latest update on Re: [EXTREMELY OFF-TOPIC] The sad state of cgf's existing new laptop

[Christopher Faylor <cgf at redhat dot com>]

On Thu, Apr 10, 2003 at 12:31:17AM -0400, Christopher Faylor wrote:
>On Tue, Apr 08, 2003 at 03:48:55PM -0400, Igor Pechtchanski wrote:
>>On Tue, 8 Apr 2003, Christopher Faylor wrote:
>>> On Tue, Apr 08, 2003 at 01:41:14PM -0400, Igor Pechtchanski wrote:
>>> >On Tue, 8 Apr 2003, Steve Fairbairn wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> > -----Original Message-----
>>> >> > From: Charles Werner [mailto:cw at gamma-rs dot ch]
>>> >> > Sent: 08 April 2003 07:41
>>> >> > To: cygwin at cygwin dot com
>>> >> > Subject: [EXTREMELY OFF-TOPIC] The sad state of cgf's existing new
>>> >> > laptop
>>> >> >
>>> >> > What email address do I use for cgf's paypal account?
>>> >> > Let's get this man a computer!
>>> >>
>>> >> Good call, someone tell me how to give money with paypal or whatever, and
>>> >> I'll throw $10 dollars cgf's way.
>>> >>
>>> >> Make it list mail rather than personal, in case anyone else wants to as
>>> >> well.
>>> >> Steve.
>>> >
>>> >Well, I don't quite know how to use PayPal, but it seems to accept cgf's
>>> >e-mail at RedHat as registered.  If this is confirmed, I'll post a link.
>>>
>>> <no-shame-mode>That's me.</no-shame-mode>
>>>
>>> >Chris, why postpone the inevitable?  Please let the list know which
>>> >address to use for donations, and let us help. ;-)
>>>
>>> Someone has already donated something there.  I really can't believe
>>> this and other expressions of sympathy I've received.  It's amazing how
>>> often a bad experience can offer new positive perspectives on life.
>>>
>>> *sniff*  Something in my eye...
>>> cgf
>>
>>I've realized a while ago that the one deserving person Chris cannot
>>really give a gold star to is himself, but this is lots better than a gold
>>star... :-D
>>
>>Ok, everyone, if you want to contribute a token of your appreciation to
>>the Ruler, Czar, and Monarch (RCM) of Cygwin, the person who oversees the
>>Cygwin project, provides us with useful packages like "cygwin", "sh-utils",
>>"man/groff/less", "gcc/binutils/gdb/bison", "texinfo", and many more,
>>handles our whining and (oh, horror) GPL questions on a regular basis, and
>>still finds the time to hack on the Cygwin DLL, the one and only CGF, you
>>may use the following link:
>><https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=cgf%40redhat.com>
>
>Btw, paypal just sent me email because someone forwarded my message to
>them.  They told me to do a bunch of things that I'd already done and
>made some observations which seemed to imply that they actually hadn't
>read the email that had been forwarded to them.  I took the opportunity
>to ask them if I could get the personal information on the scumbag
>for a law enforcement agency.  Lets see if they ignore this request,
>too.
>
>Thanks, whoever you were, for getting them to contact me.  And, many
>many many many many thanks to the incredible outpouring of generosity
>from the list.  I couldn't believe it when I woke up today and found
>more donations from the list.  I thought sure that this would be all
>finished by yesterday.
>
>I've used your generosity as an object lesson to my kids that there
>really are good people in the world.  I mentioned it to my parents too
>but after a half hour discussion about cygwin, free software, why cygwin
>isn't really a Red Hat enterprise, etc., I don't think they got it.
>
>The kids got it, though.  It's almost worth the pain of financial loss
>to be able to point at the fact that the world isn't a completely
>uncaring place.  I'm sure they think that Dad is a little embarrassing
>for getting choked up when he tells the story of the kind folks in
>the cygwin mailing list, but what the heck...
>
>I need to give myself some off-topic coal for this thread but I really
>do appreciate the commiseration I've received.  It has been a really
>tough couple of weeks for me thanks to this and another even more
>serious issue and the response of people here has really helped.
>
>Ok.  Enough of my slobbering.  Get back to work.
>
>You over there!  cygwin-apps isn't a bug reporting mailing list!
>Are you crazy?
>
>And you!  Yes, you with the cron problem!  We need cygcheck output!
>As an attachment, dammit!
>
>What?  You aren't shipping sources with your binaries?  Are you
>daft, man?  Have you never heard of the GPL?  I quiver with outrage
>at your impertinence!
>
>That's better.

For those keeping score on this saga, here is the latest: A week or so
ago the PayPal person that someone here put me in touch with gave me the
contact info from PayPal.  The phone number given was for an abortion
clinic in Sayreville, NJ.  Whoopee.

Enough time has now passed that I can finally file a formal claim with
eBay.  Actually, I probably could have done that a week or so ago.  So,
I've done that.  Now in another month I can maybe get my $175 of
insurance.  Whee.

A couple of people have suggested that I could contact the FBI about
this.  Can anyone confirm or deny this fact?  Does anyone here know
precisely the right path to follow here?  Would contacting the
Sayreville police department help?  I'm a little discouraged and gun shy
about this ordeal but I really have to steel myself to keep moving
forward and doing the right thing.  Even if I can't recover my money, it
would be satisfying to see the guy fined or in jail, or whatever happens
to scum like this.

And, again, thank you to all whose charity I have received.  As I said,
now when I tell the story of my stupidity to people, I have an amazing
twist to the whole scenario.  To me, it brings a whole new meaning to
term "free software community".

As I have intimated this is a particularly bad time for me right now.
This incident came in the middle of a number of crises.  As seems to be
so often the case, this problem, which would have been enough of an
annoyance was just one of many and, in some ways, it was the least of my
worries.  Still, the thought of being scammed in this way does hit me
on a daily basis.

Anyway, enough this off-topic self-pity.  Thanks again, and again, I'm
asking for advice on how to proceed.  A few people have sent me email
about near misses that they've experienced on eBay.  I'm wondering how
common my story is and if there is actually a number of people in a
similar boat.  I'm wondering if this is a Slashdot-worthy story...

cgf

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