CycloneReport

Jeremy · 06-27-2006, 02:24 PM

CycloneReport - Slanderous comments by Paul Clark

I wanted to take a few minutes to write about a few things that have not only affected me personally but also some other sites during the 6 months that I have now had CycloneFanatic online.

While many of you have read my personal blog stating that I am no longer a fan of the CycloneReport website due to the owner's comments, I have also seen that the owner of CycloneReport has taken the time on a few occasions recently to say some disparaging remarks about myself, my readers, and my site. I wanted to be a grown up about this but thought I would also set a few things straight.

First of all, I started this website with absolutely no goal of helping myself in any way. I make absolutely no money from running this website and it's actually quite the financial hardship. While I receive a few donations, it's obviously not enough to pay for the administration fees associated with running this site let alone the headache of balancing work, family, research, and writing. When I ask for donations or say I or me a few times, that's going to happen when somebody that has a real life and job has a fan site that he pours his heart into to help fellow fans. That's something I will never change for anybody.

Secondly, regarding my members, you can say whatever you like about me but never say bad things about the people that visit my site just because they don't pay the monthly fee to read your stuff. While I have always offered to assist both of the other sites, I have seen nothing but bad emails go from Paul Clark of CycloneReport to me about CycloneNation, or emails going from him to people at CN about myself. You can't play the game from both sides of the net. Trying to cuddle up to me to get me to not write stories that are about recruiting while also trying work with the people at CN to 'take me down', that doesn't fly. It's funny because after he emails CN's writers, Paul emails me with some very harsh things to say about the same people he's trying work with there. What a class act move.

And by the way, I do have more members, currently 2500 unique members that have visited the site at least once in the past 7 days. I average a minimum of 60 people online at any moment and there are at least 1100 unique members each day.

While I don't pretend to run this site as a business, I have tried to stay above all of this crap and run a nice professional place where everybody can share their ideas and learn about things without mud slinging. I thought I had done a pretty good job but it's time to take the gloves off if somebody is obviously in this just for the money and not for helping ISU or the fans. If you can't take the competition of a site being by and for the fans, you're not a fan, your simply a businessman.

On many occasions, Paul has asked me to hold off reporting stories so he could post about it first. I followed along for a while out of respect but I got tired of him letting his readers say that I posted things shortly after he did and that my site was a hack job. Well of course I posted second on some occasions, we had an agreement that only one of us ever stood up to. Sorry but I won't let my readers suffer so you can post things first but then bash me on the private forums. And by the way, I have time stamped logs that show when I first broke stories and then when Paul visited the site and shortly after posted similar topics. This has happened numerous times especially recently as some of his sources have stopped putting up with his 'timeframe' and have provided me the info exclusively. I work all day and post when I have time so I am going to be second in reporting things on occasion, sorry but I have to make a living too.

Finally, I have no beef with Paul for trying to make a living, I have a problem when it's at my or the fan's expense. I can show everybody the trails of emails from Paul putting Cyclone fans down, CycloneNation's writers down, and myself down just to try and make a buck. That is not how you run a fan site. I am tired of Paul and his fellow cronies on CR saying I am only in this for myself and all I talk about is 'I this' and 'me this'. This is a fan site run by one person, of course I'm going to use the word I, it's one of the most commonly used words in the English language. Sorry I didn't write the dictionary but I guess I can't change that. Oops, I used the word I again. Darn it, there it was again.

CycloneFanatic is simply put; a site for the fans, not for the money. If you continue to bash ISU fans just for wanting to talk and learn, you need to really look in the mirror and think about what service you're providing by trying to bash your own customers.

Times up for being nice. I have held back on these comments long enough and am not afraid to post them since I have all the evidence I need to back up my words. This site isn't 100% accurate, it is however close to 96% accurate as I have looked through the stories. You can say I bring up the fact that 'I' broke the Morgan being fired story, the GMAC being hired story, numerous recruiting and other stories. You can call me any name you like for talking about that, but you can't change the fact that I have to talk about that so people know I have a solid footing when it comes to reporting things. Have you never watched the news when they have commercials on saying how they broke such and such stories? It's called letting your readers know you work hard to bring them the best news first. That I won't apologize for, ever.

Enough of my personal rant, let's get back to covering things that actually matter, ISU Athletics.

monkeybrow · 06-27-2006, 02:33 PM

keep up the good work Jeremy...cannot tell you how nice it is visiting your site w/o constant pop-ups and begging for membership dues...Mr Clark need not worry so much about other sites...instead he should be tending to the failing cabbage patch on his noggin.

Jeremy · 06-27-2006, 02:38 PM

I felt bad posting that but I have had enough personal attacks on my character. I am tired of being told I use I and me too much on the site. It's a forum and blog by a fan, not a reporter. I am the most humble and non cocky person you could ever meet in real life. I could care less about power but I also know that I have to try and sell my reporting to the reader or it isn't worth anything. If I can't say I or me when I talk about breaking a story, it somehow gets said that I copied it from somewhere even when I posted it days or weeks before anywhere else. It's just too much at times.

Jeremy · 06-27-2006, 02:39 PM

Thank you for the support monkeybrow. I know you visit here a lot and I really appreciate all the work you do by writing in the forums and keeping interested in the end result, ISU athletics.

monkeybrow · 06-27-2006, 02:41 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeremy @ 06-27-06 12:39 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> Thank you for the support monkeybrow. I know you visit here a lot and I really appreciate all the work you do by writing in the forums and keeping interested in the end result, ISU athletics. [/b][/quote]

not a problem mate...

crawf24 · 06-27-2006, 02:43 PM

Real classy man, real classy. I'm a paying member at CR and i've never seen him bash you, CN, or any members of CF or CN. The only time he ever talks about you or CN is when he has to defend himself from claims like this. Oh and if he does have a problem with you or CN like you said, at least he talked about it in private emails and not on the front page of his site.

JCloned · 06-27-2006, 02:44 PM

I appreciate your willingness to share with us what transpires in the background, but it is obvious from what is happening on the sites that you have made an impact for the Cyclones. Traffic is flowing to CF, because it is a site that fans feel ownership in. It is a site that has up to date information. I have been members of both other sites in the past and this is the best. At the same time CF is exploding, CN is making a comeback (in content if not traffic yet as I can't speak to that) with Chris Williams. While I am sure the pie has grown, CR has got to be feeling the pain. I wish Paul & CR well, they just need to figure out how to compete in web 2.0

Cyclonesrule91 · 06-27-2006, 02:47 PM

Cyclone Fanatic is MY official Cyclone website and seeing all the work you do to keep this thing current and running smoothly is all the evidence anyone needs to know about your ethics and the running of this site is concerned. Just the fact that someone has to badmouth this site to try and make his site look better also shows me where he thinks your site is ranked as opposed to his. I rarely go to any other Cyclone website because everything I need is right here......

Keep up the good work Jeremy.

Jeremy · 06-27-2006, 02:49 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crawf24 @ 06-27-06 1:43 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> Real classy man, real classy. I'm a paying member at CR and i've never seen him bash you, CN, or any members of CF or CN. The only time he ever talks about you or CN is when he has to defend himself from claims like this. Oh and if he does have a problem with you or CN like you said, at least he talked about it in private emails and not on the front page of his site. [/b][/quote]

I am not a member at CR anymore so I can't show you all of the threads where this happened but I have many of them saved off. A lot of times it happens and I know of one right now that is on the forums that has about 20 replies to it and is on his first page of posts. I respectfully disagree with you. I tried to be classy and thought I had been for 6 months but I had to vent and that is my choice. If I lose a couple of members for posting what I think is wrong on a website, so beit.

monkeybrow · 06-27-2006, 02:49 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crawf24 @ 06-27-06 12:43 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> Real classy man, real classy. I'm a paying member at CR and i've never seen him bash you, CN, or any members of CF or CN. The only time he ever talks about you or CN is when he has to defend himself from claims like this. Oh and if he does have a problem with you or CN like you said, at least he talked about it in private emails and not on the front page of his site. [/b][/quote]

back off troll...while it is admirable that one of your initial postings is in defense of Mr Paul...it is far more honorable to state in public what is what...not sending covert emails between competing websites akin to a gossipy 14 year pimply teen. Go back devil from whence you came! and continue to fondle Mr Clarks man-baubles.

herbicide · 06-27-2006, 02:50 PM

Just like to say thanks and I truly apprieciate your work!

Cyclonesrule91 · 06-27-2006, 02:55 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(monkeybrow @ 06-27-06 1:49 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>

back off troll...while it is admirable that one of your initial postings is in defense of Mr Paul...it is far more honorable to state in public what is what...not sending covert emails between competing websites akin to a gossipy 14 year pimply teen. Go back devil from whence you came! and continue to fondle Mr Clarks man-baubles. [/b][/quote]

Well said monkeybrow.......and again I say AMEN [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

crawf24 · 06-27-2006, 02:56 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeremy @ 06-27-06 1:49 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>

I am not a member at CR anymore so I can't show you all of the threads where this happened but I have many of them saved off. A lot of times it happens and I know of one right now that is on the forums that has about 20 replies to it and is on his first page of posts. I respectfully disagree with you. I tried to be classy and thought I had been for 6 months but I had to vent and that is my choice. If I lose a couple of members for posting what I think is wrong on a website, so beit.
[/b][/quote]

I know what thread your talking about and its about the blog you wrote a few days ago. There is only one poster in that whole thread that really had negative things to say about you and it wasnt paul. All Paul was trying to do is defend himself. You think everyone is out to get you but they're not, everyone is just wondering why your acting (no offense) but kind of childish about all this.

ripvdub · 06-27-2006, 02:57 PM

I stated before that i dont care for Paul, and a few of his worshipers. His deleted threads, hipocracy, and he seems to just like the power trip. I was a premium subscriber for over a year. when i canceled they offered me a few months for free and turned em down cold, i just didnt care for it anymore. I loved the fact that he deleted several posts when I freakin pay him money. Ill go over once in a while to the smack board, but thats just to see what kind of idiot statements Iowa fans are making.

Let this be the last time we talk about him because he really not worth the time. Ill be donating here soon, not just to spite CR, but because this site is superior in everyway and I want to make sure it around longer than some of our basketball coaches have been lately. Keep up the good work jeremy, you're doing a helluva freakin good job!

06-27-2006, 03:00 PM

First of all, you can stop with the ongoing "it's so much work maintaining this website" stuff. I have run sites as big or bigger than this one in the past and currently and can tell you that it is NOT the hours of work you claim it to be. Nor is it the financial burden you seem to think it is.

Secondly, to ask me (or anyone else) to believe you over Paul Clark, who has been running CycloneReport for a few years now, is crazy. Just compare the language of your "scoops" to his. You ALWAYS throw in the "you heard it hear first" or the "as reported first here" language that I rarely if ever read on his. Even Chris leaves that bit out usually. See my point?

I drop by all 3 sites but have noticed lately that this site has nothing really new or different than the others. So perhaps this is just a grab at getting some cheap readership.