Goodbye

Dear fellow DegreeInfoians,

I’ve been around here and a.e.d. since the early-mid 90’s. I’ve gained all the knowledge I’ve needed from these forums as I have pursued my education through the Master’s level and gained the knowledge I’ve needed to begin a doctoral program. My single reason for even being here lately was with the slim home that perhaps I could share what I’ve learned with other new degree seekers. If it were not for such people when I started that guided me in the right direction then I certainly would not have been able to achieve my undergrad, much less my masters. (You are all free to check the archives if you would like the reasons for this; it is beyond the scope of this message to re-post them.)

Like many other “old timers”, I left a.e.d. when the spammers took over. I was thrilled to find this board come into existence a short time later, which negated the spam threat.

I must say that I will now be leaving this board too. I am sure that I will pursue DL in the future, but I won’t be dealing with these forums again.

My reasons are simple: In recent days I have been attacked via e-mails to myself (extremely vulgar and threatening I must say) and to my employers (without basis). The e-mails had enough information about me to tell me that it’s was written by someone who has been here for a VERY long time. (Now you folks know why I have been “testy” the last few days.)

I won’t speculate as to why they were written (except perhaps because I defended a Non-RA degree holder?) or who they were written by. I will say that have not hurt me in any way because all my credentials are above reproach, but they have caused me some uncomfortable moments. (Perhaps this was the goal.)

I will say that I’m annoyed and disgusted that any one of the members of this board would resort to such tactics. I thought that the point of “hanging out” here was to lift folks up and show them opportunities, not tear people down and threaten the livelihood of their families. I have long considered this forum to be a “shining light” of the Internet. I hope that those of you who are attempting (successfully) to destroy this get a cheap thrill from doing so.

Moderators: Please delete my ID ASAP.

- Ellis

 

For God's sake! There must be some alternative. You can't let one idiot (or a few) drive you off this board. The person (or persons) perpetrating this kind of crap shouldn't be allowed to "win".

 

Well, Ellis,

I'm new here, so I don't know you, and you don't know me, but I'm sorry to be coming as you're going...

All I can say is this: "Us - 0 Them - 1".

(I hope I've properly alligned myself here...) ;o)

Anyway, good luck!

 

First, let me express my deep sense of sympathy for EllisZ. By coming up to the plate to stand up for my right to do what I want with my life and education -- he caught s**t from these idiots. I regret this happened to him on account of my outspoken nature, and I wish him well.

The person/people behind this whole "outing" farce have shown their hand 100% now -- it has NOTHING to do with the accreditation issue whatsoever, but is a campaign intended to silence anyone who dares have a voice.

Non-accredited, DETC, RA -- makes no difference to this person/people.

The agenda is clear now -- very clear: invasion of privacy, harassment, et cetera, are seen (in this person/persons' eyes) as being a tool to cut out people's tongues. They learned how to use it -- and they're using it to some effect.

What a sick, impotent garden gnome this person must be.

 

Quacks, Nutballs & Flakes

• Got to be careful on the world wide net: it is global, ya know

From the outset, I have preferred anonymity and the example of EllisZ is a prime example.

It is nice to be able to be anonymous and yet remain professional. When we are not anonymous, then we are subject to the antics of quacks and nutballs, as EllisZ can now testify to.

EllisZ, come back under a sudo name!!!

 

Re: Quacks, Nutballs & Flakes

Pseudonyms are fine for anyone who simply wants to observe, make comments, and so on. I understand your reasons for using "me again" -- and respect them.

When you enter semi-public life and start championing causes, or when you write novels, or technical articles, or papers, or whatever, your name becomes your mark, brand, whatever -- for better or for worse. In those contexts, "me again" or "distance learning advocate" or whatever ... they have no utility.

The lawn ornament behind all of this has no b**ls. In the past, he has prodded others on, from the backlines, so that they will do his dirty work, putting their names on the line. Whenever he has acted directly -- he hides behind names probably taken from gravestones near where he lives.

So let's give this person a name: Homunculus Rex. King of the Little Men.

 

In the past, I have argued that it makes no sense to expose these people after they have apologized to you but I have changed my mind. PLEASE EXPOSE these individuals for the benefits of other posters. Those who dine with the devil must remember to use long spoons. Methinks that we are dinning with the devil here. I have no skeleton in my closet and I still DO NOT endorse unaccredited degrees but I will prefer to use long spoons when eating on the same table with these people. If you can't expose them in this forum, please send me an email and include the names of these wimps. If they can go after Ellis whose degrees are all RA, they can go after anybody who disagrees with them. We need to know who these people are. My email address is [email protected]

 

Please do not quit because of the irractional actions of a few morons among us. You have been an inspiration to many on this board, especially those who are trying to actualize their quest for higher education through DE. You are also a major contributor to DE issues on this board. You are not a mere DE actor. You have lived DE. You have nothing to fear because all your degrees are RA. I will advise you to expose these people. If you can't do it here, please do it at distancedegree.net. You may also send an email that includes the names of these people to me. My email address is [email protected]. I will not bid you goodbye because I want you to stay here and fight back.

 

Re: Re: Goodbye

Sorry, I thought this was a funny irony regarding the moron's writing ability. Don't take it seriously.

On a more serious note. I absolutely agree with your post Ike. I also understand your feeling Ellis, but could you take a few days to cool off and possibly reconsider before you do anything rash? Maybe you have already done this and reached your decision, but I hope this is not true. Take care.

Tony

p.s. edited for my own spelling mistakes

 

The ones who tried this on me in January were dealt with ... and have not bothered me using their previously aliases since that time -- but this does not mean that they have gone away. They "apologized" -- and after their "apology", contacted CBC News, and someone claiming to be from CBC phoned my unlisted home number in February. The moderators here were sent those email headers for their records, and several of the ISPs involved responded by cancelling accounts.

That said, here are some of the "aliases" used during the first wave of the outing (January 2002) -- in case anyone here wishes to go through his or her emails to see whether or not they have shared email with any of these aliases:

(I no longer feel bound to confidentiality with these people, since I consider the following names to be aliases.)

The ones for whom I have not included email addresses used remailers ... no use citing their email addresses. As far as I know, MSN cancelled [email protected].

If you (or anyone else) have been sharing information with any of the above ... be aware that those names are involved with "outing". You may have been "sleeping with dogs" and you may have their "fleas." Check your email records for these names back to January and February. Welcome to reality.

In the case of Robert Kelling -- you will find posts here from a "Robert Kelling" starting in about December. This particular person was the most persistent ... and exchanged emails with me of the following nature:

Most of these people used rerouting ... and the signature of this particular wave of rerouting was as follows:

I now have my email filters set to catch the message-id sitemail.everyone.net signature and flag it.

I am posting this information here as a public service announcement. Dance with the devil, and you're gonna get burned.

 

The names are not familiar but I will add them to the list of cyber devils.

 

Re: Re: Re: Goodbye

Ike

I just reread this post and feel the need to clarify. I was talking about the cyber stalker as the moron. I just thought it was funny and thought (think) you might have done it on purpose. No offense meant. Take care.

Tony

 

Just so it is clear why I posted those names.

Most of the Headers removed from the first, to allow me to post this in one message:

 

BTW:

"This feller has three fake degrees and is going around writing novels, claiming all sorts of awards"

You would not BELIEVE the laughs this one gave me.

"Going around writing novels, claiming all sorts of awards."

CALL IN THE FEDERALES! HE GOES AROUND WRITING NOVELS!!! (one of which was put on the required reading of a creative writing course at Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre)

WHAT NERVE!!!


HAHAHAHA

 

Yesssssssssssss............Mark Twain Lives!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ooooh! I do SO wish I had a LOT more free time on my hands and a bank account full of money....one could almost dedicate their life to something like this!

Seriously, tho...after reading QTJ's posts of the emails he's recieved and the others, one has just got to wonder: do these "Watchers" wear brown shirts and make pilgrimages to a certain bunker in Berlin every other year or so? I mean, come on!! And these people themselves CLAIM to be educated?

Let's define what education is then - is it attending the classes, punching the clocks, filling in the right checkboxes on a multiple-choice test (just the way you were coached), and getting that nice little paper that says you've been "educated"? Or does it consist of acquiring knowledge and an understanding of a certain subject or subject area and being able to use it, regardless of how acquired?

I don't know who these "WATCHER's" are, or those like them, but I really have to think they have some serious self-esteem issues if they need to expend time and effort hunting down people who don't seem to meet "their" standards. Sure, it may be a problem that people with fake credentials are using them to commit fraud and other naughty things - but then, isn't that what we have police and other agencies for? Oh, and for someone to "run around writing novels and claiming to be educated" - well, gee!! Hrm...so, I guess only properly educated people are allowed to write? It couldn't be that someone who can write competently may just really BE educated, just perhaps not "accredited"? Or is perhaps his writing also suspect - perhaps he's using the words in his novels fraudulently, and without proper authorization? God forbid we should have an unauthorized author authoring! Someone run and call the authorities, quick, before he writes again!!

I can only imagine the nature of the emails that caused the person who started this thread to quit, but judging by the examples above, I guess you can't blame him - no one needs to put up with stuff like that, and as with any internet discussion forum, one has few choices if one wishes to deal with the issue in a civilized way, and that's normally just to refuse to deal with it. It's the easiest and most effective way. Unfortunately, it also gives more "power" to the weanies who chase people away every time they are successful in doing it, and it takes a little something away from everyone else and the forum involved. But it's either that, or stoop to their level, something I WOULD almost consider doing, had I had the available resources to do so - the motivation is already there, but then again...people such as that are almost a "chinese army" (no ethnic slur intended!) in a way - you get rid of one, and two more are ready to take their place, and you can never eliminate them faster than they can replenish themselves.

On a lighter note...I bet these people perhaps consist of the material described at the below link - I thought it appropriate...

http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/pxs/CS4SoftwareEng97/administratium.html

Back to the topic, I just have to wonder though - don't we have enough genuinely serious issues in the world for our "educated" people to work on? I mean really...perhaps we should offer degrees (or at least classes) in prioritizing problems and issues in society so people know what's really important, and what's not? I mean it - these people are silly, and would almost be comedic if they weren't so damned educated! Or...perhaps these are people who maybe are not qualified to work on "real problems", and to justify their existence (and educations), they've elected to gang up on individuals who they feel may be weaker in some ways than they are...? Hrm. Well, guys, which is it? I guess only the Watchers know for sure...

(close ur shades, plug up ur bathroom door keyholes, and tint ur car windows, folks - no telling where they could pop up next!)

 

Isn't that just a riot, though?

I "claim" to be a novelist, I "claim" to have awards, I "claim".... PuhLease.

I am a novelist. I have won awards. Back in the days when Xlibris was doing its "free core" program, I did a test run on Abadoun, free of charge, to see who would be interested (if anyone) in the novel. It got some good reviews. PlaneTree contacted me, and offered to do it over in the UK, for free, so I switched publishers.

Fred Candelaria, Professor Emertitus of English at Simon Fraser University (emertius since about 1986, I believe), had read the novel, and decided to make it required reading for his creative writing class at Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre. Then, he decided to go into full retirement that same semester in order to pursue a more quiet life as a poet. He stood behind the novel, though, and had Simon Fraser U. Harbor Centre's bookstore order 20 copies ... a bold move to make on a novel I "claim" to have written.

PlaneTree then went on to publish The Succubus Sea ... another novel I "claim" to have written. New York photographer Keith Krebs, after having read the first novel I "claimed" to have written, offered to donate the cover photo for my second novel. The model, Avanti, agreed to allow her image to be used on the alleged second novel. And PlaneTree was going to nominate it for the GeeGee (Governor General of Canada, Literary Award), but logistics prevented this, since PlaneTree is POD. I didn't pay a cent to have it published ... this "claimed" novel.

Janus Incubus, recently released, was reworked from umpteen short stories and poems that have appeared in Noesis-E, The Kudzu Monthly, Ubiquity, Drop the Buddha (alas, Drop the Buddha is no longer with us). Since much of the novel had already appeared in excerpted form in these venues, I suppose that makes me a self-published hack.

Yes, I make a lot of "claims". I claim that Dr. Clifford Pickover (Ph.D., Yale, 30 books to his name), allowed me to make it known that he has said of my writing, "Quinn Tyler Jackson’s writings are always full of mind-boggling images and ideas, wreathed in beauty, subtlety, breadth, and insight. The eclectic Jackson is both a technologist and poet, and with the cold logic of the one and the inspired vision of the other, he is sure to stimulate your imagination and sense of wonder at the incredible vastness of our universe."

Mighty big claim. I guess I've just got to stop shooting off at the mouth with my "claims," such as the claim that Dr. Gina LoSasso (Ph.D. Wayne State), said in her public statement as Executive Director of the Mega Foundation, when I was added to the PMOTW, that, "Quinn Tyler Jackson is truly a phenomenal individual. He has talents in so many areas and is a literary genius of Nobel caliber. Jackson has been an active and productive contributor to our journals and community since his arrival, and this recent honor is in keeping with what the board of directors of the Mega Foundation have always believed the Foundation is about: the actualization of talent and genius."

But when I stand my ground, and take the considered public statements of these people to heart, I am accused of wanting to show the world just how smart I am, and I am asked if I had to defend my work orally. I am told, upon being called a fraud and a liar, that I should put up or shut up, but when I do "put up" I am told that I "claim" to be an author. I am told when I become passionate in my own defense that I should cool down.

I am advised by my learned friends that I should just let such things roll off my back like the beads of water they are. "Claiming" to hold a doctorate that the Board of Regents of LA has told me in writing is "legal and valid," I am told that I "claim" to hold a doctorate. If I attempt to explain what I did for my degrees, I watch it reduced to "3 university courses," when in fact, the post over on DistanceDegree.net clearly states that I also submitted test scores for 36 modules of computer programming courses. (And well, other points I made were totally disregarded, such as 500 hours of authenticated editing equally 4 semester hours credit, and my then Member Grade status in IEEE [which is only granted for a bachelor's degree "or equivalent"] being totally given no status in my challenge whatsoever.)

I have heard that I will have to defend these degrees for the rest of my life, and that I "claim" to be an author. If I passionately defend myself and my right to these degrees, I am told to sit down and shut up. When others speak out against "outing" they have their employers called on the telephone.

It's clear that critics of unaccredited degrees have no concern whatsoever for the truth of the matter. When a colleague provides me with the following statement (in much more specific) detail, in writing, they will continue to assert that I am a fraud:

That, coming from the CEO of a company that ... well ... who holds a number of software patents who ... well.... let's just wait and see how this "claim" of mine pans out. (And if anyone thinks I'm bluffing here -- when was the last time I made a "claim" that I didn't have some backing on? I don't have the letter yet, but have been promised it's being drafted this weekend.)

The outers could have just let me be in my little "fantasy land" with my high estimation of my abilities -- after all, it's clear that no one with a regionally accredited PhD from Yale, Cambridge, Waye State, University of Missouri, or who's taught at any place such as the ones mentioned above would ever back any of my "claims." Instead, the outers have elected to push this Irishman just a little too far, and have started picking up the phone and practicing dialtone character assination on DETC and RA degree holders, in an effort to shut me and my ilk out of the equation.

Pardon my rant. Must be that this "feller" just ate one catfish too many today. I don't care if anyone here ever calls me "Dr. Jackson"... that's their personal business, and if that little powertrip is their bag ... so be it. It's clear to me what is important has nothing to do with the truth.

{I plead poetic license on this post and promise I won't rant again on this. For one -- who has the time to waste?}

 

I'm sorry to read that Ellis, you've been a valuable member here for awhile now. The harrassment you've received is an unfortunate by-product of having a truly open forum. Anyone with web access can read this board, and anyone with a few minutes to spare can register and participate.

I haven't received any lately, but I have gotten some hate e-mail in the past, mostly for my criticism of unaccredited programs. I view hate e-mail the same as I view the barking of a dog...it's there, you can't pretend it isn't, but it's also meaningless. You can bark back or ignore it, but the end result is the same.

I'm going to hold off deleting your ID, in the hope that you change your mind.


Bruce

 

Re: Re: Goodbye

The thing about "barking back" is that sometimes, to be able to sleep with yourself, one has to bark.

You've always been fairly level headed, in my opinion, plus or minus a few rants of your own, Bruce. 95% of the people in the DL forums fall into the fairly level headed with moments of frustration over the BS category....

I hope Ellis Z doesn't get disappeared by this, too. I am sure many wish the same. It's a damned shame what the Garden Gnome has managed to accomplish with a water pistol filled with lemon fizz.

 

I was gointa fix "character assination" when I had the chance, but figured, what the heck.... might as well leave something in there to show that my momma didn't learn me right.