There are few betrayals as foul as when people whom you have considered friends for years decide to double-cross you and turn on you.  It's the ultimate perfidy.  It hurts to find out that people whom you trusted have screwed you.  I know how Oleg feels. 

Oleg is a talented photographer and a good friend.  I don't like to see my friends hurt, and this is exactly what is going on.  Please pass this on - and copy it to your blogs (for those of you who have them).  Oleg has spent years of his life, energy and effort cultivating this forum.  To have someone you trusted steal your effort from you is just shitty.

Here's what he writes in its entirety:


So, the traitor speaketh.  As Oleg told me a few minutes ago, his assertions "have only a moderate relation to reality."  You can read the entire drama-filled piece here.  I won't reprint the entire piece here.  But Oleg did just send me some corrections to the contentions Derek has made:

D: As far back as I can remember Oleg and have had the understanding that we were joint owners.

O: Derek has been one of two server admins and one of about forty moderators. His own statements over the past six years always acknowledged that I own the forum and he volunteers his help. Server and hosting expenses have been covered first by moderator contribuitions and later by member contributions. A request for accounting showing otherwise has been ignored for months.

D: We need to resolve this equitably and between ourselves, but in my view neither of us should be willing to proceed in a manner that politicizes the issue and damages this community.

O: Starting the negotiations by locking out me and all other staff from the forum controls was not amicable. Neither was the appropriation of my domain name as the bargaining chip. Two months of negotiations produced no improvement, so I have only the legal option left.

Now, let me state this for the record:  I don't know Derek, but I do know Oleg.  He has been a friend - and a damn good one - for eight years.  He has worked his ASS off to make THR a successful forum and a great Internet resource.  I don't post there (I was banned five years ago, because apparently, I'm a bit too contentous - shocking I know!  And I have never taken advantage of my friendship with Oleg by asking him to reinstate me), so I have no dog in this fight, other than my eight-year friendship with him and my utter disgust that anyone would steal something he worked so hard for - especially someone who was a friend!  Stealing is bad enough.  Stealing from a friend deserves the rabid hedgehog up the ass treatment.