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I'll flag the post just in case.
Not to derail the thread or anything, but charging providers to be able to post offers is a win - win for every side, and yes -- I literally mean every side. Clearly, Jon and the people he employs (presumably) win in an immediate sense of the word, but the community wins long term, because one sure way of weeding out the failing and/or kiddo providers is to charge.
They simply won't pay up, not only because they can't afford it, but because they think they're somehow have the right to post their offers on a private website. Community or not... the proprietor decides on the rules, and as long as the proprietor isn't silencing people left and right, letting scammers scam people (sadly, bringing up past events, or saying that the people who were associated with a prior scam are now running something else isn't enough to be able to rule on it in any sense whatsoever. So without any factual evidence, we come back to the main point... as long as your voice isn't silenced. Not much to complain about, especially not about the proprietor charging for providers to post offers.
Any healthy business will be able to spend $100/mo on an ad, let alone a year... and if they're not getting any type of sales from the threads to warrant paying for the advertising, then maybe they shouldn't be posting any offers to begin with, and should focus on bettering their service.
Anyway, just my 2c.
Oh thank you, dear chap, it is best to let our fine moderation team handle this unspeakable situation.
I kind of agree in some sense (not totally). But BilohBucks is too much of a creative word to not be used. I admire the user first using it.
Of course the inventor and the most prolific user of this term is @Nekki
First post containing phrase "bilohbucks" from March 24:
https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/comment/3396815/#Comment_3396815
Not surprising. @Nekki - do you regret inventing this term?
I do not, old chap - the portmanteau is a literary device beloved and used throughout the ages, so if I have been able to introduce one I to the community vernacular, I am most honoured!
Do you still use it yourself?
I have done recently, but not since my recent change of approach to communication, I should add.
Very sad.
Actually, I stand corrected. After widening my scope, turns out @BusterWolf from OGF used it mere 5 days before @Nekki
https://lowendspirit.com/discussion/comment/82857/#Comment_82857
Their search engine is far worse than LET, so the verdict may not be final yet.
@Nekki did you create the term or no?
@BusterWolf is a very good friend of mine, so its possible either one of us came up with the portmanteau, I honestly couldn't say. His recollection may be better than mine.
How much did the fancy word addon cost for GPT-3? No way you knew the word portmanteau last week.
My dear friend, I can assure you that this vocabulary is mine, and mine alone - no 'in-app' purchases here!
I'm surprised nobody que up "For immediate release"
BTW, Johnny did specifically decline to answer questions about the mechanics of his fraud - i.e., how the scam worked, what his crucial mistake was, etc. He felt that putting this information out there would serve no constructive purpose and could lead to others attempting to "learn from his mistakes" and build a better fraud mousetrap.
So for those who wanted more meat around the actual fraud operation, we did ask but Johnny felt it was inappropriate to go into details and I respect that.
Thank you all for the well wishes and thank you @raindog308 for the opportunity.
When I was initially charged with this case two years ago, I had to resign from my job as an account manager for PC Connection (one of the big technology distribution companies) and got a job at McDonald's. I worked there for 8 months and became a manager up until I had to self-surrender to prison.
It was a very humbling learning experience, getting the opportunity to work with and eventually lead a team of employees working to make ends meet with their families while having the opportunity to help kids with their first job. It taught me that I wasn't above honest, hard work, and helped me understand many of the struggles that my coworkers and employees faced.
https://imgur.com/a/gbF2p2O
https://imgur.com/a/X4f6Eon
Best of luck. You're a smart guy, just made some poor decisions. If you need help, advise, or just want to chat feel free to reach out. I'm wishing you the best on your future endeavors.
Now that you're free, are you ba ba ba ba baaa lovin' it?
I am grateful for the small little things, like being able to decide when you wake up/go to sleep, being able to call friends and family whenever without a time restriction, being able to see a doctor without being put on a long waitlist, being able to eat what you want when you want...
It was a surreal feeling when I went to Walmart after getting released, having all of those choices in front of me. Having FREEDOM in front of me, which is the most important thing you lose when incarcerated. Life is relatively short, so when you look at something like 5, 6, or 10+ year sentence, that's a significant portion of life that is essentially lost when your freedom is deprived. I think that the truly smart ones who experience incarceration come to the realization that freedom is priceless.
Speaking of fast food though, it reminds me of the time when one of the inmates convinced his brother to drive to the prison campus to drop off Whoppers from Burger King and he got caught by a patrol car from the neighboring prison. The next day, the staff trolled us by hanging a poster of the BK mascot on the wall near the cafeteria which said "Can't always have it your way"
wagecuck seethe
eurocuck/socialized healthcarecuck seethe
this is a gold nugget right there!
as long as they think they'll make >$200, why wouldn't they still pay? see the nonsense going on with that boomer.host guy for example.
I know what you mean, and I fully agree with you, but I just think that you can't have the perfect system, though... there will always be people who think that they can game the system, and make a quick buck.
I do think it works well enough to dissuade most of them, because they don't want to part with the cash, and they're entitled enough to think that they should be able to post it for free.
Another thing that could help the community as a whole is LET/LEB to have a quick peek at the sanitized sales figures and the associated costs when it comes to running the whole operation, and if it's obvious that they're barely breaking even... then they probably shouldn't be allowed to post any type of offers.
I do know that it's a lot to ask, and that people would act all uppity about it, but a lot of these providers are making decent money off of the community, and they have access to people's PII, too. It really leaves a bad taste in your mouth when they act like they're doing the community a favor by posting the offers, when the community is keeping them afloat to begin with.
Everyone deserves to be able to get a server, but the company should be able to weather the loss in case the offer was unsustainable. Because it creates a bunch of other problems otherwise... will the people's information be leaked in case the owner of the hosting pisses off one of the sysadmins (or anyone else with access) who haven't been paid, you know?
Point is here he is claiming to want to do better and it starts out with him bragging about how much ass he gets, again. Feels like I've heard this story a few too many times. The ending has never been impressive.
By all means, he should prove me wrong. Good luck, here's $5, I expect it in a stripper's thong by end of night.
I mean... imagine yourself as a young teenage boy with money. I grew up poor, and I could only dream about those types of things, so can I really say that I wouldn't have done the same in his shoes at that age? Like... would you have a strong enough character to say no to some guy online, who introduces you to the world of fraud, and shows you how easy it is to get money by virtually doing nothing more intelligent than doing a few clicks here and there, something you could teach virtually anyone.
What I mean to say is that I get the gist of what he is saying. He was able to go out with girls because he was making money, and it made him feel good. Even though the income he was making was illicit, it didn't make his high dopamine levels any less real.
I would like to think that it taught him that the money doesn't really mean anything, and that having your family, and someone by your side is truly invaluable, and that you can do a lot for the world, regardless of your job.
People matter, and you can make someone's day simply by smiling at them while doing your job It doesn't make you any less valuable just because your job is serving food, for example. It's honest work, and it's something to be proud of. Especially if you're good at your job, because some people don't feel good about eating out, suffer from anxiety, and if you are able to make it a pleasant experience, you're doing enough, and should be proud.
Anyway... not to sound overly emotional, but I would like to believe that it won't end up in a stripper's thong (even though it could be paying for college classes! :P, sorry, couldn't resist).
I don't see it as him bragging about how much ass he got. I saw it more as he was trying to show the reasoning for his actions. He wanted to show off and he wanted girls' attention. He wanted people to notice him. His actions were to try and show success and wealth as he didn't have it growing up. He was willing to take shortcuts that were unethical and illegal. At the end of the day he got caught, went to jail, and is making progress towards a new beginning.
He lost time and part of his life over that period. Mistakes can be made. Aren't you usually an advocate for people to get a second chance? Especially if they actually did serve their time?
Yes Johnny has had multiple second chances, but this time around he actually went to prison for it that, I hope, was basically a major wake up call. As long as he stays out of prison, I'm happy for him and will respect him for that.
This is true. I made a lot of "friends" and acquaintances because of that money, and almost all of them disappeared when I lost everything. I learned who my real friends were. I've been disowned by much of my family because of the shame I've caused them from the media reports, forcing me to become independent. My parents are now hesitantly coming back to support me as I work towards their initial plans for me to graduate college and make something of myself.
Money does not create true happiness ... what I got from it was all fake. It's like the concept of using drugs. They can help you escape the reality that hurts but it doesn't actually change your situation. What good is it to pay for girls when those girls don't really care about you, and will leave you the second you run out of money? I was still alone even with the girls because they were just putting on a show, just like I was.
When I ran GVH one of the most important things that I didn't understand was sustainability. Having something real hold you up and that will still be there years later without falling apart. Long term instead of short term.
Losing everything I had, I found myself with not even 1/10th of the people I had around me. I found myself grateful for little things like a box of Cheeze Its crackers that I would buy from the commissary that was worth days of my work in the prison kitchen paid 19 cents an hour. I found enjoyment in things like being able to talk to some of the few people who still supported me on a 15-minute monitored phone call on the 18th day of solitary confinement.
This isn't some phase. My feelings about this won't go away. Like I said in my answer about why I agreed to do the interview, I constantly revisit the past to help me create a better future. I remind myself of the trauma that I caused others, my family, my friends, and myself.
Many people who leave prison don't have the tools to be better than who they were. But I am grateful in that I believe I do have what it takes, so I have a responsibility to do it.
I truly wish you all the best from the bottom of my heart, and I hope that you will have a beautiful life ahead of you. Reading this post of yours is enough for me to convince me that you were able to become a real man and own up to your actions.
Very few people realize that not everyone will have the chance to start afresh. Many people can't escape their life after they leave prison. Unfortunately, a lot of them are more free in prison than on the outside, and the only way for them to leave that life is to simply disappear and forget about their family and acquaintances.
When this all started, I was a part of a community on an ICQ chat group where I met the people who introduced me to the world of fraud. They became my closest friends when I was in a vulnerable position, even though they lived across the ocean. I was able to talk to them every day and they were able to comfort me and give me advice, and I looked up to them as older brothers. I became consumed with the fake pleasures and luxuries that the stolen money was able to buy me. One thing became another, and I couldn't stop until the feds came in.
Ultimately, I can only blame myself for my actions that led up to this. I wish I had known better and had more self-control at the time.