In December 2002, I founded The High Road forum dedicated to the advancement of responsible gun ownership. Recently, it was discovered that in 2006, the volunteer forum systems administrator, Derek Zeanah of Statesboro, Georgia, changed domain registration to himself. After he was confronted, Derek locked out all other staff from accessing the Web server administration and would not share even backup copies of its content. After failed attempts to peacefully resolve the dispute, it has become necessary for me to initiate a lawsuit against Derek Zeanah for the return of thehighroad.org domain name and the forum database.Even though I do not know Oleg personally, we do have friends in common and I understand him to be a stand up guy. Oleg is at the front lines in our fight to keep and bear arms. His pro-gun images are freely used on blogs and forums the world over to help make our point.
I am seeking and would greatly appreciate donations to help with the cost of litigation. You can use Paypal (olegvolk@gmail.com) or send a check to:
Oleg Volk 3112 Chambley Ct Hermitage, TN 37076
All donations shall be returned if the lawsuit is ultimately avoided. You can also aid me by re-posting this appeal on your blog, forum or web site. My legal position is already endorsed by almost all of The High Road staff as well as Rich Lucibella, the founder of The Firing Line forum.
I have always been impressed by what Oleg had accomplished with THR. I moderated a much smaller forum prior to blogging, and have some idea as to just how much work went into building up a community the size of THR. To have an asset that you have worked so hard on stolen right out from under your feet is gut wrenching to say the least.
Update from Oleg:
Derek's reaction was to disable The High Road forum all together. He also removed most of the staff who opposed him.
What makes a man believe that he can get away with something like this?
2 comments:
What makes a man believe that he can get away with something like this?
The fact that so far he has?
I'm with Oleg on this, but the fact is that a lot of people won't know the difference given the sheer size of THR.
Granted, I've never posted over there because I really don't like the culture of forums. But, I know it's one of the largest forums out there.
If he has moderators who shut down anyone who tries to talk about it, then not much can be done to get the attention of people who haven't found out about the issues yet.
Hopefully the threat of legal action will convince him to behave, but it may well end up being a huge loss if he decides to take the forums down with him in his fall.
I agree. People like that feed on getting away with stuff like this and the longer he does the more arrogant he becomes.
Legal action looks like the only recourse. Oleg should look for Derek's weak spots.
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