.@TheBlockBot

While I don't want to make this statement about the aforementioned Ms Harper, let alone her storied history of wanton online abuse and harassment, in order for me to articulate the reason for this statement, I am left with little choice but to mention how we got here.



On the morning of Sept 24th, my day off, I was minding my own business, getting caught up with all the social media shenanigans when I was made aware of two Tweets by @randileeharper



As ridiculous as they were, even though I didn't get the context at first, I just assumed they were a joke. Especially since I had never before had an altercation with Ms Harper.



So I played along.



It wasn't until I tried to look at her feed for context, that I realized that I had been blocked by her, presumably before she sent those tweets. Which is why they never showed up in my feed and I only saw them via re-tweets and mentions.



So a few of my followers started to re-tweet her feed, as well as DM me the context.



I was still slightly bemused and really thought I was just being trolled. That sort of thing simply don't faze me. I'm used to it. And I tend not to overreact to such things.



http://www.dereksmart.org/2015/07/the-gaming-urban-legend/



I then figured out that this was the post that seemingly enraged her (out of ALL the women who were a part of the GoogleIdeas event).



https://twitter.com/dsmart/status/646856636850700288



https://twitter.com/dsmart/status/646854773438857216



So I wrote Ms Harper a private (at the time) message which I pushed via PushBullet.



http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1snh5b2



Now you are probably wondering how I got her phone number. I will give you the short version.



Over six months ago, at the height of the IGDA and ggautoblocker controversy, the IGDA as well as Ms Harper, were under a barrage of attacks and negative publicity over the use of that tool.



Though I was well aware of Ms Harper's online history, I was always of the opinion that people who are under constant attack, tend to do/say irrational things. As such, they have every right to use whatever means necessary to defend and protect themselves. I personally regard the use of blocking undesirables akin to A/V software. And even those tend to block legit software, websites etc routinely. You have to be vigilant.



Anyway, as the IGDA had seemingly - and unwittingly - endorsed this tool, Ms Harper fell within my purview of engagement in order to get to the bottom of it.



During the course of that, I had put a call out to Kate Edwards at the IGDA in order to engage her in discussions as to why this tool was being used. I advised them to stop using it. And in that conversation (as well as my online postings) I outlined the legal ramifications, as well as the potential for abuse if such tools were used to target innocent people. Especially where censorship and retaliatory actions are concerned. This aside from the potential for "false positives".



It is the same caution that I extend to others when discussing GamerGate. A lot of people foolishly and maliciously brand it as a hate group, and in turn, brand the gamers associated with it, a hate group. Regardless of their innocence.



I told Kate that I would discuss with Ms Harper the merits of her tool so that, as an engineer myself, I could better understand it without passing judgement from the sidelines.



Via Twitter DMs - all of which I have archived - I had several exchanges with Harper.



So imagine my surprise when, during the course of that, I discovered that, for some reason, I was actually placed on that ggautoblocker as well. No reason given.



I provided Harper with my GV number to call me in order to have a discussion about the tool, as well as why I was placed on it. I notified her that I had also spoken with Kate Edwards.



She subsequently called me. According to my call logs, that was precisely 33hrs later.



The conversation was short and direct. There was nothing personal about it. Harper talked about her previous job, what her plans going forward were, why she wrote the blockbot, how it worked, a bit about how she was being harassed etc.



Nothing else.



Later, she sent me a DM with the GoogleGroups link to ask to be removed from the list. In other words, I now had to go and ask to be removed from a list that I had no business being put on in the first place.



I was subsequently removed from that list.



I never heard from, nor communicate with Harper again.



FF to Sept 24th.



As a result of this drama created - out of the Blue - by Harper, those who were watching it unfold, came up with a synopsis of what went down and in a very accurate sequence of events.



http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1snh5m0



http://theralphretort.com/big-randi-claimed-derek-smart-was-talking-to-her-about-marriage-gets-btfo-9024015/



And so it had begun. The latest episode in a Harpish Drama event.



From behind the confines of her block, as seen from the many archives being passed around, Harper and her followers proceeded to change the narrative - completely without context - in a bid to, again, to make her the victim. Despite the fact that she - again - started this latest drama and by her own actions which in turn led to where we are today.



In support of this, I submit the following storify which completely changes the narrative and skews the timeline and sequence of events. Complete with Tweets by myself and others, taken completely out of context and manipulated in support of said defamatory and false narrative.



https://storify.com/QHStone/derek-smart-invents-feud-with-randi-harper



Ignoring the denizens of her feed, especially the many people who fuel her drama, while refusing to call out her abhorrent behavior, I continued with the discussions in my feed and with my followers.



Knowing how these things go, I got into a discussion with my attorney who informed me that she can say anything she wants, even if untrue it had to rise to a certain standard. Of course, I already knew this. However, the key here is that making false defamatory statements, knowing them to be false and with malice, are reasonable cause of action. Which is why truth, more often than not, is always an absolute defense against defamation.



As a result of this, I was advised that if I wanted to send her a message that I wasn't playing around and to advise her - on the record - that she was engaging in defamatory conduct, that a cease & desist (which by all accounts she would ignore), followed by a restraining order (which she can't ignore), were the best course of action because they allow the true events to be documented and inserted into the legal record. And doing so was better than all the obfuscation (see her feed and go from there) she and her followers were now attempting to perpetrated in their attempts to change the narrative and make her the victim. For something SHE started. And something SHE completely - out of the Blue - made up. Again.



Despite the fact that her second tweet was false, it falls under hyperbole (not to mention "he said, she said") because the standards of defamation also rest with one's ability to show malice or that what was said (slander) or written (libel) could be believed by a reasonable person.



Which is precisely why I was laughing when this whole thing started, and the primary reason that I had responded as I did, as captured here for context:



https://twitter.com/Machiavelli473/status/647368701830930432



No reasonable person would believe that I could possibly ever be attracted to the likes of Ms Harper. Let alone get to the point of discussing marriage.



Notwithstanding the fact that I've never had any prior contact with her, let alone even met her.



Let the record show that it was over six months ago since that conversation took place with her.



People who know me, know that I try to maintain an intensely private personal life. One that is completely detached from my business as well as my infamous online persona. In this instance, knowing that ignoring her would not make her stop - since that's how **bullies** operate - I was left with no choice but to make the comment that I did about my wife, as well as her photo.



Subsequently, I made a series of tweets for clarity, and which someone was kind enough to compile into a TwitLonger.



http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1snhbp6



Note that the "paper bag" comment is in reference to a joke by comedian Rodney Dangerfield. You can read it here:



http://www.jokes4us.com/peoplejokes/comedianjokes/rodneydangerfieldjokes.html



"I knew a girl so ugly that she was known as a two-bagger. That's when you put a bag over your head in case the bag over her head breaks.



During this shitstorm, I was informed via DM that I had been placed on theblockbot as Level 1.



Naturally I was curious. Even though it was amusing to me that it is now so ridiculous that being on it is like a badge of honor now. The hilarity that ensued in my feed over this, is pure joy to behold.



Despite my best attempts in trying to find out why I was placed on it, I was met only with ridicule and trolling. One of which was perpetrated by none other than @MAMelby



To the extent that amid my search for answers, this person instead sent me this YouTube video for my troubles.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm1-bVYio1k



This morning, I engaged this person in a discussion in order to find out precisely why I was placed on this list shortly after being harassed by Harper. Here is an archive of the exchange.



https://archive.is/Qy9tM



Then sent me a link which is supposed to articulate why I was added to this blocklist. As expected, it's pure bullshit.



https://storify.com/the_block_bot/12364172



These statements should concern everyone as they completely encapsulate the dangers of using such a tool as well as using it for wanton abuse and censorship.



1)



"We have never claimed to be objective."



https://twitter.com/MAMelby/status/647783709517545472



2)



"It seems that the blocker added you for what they saw as an excessive retaliatory reaction."



https://twitter.com/MAMelby/status/647775995135561728



3) "These are my opinions based on the archival information and my own viewing of your twitter activity."



https://twitter.com/MAMelby/status/647782170182811649



4) The person subsequently posted this excerpt from their declaration of intent



https://twitter.com/MAMelby/status/647783304750497792



I subsequently deduced from my exchange with this person - an admin of @theblockbot - that



"brilliant. now it comes out. so you've just confirmed that the blockbot serves no purpose other than a "big stick" for censorship"



https://twitter.com/dsmart/status/647783894750773249



And THAT is precisely why, for many months, I have said that the use of this sort of tool has the potential to be abused by those who would misuse it. This is allowed. Yet, each day, people are up in arms about the govt. and corporations collecting their data, misusing it etc.



This person stated it even more eloquently than I did:



"No, the block list is deliberately associating others in an attempt to shame them publicly for voicing dissenting opinions."



https://twitter.com/GSTalbert/status/647810898111807488



In conclusion:



The sequence of events as have unfolded clearly show how tools like this can be used for abuse, harassment and censorship. It is dangerous.



As I type this, like others, I am left wondering why Harper, for all her online antics, and going by the very rules & guidelines used by @theblockbot, why is she NOT on it?



This is where we are. I don't take this sort of thing lightly because it goes beyond trolling and "fun".



A statement has already been prepared by my attorney to be dispatched to not only GoogleIdeas and Twitter, but also other groups who seek to shield and empower these people, try to pass them off as innocent victims (yes - they are in many regards) while these very victims are doing precisely that which they claim to abhor.



It is this double standard that has tainted the spirit and nature of online discourse and in which the lives of many innocent people - many of whom can't defend themselves - have had their lives ruined.



This will not stand.



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