There was definitely a dark side to Darryn Heloffs. He was a sly man. It's a well-known fact that he was obsessed with the respect point system. He really wanted that title, but he was not the only one. I wouldn't say that I really liked him, but I always respected him. One can not be blind for his contributions. He gave a lot to this site. His posts were long-winded, but always very interesting and refreshing to read. He was a very intelligent and multi-dimensional person, during a time when 95% of the members were one-dimensional primates. Darryn Heloffs always delivered quality. He had a valid opinion on everything, wether it was music-related or society-related. He was unique because he always used solid argumentation to get his point across, instead of the usual name-calling.
Maybe he just came for friendship and said "fuck off" after a while because he did not receive it back. Maybe he could not deal with that simplistic way of thinking that was a characteristic of so many members. Like I said: maybe his personality was too big for this noticeboard. Maybe he was too intelligent and decided to call it quits. His motives are his alone. Perhaps he reached out and no one would reach back. It takes two to make an effort. It can't be all his fault. He is the only one who always receives critique. He deserves some, but definitely not all. I believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with this noticeboard and it's not "Darryn Heloffs". I don't think you can put the blame on one single member. No, it's that caveman mentality that is shared by a majority of the membership over here. When somebody tries to start an intelligent discussion on this site only one or two members participate and the discussion soon bleeds to death. But when another member starts a cyberwar everybody immediately jumps on the bandwagon. It always seems as if the majority of the membership loves that kind of negativity. That caveman mentality continues to decimate the better part of the membership and it's turning judaspriest.com into a desolate, barren desert where only a handful of primitive creatures will feel at home.
The list of members that have left this site is astonishing. Anyone remember Priest_Hammer, Metal Meltdown, Hard As Iron, I.M.P., Pitbullgirl, Timboni, DemonCat, Painkiller1990, Sullivan Titwillow, RoboCaster, fatman_rick, DEN1673,...? I could post a few dozen more, but you get my point. I remember that an English gentleman used to post over here, but he soon left after a few members (very foolish people) started to call him names. That's a nice example of what's going on in here. I believe that something similar happened to Darryn Heloffs. [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Deep Freeze from Friday, July 24, 2009 8:41:30 AM)
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Deep Freeze wrote: |
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You know Chain, that is a very interesting and well thought-out post. There are points with which I can even agree but I feel you are confusing a "legacy" with a "cyber-infection". I mean, when one says the name Charles Manson, we all know who it is and yet, is that a "legacy"? Is a person that would come back to a place where he left in dubious "triumph" only to commit one act of malefeasance after another truly how we would label "JP. com"????? We have all seen that ANY nimrod can create a Thread ( or TEN) and there are enough lemmings here to sustain it. Please! Creating a Thread is NO basis for admiration.
I called Darryn friend as well. We had spirited debates and I got to know a man that , at the time, I admired in spite of our obvious differences. I think this is why it is so remarkably odd that he has done the things he has here at this point. And to be perfectly honest, I am not totally convinced that this is ALL his doing! A rather intricate undertaking for anyone, I would think. I do not recall ever "attacking" him during his tenure. We disagreed occasionally but I do recall some rather "heated" PMs. The good thing was, we kept them private. When he and JD had their last "falling out" I did everything I could to try to bring them back together. I hated seeing good friends split.
And speaking of JD, I find it more than ridiculous to suggest that he has not contributed to this site or that he has only been one dimensional. There are VERY few members of this Board, past AND present, that really "get" JD. I think that galled Darryn more than anything. JD is a very special guy and, most importantly, a VERY loyal friend. That speaks volumes for his true character...not the guy you see ripping faces off here in the Threads. Like I said, very few "get it".
I guess I disagree most with your comment that Darryn has made the most impact here. I just do not see it. If anything, he took what could have been an incredible legacy and threw it away through his actions. He has had more than one opportunity to "come clean" and to atone and yet his response is that the "Respect Points" system makes it too much trouble to come back. Ummm.....OKAAAAAAAAY.....
It may be true that no one will forget Darryn Helloffs but it is equally true that the reasons are not all good. There are names throughout history that will never be forgotten and yet, I do not believe that is a foundation for some kind of canonization. Something happened to this man and turned him from an intelligent, thoughtful, participating member of this site to a punk. THAT is all the "legacy" I can see and, quite frankly, we have an abundance of "punks" here on this Board.
(Quoting Message by Chain74 from Friday, July 24, 2009 7:49:12 AM)
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Chain74 wrote: |
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There is no denying that Darryn Heloffs was a very self-righteous and pompous man, but there is also no denying that Darryn Heloffs told it like it was. That irritated some people who would have preferred that he would go with the flow. But Darryn's style was to say his piece, let it fly, and then let us deal with it. When he was wrong, he said so. When he made a mistake, he said so. Darryn Heloffs was his own person. He was an individual, a one man movement. I think he was so far ahead of his time here. No one had ever seen anyone like him: funny, charismatic, opinionated, knowledgeable, over the top. Darryn Heloffs was one of a kind. I, for one, am glad that he has moved on. I think that he outgrew this place. His personality was too big. But there is no denying that almost three years after he left, his presence is felt probably more than anyone else that was here before him, or joined after him. Just look at all of his threads. That's him and that's his legacy. The thong thread, the politics thread, the sports thread, the birthday thread,... the list is endless. He did it bigger and more bad-ass than any of us. He did all of this before anyone else did. That's what he leaves behind. He's gone here and good riddance to the fucker, but no one has had more impact here on so many different levels than Darryn Heloffs. Like him or not, no one here will ever forget him. If he comes back, he will get his ass kicked. But how many members know the name Darryn Heloffs or J.D. Diamond? And to be truthful, what did J.D. Diamond ever leave behind here or create that will leave a mark? Just a smart-ass attitude that knows black metal. Good for him. That's really good. Black metal is cool. But Darryn's contribution was fast, hard and spitfire. Most attacked him because they either hated him, were jealous of him, or wanted to be him. And when he left, we hated him because he left us flat and cold. But just one person here says the name "Darryn Heloffs" and he's suddenly all over these pages. Everytime we post in the sports thread, that's Darryn Heloffs. Or when we talk politics, that's Darryn Heloffs too. When something goes wrong, it's Darryn Heloffs again. Everywhere you go in this place, it's Darryn Heloffs. Darryn Heloffs IS judaspriest.com. He's all over the place, even though he left this noticeboard almost three years ago. Edited at: Friday, July 24, 2009 8:08:07 AM |
Edited at: Friday, July 24, 2009 8:45:01 AM Edited at: Friday, July 24, 2009 8:52:39 AM Edited at: Friday, July 24, 2009 8:55:57 AM |
Edited at: Friday, July 24, 2009 12:54:26 PM |
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