Anybody seen or heard from Sloopy?

[Blues76]

It's hard for me to let go as I sent him my 600 XL, 2-VBXE, 1-U1meg, and money for the install.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I totally understand. I would probably feel the same way.

 

I only sent him VBXE before I decided not to sent anything else (I hope I did not, my memory lately is spotty).

 

So, It is not that I'm letting go of the hope to get it back, but energy on one VBXE is not worth it. Of course, in your case, I will be very angry.

[Blues76]

Using IRC Freenode, I haven't found sloppy, but I do notice that the topic was set by a sloppy on August of 2016.

 

[15:56:50] Set by sloopy on August 30, 2016 at 8:25:15 AM EDT

[+Stephen]

Avoid dealings with. I as well as several dozen other users here paid good money for VBXE all the way back in 2012. 7 years later, nothing. Had a few other transactions with him, and never got my stuff any sooner than six months.

 

This was the last straw for me. October of 2018 I get begged into buying an Amiga from him. Same old sob story - I need the money. Asking price $200, I pay him $250 because I figured it would help him out. Still haven't received it. First excuse was didn't have money to ship it. Excuses continue to flow for the next few weeks. I'm constantly being told "I'll ship it next Monday".

 

We're now end of February, I still don't have my package from him and he has not been on IRC for over 3 weeks now, probably because I kept pestering him about it. I guess he is active on Facebook but I don't have an account at that cesspool.

 

Here's the list of aliases he uses when he does bother to come to ##atari (irc channel on chat.freenode.net)

• sloopy
• fifteenthirtysix
• page6
• pixelated

[Tillek]

If you or anyone else knows the name he's going by on Facebook, please let us know.

 

We need to know to be aware... and to beware....

[+Stephen]

If you or anyone else knows the name he's going by on Facebook, please let us know.

 

We need to know to be aware... and to beware....

I'm not on that site, but I believe from a search, that this is one of his accounts. He has multiple IRC accounts, as do all perpetual liars.

https://www.facebook.com/chris6502

[Tillek]

 

I'm not on that site, but I believe from a search, that this is one of his accounts. He has multiple IRC accounts, as do all perpetual liars.

https://www.facebook.com/chris6502

 

Thanks... just want to make sure I don't get burned (then again, I never do business with people I meet on Facebook.....)

[_The Doctor__]

wow, I am so disappointed he was a good guy years and years ago. I know life can be hard, I hope he hasn't developed any 'habbits' that have left him bereft of decent honest dealings in life.

I mean we all have dark sides and he shared some of that, but doing a friend like he's doing you is not at all acceptable. Sorry for both of you in this one. Let's hope for the best.

[+Stephen]

Pained me to post this. But reflection over the past 5 weeks, plenty of time to let someone own up to whatever. I can't be silent in this any more. Just because I have been at AA for over 18 years doesn't grant me protection from being a scammer, or a repeat offender.

[NML32]

Sloopy still hasn't returned my stuff. I think it's going on 8 years now.

[Mclaneinc]

So sad to hear as people like Stephen were giving him a little extra because he wanted to help the guy and even then he gets scammed. I've been very lucky with people on here, I've never been scammed although I did have a poor experience with one person but there was never any withholding of goods or money involved, just a strange attitude.

 

Like Doc, I remember the good sloopy so it was a shock to see he was up to this sort of crap...People do change but when they start stealing your cash I do wonder if there's an chemical reasons for this, if you get my drift....That stuff just changes people...

 

Hopefully not as I'd hate to think a person was in to that stuff as its the beginning of the end....I can only hope that common sense and decency return to Sloopy and he at least returns the gear or cash just to put and end to it..

[ricortes]

We change a bit or a lot as we get older. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. My Mom who used to have the edict "No animals in the house!" is now the neighborhood cat lady. Boxers have the same problem, they still have the strength, knowledge, and experience but when they get in the ring, they can't pull the trigger and just absorb damage at the end of their careers. You start off as an Olympic gold medalist and end up Caitlyn Jenner.

Edited March 2, 2019 by ricortes

[+DrVenkman]

 

I'm not on that site, but I believe from a search, that this is one of his accounts. He has multiple IRC accounts, as do all perpetual liars.

https://www.facebook.com/chris6502

 

 

If that's the same guy, I've seen his posts on The Eeevil Demon Facebooks in the various Atari-specific and retro-groups. Thanks for the heads up.

[Mr Robot]

 

If that's the same guy, I've seen his posts on The Eeevil Demon Facebooks in the various Atari-specific and retro-groups. Thanks for the heads up.

 

 

He's the guy I got my 800XL from (his paypal is sloopy). It took him *forever* to send it, when it did arrive it stank of cigarettes, had no shielding and was held together with 3 screws. He threw in a few carts to apologise for the delay in sending and said he was having personal problems (hurt his back, lost his job), but he lied repeatedly about having sent it and it being returned because of issues with weight and stuff like that.

[256 colors]

Wow what a scumbag sounds like the type of guy who needs the living shit kicked out of him

[Kylev]

No, not really. Just someone who needs to be avoided and pitied. Sounds like he was once a reasonable fellow.

[+Stephen]

Not advocating violence, not trying to stir shit. Just putting out a warning. My feelings are hurt, but this is not done out of spite. Fellow Atarians don't need to get ripped off.

[newtmonkey]

What a scumbag

[ClausB]

Met him at VCFMW a few years ago. He sat there most of the time soldering stuff. Seemed like a nice guy, though I never ordered anything from him.

[flashjazzcat]

Interesting how the general consensus changes with the passing of time. I recall some seven or more years ago being the conduit for the first batch of Sloopy's VBXEs to the UK, all for customers who either wished me to fit the devices in their machines or simply ship the part on to the owner. Upon testing the VBXEs, I noticed that none of them were fully working. Even those which produced a picture crashed when features of the FX core were accessed. I spent an enormous amount of time reworking the FPGA soldering on the boards and managed to get all three in an apparently fully functional state. However, the owner of one board had lost interest entirely by then and told me to keep his board as a donation. Another said he'd lost interest and wished to sell his VBXE, which I purchased for 50 GBP. The third VBXE actually found its way to the original customer and as I recall, no complaints were forthcoming.

 

Naturally the entire episode was highly stressful and I cannot say I was especially happy about the state of the boards when they arrived, nor about the amount of time and effort required to fix them. I can't recall the specific conversations I had with Sloopy at the time, but I do recall a third party urging me not to discuss the issues in public (i.e. on the forum), regardless of how pissed off I might be. I complied with this advice, while Sloopy (as I recall) used the forum to apologise profusely to those who had paid for VBXEs and not received them. I think the aspect which was supposed to be 'kept quiet' at the time was that any VBXEs had shipped at all (namely the UK batch of three I received). In any case: I tried to balance the week or two spent getting the boards fit for purpose against the fact I'd snagged one VBXE for free and another for 50GBP (bear in mind Lotharek had not yet started producing VBXEs at this point).

 

Fast forward to 2016 or so. One of the two Sloopy VBXEs was running in an 800XL, while the other was kept in reserve for testing, etc, and had rarely been used in several years. When I eventually got around to testing it in an Atari, the device had issues which had either developed over the course of time, or had been there all along and had simply gone unnoticed. I forget the exact nature of the issue, but it was disruptive enough for the device to be unusable. I spent more time reworking the FPGA, but frustration and a lack of patience eventually resulted in my taking a hammer to it and throwing the remains in the bin. So I was down one VBXE, and unable to afford a replacement.

 

The following year, I noticed that the 800XL running the last Sloopy VBXE would not produce a display when a SIDE2 cart was attached. This problem had only cropped up after I changed the U1MB's VBXE detection code so that it established the presence of the hardware in a way which didn't depend on the FX core (since it failed when the GTIA core was present). It transpired that the FX core flashing tool (FC.COM) triggered the exact same issue (since - like the new U1MB VBXE detection code - it accessed the AVR chip). I laboured for some time in an attempt to find the cause (emailing experts such as Hias and tf_hh on the matter), before eventually giving up. Fortunately the board is still useful as a spare and appears to work in the 1088XEL (where there is rarely any sane reason to attach a SIDE cartridge).

 

Fortunately, owing to various happy circumstances and donations, etc, the depleted VBXE population was eventually restored, so the bitter frustration I felt about these boards has eased somewhat.

 

I still talk to Sloopy from time to time and find him perfectly civil and pleasant, and aside from the immense inconvenience caused by the UK VBXE shipment and the fact that the two boards I kept never worked properly, I have no personal grudge against him, and would happily discuss the matters outlined above with him face to face, if it were even worth discussing (although it's in the past, so there's nothing to be done about it). He clearly overreached heavily with the VBXE project and - if we are to accept his claims - life was generally unkind to him at the very worst possible junctures. I can completely appreciate the balanced criticism from those who tried to help him by purchasing gear from him, even in the full knowledge of all that went on before, and I'm sure that if I'd paid full whack for three VBXEs which never arrived, I'd still be pretty steaming now. The fact they arrived with faults and were difficult or impossible to repair is bad enough, but I guess duff boards are better than no boards at all.

 

I think the label of 'scumbag' is entirely inappropriate, however, especially when levelled from people who didn't live through or witness first-hand the events of seven or so years ago which led to Sloopy being in the situation he's in now. I could have really let fly with both barrels on the forum when those boards turned up, but not only did I show restraint at the time, but I was urged to keep things under my hat by someone who presumably wanted to give Sloopy a chance to redeem himself. I have every sympathy with those who lost money and it would make sense to think very carefully before purchasing anything from him again.

 

But... what a difference a few years makes.

Edited March 3, 2019 by flashjazzcat

[Mclaneinc]

The sloopy I talked to back then seemed a nice guy, I never purchased from him but probably would have done because of his nature then but it seems bad times have hit him and who knows what else and I'd urge him to return all he can but I don't agree with violence towards him. I don't know the man personally or know of his situation bar what we can sort of make out but sympathy for his actions would be wrong and against the very people he has hurt. I like to see the best in people but I also know when the bridges are burned down and the trust is now gone.

 

If he is in dire straights then I hope he gets out of it, life is already very cruel but its clear whatever is going on that there's been a change in character there and that has miffed a lot of people and taken cash and good that many can ill afford to lose, for that he will be an outcast of sorts.

 

Its not ideal but you have to pay some way when you screw people around...Would I talk to him, maybe, depending on the content and his mind set, but I really do try and see the best in folk...Who knows what his future is but he's lost friends....Not good..

[Mr Robot]

I don't think scumbag is an appropriate name to call him and I obviously would never advocate violence toward him. He appears to have over promised and under delivered, who knows for what reason but he did seem genuine about his back problems so maybe that has something to do with it. He was always friendly in conversation and never tried to avoid me when I was pestering him about shipping.

 

Generally my impression was of a nice guy who just never 'got around' to doing the things he was committed to and so had to be pestered regularly to get him to do it. My experiences with him would mean I would never buy anything from him again but I hold no malice toward him.

 

There are lots of people here who start a project and never finish it, I have a few in progress and I expect there are a couple I'll never finish. It becomes a different story when money is involved and people have paid you for a thing. You should never take payment until you are ready to ship or are fully able to fulfill your commitments.

[flashjazzcat]

The problem with not taking money until you are ready to ship is that this is completely at odds with the notion of a pre-order, which is exactly what the VBXE run was. The customer expresses interest, the vendor estimates the costs for parts, collects money, orders parts, builds product and ships it, hopefully having enough left to cover their time plus money for beer. My run of UNO carts a couple of years ago, for example, would not have been possible if not enacted using the pre-order model. The upfront costs for bulk manufacture can be very considerable for more expensive devices (such as VBXE).

 

Whether the money was all sunk into parts orders or redirected elsewhere I do not know; this would tend to be critical with regard to intent.

[AtariBrian]

Sorry but I am going with scumbag

[ivop]

Indeed, asking for money upfront is the way most projects are financed. But before you do so, you must be sure you can deliver. This is exactly the reason why I did sell multijoy8 boards (relatively simple) and did not sell any fully build snes2joys nor any MIDI Muse, as I cannot guarantee I'll be able to manage it all, both mentally and physically.

 

Edit: that's also why I share all my projects, so others can pickup where I stopped, i.e. MIDI Muse morphed into the MIDI Interface on the 1088XEL/XLD and SIO2MIDI. I'm not sure if I already said this in public, but f.e. me adding IDE and pokeyrec (SAP-R) to atari800 spurred phaeron's interest in adding it to Altirra and doing a better job in the process. This is something I really love about open source and open development. And I don't give a rat's behind if people "steal" my stuff. It's there to be taken and improved upon!

Edited March 3, 2019 by ivop

[Mr Robot]

The problem with not taking money until you are ready to ship is that this is completely at odds with the notion of a pre-order

 

 

That's why I said "or are fully able to fulfill your commitments"

 

If you commit to doing something like making VBXE or UNO or something like that, you have to be really sure you are capable, motivated and secure enough personally