From: dsmart@pobox.com (Derek Smart) Subject: Re: BC3K- Dr Bear's Interesting Proposal Date: 03 Sep 1999 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <37d3422c.48178177@news.mindspring.com> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <37c86a74.19518028@news.mindspring.com> <7q9r6b$r2a$1@birch.prod.itd.earthlink.net> <37ca7ce1.3987986@news.mindspring.com> <37cb4eb3.2826440@news.mindspring.com> <7qeudi$d77$1@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net> <37cc596e.5115738@news.mindspring.com> <7qk8k6$lfm$1@nntp4.atl.mindspring.net> <37ce92f2.3313312@news.mindspring.com> <7qnb0u$hcb$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <37d23a8e.3861067@news.mindspring.com> Organization: 3000AD X-Server-Date: 3 Sep 1999 04:38:24 GMT Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: dsmart@pobox.com Newsgroups: alt.games.bc3000ad,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.space-sim On Fri, 03 Sep 1999 03:10:18 GMT, email@bottom.com (Ed Bain) wrote: >Bill, it doesn't get any better than that. Your offers are fair. >Of course Derek has the -right- to say nothing. But, if he >continues to say nothing, I have to assume he has no Ph.D.. I have already responded to Dr Bear and will be discussing the merits of my next course of action with my attorneys and with Dr Bear, if he so desires. >Derek, once more, what's the problem? You have the END of >Huffman's site -within your grasp-. If you don't take him up >on something in this list, -no one- could believe that you have >a valid Ph.D.. You are giving Bill *far* too much credit for being honorable. We've seen this all before. Further, the damage has already been done and since I am 99% certain that based on what has happened these three years, I will prevail, I don't think I'm going to back off on a lawsuit now. I've always said that Bill will *never* get a free ride out of this and that is *exactly* what I plan on doing. For argument's sake and so that you don't say I'm ignoring you, lets assess Bill's options: >First and foremost, if you actually do have a PhD from a college in >England that operates under a Royal Charter or an Act of Parliament >(the way that schools are accredited in the UK). I have already stated, several times, even today, that the DL institution is *not* accredited in the true sense of the term and/or requirements. I did this even before Daktari dug up that bogun Florida statute which I was quick to get my attorney to investigate and explain to me. I have since posted the results and my thoughts. That alone, proves what I have just stated. Further, that was the whole reason I brought up the KWU issue in which, it appears, as stated by some folks from alt.distance, who know, that they attempted to distort the whole issue of accreditation vs licensing. Also, Dr Bear posted a series of guidelines by which 'accreditation' is considered. That guideline is clear and accurate. Bill has either known, and/or suspected since several months ago when I first mentioned the DL institute issue, that my degree is not from an accredited institution, certainly not one accredited in the US. Yes, I was foolish, in my desire to keep this information personal, to hint otherwise in the past. That was my own doing and only because of, as I mentioned earlier today, the stigma associated with DL institutions. In several posts, I stated, emphatically, that whether it is from an accredited institution or not, it is irrelevant to me at this point and only an employer can make the call. In much the same manner that those who gain degrees via DL, e.g KWU, do find employment. If wanted a 'licensed' degree from a US institution, I would apply to KWU or any similar body if I so desired and pay them $6,000 or more, to get one. Or, I could go to school part time (there are several institutions in my neighborhood and there is one just down the road that offers a Ph.D in Computer Science) and get one. I can afford it. I'm self employed and I have the time. Finally, the issue has always been the distinction between (a) having the degree and (b) having the degree that is not from an accredited institution. >1) You could continue on threatening that you're going to sue. This >option is already getting so old fewer and fewer people are believing >it. (Plus it will be even more embarrassing if the Declaratory >Judgement thing does pan out. Note that Declaratory Judgements are in >the public record and can be accessed by anyone.) a) I *am* planning on suing him and it is *not* a baseless threat. b) I have already told him to go ahead and get a Declaratory Judgement, makes *no* difference to me. His threats are *meaningless* Further, I already stated today that the results would be the same (a) he would end up proving that I have a degree, accredited or not (b) end up finding himself at the end of a civil damages court-order. Either way, this farce, will end. He has commited libel and several other undesirable actions, against me over the years and that is what I intend to stop. c) He had better go out and get the DJ if he feels so strongly about it. >2) You could disappear. It would eventually all stop. If I was going to do that, I would have many years ago. This will *never* happen. And whether I disappear or not, the stains of his crusade, remain. >If you want me (and others) to stop calling you a fraud then you could: >3) Stop putting PhD after your name. Will *never* happen. I will only remove it if a court deems it inappropriate based on the type of degree that I have. >4) Put PhD after your name, plus where it came from. (I won't >participate in the inevitable crowing.) Will *never* happen. >5) Take Dr. Bear up on his idea to have someone of incredible stature, >impeccable character and unimpeachable honor evaluate your dissertation >as being of the quality that might be expected from an accredited >institution. I would agree to having Dr. John Bear himself do this. If >he found that the dissertation was of true PhD quality I pledge to take >down my web sites and dissappear from the flamewar. I know for a *fact* that *anyone* reading it, would find it to be of Ph.D. quality and I have *no* problems agreeing to this with the advise of counsel, not only due to the premise (Bill, forced me to do it) but because of the technologies that I am protecting. I already posted something along these lines, to Dr Bear, without hesitation. Either way, it will *not* end this farce because whether or not Bill takes his site down, I *will* still sue him for what has gone on these past years because its not as easy as saying he's sorry and then leaving me alone. If I believed that that was all it took, why the hell would I waste my money on a lawsuit? Is he going to apologize and leave me the hell alone? Highly unlikely. If I believed for *one* minute, this to be the case, I'd walk away too. If I *do* agree to this, it won't be because of anything other than to secure the integrity of the beliefs of those who don't know me personally, (Dan, Pat, Joe etc) but who, with what little they know, trust that what I have said, to be true. I *owe* it to them and I don't give a damn what you, Bill or anyone else thinks. You are all entitled to your own opinions, neutral or not. Besides, these people already know a *lot* more than most of you here and they understand and know *why* I'm sticking to my guns. Either way, this will not end because Bill will find a way to weazel out of it (he always does), find something else, pick a new alias to harrass me under etc. What is anyone going to do then? Who is going to take the word and promises of a *known* obsessive compulsive Internet stalker who is bordering on psychosis to say the least? If its not Bill, it will be yet another detractor, we've seen how Daktari, no matter how many times he changes his alias or gets cut down to size for outright lying (to say the least) tries to remain at the forefront of this farce. Look how far I had to go to get Louis off my back! Its going to take nothing short of a court order to get Bill off me. Unless I set an example and prove that I am *dead* serious about this legal action, this will *not* stop. I will repeat this here, one more time so that *nothing* is lost in the interpretation. ===== I have a Ph.D. from a DL institution and accredited or not, was deemed to be bona fide by me and was awarded to me based on course work, my experience in the field and my thesis based on my field of study and experience in said field. By Dr Bear's mere definition and as I have always stated, diploma mill, degree mill, or not, I earned it and I did *not* send someone a check nor a contribution for them to bestow the degree upon me. I *paid* for my studies. I also remain *confident* (as indicated above) that if I were to apply to *any* institution in the US or the UK for entrance consideration, with my thesis, experience and work in the field, I can gain admission, unless of course my work is deemed unworthy (always a possibilty). I have done the work and I remain *confident* that I have done *nothing* wrong either consciously or sub-consciously. My technologies will remain sealed and I will continue to file and obtain their copyrights and trademarks, as well as any patent pending material, under the US special relief requirements in order to protect said technologies. Those of you who have already done your homework with the copyright and patent office, already know that these are already filed under said special relief rules, over the years. ===== We can end this. I want to end this. Bill won't, nor will his many cronies who will just pop up from time to time to light new fires and open old wounds. Only a *definitive* legal action will decide this and lose or win, that is *exactly* what I'm going to get. Huffman has a choice, he can pack up and leave me the hell alone. He's had three years to do that. He has run out of time. If he doesn't and this gets to court, you desktop attorneys will see that it goes *beyond* academia and that is what I intend to pursue and prove. Huffman, is *not* getting a free ticket. I had to bear the brunt of his onslaught and nobody wrote me a ticket. I stayed in there, regardless of whose fault (my own perhaps?) it was, and took his *relentless* onslaught: day after day, week after week, year after year and amidst faltering credibility. Yet, I stuck to my guns and until death, I will continue to do so. I *believe* in what I am doing and for my own peace of mind and credibilty, will *not* stray from the actions that I have set in motion. Ever. He can get out the easy way (just pack up, take his site down and leave me alone), or the hard way (face a lawsuit the likes of which he's never seen). Either way, he's getting out of my life and if anyone thought I was tenacious before, you simply have *no* idea what lengths I would go to, in pursuit of what I truly believe in. Time, as always, will tell. Thats that. Derek Smart, Ph.D. Designer/Lead Developer The Battlecruiser Series www.bc3000ad.com "It's not everyone telling me it can't be done that bothers me. It's them interrupting me while I'm doing it!"