Controversy surrounding The High Road (THR) firearms forum has recently erupted into the public eye, which is very unfortunate, in my opinion. I'm aware of postings about the matter on THR itself; Armed Polite Society; View From The Porch; Xavier Thoughts; Wandering Thoughts; The Armed School Teacher; FreeThinker; Walls Of The City; the AR15.com forum; and Oleg Volk's LiveJournal. I'm sure there are many others.
As one of the founding moderators of THR, I've had many questions directed at me as to what's going on: and in the interests of openness, transparency and honesty, I'd like to take the opportunity to answer those questions here.
First, THR was founded by Oleg Volk, who's a well-known photographer and activist on Second Amendment issues. Oleg is a personal friend, and a man whom I respect highly. I was one of the first people to be invited to serve as a moderator on THR, even before the board "went live" in December 2002. I was honored and privileged to serve as such for several years, before the pressure of other circumstances forced me to scale back my activities there early in 2007. I'm still a moderator there, but "without portfolio", as it were.
Second, the domain name for THR was initially registered (and owned) by Mr. Rich Lucibella, the founder and owner of The Firing Line (TFL), another firearms forum. It was Mr. Lucibella's decision to close down TFL that led to the founding of THR: and, some time later, TFL was resurrected and is again one of the foremost forums of its kind on the Internet. Mr. Lucibella supported Oleg and his moderators in every conceivable way during THR's establishment, and I have the highest regard for him.
Third, the technical support "guru" who helped establish THR's hardware and software facilities is Mr. Derek Zeanah. Startup and ongoing costs were to be met (and, as far as I am aware, were indeed met) by contributions from the moderators, and in one case by a fund-raiser held among the membership. It was not intended or desired that Mr. Zeanah use his own funds and resources to support THR, and to the best of my knowledge and belief this has never happened. Whenever he's spoken of the need for funds in the Staff Forum, arrangements have been made among the Staff to get the money to him.
A few months ago the possibility came up that THR might be acquired by a major outside interest, which would guarantee the board's independence, and by sponsoring it allow Oleg to devote more time to it and to Second Amendment/RKBA issues. Oleg, as the owner and boss of the forum, decided to investigate this option, and advised the staff of its existence. At this point Mr. Zeanah apparently decided that he held co-ownership of THR (something that had never been discussed at all in the Staff Forum, and that had never previously even been mentioned), and objected strenuously.
It also emerged that some time previously, Mr. Lucibella had transferred ownership of THR's domain name to Oleg, sending the details to Mr. Zeanah (as tech support guru) to make the arrangements. Instead of doing as Mr. Lucibella had requested, Mr. Zeanah appears to have transferred THR's domain name to himself, and now claims ownership of it. (Of course, as tech support guru and owner of THR's hosting service, he already physically controls the server, software and database.)
Mr. Zeanah denies that he "stole" or "misappropriated" THR's domain name, and insists that he offered to transfer it to a corporate entity: but the company he established to do so was a sole proprietorship under Georgia State law, with himself registered as the owner. The counter to his assertions is best delivered by Mr. Lucibella, who is on the record as follows:
At no time was I aware that Derek was acting as anything but Oleg's personal agent. Had I been aware that Derek was acting for his own benefit I would never have transferred the domain name to him. It is my position that Mr. Zeanah had fraudulently misrepresented himself to me. If he persists in publicly hiding behind my statements, taken out of context, I will have little choice but to join this legal fray, recover the domain name thru the courts and pursue Mr. Zeanah for my legal fees.
Mr. Zeanah has persistently blocked Oleg's attempts to resolve the situation, insisting that he shares ownership of THR and is owed money. Oleg has finally had to lay the matter before the courts, as the only way to obtain justice. He has posted on his LiveJournal:
In December 2002, I founded The High Road forum dedicated to the advancement of responsible gun ownership. Recently, it was discovered that in 2006, the volunteer forum systems administrator, Derek Zeanah of Statesboro, Georgia, changed domain registration to himself. After he was confronted, Derek locked out all other staff from accessing the Web server administration and would not share even backup copies of its content. After failed attempts to peacefully resolve the dispute, it has become necessary for me to initiate a lawsuit against Derek Zeanah for the return of thehighroad.org domain name and the forum database.
I am seeking and would greatly appreciate donations to help with the cost of litigation. You can use Paypal (olegvolk@gmail.com) or send a check to:
Oleg Volk
3112 Chambley Ct
Hermitage, TN 37076
All donations shall be returned if the lawsuit is ultimately avoided. You can also aid me by re-posting this appeal on your blog, forum or web site. My legal position is already endorsed by almost all of The High Road staff as well as Rich Lucibella, the founder of The Firing Line forum.
UPDATE: Derek's reaction was to disable The High Road forum all together. He also removed most of the staff who opposed him.
I should like to state, for the record, that as far as I am aware, and according to all the information at my disposal, Oleg is in the right on this matter. I confirm that from the beginning, nobody else was ever mentioned as having any ownership interest or rights at all in THR, and I confirm that from the beginning, Oleg has been universally acknowledged by the Staff as the "boss", the "head honcho", and the owner of the board. An examination of traffic in the Staff Forum from Day One of THR's existence will confirm this. If necessary I am willing to appear in court to attest to this under oath.
I should also like to state that Mr. Lucibella is known to me, not in person, but through long association on TFL and on another mailing list to which both of us belong. I accept his statement (given above) unreservedly, and I think it makes the position very clear.
I don't understand what Mr. Zeanah is trying to achieve by first, shutting down THR unilaterally (and, I might add, without any authority to do so) when the news broke (it's since come up again), and second, by banning those members of staff and others who publicly support Oleg's position. He's using his physical control of THR's servers to enforce some form of "thought control" on the forum - which won't last long, of course. I daresay my access to THR might well be revoked by him once he reads this: but I'm confident it will be restored when he loses the now-pending court case (as he inevitably will - the weight of evidence is overwhelmingly on Oleg's side in this matter). I simply don't know what Mr. Zeanah is trying to achieve: and I think that now that things have gone this far, he's on a hiding to nowhere. This might become a very expensive millstone around his neck.
I hope that this makes the position clearer to those of my readers and friends who've asked about it. I'm very sad that this nastiness has affected THR, one of the finest forums of its kind on the Internet: but I hope that it will speedily be resolved, and that THR will soon recover and return to normal.
I trust that any readers who contract out the hosting and/or supervision and/or support of their Internet services and/or operations to another person or company will learn from this very nasty situation, and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Peter
EDITED TO ADD: I've commented further on this matter in this post.
24 comments:
You know, Peter, I may owe you an apology. Oleg previously accused you of all manner of statements that were obviously false. In light of his recent behavior, I must believe that he fabricated some of the statements he told me you made regarding various other friends.
So, if that is indeed the case, I apologize for believing all the nasty things Oleg said about you.
That is an incredibly inept attempt to dissuade someone onto another side JR.
Not a smart move.
WTH is this:
"I apologize for believing all the nasty things Oleg said about you."
I thought 'well he said this about you!' type of retort ended in third grade!?
J.Shirley, Derek's 'chosen one' telling someone he's sorry' for Oleg?
Give me a break.
Even by internet drama standards, this is not going very well. For what it's worth, I didn't find much of anything to disagree with in BRM's post above. That's how I remember it, anyway.
The only quibble I might have is that the description of Oleg's proposed outside deal is pretty optimistic. I still don't think that idea smelled right. It amounted to someone promising something for nothing.
But the harsh reality is that the domain belonged to Oleg and none of us would have been within our rights to stop him from making a mistake with his property.
For years, people banned at THR have been routinely squashed like bugs, when they tried to question the decision publicly.
"Not up for discussion". "Take it to PM." Other imperious putdowns, before administering the threadlock coup de grace.
Now, when the shoe is on the other foot, Volk and Bluesman are crying like little girls, all over the internet.
I've been banned! Send me money! Boycott the site!
Pure hypocrisy.
Anonymous, if you were banned from THR, it's because you persisted in disregarding forum policies, AND refused to listen to prior warnings delivered by moderators. No-one has been banned without going through a process of administrative overview. Since you don't use your name, or give your "screen name" at THR, I have no idea who you are or why you were banned: but it will have been for a good reason.
Peter
Peter, thanks for the clarificiations on what all is going on with this particular situation. Like I admitted on my own webpage, I have never really been to THR, and knew very little of what was actually going on (even less than the average peon). However, given what I know of Oleg, and given what I was able to research, it seemed as though he got the short end of the stick. Thank you for confirming that :).
All that said, this seems like a positively craptacular situation, for everyone involved. Here is to hoping it get resolves soon, and more amicably than it would in court.
Thank you, Peter, for this post. I first became aware of all this yesterday, and was horribly disappointed by it. I tended to lean toward Oleg's side of things, but didn't want to make any posts or such until I felt like I had some solid facts.
I trust your word on this, and Don's concurrence only strengthens my opinion. I hope Oleg gets his site back soon.
Wow, what an unfortunate situation! I've enjoyed my times at THR, though I've been there much less since all political discussion was booted to APS.
I don't know any of the actors personally, but I have had some interaction with Oleg and found him to be respectful and generous. I hope that this problem is fixed without a lot of hard feelings, but it seems as though it may be too late for that already! Good Luck Oleg!
Thanks from my corner, too, Peter. You're clearly in a position (as is Don Gwinn) to offer much more significant insights than us "outsiders" simply offended by the apparent injustice.
I've seen and enjoyed Oleg's work for Pink Pistols, read some of his writings, and lean towards believing him in the right until proven otherwise.
Certain persons attempts at amateurish Machiavellianism and tossing of ritual red herrings in rather sad attempts to "divide and conquer" seem unfortunate, at best - and saddening, at worst, as it only causes my respect for those persons to diminish with each pathetic attempt.
GC
Oleg may have been the inspiration behind THR but based on what's been posted here, at APS and THR the man who kept it up and running all these years as well as footed most of the bills (who paid the bills is a bit of a grey area so far) is Mr. Zeanah and IMO that makes him more the owner than the guy who had the original idea.
Then again posession is 9 points of the law as the saying goes.
It'll be interesting to see how the court rules in this case.
In any event it would be a real shame to see THR go down for good over an issue of domain ownership that superficially seems to have been created by miscommunication on one's part and a lack of follow up and due diligence by another.
Anonymous, if you'd been banned from your OWN forum instead of someone else's, then maybe you could talk about the shoe being on the other foot. THR wasn't your site and you agreed to follow its rules when you registered to use it. You got banned because you broke those rules.
TheBluesMan was banned because he didn't follow (unwritten) rules laid down by a guy who doesn't own the place and only has the power to do that to him because he's put the actual owner out in the cold.
The two situations aren't similar at all. Go back under your rock and think up something better.
Peter, thanks for posting this.
I note that every story has two sides.
In order to believe one side here, the side snidely referenced by John Shirley in support of Derek Zeanah, one must also believe (as a necessary corollary) that Rich Lucibella is either a liar or a fool.
In order to believe the other side, the side laid out by yourself in this post, one must believe (as a necessary corollary) that Rich Lucibella is an honest man with a reliable memory -- and that Oleg was about to take a course of action disapproved of by the majority of his friends, a course considered insane by some of the more vocal folks on staff.
Given the personalities involved, I know which sounds more plausible to me. YMMV, of course.
Below is the basic definition of a "Sys admin". It's what they do! Doesn't mean they own anything! If I was O.V., I'd try to have my lawyers seaze the harddrive that hosts the forum data of THR before D.Z. destroys it! It's not good news for THR members, as it would be offline until the matter is solved, but it could save the history/content of the forums before it's too late!
Anonymous posted: "the man who kept it up and running all these years as well as footed most of the bills (who paid the bills is a bit of a grey area so far) is Mr. Zeanah "
I find all this drama leave a bad taste in my mouth for THR. I don't know who's on the right side of this, and I can't say I car much. THR is now stained by the mud slinging and trash talking.
I've posted a bit of content to THR. I've posted in-depth range reports and lots of pictures. I enjoyed it and I like to think others did too.
But now I find myself hesitent to post a) for fear it may not last; and b) because I don't want to be apart of something that is going to be ugly down to road.
I'm incredibly pissed off at everybody involved in this dispute (and I mean EVERYBODY on BOTH sides) for turning THR ugly to me. I'd have been happy to go about enjoying THR if you all (on BOTH sides) would have kept your damn mouths shut and kept the dispute where it belonged, OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE.
He said, she said, tit-for-tat, blah blah blah. Sort this out like men damn it.
-T.
This is fascinating. I've known Oleg for eight years, and we've been very close friends, and NOT ONCE has he ever had anything but positive things to say about Peter.
Not once.
He adores Peter as a friend, respects him as a writer and a professional, and has insisted for years that I meet him. Oleg, for the record, is pretty protective of his friends, and would never expose me to someone whom he didn't respect or like very much.
Oleg is the type of person who would defend his friends, protect them, and stand by them until the very end - until they betray him so badly, that he can't justify supporting them any longer. He's the type of person who will give you his last dollar if you're in trouble. He's the type of man who will expend the time, resources and effort to make his friends' lives just a bit better.
The attempt to poison the well by intimating that Oleg is somehow a two-faced jerk is repugnant, Mr. Shirley. It's disgusting to the core. And it's immature and transparent.
Nicki Fellenzer
Sort this out like men damn it.
I assume you mean by negotiations (failed) or lawsuit (in progress, hence the fund raiser). This conflict stayed private for almost two months. Now it's time for limelight on the culprit.
"Sort this out like men damn it."
A duel is in order and would be very fitting; high road and classy, too.
I had a couple of mixups with BRM, but we managed to put them past us. I have no reason, given his background, to question the honesty of his statements.
I've known Oleg for over a decade. He instantly went to bat for me more than once when I had life-changing issues threatening.
I know Rich by reputation.
If the three of them are on one side, I believe their statements and position are accurate and honest to their own point of view. It is possible, though exceptionally unlikely, that they are mistaken. They are not, however, dishonest.
I got banned from THR until 4 Oct by asserting that Derek was a wiener for his actions. I find it hilarious that I was criticized for not being "high road" and laying down an insult. Yet, we don't treat any other criminal with respect. Perhaps our hypocrisy on THR is that we actually enjoy using that piece of stolen property and so....
"This conflict stayed private for almost two months. Now it's time for limelight on the culprit."
Disagree. But I digress (to a point). A fund raiser can't happen with some publicity.
Much of my irritation is aimed at the bloggers (many of whom are THR mods/admins) who insist on posting posting this stuff. Your fund raiser post, Oleg, and some nice links back to it should have been enough. But no. A whole bunch of folks privy to inside intel from the Staff forum, or wherever, had to stir up the muck.
Needs to go to court? Ok. Need funds? Fine. Need the gossip, name calling, and muck-raking? No.
Again, sour taste. It's puts me off of THR. Now I'm nobody and am unlikely to be missed. But those who want THR to survive might well consider that I may not be the only person put off. 50k member just might be a little missed, especially if they're like Larry Correia (who just resigned as a mod), a long time and valuable contributor.
-T.
That was "WITHOUT publicity" My mistake. Couple other typos too. Apologies.
-T.
I have been in the dark about this until today and still don't really know what is going on but it has always been my understanding that Oleg owned the site. Hopefully this is resolved quickly. Also, Thernlund, your tag is one of the few I recognize on sight and usually read your posts. I hope you join us on the new forum until this is resolved.
"So, if that is indeed the case, I apologize for believing all the nasty things Oleg said about you."
Wow. I just spent 15 minutes reading a few sources regarding the THR.org drama/BS. I've lurked through occasionally that forum for years but don't know any of the people or history other than what I read just now. Before even reading the other comments on this page the J.R. Shirley comment jumped out at me as being wrong - seriously wrong. I haven't seen a head game like that in years. And as already commented - poorly executed head game. Whomever posted that though is one sick person.
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