★ “Violet, Violet, Violet….”

via 4ma.me:

Violet confuses the issue with:

I’m not the first person to have a troubling story like this about these people.

Really? Who is the first person, Violet? Got any proof of that statement? Any facts? Any names…anything?

Maybe I can help…here’s an email I sent to a reader a few years ago who invited me out with Shawn for some Macworld events:

I have no problems with Shawn at all. He threatened my life back when I was 16. i sent him some iTunes gift cards and he never redeemed them and once every few months publicly calls me an idiot on the Internet or on his show.

it’s very sad but he’s just that way with people. Shawn is the sole reason I started my macworld events. His closed community of YMLers without letting new people in is not how the mac community should be so when I see all of the emails piling up and requests for macworld info from people I don’t know, I think of shawn and how mean he was to me and other people that I Know and that keeps me going. I credit him completely for inspiring me to do what i do. 

I encourage you to go with him. if he’s invited you out then you must have done something right. Shawn will accelerate your career in the Macintosh blogging / journalism field or keep you from getting some good jobs which is what has happened to me :( 

Maybe it’s just me and maybe i am stupid or an idiot or deserve for Shawn to “shoot me” next time he sees me but after you meet me I’ll let you be the judge of that and maybe you can report back to him  how I acted at the parties or city tour. If enough people say to him that he was wrong for saying what he said to me then maybe he’ll change his mind.

My grammar was a lot worse back then. I was a young buck just trying to make some friends on the Internet back in 2004 and was a member of Shawn’s online forum talking about Macworld. I specifically said I’d post the Macworld attendance numbers once they were released as someone was asking about them. Shawn came back with a few choice lines that I’ll summarize:

“I’m a speaker at Macworld so I’ll know the numbers before anyone else and I’ll be the one who posts them. Not you. You’re just some kid.”

and

“I’m tired of you. I’ll rip your head off and take a shit down your throat.”

and

“You better be packing at Macworld next year because, as soon as I see you, I’m going to shoot you.”

Moments later, I refreshed the forum and my account was deleted and then the thread was removed. I did get a few compassionate emails from forum members saying, “That’s just Shawn” and that I should ignore it.

I’ve never told this story publicly before and don’t plan on writing it again. I’ve said things in support of Shawn (like this) and in times where he’s asked me to modify blog posts that had inaccuracies, I’ve complied because I do admit when I’m wrong and correct mistakes. I may never receive a note from Shawn on his reasonings for threatening the life of a 16 year old kid who just went to his first Macworld and was stoked to talk with other people about it but his actions did inspire me to start a Macworld blog and my endeavors took me to where I am today.

My advice to Violet is pretty simple. Ignore this because it’ll pass. It did for me and I owe Shawn a bit because he helped me get to where I am today. The death threat was some real inspiration. They can be pretty empowering.