Liars and psychopaths...

I belong to a web community of screenwriters. Amateur screenwriters to be precise. (You can check it out at www.triggerstreet.com) The purpose of the site is to allow aspiring screenwriters to upload their finished screenplays and for aspiring filmmakers to upload their short films. Then, the site submits them, randomly, for peer review. Basically, it's free coverage! You review scripts/films, and then you get your stuff reviewed. It's the old "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" dealio. Pretty simple, right? Apparently, not to some people.

When you sign onto the site, you're required to agree to certain rules of conduct. Which includes certain things very similar to the Ten Commandments. Common sense things like, oh, I dunno... thou shall not steal other peoples' scripts, thou shall not bear false witness, just little stuff like that... in other words you promise to behave like a decent human being. Some people just don't seem to "get" this concept.

For instance, this guy showed up on the message board the other day, claiming to work at CAA, and spouting off about what you need to do to "make it" in Hollywood. Basically, he had this really stupid Eddie Haskell like scheme involving major suckage applied to whatever derriere you could get your lips close too. So, after a buncha "Shut up and siddown, you're an ass" posts in response, we all find out (to no one's real surprise) the guy's a fake. OK. Fine. You're an idiot. We knew that already. Buh bye.

What did this get him to use these multiple accounts and pretend to be someone he's not? Beats the hell outta me, I ain't a psychopath. Why would someone do this sort of thing? I dunno. I don't DO stupid shit like that. It'll get you banned faster than you can SAY "Banned." Plus, you know what? We talk about your dumb ass after you've been kicked off the site. Yes, yes, we do. And, uh, no, it's NOT good things. No one is defending your lying ass. We have no sympathy. You don't deserve it.

Sometimes people will come onto the message boards and challenge the system. Most of the time, those kinds of challenges are dealt with professionally and politely by the mods, and often times, the site owner (a partner of Kevin Spacey's by the name of Dana Brunetti) will come onto the boards, chit chat with them, find out what the dealio is and make a decision. His decision is FINAL. After all, it's his site, he owns it, what he says goes. Thems the rules. Most of the time, everybody's cool and life goes on in an amiable kinda way. Sometimes, a member will blow a tire and go completely off track. If they act up too badly, they're usually suspended, after a warning or five. (They're MUCH more patient than I would be, trust me.) There have been cases in which some hot head spouted off, got suspended and then made his/her peace with the powers-that-be and was allowed back onto the site. Hell, one of them was even a mod for a while.

Lately, however, there seems to be people who INSIST on coming back onto the website using another alias without patching things up first. (Sometimes they use multiple aliases in that instance too... wierd, I know!) Now, you'd think that might be all hunky dory, since YOU ain't pissed any more, but you know what? It ain't. Act like your Momma and Daddy raise you to be something besides a lying dog and apologize for your bad behavior. After all, you didn't get suspended 'cause you were being an absolute angel, did ya?

Besides, you're gonna get caught. You're not special. Others have been caught and you will too. All those who think that, in today's society, a HUGE website like that is not going to be able to track which city you are logging into their site from, along with which ISP you're using, PLEASE raise your hands. I'll wait.

Bueller?

Bueller?

Yeah, that's what I thought.