HMEM changed software ............... =?)(?=)(?=/)(&(&)(%/&%

[trevoratxtal]

I am so angry at the asset stripping and fraud that the new owners are trying on I emailed the following to HMEM.
 
You insult me by saying I forgot my password when in fact you did.
You maintain my correspondence is yours to do as you wish!
Wrong under UK copyright law you do not have permission to publish any thing I own.
Therefore I give notice to Cease and Desist from publishing any and all my correspondence pictures plans and any other material containing my copyright.
As I publish under many names and aliases it is beholden on you to  seek out and identify them.
Failing this notice I will take out proceedings in a civil court for damages and seek for your site to be removed.
And Yes I can and will.
Trev
P,s feel free to copy any part of the above for your own reaction.

[tel]

Finally got on and it says I can edit my posts buit there doesn;'t currently seem to be a button for delete or editing posts. Did they turn them off?

You done better than me then Glen, I can't access any of it any which way - looks like I'm on the outer.

Tel - moderator in exile.

[mattinker]

I found HMEM only recently, so I thought that it was all about my signing on. I haven't used my new password and I'm not going to. This intrusion into the rights of the individual and the freedom exchange information for other than financial gain is an outrage. It makes me very afraid of the spreading limitations and controls that are being imposed on us and the internet.

Making money, is one thing, invading the platforms on which free exchange has been possible is UN-thinkable. As financial gain, (nothing to do with earning one's living) encroaches, what can we do to preserves our individual right to communicate?

Regards, Matthew

[lordedmond]

Me thinks that they are going to lose a lot of the older members ( those who have been ther a long time and have contributed their expertise and very comprehensive build logs ) for the benefit of the members not for them to be used for the owners gain

I have just emailed the owner about my feelings about the change of T&C and have ask for my personal detail be removed from their data base ( that is a legal request here in the UK ) not sure about the law where the site is now based


Stuart

ouch my dyslexia is bad today  another 15 min marathon thank the Lord  for grammar checkers and spell checkers

[loply]

Your knickers: Untwist them.

This looks like the kind of standard, off-the-shelf T&C that thousands of sites have. You ever read them? Who cares?

There are far better things to get wound up about that some inconsequential T&Cs on a forum.

[tel]

The T&C is only the tip of the iceberg Loply - the utter shambles that the 'change over' has created goes a lot deeper than that. And so will a lot of folk's resentments.

[lazylathe]

Well i gave it a day to see if i felt any better about what has happened.
My usual morning routine involves getting to work at 6am and checking the forums quick before heading out to the lab.
First click has always been HMEM for the past 4 years or so...
Clicked the link and read a few posts and started typing a response to a guy asking for help in identifying castings he had bought.
Vague description, no location etc...
I guess i ranted for a bit and then read what i was going to post.
Decided it was best to delete it and move onto other pastures.

It is just not the same anymore...
Maybe in time i will feel different, who knows.
But for now i feel like i left for work and someone has changed the locks on my home....

Oh well, nothing to do!
Might be time for a bit of 

Andrew

PS Tel, we still need to talk about that unknown casting i have that you were interested in!
PM me your address and i will ship it over for you to use as a paper weight!

[chuck foster]

well it is nice to see some old familiar names on here, i have not been on in a long time so HI GUYS 

i think this will be the site i check every day now ............not the other site i used to frequent.

i just hope eric can handle all this traffic (i know you can)

oh yeah what ever happened to derrin? 

chuck

[Raggle]

Shame about that other place. Seems sharp tools have been replaced by sharp elbows.

It's not for me but I'm sure I won't be missed. Big pity though ...    sure I left a comfortable pair of shoes and my tea mug in there.

Ray

[PatJ]

The other site still has an "Elvis has left the building" feel to it today.

I noticed that Steve posted some of his thoughts.
The new owner is a Teflon man, he just deflects any criticism without addressing the root of the complaint, ie: Drawings that were clearly marked "Not for Commercial Use" are now possibly being used in violation of that agreement.

I posted a large amount of material over there on 2D CAD and 3D modeling tutorials, and I know for a fact that those items had a large number of "views".  Certainly many others had topics with many more views.

It is not the posted topics that bother me so much as the detailed engine drawings I posted over there that I clearly marked "Not for Commercial Use".

I sent them a letter today formally requesting that my drawings be permanently removed from the site.

I think a Class Action Lawsuit may perhaps be in order here if I don't get a response from them soon, since this involves so many people who did not approve of the very significant changes to the use of their material.

Anyone interested in joining into a Class Action Lawsuit?

I am not going to let it go.
I have too much time involved in my drawings to let someone use them outside of the terms to which I allowed them to be used.

If I don't hear from them soon, I will be proceeding with litigation and requesting damages and legal fees.

Pat J

[cedge]

Pat
Unfortunately it appears that you'll be jumping through a few hoops before you get to the point of filing suit. Look forward to being ignored, threatened and then showered with lots of useless communication before you have enough paper trail to interest a lawyer. The game is played assuming you'll give up, run out of money or screw up and make a dumb threat or libelous statement. You'll need some real tenacity and endurance. The largest problem will be proving loss, since you weren't marketing the drawings. You can do it, but it's not a cake walk. I'm not an attorney so do not misconstrue this information as legal advice. Consult legal counsel before deciding this route is one you wish to travel.

Steve

[shred]

Read up on filing a "DMCA Takedown Request".  There is a defined process for that to cover this sort of thing.

Personally I don't mind somebody getting paid for their work (ie: Rick & co for making the site what it was, the guys paying for the server, etc), but it goes both ways.  The new TOS says the new HMEM owners can now get paid for access to or could sell printed copies of my work or whatever, which I did not sign up for. 

I'm sure somebody will fill the gap and the world won't end one way or the other, but there you go.

I will also note that as near as I can tell, the new HMEM owners are so interested in model engine machining that they've apparently never been to a meeting of the local metalworking club.

[raynerd]

Your knickers: Untwist them.

This looks like the kind of standard, off-the-shelf T&C that thousands of sites have. You ever read them? Who cares?

There are far better things to get wound up about that some inconsequential T&Cs on a forum.

The difference with Model Engineering forums is that people have posted their own plans and build logs, which lets face it, could easily be charged for! In fact, I`ve used peoples build logs to build engines and found them more useful than the plans I paid for!! Likewise people have have even gone further and posted plans which certainly could be sold!

[PatJ]

Thanks for the advice guys.

The way in which things were changed was particularly caulous, and then ignoring any requests for take down information showed the true colors of the new admin guy.

The mode of operation seems to be buy a site, muscle your way in, ban anyone who objects to anything you do, and just ride roughshod over anyone and everything.

In my opinion, it could not have been handled any worse, and will certainly become a case study about how NOT to hand over a forum.

The word "backstab" comes to mind.

Several other words come to mind also, none of which I will repeat here.

It was a unique forum with a very unique and talented group of individuals, and it appears to me that the things that made it so attractive, enjoyable and usable (features and individuals) have left the building.

Certainly a statement needs to be made by those who feel some injustice here.
I perhaps have 1000 hours in drawings on that site.
You can't buy drawings like that for any price anywhere, they were unique.

For those who simply used the site and enjoyed it, it will be no big deal.
For those who made the site what it was, it is a big deal.

I see it as a Chernobyl event due to the way it was handle and the manner in which the people who made that site what it is today were treated.
I feel there will be a toxic cloud of radioactivity for many years to come (about 1,000 years).

Pat J

[NickG]

How do you delete your HMEM account guys?

[PatJ]

I requested that Rick remove all my drawings from his site the other day, and he said he would look into it, just before I got "permabanned" for insisting the the admin guy respond to my request to remove my drawings.

I am told today that my drawings are not showing up in the download section, so assuming they don't pop up again at some time in the future, then I consider the matter closed.

Maybe Rick did the right thing here.
I have always known him to be a very decent and helpful guy.
I have to guess that he did not completely understand what he stepped in.
I hope for the best for Rick, and as for the new admin guy, he will always be his own worst enemy.

[90LX_Notch]

If as many people are leaving over there as it seems,  it all goes back to my post over there about us being the "fringe".  HMEM wasn't some small hobby/craft site of morons.  You have to have something going on upstairs to be involved with this hobby.  The new owner(s) failed to realize that they didn't purchase HOME MODEL SHEEP MACHINIST.  The members don't follow the flock to begin with.  We tend to march to our own drums.

[Dan Rowe]

How do you delete your HMEM account guys?

Interesting question. I see no way at the present time to delete my account or edit any of the posts I made before the owner change.

I asked about the ability to edit posts to be able to maintain a thread, but so far no answer.

Dan

[AdeV]

HOME MODEL SHEEP MACHINIST.

A sheep machinist.... now there's a hilarious mental image (well, it is to me anyway, but then I hail from right next door to the Land of the Sheep). Baaaah!

[chuck foster]

i asked that my account be removed and this is the reply i got.

Chuck,

I do not have the permissions to handle take down requests however I did close your account. Copyright issues need to be sent to our attorney here:

Copyright Agent - Group Builder, Inc.

so my account is closed and as far as copyright issues if they can make money off of my ramblings GOOD LUCK.  i just don't like the way things were done

chuck
a former hmem guy

[Troutsqueezer]

I don't like the way the moderators were treated. Seems to me they put more of their time and effort into making HMEM what it was than most of us did and in the end it looks like they were treated like they didn't exist. Sorry, that is inexcusable.

-Trout

[90LX_Notch]

Dennis-

You are 100% correct.  The mods are what made HMEM what it was.  All the B.S. that pollutes most other sites didn't exist there because of the dilegence of the mods.   

-Bob

[Raggle]

Had a look at my emails today and  -  Behold! I have a password for HMEM!

So I logged in, had a look around, edited my password and tried to navigate around the site. That was not difficult, just different.

There were a number of threads I'd been following and most are still active, notwithstanding participation from members who have understandably fled.

When we joined HMEM (or Madmodders) we were politely asked to post an introduction, so I looked for Austin's. He clearly has no interest in engines or machining, but likes to run forums  -  "and recently was lucky enough to turn forums into a job."

I feel sure he will make more by learning to run forums properly. I personally have no idea what is involved in running a forum and I have no wish to do so. But HMEM under Rick's stewardship was a site of great integrity, that's why I joined. I'd been lurking for a while and had learned a great deal from it before joining.

I'll see how it goes, but I know it won't be the same. Rick is a hard act to follow.

Ray

[PatJ]

From the looks of it today, most of the long-time members have "bugged-out".
Nothing left but a wisp of dust in the air.

I hope they surface soon on a new commercial-free forum.

I am having withdrawl symptoms already.

[90LX_Notch]

Whose still over there?  If some of the "heavy hitters" (George, Steve, Brian, Chuck, etc.) are still there, the new site will slog along.  Those guys are the "anchors".  Their threads are the ones that everybody follows.  I hope Keith posts his V8 somewhere else.  I want to see it when he finishes it.  Hopefully, those guys work their way over here.