PROBATION DISCUSSIONS 21 21

[CAHokie]

Before Craigslist entrapment was he just going to be on probation list ?

 

There was talk of HOS before due to the 15K but someone needed to write it up.

[skypinkblu]

Before Craigslist entrapment was he just going to be on probation list ?

No, I suggested it before that because he's a repeat offender.

 

I didn't care about the amount of value of the SW figures, just that he was searching ads rather than mailing people's stuff, but that came after.

 

That is what is relevant to me. If he bought more stuff, what makes anyone think that he'll mail those out?

 

He needs to get organized, but meanwhile, no matter what his issues and I'm sure he has some kind of issue, many of us do in some form or another, but we still manage to send someone what they pay for when they pay for it.

 

It's not always easy to do what you need to do, but those who can't manage (unless it's some totally obvious short term specific, one time disaster) need to have warning, warning, danger! danger! signs when they try to sell stuff.

 

[nocutename]

I am quoting this because it took some time to find. I could say sometime here but I will just leave the quote that is much more damaging than anything I can offer.

 

**Mods, if this is a violation of any rule, I will voluntarily take it down**

 

I believe this information is for the betterment of the community

 

It occurred to me that no matter what transpires in the Chip Cataldo fiasco, there would always be those who would defend him. He has this issue or that issue and that's ok because we have to be kind and caring and exhibit all the political correctness one can handle.

 

It also occurred to me that his behavior isn't going to stop: a pattern that has emerged over many years and many internet forums. A pattern of someone, through their own poor choices, consistently find themselves in dire straits only to seek out the assistance from others. But the interesting part of this is that the pattern continues: wash, rinse, repeat. No knowledge that would benefit said party is used when he finds himself in the same situation. It's like "Hey...you guys bailed me out the last 15 times, what's another time, right?"

 

Knowing this and also realizing that the truth would never come out, I decided to conduct an experiment with the following hypothesis:

 

Chip's situation isn't nearly as bad as he lets on. He knows exactly what he's doing; he's actively on the boards/Facebook, etc and he's going to continue to bilk money and sympathy from anyone who's willing to enable him.

 

After consulting Buzzetta (for the record, we are good friends), I decided to dangle a carrot:

 

http://myrtlebeach.craigslist.org/tag/5939743811.html

 

Some may say its deceitful; others that it was wrong. But I know how much he loves Star Wars toys. BUT...and here's the kicker: if his situation is so bad (no job, getting evicted for the second time, no way to support his dependents), then there's no way he would possibly be buying collections. If you take him at his word, he shouldn't have ANY extra money, right?

 

Well....as expected, I was wrong.

 

At 8:31 pm, I received the following:

 

 

YES Chip has time AND money to buy Star Wars collections. Not only that, it's the money that people here sent him for items that HAVE NOT been delivered. Items that were purchased in November. I believe etanick said his check was cashed on 11/15 and his PM from 12/6 was just read. JUST READ! That's over 45 days.

 

It's my opinion that Mr. Cataldo should be in the HoS. Like many, I was shocked that his gofundme attempt wasn't enough to push him into the Hall. I mean, he was literally asking the community to pay off his debts (which he accumulated) and pay his living expenses for a few months so he could "get his life together." Will someone do this for me?

 

Between the gofundme, the more recent lack of shipping/responding/basically stealing others money, his history on various Star Wars forums, I believe a HoS vote is in order.

 

If he has the means and ability to go out and buy toy collections, then he has the means and ability to settle all prior affairs.

 

The difference is: he doesn't want to and has repeatedly shown his true self and true colors.

 

We are the farmers. Chip is the snake. How many times must we be bitten to understand?!?!

 

 

[Paddy_McShillihan]

Before Craigslist entrapment was he just going to be on probation list ?

No, I suggested it before that because he's a repeat offender.

 

I didn't care about the amount of value of the SW figures, just that he was searching ads rather than mailing people's stuff, but that came after.

 

That is what is relevant to me. If he bought more stuff, what makes anyone think that he'll mail those out?

 

He needs to get organized, but meanwhile, no matter what his issues and I'm sure he has some kind of issue, many of us do in some form or another, but we still manage to send someone what they pay for when they pay for it.

 

It's not always easy to do what you need to do, but those who can't manage (unless it's some totally obvious short term specific, one time disaster) need to have warning, warning, danger! danger! signs when they try to sell stuff.

 

I see ... just wasn't sure if Craigslist incident was final straw

[HarveySwick]

HOS Nomination Poll

[comix4fun]

I don't think he cared for the Craigslist "entrapment". More so the person who perpetrated it.

 

I'm not a huge fan of that either but it did clearly show that he's constantly online constantly watching for deals, and he can find funds when required. A far cry from ignoring boardies and not having enough money to ship what was paid for.

 

 

No excuse for it really and I think it was pretty telling he didn't even try to give one. Total hand in the cookie jar moment and the final straw for a lot of people.

 

For me, the only significance of the craigslist incident is that it shows he is spending his time on Craigslist when he should be spending his time doing something else: mainly shipping books, looking for a job, etc. The posting itself was clearly for over $1000 worth of easily sellable figures. (And I know almost nothing about star wars except that you can barely give away the power of the force figures). He should not have been searching craigslist, but once he was I don't fault him for trying to buy a quick flip of 10x in value. The trap would have been more damning for me if the asking price had been a more substantial, and therefore difficult to acquire, amount of say $500 or $1000.

 

 

 

The value is irrelevant.

 

He was "too busy" to respond to people that bought from him almost 2 months ago with nothing to show for it, but was able to pounce on a craigslist ad.

 

He was "fired" from his job and didn't have the means or the time to ship out all those orders, but could set aside time to correspond and potentially meet and purchase a Star Wars collections, which would require even more time, effort, and shipping to part out and sell.

 

The relevance of the craigslist incident is that it showed he was, again, lying to all the boardies here and, until threatened with negative action here, could not be bothered to respond or perform on his responsibilities.

 

It's great that you wanna give Chip leeway to make a score on craigslist, but he's doing it with boardie money that he says he doesn't have to ship those boardies items out, with time that wasn't available to keep his promises on this forum.

 

The value of the phantom SW collection is a distraction to what his actions mean in the grand scheme.

 

I already noted that the significance of the craigslist ad was that he was searching craigslist rather than fulfilling his responsibilities. That is not a good thing. You can't however say the value of the phantom lot is irrelevant. If the lot is worth $300 and will take time to sell then that is far more damning than if the lot is worth $1000 and can be flipped immediately. Neither is good, but the value does have significance. The former makes fulfilling his obligations more difficult by tying up more money and time. The latter potentially makes it easier to fulfill some of his life obligations.

 

And once again, so I am not seen as a Chip apologist, I think there is more than enough evidence for HOS. The hypothetical star wars treasure trove just makes for some interesting discussion material.

 

 

Maybe "relevant" was the wrong word to use, maybe the value of the figures is simply a "distraction".

 

The Craigslist ad could have included The Shroud of Turin or a complete T-Rex skeleton for $10, and the central point would still be the same as chip posting on Facebook, or Craigslist, or stealth reading this forum while dodging boardies trying to reach him without luck, under the excuse of "too busy, lost job, plague of locusts got me"....dishonesty.

 

I was simply trying to refocus the importance of the craigslist incident away from the distraction of what was offered and for how much, and to why it's integral to the HoS discussion.

[Ryan.]

It would be criminal to pass up that T-Rex skeleton for $10.

[VintageComics]

It's ludicrous that people can make fun of the guy, poke him in the eye, call him names and talk smack about him...

 

Let's take the board players out of the scenario for a moment and substitute someone like... Lance Armstrong, instead.

 

I can hear your ludicrous defense now, "He's a cancer survivor and has been through a lot, the personal attacks are unnecessary and makes you all look bad".

 

Uh, no - because he survived a major illness it does not give Lance Armstrong a license to be a liar, cheater, bully, and manipulator. And once his true nature is revealed, it's only natural that people will express their utter frustration over the egregious situation (and the damage done).

 

I don't understand how this applies to RMA or Chip.

 

RMA is getting spanked by the mods for talking to much on the internet but the people goading him and talking about him incessantly are not being moderated. That's inconsistent IMO.

 

Chip is getting nominated into the HIOS for not shipping or communicating in a timely manner. NOBODY is arguing that Chip shouldn't have his knuckles rapped for bad behavior.

 

All me, red84 (and a few other boardies who have PMd me who probably don't want to wade into this discussion) are asking is that mental health not be swept under the rug and be treated respectfully.

 

That's not sanctimony.

 

Be a "dove" all you want but please realize that as long as you perpetually fly over our house, continuing to squawk and poop on us, your presence will understandably draw ire.

 

You said that you don't care about that at all, however. How ironic.

 

I actually don't understand what you're saying here.

 

Who is us?

 

Do you assume everyone agrees with you? There are actually respectable boardies who don't .Some who are even waiting to receive items from Chip from what I understand.

 

Are you saying that because I don't want to call Chip names I'm going to draw ire?

 

I'm OK with that. I've been sticking up for the unpopular position my whole life. I can take it. My manhood isn't vested in who I agree with.

 

Sorry if I don't understand the above.

 

 

 

[jaybuck43]

Roy, who is sweeping mental illness under the rug? Who isn't taking it into consideration?

[Buzzetta]

Chip has been the one to repeatedly cite his self claimed mental health issues as the obstacles that prevent him from fulfilling deals. No one has thrust this upon him.

 

If Chip wants to use it as an excuse that excuse is going to be examined. I could tell everyone here that I have had a poor upbringing (not true btw) and use it as an excuse not to ship items that are sold or give people the run around when I owe money. However, I SHOULD expect that to be analyzed and discussed in reference to my trading behavior when called out on it.

 

Chip brought it up. It can be discussed.

 

He says he cannot do certain things because of XYZ so it is open to discussion. That's his excuse. So let's discuss his excuse.

 

If I was in a coma and said, "Hey, I could not ship your item because I was in fricken coma." Then I should expect that to be weighed in reference to my ability to get items out.

 

Again, Chip has had trading problems dating back to 1994 across multiple platforms and forums with MANY documented complainants. This is not a long con on anyone's part where we planted complaints since 1994 to one day eventually sting Chip. This is what he has done before. This is what he continues to do. This is what he will do in the future. He wants to use mental health issues as an excuse then I would like to know how many years are excused by those mental health issues.

 

To me, no matter the outcome of this poll, Chip is no better than the con men on the street lying to hustle a dollar from the tourists in NYC.

[Logan510]

I always find it amusing when people bring up the anonymous "well respected" boardies.

 

 

I only pay mind to what people actually say ( type ), any of this behind the scenes chatter by "well respected" boardies is just noise

[Logan510]

Chip has been the one to repeatedly cite his self claimed mental health issues as the obstacles that prevent him from fulfilling deals. No one has thrust this upon him.

 

If Chip wants to use it as an excuse that excuse is going to be examined. I could tell everyone here that I have had a poor upbringing (not true btw) and use it as an excuse not to ship items that are sold or give people the run around when I owe money. However, I SHOULD expect that to be analyzed and discussed in reference to my trading behavior when called out on it.

 

Chip brought it up. It can be discussed.

 

He says he cannot do certain things because of XYZ so it is open to discussion. That's his excuse. So let's discuss his excuse.

 

If I was in a coma and said, "Hey, I could not ship your item because I was in fricken coma." Then I should expect that to be weighed in reference to my ability to get items out.

 

Again, Chip has had trading problems dating back to 1994 across multiple platforms and forums with MANY documented complainants. This is not a long con on anyone's part where we planted complaints since 1994 to one day eventually sting Chip. This is what he has done before. This is what he continues to do. This is what he will do in the future. He wants to use mental health issues as an excuse then I would like to know how many years are excused by those mental health issues.

 

To me, no matter the outcome of this poll, Chip is no better than the con men on the street lying to hustle a dollar from the tourists in NYC.

 

I was discussing this with a well respected boardie in private and we agree with you.

[sacentaur]

It's ludicrous that people can make fun of the guy, poke him in the eye, call him names and talk smack about him...

 

Let's take the board players out of the scenario for a moment and substitute someone like... Lance Armstrong, instead.

 

I can hear your ludicrous defense now, "He's a cancer survivor and has been through a lot, the personal attacks are unnecessary and makes you all look bad".

 

Uh, no - because he survived a major illness it does not give Lance Armstrong a license to be a liar, cheater, bully, and manipulator. And once his true nature is revealed, it's only natural that people will express their utter frustration over the egregious situation (and the damage done).

 

I don't understand how this applies to RMA or Chip.

 

RMA is getting spanked by the mods for talking to much on the internet but the people goading him and talking about him incessantly are not being moderated. That's inconsistent IMO.

 

Chip is getting nominated into the HIOS for not shipping or communicating in a timely manner. NOBODY is arguing that Chip shouldn't have his knuckles rapped for bad behavior.

 

All me, red84 (and a few other boardies who have PMd me who probably don't want to wade into this discussion) are asking is that mental health not be swept under the rug and be treated respectfully.

 

That's not sanctimony.

 

Be a "dove" all you want but please realize that as long as you perpetually fly over our house, continuing to squawk and poop on us, your presence will understandably draw ire.

 

You said that you don't care about that at all, however. How ironic.

 

I actually don't understand what you're saying here.

 

Who is us?

 

Do you assume everyone agrees with you? There are actually respectable boardies who don't .Some who are even waiting to receive items from Chip from what I understand.

 

Are you saying that because I don't want to call Chip names I'm going to draw ire?

 

I'm OK with that. I've been sticking up for the unpopular position my whole life. I can take it. My manhood isn't vested in who I agree with.

 

Sorry if I don't understand the above.

 

No problem if you don't understand Roy, we'll just add it to the growing list.

 

Otherwise, you've erected too many straw-men to respond to in detail, so I won't.

 

[thehumantorch]

It would be criminal to pass up that T-Rex skeleton for $10.

 

Eh....I hate ribs.....

[jsilverjanet]

Roy welcome to the club of misfits.

 

Your number is 008, orientation will take place sometime in the near future. Please keep an eye out for the flashing envelope.

 

 

[sacentaur]

I always find it amusing when people bring up the anonymous "well respected" boardies.

 

Roy is grasping at straws because he showed exceedingly poor judgment in recently aligning himself with Chip, and all the collateral problems that occurred as a result (e.g., an expensive book I bought from Roy wasn't mailed by Chip because he claimed that he 'didn't have the money to pay postage', so Roy had to send him the funds - then Chip proceeded to mail the book to someone else in a different city and it was temporarily lost), so maybe he feels that he's being judged guilty by association?

 

[Wall-Crawler]

I always find it amusing when people bring up the anonymous "well respected" boardies.

 

Roy is grasping at straws because he showed exceedingly poor judgment in recently aligning himself with Chip, and all the collateral problems that occurred as a result (e.g., an expensive book I bought from Roy wasn't mailed by Chip because he claimed that he 'didn't have the money to pay postage', so Roy had to send him the funds - then Chip proceeded to mail the book to someone else in a different city and it was temporarily lost), so maybe he feels that he's being judged guilty by association?

 

 

[Columbia Comics]

I always find it amusing when people bring up the anonymous "well respected" boardies.

 

Roy is grasping at straws because he showed exceedingly poor judgment in recently aligning himself with Chip, and all the collateral problems that occurred as a result (e.g., an expensive book I bought from Roy wasn't mailed by Chip because he claimed that he 'didn't have the money to pay postage', so Roy had to send him the funds - then Chip proceeded to mail the book to someone else in a different city and it was temporarily lost), so maybe he feels that he's being judged guilty by association?

 

 

Wouldn't mind hearing more about this particular story

 

[Red84]

I always find it amusing when people bring up the anonymous "well respected" boardies.

 

Roy is grasping at straws because he showed exceedingly poor judgment in recently aligning himself with Chip, and all the collateral problems that occurred as a result (e.g., an expensive book I bought from Roy wasn't mailed by Chip because he claimed that he 'didn't have the money to pay postage', so Roy had to send him the funds - then Chip proceeded to mail the book to someone else in a different city and it was temporarily lost), so maybe he feels that he's being judged guilty by association?

 

 

Uncalled for.

 

All Roy and I are saying is that this is an individual that boardies deemed was in a bad enough state at one point that a wellness check was necessary. As a result, we are simply asking that people use restraint in their calls to burn the witch. HOS seems justified and all but certain in order to protect boardies in the future. That can be achieved without potentially, and I emphasize potentially, throwing gas on a fire. That's it.

[topofthetotem]

What is a respected boardie? Who decides that?

Is the definition:

Someone who sells HG expensive books?

Someone who attends board functions?

Someone who plays a pickup game of Basket ball?

Someone with lots of post?

Someone with a custom title?

Someone who sets up at a con?

 

What's the criteria? How do I reach for the stars? How do you get to be a respected boardie and become a member of such a vaunted and prestigious club where your opinion carries so much weight more then that of the unwashed masses (that I'm currently a member of) where the community at large should ignore simple empirical data relating to failed transactions.

 

Sigh...I thought never having a strike, participating in a positive manner with the folks of the boards, being apart of the board fundraising activities from dearly departed Nik to Speedforce (in my own small way) and completing deals and honouring my commitments would have made me respected, boy am I a rube.