yeah. you know what? i’m just gonna step back and let him protect his own damn ass. last i checked, he still hasn’t posted since he opened that thread. if he won’t even defend himself, i’m not gonna do it for him.
it’s late, and i just don’t care enough.
<saepiroth steps aside, no longer bothering to shield Sqrl from the ever increasing salvos of firey anger.>
Ummm, I got no email. Sqrl, you know I love ya. I was honestly worried, if that was a joke it was a nasty one. I’ve never really seen you as a nasty person. I don’t want to see you as one now so, please come explain yourself.
Another one with no email (nor do I particularly want one).
I agree with CnoteChris – this was a really bad, jerkish thing to have done. SqrlCub needs to do a public apology, and SOON.
Meanwhile, the trading in torches and flamethrowers is going through the roof, go get in early, kids …
I don’t even think there was ever an apology, Rilchiam. I think it was all one twisted, pathetic, joke on behalf of Sqrlcub against the posters, or readers, at large. That is, I’d bet anything Sqrlcub started that thread to get the responses that he did- it was an ego thing, pure and simple.
There was no intention to get things out straight, or even portray what was happening accurately- it was soley intended to garner sympathy and a sense of caring on behalf of the majority of posters to that one poster.
As people responded and voiced their concern, the people Sqrlcub knew got response, saying all is well. Everyone else was left wondering and in the lurch. All the while this was happening- I’m almost sure of this- this guy sat back and went, ‘I wonder how the others who don’t know what’s up with this will respond. Boy, this is funny!!’.
Fucking pathetic, repulsive, and sick, regardless of who it came from.
What I’d like to know why this guy hasn’t been banned by now. A moderator came in to explain that all was well and basically admit that what happened was a joke. Had this been done by anyone else, he would have been gone by now.
Why the special treatment?
CnoteChris, I have to correct you here, I know Sqrl or at least feel I do, I’ve met him face to face, posted to him and talked to him in chat. I got no email. And if anyone did get an email and didn’t let everyone who was worried know about it well shame on them for that too.
Sqrl, we are still waiting to hear from you about this. If you don’t show up and say something soon more people are going to be more pissed. So just come on and fess up and apologise.
Well, I really don’t think this is that big a deal. It was just a Halloween prank, and really not a bad one at that.
The “a scary thing is coming to get me” broadcast to an audience is a time honored SF/horror theme (Orson Wells, anyone?).
Yes, I understand that people were worried, but that’s kind of the point of this kind of prank, to suck people into the story, and then say “gotcha!”, which I assume Sqrl would have done had the thread not been closed.
I think some lightening up might be in order.
Bad analogy. Orson Welles made quite a few announcements during his Hallowe’en show that what he was broadcasting was fiction and not to be taken seriously. We’ve had no such caveat here.
No. If you want to fuck around with people’s feelings you do it on your own dime. You’re not going to do it here.
Sqrl has posted an explanation and apology here: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=97083
I’m not going to address him in his apology thread, since it is in MPSIMS. Sqrl, I don’t know what you were thinking or why dccrewman implied that he stopped over and you were missing (when apparently you had driven him to the airport), but for all I care, you can now go fuck yourself. I had a feeling it was a joke/gag/whatever and I am sickened to see that I was right.
I have exactly 2 posters that I refuse to read posts from or respond to, and not that you probably give a fuck, but you just made the list.
For what it’s worth, I felt panic, nausea, and disgust at your “story”. The panic was because I actually HAD someone pounding on my door once (when I was a child) and I remember how fucking terrified I was. The nausea was because you didn’t post a follow up to say you were OK. The disgust was the realization that you were a lying fuck. (I’m sorry- I’ll ever risk a warning to tell you that.)
You need help. Go get it, for Christs sake and leave us out of your mindfuck. If I were you, I’d print these threads out and bring them to a therapist that can help you figure out why you need attention so bad. Thanks for making me give a fuck for nothing.
Zette
I dunno, the whole thing has left me feeling stupid. I fell for a joke, and even thought several times about how weird it was to be so worried about someone I’ve never met and never interacted with directly even on the Boards.
The longer a poster has been around, the more trust I place in what they say. Sqrl’s been around a little longer than me and is certainly a more prolific poster, and I’ve never seen him post anything that wasn’t well-intentioned. With the exception of his ill-conceived “joke”, all his posts demonstrate that he’s a friendly, caring and funny man. For that, I’m willing to cut him a lot of slack. I think he’s avoided being banned because this is so out of character, so the “joke” is more likely an inconsiderate, boorish and stupid blunder than a malicious move in his part.
I did get the explanatory email from him, but didn’t pick it up until today since it was routed to my Junk Mail folder in Hotmail (slightly ironic, really). So I spent a couple days wondering what I was going to see when I turned on the computer this weekend, and found out I shouldn’t have bothered worrying at all.
The upshot is that not only has Sqrl shot his own credibility with me, but he’s caused me to be even more cynical about the other calls for help I’ve seen on the Boards. It’s too bad.
I just wanted this to be quoted. I believe the part that I italicized needs to be remembered by everyone.
Well, he found an amber glass pitcher and glasses set for a bargain, so I guess that makes it okay. :rolleyes:
Amen to that. I have a feeling you guys are going to react more compassionately than I would in your shoes.
I’d also like to congratulate Hamlet on one of the most succint and appropriate thread titles I’ve ever seen.
Carry on.
I’m not buying his excuse, for one reason, and one reason only. dcnewsman’s original post. If it was just meant as a “I had been working on a short story following the horror/suspense lines and wanted to see what type of reaction it received.”
If that’s all he meant, than why on Earth would dcnewsman post what he did?
That’s a very good point, and one I didn’t fully appreciate earlier when I made my ‘special treatment’ jab. Out of all the things I’ve sad on this matter, that’s the one comment I regret.
Everything else- I stand by, now more than ever.
[whine]the board will never be the same again!![/whine]
:rolleyes:
anyway. . .
i thought it was hilarious. 
I’ll post that someone’s trying to break in, then I’ll go all quiet and everyone will think I’ve been attacked. Maybe even killed! Awesome!
Then I’ll tell them the whole thing was a joke and that I bought some juice glasses, and it’ll be business as usual.
I don’t think so, dickhead.
Oh yeah…I learned in 3rd grade how “hilarious” that kind of stunt is.
:rolleyes: yourself smart guy
Actually my IP had been temporarily banned when I tried to respond back on Friday thus making the gotcha at the end worse. I don’t know if the mods did it on purpose or if I have an IP similar to someone else they were trying to ban. It really doesn’t matter, they were just doing their jobs. I was able to write back today somehow since my IP no longer seemed to be banned but I didn’t write back on Saturday because I wasn’t home most of the day. Thus the string of people who didn’t get a personal email. I apologize for that. I really tried to keep up with it all but when you aren’t at the pc, you aren’t. I can be a jerk sometimes, so can everyone else. Best to live life to have fun.
HUGS!
Sqrl
PS. Pepperlandgirl, you are in the same category of person as vanilla to me. Hate me all you want.