meatlog Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Perhaps this is why Michael Rideout was not able to contact him when Atari cancelled the contest: http://www.state.mi.us/mdoc/asp/otis2profi...ocNumber=175496 The county, physical description, date, and age all check out. Does anyone know what Steven Bell is doing these days, and if this profile belongs to him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Are the no laws which protect the privacy? After all, he has served his sentence long ago. How can you be reintegrated again when your are continuely stigmatized? In earlier day this was called a pillory. But at least then it was over after some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 (edited) Are the no laws which protect the privacy? After all, he has served his sentence long ago. How can you be reintegrated again when your are continuely stigmatized?Welcome to America, where you can find out anything about anybody. And notice that record is from 1984. Edited February 20, 2006 by NovaXpress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Welcome to America, where you can find out anything about anybody. Big Brother for everyone. And notice that record is from 1984. That's what made me reply. If it would have been during the last few years (e.g. probation period), then it might be acceptable. But more than 20 years ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Are the no laws which protect the privacy? After all, he has served his sentence long ago. How can you be reintegrated again when your are continuely stigmatized? :?e. 1021219[/snapback] I'm so sick and tired of prisoner and criminal rights BS. Criminals do not deserve any rights at all by the sheer fact that they are unwilling to abid by common laws and respect the rights of others in the society they choose to be a part of and victomise. I for one don't want criminals reintergrated into society. I want them to be shunned and rejected and live a life of missery till such time they depart this planet and are no longer a worry or concern to anyone. It's really quite simple; You don't want to loose your rights as a citizen, then don't be a worthless piece of crap scum ball. Shouldn't be a problem for any decent individual to live by such a philosophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I'm so sick and tired of prisoner and criminal rights BS. And who's next? Fare dodgers maybe? Or truants? Tax dodgers? How about people parking wrong? Or driving without light? Did you at least have a look at his crime? He isn't a big criminal. And there is nothing on his list for more than 20 years now! Criminals do not deserve any rights at all by the sheer fact that they are unwilling to abid by common laws and respect the rights of others in the society they choose to be a part of and victomise. I for one don't want criminals reintergrated into society. I want them to be shunned and rejected and live a life of missery till such time they depart this planet and are no longer a worry or concern to anyone. Maybe you should shoot them immediately. Maybe after torturing them for a while. It's really quite simple; You don't want to loose your rights as a citizen, then don't be a worthless piece of crap scum ball. Shouldn't be a problem for any decent individual to live by such a philosophy. I understand that you don't know the word mercy. And that you cannot imgaine that people may change when they get older (BTW: he was 19). You probably never failed in your whole life. Right? Ok, so how about your tax money? If you reintegrate a criminal he will pay taxes instead of costing them. He will less likely commit any more crimes, he will less likely become a heavy criminal. So you need less people in justice, police etc. and YOU will have to pay less money to the government. Sounds good? So it is: Shoot him/her immediately or try to reintegrate those who have a chance. Your choice! BTW: Sorry if I should have missed the sarcasm tags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I'm so sick and tired of prisoner and criminal rights BS. And who's next? Fare dodgers maybe? Or truants? Tax dodgers? How about people parking wrong? Or driving without light? 1021268[/snapback] Actually if you are cited for any of those above, they are public record IIRC. Lesson learned: don't break the law if you want your privacy intact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkblack Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 who is this guy?? I don't understand the 1984 reference. Things like this are public record if America was like 1984 then they would not be!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatlog Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 who is this guy?? I don't understand the 1984 reference. Things like this are public record if America was like 1984 then they would not be!! 1021469[/snapback] A person named Steven Bell was the winner of the first Atari Swordquest contest, and his whererabouts and history other than the contest are unknown. He has a rather interesting physical appearance, and has not seemed to make any contact with the Atari scene since his appearance in the Fireworld contest (whose winner has provided loads of information on the subject!) The profile shown in the Michigan Corrections link in the original post matches a few details that we know about the Swordquest winner... mostly approximate physical features, age, date of offense (some months after the second contest), and location within Michigan. If these are the same person, then it would be a handy explanation for why the guy dropped off the face of the earth after the contests. Now, this thread seems to have changed into an interesting debate about public records and offender rehabilitation (going off-topic, perhaps?) It wasn't my intention to have anyone pass judgment on the offender listed in the OTIS profile (who, I must emphasize, is not currently known to be of any relation to Steven Bell, the Swordquest winner). If I had to take an opinion on this guy's situation, I'd say that 3 years is a pretty strong punishment for the type of (nonviolent) offense (which obviously did the job, he's not been in trouble since). The thing that hurts is the stigma of being a convicted felon in the US after completion of the sentence - one's right to vote, own and operate firearms, and ability to serve on a jury is removed. It's a pretty harsh thing to go through if you're not planning to commit any more crimes like this guy. Privately, it also affects one's capability to advance in employment. Once again, the thread isn't about the offense itself, it's meant to start some discussion about where Steven Bell is, what he's doing now, and what he thought of Swordquest competition (and did he ever buy that car with his prize money?) He's one of the few remaining Atari personalities who has not come back to discuss the events of the early 1980s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 If he pulled a B&E in 1984 then he must have gone through the prize money in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Now, this thread seems to have changed into an interesting debate about public records and offender rehabilitation (going off-topic, perhaps?) TJ has a tendency to drive topics into the P&R forum, this one isn't far from it, if it continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Well, you know, the topic is an interesting one. I have a close personal relation who has a felony criminal record for trafficking with intent-to-sell. He was 18. He served his time, but his record continues to haunt him to this day. He is currently a typical, almost senior, almost retired, productive member of suburban society. He BBQs, he fishes, he camps in Montana. He is actually an ordained Pastor, although he is not practicing. He has 3 kids. He works as a middle manager for a tabacco company (which is kind of ironic) and makes 6 figures a year which afford him a barely comfortable lifestyle. Now... even more ironic. Recently he discovered via the Meagan's Law website that an employee had a felony record for lewd and lavacious acts with a minor under 15. This guy I know pursued this information vigorously, resulting in the ultimate termination of this employee. The first guy has petitioned presidents and governors to have his record expunged. I was fairly shocked that he didn't have any mercy whatsoever for a fellow ex-convict, regardless of the degree of severity of the original crime. Fellow number two has evidently kept his nose clean since his original crime. More troubling I know a person who has a friend (yeah... I know... but still) who is a registered sex offender on the Meagan's Law website. This guy's offense, "indecent exposure". The actual infraction? Taking a leak (intoxicated) in a public place. But he appears side by side with rapists and child molestors on a national registry and has to register as a sex-offender just like every other convict on the list. I am not making this up... and his offense is vauge enough that reading it you would wonder if he was maybe flashing school-children (in fact, someone who did just this would probably appear with the same conviction). To me, this is troubling. It is easy to judge and draw lines on when a criminal does or doesn't deserve rights... but we do have some concepts of fair punishment and time-served in this nation... concepts on which our legal system is founded. When we start playing around with those foundations, it is a very dangerous precedent. The whole "if you're a law abiding citizen you have nothing to worry about" rational is simply perposterous. Put yourself into Nazi era Germany or Communist Russia or Saddam's Iraq and apply that logic... and it still holds up. Good Russians and Good Germans and good Iraqis had nothing to fear from the fascist regimes which governered them. And I'm sure those who spoke up against those regimes often heard, "if you're a law abiding citizen you have nothing to worry about" from their countrymen. I think that some public records are too easily accessible in today's online world, without considertation for the ramifications of making such information so readily available. Of course, that is just MHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 I don't know Steven Bell well, I just hung out with him and the other EarthWorld alumnis for a while before and after the FireWorld contest, but to me he seemed to be the quiet type, more likely to follow along than to be an instigator. So if this is the same Steven Bell-- and it may very well *not* be-- then I expect he might have been chumming around with one or more people who instigated the B&E, and he just let himself get dragged along into it. He simply didn't strike me as the type to go looking on his own for that kind of trouble. In San Francisco, I don't recall him ever once suggesting "let's do this" or "let's go there"; as I recall, he was just following along with whatever the others suggested we do (as was I). If this *is* the same Steven Bell, then I sincerely hope everything is going well for him these days. Sure, "do the crime and do the time"; but if you do the time, you shouldn't have to keep doing it forever after. We all make mistakes-- lord knows I've made plenty, and I expect I'll probably make more before I die-- but I don't think it's right for people to keep shoving our mistakes in our face and continue punishing us after we've paid for them. I'm not suggesting that anyone here is doing that, I'm saying it often happens like that in the world, and I think it sucks, especially since the people who do that undoubtedly make mistakes, too. After all, we're all human, and we're all imperfect. I'm actually grateful to meatlog for posting the information, not because I enjoy poking into anyone's privacy, but rather because it may answer the question of why I wasn't able to contact Steven Bell when Tramiel's Atari announced their intention to cancel the contests. Michael Rideout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 TJ has a tendency to drive topics into the P&R forum, this one isn't far from it, if it continues. Sorry for hijacking the thread. I was just too surprised (and partially shocked), so I couldn't resist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkblack Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 there are a lot of websites that you can look up such public information such as that. I did a quick search and found this one http://searchenginez.com/inmates_usa.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holygrailvideogames.com Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 There are several Steven Bell's in Michigan. A few who are the same age as the Steven Bell with Atari ties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 There are several Steven Bell's in Michigan. A few who are the same age as the Steven Bell with Atari ties. 1022125[/snapback] There are also several Michael Rideouts in the world, even a few who are around my age. But none of them live in my immediate area, because Rideout isn't a very common name down south; it's more common up north, especially in Canada I think. Not surprisingly, my parents are from up north (but not from Canada). I have a brother named Paul, and when I was younger our family used to have a female Doberman named Greta. This became the subject of jokes when "the Greta Rideout case" became publicized in the news and was subsequently made into a TV movie (if I remember correctly, Greta Rideout charged her husband Paul with raping her). Michael Rideout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkblack Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 SeaGtGruff you were at the swordquest contests?! I had always wondered if they really happened. I remember them being advertised on the boxes but I dont remember reading anything more about them. please tell us more about them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 SeaGtGruff you were at the swordquest contests?! I had always wondered if they really happened. I remember them being advertised on the boxes but I dont remember reading anything more about them. please tell us more about them!!1023626[/snapback] He actually gave AGH an interview some years ago. Here is a link (with lots of good information about the contests): http://www.atarihq.com/2678/swordqst.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 I almost got arrested in Yosemite when I was a kid. Long story... but, when they ran my name, it came back with some guy, Oakland area, 6'5", 280 pounds, armed, dangerous, wanted for rape and attempted murder... and black... I convinced them that my disguise as a 16 year old white punk kid was so brilliant they should let me go... Considering 7 cops all had their guns trained on me as the report was coming in... I thought I maintained my cool pretty well in that I only screamed like a girl... "That isn't ME!!! My Middle name isn't LAMONT!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuppicide Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 My Mom's Husband heads up the New Jersey office of the people who put in the E-Z Pass system. One day he gets a call from the FBI asking if they have suchandsuch working there. I forget his name. Kevin something. My Mom's Husband thought it was a joke and they told him to wait 5 minutes and call back the FBI office. I forget what town it was in. My Mom's Husband said he was at lunch. Turns out it was a guy with the same name, similar weight and height, black person as well, but that guy had a tattoo. The guy working for my Mom's Husband didn't have a tattoo and is a good friend. My Mom and her Husband were at his wedding. So, as a joke I doctored up a wanted poster of his face with a Mike Tyson tattoo on his face. I almost got arrested in Yosemite when I was a kid. Long story... but, when they ran my name, it came back with some guy, Oakland area, 6'5", 280 pounds, armed, dangerous, wanted for rape and attempted murder... and black... I convinced them that my disguise as a 16 year old white punk kid was so brilliant they should let me go... Considering 7 cops all had their guns trained on me as the report was coming in... I thought I maintained my cool pretty well in that I only screamed like a girl... "That isn't ME!!! My Middle name isn't LAMONT!!!" 1024113[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 SeaGtGruff you were at the swordquest contests?! I had always wondered if they really happened. I remember them being advertised on the boxes but I dont remember reading anything more about them. please tell us more about them!!1023626[/snapback] He actually gave AGH an interview some years ago. Here is a link (with lots of good information about the contests): http://www.atarihq.com/2678/swordqst.html 1023790[/snapback] John Hardie did a follow-up interview with me last year, but I never saw it appear anywhere. The first interview that he did several years ago was conducted over the phone, but for the follow-up he came down south and met me in person. I got the chalice out of the bank so he could see it, and he took several pictures of it. I was checking out some of the web sites that talk about SwordQuest, and I saw that they are either missing a few snippets of information (e.g., the name of the person who solved FireWorld-- and I mean the NTSC home version, not the one that was made for the contest), the solutions to one of the clues was wrong, etc. So I've decided to put together my own SwordQuest FireWorld web pages, and post them on AtariAge or whatever-- not to replace any of the other very fine web pages out there, but rather to complement them a bit. However, I have a lot of stuff going on right now, plus I really should be working on my bB tutorial instead of continually letting myself get distracted, so it will probably be a week or three before I complete my SwordQuest FireWorld "project" and post it anywhere. Michael Rideout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I guess I didn't realize that there were different versions of the game for the contests. Have any of the alternate versions been found? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I guess I didn't realize that there were different versions of the game for the contests. Have any of the alternate versions been found? 1025900[/snapback] Well, the PAL version is different than the NTSC version. As far as I know, none of the cartridges for the special contest version were ever found. The web pages which give the solution to the PAL version state that the PAL version is believed to be the same as the contest version-- although of course the colors and scan line counts would have to have been changed for compatibility with NTSC TVs. Based on what I did to win the contest version-- simply move all the objects from room to room in a particular order-- the solution to the PAL version does seem to match the contest version. Unfortunately, I can't verify whether they were the same or not, because I was very busy moving objects around and trying to find the clues in the correct order, plus I wasn't using the "riddle sheet" that they gave out to help us figure out the clues, so I don't know which objects were triggering the clues in the different rooms. For all I know, the order of the rooms was the same in the PAL and contest versions, but the objects which triggered the clues in those rooms might have been totally different. Michael Rideout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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