 2 secretaries and a paralegal over the last 3 years, and they all got 2 weeks pay.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

Get ready for a lawsuit.

I hope for FOFC's sake, Gamespy thinks the forum is worthwhile enough to fight it.

Somehow, I doubt it.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Mel Kiper's Hair
Get ready for a lawsuit.

I hope for FOFC's sake, Gamespy thinks the forum is worthwhile enough to fight it.

Somehow, I doubt it.

I'm pretty sure Gamespy gets actions like this all the time. Water off a duck's back.

[PilotMan]

One thing that I always try to teach my son is that you are resposible for your own actions. Noone else made you do the things that you do.

I agree that they probably watched him for a while. Especially if he was spending a lot of company time on it. As well, that he used his company's name in reference to himself. They could fire him for tarnishing their image.

Whether someone from here did it or not, he had to realize that he was responsible for his actions. I feel that Grantdawg is right. If someone from here was respnsible, it was taken a little too far. Sadly, its to late to change that now.

By the way, just last week, his wife was late for the first cycle, and this week she is two months pregnant. Sometimes it is tough to keep all the lies straight, I guess.

BTW, this can be common, especially if his wife was unsure of telling him. My wife and I both found out at 6-7 weeks for our 2 boys, that is usually when you really know. Before that is usually by accident when you are at the Dr.s office. So if she was 7wks last week, it is conciveable that he would be telling the truth.

It is sad when things you don't intend to happen do, especially when they are so hard on your life. I find it hard to believe that anyone would go to this length just to make you feel sorry for them, face to face, maybe....faceless online person, whats the point.

Anyway, it goes beck to my first statement. Resposibility is a big thing, sometimes you need to learn the hard way to respect that. He will come out of this stonger and wiser.

My thoughts are with your familiy HM.

PilotMan

[CamEdwards]

Well, if Mel Kiper's Hair says it, then it must be true.

I'm not sure how Kyle could successfully sue Gamespy or FOFC. After all, if what he said is true, one individual simply reported what he said on a message board. How is the message board culpable?

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

The question is if they are willing to spend the money for a defense at all.

I have little doubt that a lawsuit would fail. However, if Kyle feels strongly enough about it, he might continue litigation for a long time.

That could get pretty expensive. Do you think Gamespy would want to foot that bill, knowing that the community that brought about the lawsuit in the first place is still out there?

I don't know the answer to that.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

I would trade down for a couple late-round messageboards if I were Gamespy.

[Bee]

What would a lawsuit accomplish? There's no money to be had. If you close the board, it's highly likely that the community will just move to a new location. A lawsuit doesn't make sense to me.

[CamEdwards]

I think Kyle's more likely looking at a late night attack with a baseball bat on whoever did this.

Here's a thought: what if it was the chick he picked up on the internet who turned him in. Scorned cyber-lover and all that.

[PilotMan]

I can't see how a lawsuit would even be possible. What laws were broken. He was here of his own free will. Nobody held a gun to his head, or blackmailed him to get this result. Cam has it right on.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

Originally posted by Bee
What would a lawsuit accomplish? There's no money to be had. If you close the board, it's highly likely that the community will just move to a new location. A lawsuit doesn't make sense to me.

You're not looking at this from the right perspective. Try looking at it from the point of view of someone who feels the board is responsible for getting fired, and is angry enough to write that letter to the moderator. Look at it from the point of view of a person living in a culture that sues everyone for everything.

Now tell me that Kyle won't file a lawsuit.

[moriarty]

Ok, I guess I'm not too tech savy here but how did someone get his work number or the number of his boss?

Also, how does someone (other than a moderator) get his IP or connect the posts from Horns to connections and postings made at Dell?

(note: please don't reply with a step by step guide on how to do this, but is it really that easy?).

[The Afoci]

Originally posted by CamEdwards
Here's a thought: what if it was the chick he picked up on the internet who turned him in. Scorned cyber-lover and all that.

Everyone knows that shemales are vengeful!

[PilotMan]

Originally posted by Mel Kiper's Hair
You're not looking at this from the right perspective. Try looking at it from the point of view of someone who feels the board is responsible for getting fired, and is angry enough to write that letter to the moderator. Look at it from the point of view of a person living in a culture that sues everyone for everything.

Now tell me that Kyle won't file a lawsuit.

Freedom of speech is a powerful thing and that freedom goes both ways. Again, nobody made him act the way he did. And what evidence would he have anyway?

[Samdari]

Originally posted by PilotMan
BTW, this can be common, especially if his wife was unsure of telling him. My wife and I both found out at 6-7 weeks for our 2 boys, that is usually when you really know. Before that is usually by accident when you are at the Dr.s office. So if she was 7wks last week, it is conciveable that he would be telling the truth.

I realize that. But the original post he made about his "wife" being "pregnant" was made on April 28th, and was about him asking his wife if she was supposed to be having her period then. Nine days later, she is two months pregnant? Once again, he contradicts his own lies, and tries to play the martyr card, evoking sympathy from the good-hearted people of this board. I got duped into feeling sorry for him during the PM scam, never again.

[Jets80]

How does this guy continue to entertain us even after he's be banned for weeks now??

This will be the thread that will get me through my boaring workday.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

You guys are some cold-hearted bastards.

[Bee]

Originally posted by Mel Kiper's Hair
You're not looking at this from the right perspective. Try looking at it from the point of view of someone who feels the board is responsible for getting fired, and is angry enough to write that letter to the moderator. Look at it from the point of view of a person living in a culture that sues everyone for everything.

Now tell me that Kyle won't file a lawsuit.

I think any lawyer would laugh him out of their office to be honest.

[Noop]

If this is true than excuse my french but that's fucked up Horns good lucks



noop

[PilotMan]

Originally posted by Samdari
I realize that. But the original post he made about his "wife" being "pregnant" was made on April 28th, and was about him asking if she was supposed to be having her period then. Nie days later, she is two months pregnant? Once again, he contradicts his own lies, and tries to play the martyr card, evoking sympathy from the good-hearted people of this board. I got duped into feeling sorry for him during the PM scam, never again.

Lets assume that every 4 wks it happens. It is never on an exact schedule so it could be +/- 3 days. When do you notice its late? And how long will you wait before you test? You certainly don't jump up and go see a doctor, and most tests won't comeback positive until 6 weeks. I guess you have your opinions on the matter and your reasons. I still feel that there is a logical timeline for his statements, as well he could be exaggerating a week too. I exaggerate when I get mad too. Anyway I can't believe I just wrote a message about periods. I have hit a new all time low. LOL

[CamEdwards]

can you describe your breasts for us please?

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

Originally posted by Bee
I think any lawyer would laugh him out of their office to be honest.

Just like the lawyer for the people who sue McDonalds for hot coffee?

Just like the criminal who sued when he got shot breaking into someone's house.

Just like the guy who sued God?

I think you get my point.

[Maple Leafs]

Three thoughts:

1. HM's credibility on this board has dropped to the point where I doubt this is true, or at least suspect that it's exagerated.

2. Either way, this is a good reminder that if you're going to surf on company time, do not post anything you wouldn't want your co-workers to know about.

3. If this did happen as described, and if the "mole" was someone on FOFC, then of course that is messed up. Whoever was responsible should be ashamed.

[PilotMan]

Originally posted by CamEdwards
can you describe your breasts for us please?

LOL I guess I am too close to my wife.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

This is really a pointless argument. Obviously either he will pursue litigation, or he won't. Us arguing about it will have no impact on his choice.

The Hair has spoken.

[Draft Dodger]

maybe Kevin turned him in?

[Malificent]

Once again, the ante has been upped. I agree with Marm - I call bullshit. For one thing, that dialogue is total crap.

Finally, I would have never thought you could possibly violate the trust and lose the respect of so many people that liked you.

Yeesh, that's bad. Noone talks like that. It reads like a really cheesy novel. Which, in a lot of respects, the whole Hornsmaniac saga has been. And in any cheesy novel, you have to have the overly melodramatic ending, I guess.

I just picture "Kyle" laughing his head off at all the reaction he's caused.