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Alganon: David Allen Responds
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Whether or not Mr. Allen was capable and qualified to run an MMO or not is not (IMO) the biggest issue. The primary consideration is that Mr Smart should have kept his mouth shut, something that most people cannot do. Most of the time it's just not worth sounding off (see half the posts or more on any decent forum *cough*) but people have to do it anyway. Bite your tongue, punch a pillow (thick one, don't hurt your hands!) or just walk away.
Not terribly smart, Mr.....Smart.... and now it bites you in the hindquarters....
Best of luck. I do find it odd how this is his second MMO that he claims has been ripped from his control. I'm not sure what monetary gain he could possibly get from Mr. Smart or QOL. I hope he is able to give both of them what they deserve.
I'm not very used to law suits....
So what on earth is with all the Jane Doe's?
Has every man married the same woman for a green card?
They bought Smart in as a consultant? I laughed so hard I almost cacked. If Smart spent half as much time working as he does ranting and raging online the games he has had a hand in might have done somewhat better.
He should have kept his mouth shut. Considering the state of the game it is obvious Mr Smart has tons of ammunition on his side.
Its all legal mumbo jumbo to me, and frankly gives me a headache.
Can anyone give me some some footnotes about the most important parts of this, cause its all greek to me.
Since when is Tuesday a direction?
This is almost exact same copy of text from when he was ousted from Horizons Inc because he had wasted over half of the projects funds on implementing fundamedal game systems and then scrapping them to start anew because he didnt like the finished one.
he's a bad project lead.
Don't be too impressed with David Allens professional response. He has legal action pending so Im sure his statement was written by or at the least approved by his lawyer.
I’ve done some consulting for QoL under both Allen and Smart, there are no good guys here just some very gullible investors, and a lot of inexperienced staff, anyone who wants to keep their credibility in the industry should steer clear of the whole mess.
This sword here at my side dont act the way it should
Keeps calling me its master, but I feel like its slave
Hauling me faster and faster to an early, early grave
And it howls! it howls like hell!
Alganon® is an amazing MMOG that my team and I were able to develop for a fraction of the cost when compared to similar MMOG’s. This was due in part to a highly talented team of developers and their relentless efforts. Alganon® has the foundation of a great MMOG with state-of-the-art and custom-built wholly-owned technology, and exclusive intellectual property.
Hilarious!
Can't say I'm real familiar with Mr. Allen, but Mr. Smart's reputation precedes him. My money's on Allen in this matter.
I know you guys are all anxiously waiting for either myself or QOL to respond in an official capacity. Unlike David, we are actually running our response through legal counsel before we release it.
David is yelling about defamation, yet he does the following:
1. Makes official public statements like this:
In an effort to enhance Alganon’s® market visibility and following the direction of certain investors, QOL hired Derek Smart as a consultant on December 3, 2009 to assist in the area of sales and marketing. Soon thereafter, and for reasons unbeknownst to me, Mr. Smart began a smear campaign attacking my credibility, first privately among the investors, and then publicly.
Statements which are not only false, but also relies on the very investors he cheated and lied to. The same investors who unanimously kicked him out of the company. The same investors who are currently engaged in burying him in more lawsuits than he could possibly imagine.
2. Goes and issues a press release to "tell his skewed side"
The facts are clear and without interpretation. His complaint (there is no lawsuit btw, thats just rubbish) is without merit and is just designed to strong arm people to do what they have been doing these past four years: give him money.
He can make as much noise as he wants but that won't change the facts. I, for one, can't wait for him to sue because once he does that, everything goes into discovery and the world will eventually see him for the person that he is, the actions he has taken and how - once again - he brought a company to the brink and nearly destroyed it. Only this time the investors had me in place and so the damage was somewhat contained.
This is the guy who goes and "withdraws" whatever little money was left in the company, then gave it to attorneys (first one in Seattle, we just laughed at and sent him packing, then he got another in AZ - we're still laughing) in a bid to sue the very company and investors whose money it was. Money that was for payroll and company expenses.
Right now he should be more concerned about the FBI, the IRS and the SEC more than filing frivolous suits that he has NO money to see through. Whatever money he had left, has already been spent on attorney retainers. Lets see how exactly he plans on bringing about frivolous lawsuits to no less than fourteen individuals and two companies. Not to mention the counter suits and cross complaints that are in the works and which he is most likely going to be buried in for the next ten years of his life.
We've known about his complaint since it was filed back on Mar 25th. But he chose to issue a press release on April 7th? My guess is that he's out looking for a job or some fool to give him money.
In typical David fashion, he has no clue wtf he is doing or what's coming down the line. All this is just noise to take away from the fact that he screwed several investors, screwed thousans of gamers, nearly destroyed the company and left a frigging mess behind. A mess that I have been tasked with clearing up and fixing.
If him or his attorneys have any sense whatsoever, they would closely examine the FACTS surrounding libel and defamation. To think that for as long as I've been on the Net that I would make statements which would even be construed as such, is not only hilarious but is the kind of thing that helps attorneys renovate their homes, buy a yatcht or send their spouses on a shopping spree. Only the attorneys win.
For those of you who really want to learn something, here are just two of thousands of legal briefs on defamation.
What are libel & slander?
The EFF on defamation
Apart from that, the same way that he tends to lie, we feel that he has not been forthcoming with his attorneys either because there is no way in hell they would even think of filing a complaint, let alone saber rattle if they had all the facts. But he wont' be the first one to lie to attorneys and then engage in damage control when a lawsuit hits.
Legal complaints are usually filed in order to extort money from their target. Thats why the courts place a time limit on them and during which you either piss or get off the pot. This complaint is no different as he has been trying to use it to leverage an exhorbitant buyout that he is in no way, shape or form is entitled to. Now whatever money he would have received is going to go to attorneys.
David - once again - severely underestimates the investors. Because he pretty much spent four years feeding them bullshit and them giving him money, he thinks that they're just going to cave and pay him to go away. When no less than ten people unanimously vote you OUT of a company - TWICE - it means only one thing: they want you GONE.
There is a reason why, since the complaint was filed, nobody from our side has said anything about it publicly. The reason is simple: it is rubbish and without merit.
When David Allen decided to bring me to QOL to HELP him, then LIE to me and try to get me to play along with his scheme to continue bilking the investors through lies and deceit he drew the line. Had I gone along with that plan, it would a different story today. The court documents will show EXACTLY what happened. So go ahead David, bring it.
Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living.
If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead
...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them.
Lol, he's like the Kanye West of the gaming industry. Pretty funny when your name gets coined. . "don't pull a "smart", bro!"
Comedy gold!
IANAL, but from the complaint, if Allen is correct that he had a contractual right to terminate Smart, and a contractual right to be terminated only by a unanimous vote of all major shareholders (which would include himself), then Allen's alleged incompetence is completely irrelevant. As long as he believed in what he was doing, he had the right to run the company into the ground (not saying I agree he was incompetent, just that its irrelevant whether he was or not).
And (if Allen's claims of contractual protection stand up) laughingboy Smart's underpants are going to have a self-inflicted case of "shotgun fungus" if he tries to back out of comments he made essentially confirming that he wants to run Allen out of the industry.
Checking my stock ticker I see that Popcorn Int'l stock is up three points this week...
I can also roleplay the tower in a chess game and shout "is that a peasant at the horizon I see? I will smash it I will! Oh damn I broke one of my merlons!". -- maji
Allen cites sections from the operating contract under which QOL did business, which state that any "manager" (in this case, it seems to mean a principal officer, not just a guy who has guys reporting to him) has the right to act unilaterally on behalf of the company in outside contracts. Since Smart's company was hired as a consultant and not as a "manager" or employee, this would mean that Allen can fire Smart without consulting the other managers. (you can't fire me cuz I fires JOO!)
Furthermore, Allen cites sections which indicate that dismissing any manager requires unanimous consent of the "members" (which seems to mean major shareholders) at a meeting attended by all members. Allen owned an ~18% share, therefore was both a member and a manager. Thus it seems he would have to consent to his own dismissal for his dismissal to be legal. He alleges that the other managers agreed in secret to terminate him. He alleges that there was no meeting of all members (because Allen would have a contractual right to be notified of and attend such a meeting), therefore even *if* there had been unanimous agreement of the other members, the firing would be invalid.
If he prevails on these two points, he argues that his termination would be invalid and he would technically still be the head of the company. Thus, his decision to fire Smart would precede the other managers' decision to fire him. Throughout the filing, Allen claims that he is still *legally* the head of QOL, still an employee, still possesses legal authority to act on behalf of the company, etc.
Allen cites many statements made by Smart and other managers, members and investors of QOL that he claims are intended to cause damage to his reputation.
Allen asserts that the fact that the other managers acted in secret to fire him and force him to sell his stake means that they violated an implied clause in any contract requiring all parties to act for mutual interest and goodwill. For this reason, Allen claims to be entitled to punitive damages in addition to loss of reputation, lost wages, devaluing of his stake, etc.
Interestingly, Allen also claims that Smart planned this whole fiasco prior to being hired as a consultant. That Smart's intent from the beginning was to convince QOL to hire him, discredit and oust Allen, devalue the IP by saying it sucks ass, then take over QOL so he could use it himself. This one is going to be really hard to back up.
I could see Allen prevailing if his assertions about his contract as a principal of QOL hold up. Smart would likely have to demonstrate that his allegedly defamatory statements are true. Some of what Allen cites, which we've all read in various board postings on various sites, seems outrageous, deliberately insulting and deliberately intended to damage Allen's reputation as a software lead.
I can also roleplay the tower in a chess game and shout "is that a peasant at the horizon I see? I will smash it I will! Oh damn I broke one of my merlons!". -- maji
If David Allen was such a good leader, how come every single investor gave a vote of no confidence? He burned through money and missed launch date after launch date. Regardless, this will be interesting to see where it goes.
None of those investors knew anything about the MMO business (if they did this mess would have been avoided). None of them were involved with the actual goings on in QOL's offices so they all acted on the advice of Smart and his buddies. It's not as if they separately arrived at the same conclusion.
Personally I doubt Allen's competence. "First viable alternative to WoW" - riiiiiight.... But whether he is incompetent or not he should still have the protection of the law. This isn't "just games". A man's career and livelihood is at stake. His contract and the company charter should still matter. If he is a poor leader or a great one simply doesn't figure into it.
There is no doubt that the law has been broken in this case. Who exactly is the lawbreaker is less easy to tell. But whatever the case it is best for all of us to see this handled by the courts rather than the press statements and mudslinging on forums that Smart started. Ethics is sorely needed in the MMO business, so we win no matter who the courts rule in favour of.
Unless you or anyone else was first party to the events surrounding this issue, all these comments as to who is right, wrong, what happened etc is all speculation, hearsay, and conjecture.
So just stop.
[Mod Edit]
Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living.
If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead
...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them.
Wow is that an order? Didnt' know we was still on the Alganon boards where you can delete and tells us what to do? Btw like how you Edited your post already from the hell raising post you had before. No wonder people are so confused around here.
He didn't edit it or if he did then a Mod came in and edited it again. Gooooo Mods.... to bad you aren't on some other forums to edit also.
Just Me,
Tim
If rainbows only come out in the rain then I would like it to rain at least once a day.
Funny thing about 1st Amendment rights, means we can speculate and conjecture all we want, and pass around hearsay as well. Kinda regret not seeing your unedited text, but honestly, the fact that your posts keep getting edited is just proof that maybe you're doing it wrong.
Until all of this preteen-esque drama I have to admit not knowing anything about Alganon nor any of the people involved.
Now, I will never buy anything from any of the people involved with this spat nor any of their future projects. From obscurity to infamy in two months.
Don't know if the game is going to be any good or not, but the drama surrounding it has been entertaining to say the least. I think when the dust clears on this one, it will serve as a case study for generations of game developers to come on how to:
Not develop a game to mirror the most popular game in the genre.
Not conduct yourself in public as a developer (both Mr. Allen and Mr. Smart).
All publicity is not necessarily good...
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true...
I honestly don't see that happening soon. People eat this kind of stuff up. Besides, whats wrong with making speculations?
Since when is Tuesday a direction?
This. The only cure for speculation is truth.