Saturday, February 28, 2009

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

I don't really have the time to get all fancy with this, so I'll lay it out straight: Andy Page, a/k/a DarkUFO, has been lying about why Fishbiscuit recaps no longer appear on his site. The truth about liars is that the more lies you tell, eventually the harder it is to keep track of them all. Like the boy who cried wolf, one too many can leave you with proverbial egg on your face. The truth gets out. One way or the other.

This past December I decided to approach Doc Arzt about the possibility of moving my episode reviews to his site. I was delighted and honored that he was willing to host them. There was no complex motive behind this - merely an appreciation for the quality and the tone of Doc Arzt & Friends' Lost Blog, which I consider to be the pre-eminent Lost site on the internet. I simply wanted to be associated with a better place, a classier site with a more positive attitude and a more intelligent community.

Now since I'd recently been made aware that Andy Page considered Fishbiscuitland to be a "squalid" place, I didn't really feel I owed him much of an explanation about my move. It's not as if the guy had ever seemed to appreciate the time and effort that went into all the free work I gave him, but I would ordinarily have at least notified him. His open contempt for FBL left me feeling that he didn't really deserve that much respect. There was a bit more to it, some open threats to our members and some cyber harassment by a very AndyUFO-type character named "Flub", about whom I'll have more to say in a later post. But the point is the break was made, and I moved on happily to a far more intelligent, civilized and positive site. I love it at Doc Arzt's blog and it's the best decision I could have made.

End of story, right?

Not exactly.

It seems that Andy is quite the sore loser and when people began pressing him on his blog about where the Fishbiscuit reviews had gone, he couldn't just state the facts, as he knew that I had chosen to move them to Doc's site. For reasons known only to Andy himself, he decided to make up a big Fish story instead. You know those polls that AndyUFO runs on his site, the ones he says that readers submit, scintillating questions like "If Lost was a breakfast food, what would it be?" Well, there was one on May 05, 2008, entitled "Which DarkUFO recapper do you enjoy most?". Here is a screencap of that poll:



Now you'll notice it only has one vote on it and um, NO poll options, but we'll get to that part later. According to Rewrite Andy, Fishbiscuit lost this poll and even though no one was notified of this uniquely meaningful poll, and even though AndyUFO never bothered to tell me about this decision, these poll results allegedly convinced him he should drop FBL recaps from then on. Now there's a few funny things about this poll.

If you want to see the actual results, it was captured here as it appeared in archives on Jan. 21, 2009 at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST.



As you can see, Fishbiscuit did not actually lose this poll. The brilliant J. Wood had that distinction, since only 2% of Andy's highly intelligent fans had any appreciation for his incredible scholarship and insight. And what's more, a reviewer by the name of Anna, one of those Andy claims was preferred to Fishbiscuit....um, wasn't even an option on this poll.

Now the poster who had found this poll tried to give the guy an out, but Andy was sticking to his lie....because Lord knows, the last thing an internet blog relying on ad clicks wants is too much original content LOL!





But Andy must have realized that on the internet, no good lie goes unpunished for long. Because look what happened less than 15 minutes later! The same poll, same total votes, but oh, my! How J. Wood's popularity has skyrocketed! And oh, wouldn't you know it, Fishbiscuit has taken a sudden nose dive in popularity. All without a single vote lost or gained. Neat trick!



But wait. Where's Anna? After all, Anna was one of the reviewers that Dark declared had been voted ahead of Fishbiscuit. And gee, she isn't even on the poll....At least not for another ten minutes!



Now, there she is! Hi, Anna! This is magic at work, right before our eyes. Time travel even! Andy traveled back into the past and course corrected his made up poll to turn his big fat lie into .... proof that he's committed to being completely juvenile about this whole thing! And then to try and cover his tracks completely, he ran back and wiped his own May 5, 2008 poll on his website! Can you just picture this silly man frantically running around changing poll results in the space of an hour? I'm sure it never occurred to him that one of my readers was out there following him around, scooping up all the evidence of his mad dash. If nothing else, you have to admit this whole thing is Hi-Larious.

Now, no fan of the squalid Fishbiscuitland is in the dark about Andy's proclivity for tampering with polls. Who can forget his boasting about how he'd rigged a poll on Buddy TV last year? Here's Andy being proud of his poll hacking at Buddy TV in Jan. '08, back when he enjoyed splashing around in the Fishpond.

DarkUFO: You are joking? The TaterTops and BuddyTV polls are the easiest ones in the world to hack.
Have a look at the BuddyTV polls in about an hour and you will see what I mean Very Happy


LOL Thanks :)

If there are any more that require hijacking just let me know



1) I wonder if DarkUFO also personally hacked the Tatertops poll

DarkUFO: No, but I could have.

2) and that's why he thought he had the right to publicly contradict Kristin's own claim it was fair

DarkUFO: I'm sure that Kristin is not aware of SQL Injection techniques into Databases and HTTP Packet Sniffer
s



I guess Andy Page, being the ethical gentleman that he is, thought he could get away with his self serving lie because he relied on my silence. And I didn't really care that much, and wasn't going to bother publishing all this (nor the Flub expose that will follow). But this guy can't shut the fuck up. He can't stop. He's still repeating this damn lie and seems so eaten up with jealousy...or something... that he can't bring himself even yet, to just admit what happened. He's still pushing the same lie.



Let's remember that this secret poll that no one realized meant anything, the one Anna wasn't on, the one J. Wood came in last on - this poll that convinced Andy to "drop" FIshbiscuit recaps, happened on May 5, 2008. Now never mind that Andy never TOLD me - ever - that he was "dropping" me. How about the fact that he published two more recaps after May 5, 2008? How about the fact that he published my Season Recap on JULY 20, a full TWO MONTHS after this poll that proved to him no one wanted to read my recaps?

I'd LOVE to hear Andy's explanation as to why he continued to benefit from my work when he had apparently secretly decided he didn't want it anymore. But most of all I'd like to know why - over a month after this ridiculous poll, Andy sent me this email on June 12 inviting me to join his Fantasy League as a LOST INTERNET CELEBRITY.

Hi Fiona,

As you may or may not remember over at DarkUFO we ran a very
successful Lost Fantasy League (over 2,500 people entered) last year
and you were one of the Celebrities that we chose to participate to
make it more fun for readers to pit their skills against known Lost
Internet Celebrities.


We would like to do the same this year, however we have an extra
addition to the League which will help readers of your site
participate more in your own community.

We are introducing the concept of Mini-Leagues, which allows a user
when signing up to select the League they would like to join. The
Initial group of mini-leagues are shown below.

DarkUFO
Lostpedia
Lost-Forum
The Tailsection
DocArzt
4815162342
StationZero
LOST-TV
LostZilla
Fishbiscuitland
The ODI
Sledgeweb
DigitalSpy
IMDB
ABC.COM
Jay and Jack
E!Online
The Fuselage


We will be keeping track of all the scores and hopefully this addition
will make for some increased discussion on your own sites. I will be
contacting you again in a few days when the S5 Fantasy League
Submissions go live and you can let your readership know to complete
the form and select your site as the mini-league that they would like
to join.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate in contacting me.

Thank you and looking forward to your participation in this event.

NOTE: If you think there is a site/celebrity that I have missed please
let me know.
_________________________
Cheers

Andy (aka DarkUFO)
http://darkufo.blogspot.com
http://spoilertv.blogspot.com


We had an entire series of friendly exchanges over this contest and, like a good squalid friend, I helpfully put up an entry on June 14, 2008 urging my readers to join one of his teams. I don't want anyone to misunderstand and think I'm taking any pride in being called a "Lost Internet Celebrity" by DarkUFO. I'm just wondering why he wanted to include me and my "squalid" fish if, as he suddenly claimed 7 months later, he'd already secretly decided we weren't a 'good fit' for his site.

Look, I don't think DarkUFO is anywhere near the No. 1 Lost site on the internet. But he has some fine recappers there. Luhks, Vozzek and Erika are all excellent writers, and their reviews are always worth reading and are always fun to read. None of Andy's asinine behavior reflects on them or on anyone else who contributes so much hard work so Andy can benefit from it.

The only point being made here is this: Andy Page, you can stop lying now. The truth is out and you can do us all a favor from here on and just STFU. I'll have more on this later, on a topic that's, if possible, even more embarrassing. Seems "someone" was having such a hissy fit over all this that he stooped to cyber harassing some of our Fish. Check back soon to read "Will the real FLUB please stand up?" It only gets better, folks.

102 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! I'm speechless.

Anonymous said...

*grabs popcorn and waits for the FLUB expose*

Anonymous said...

Holy CRAP!

Anonymous said...

that's disgraceful behaviour.

well, i'm a new reader, joined this series from a link on AICN.

you've become as essential as my email account, your writing is stunning and funny and well researched.

i'm here for the duration, i'll bring friends. keep up the good work!!

Anonymous said...

There's a few good, objective people still posting over there, and I feel bad for them. Their posts are usually buried under all the fanboy wanking, character bashing, and Jater drivel.

Oh, well, time to clean out my bookmarks anyway. :)

Anonymous said...

Just so you know Dark also deletes every comment that mentions this on his site. Usually it takes him less than an hour. This is a real sore spot with him, as well it should be. What an ASS.

pluizig said...

As you can see in your Darkufo comments screencap, I've always thought your recaps were the best anyway.

Andy is an ass indeed. More proof that you did good moving to another site. Now if only Luhks (and Erika, but she already has her own site) would too ;)

Anne said...

I'm glad this is finally all out in the open.

When I tried to ask Andy why he was saying what he did about the Fish no longer posting her recaps on his site and moving to Doc Arzt's he kept deleting my comments telling me to email him instead.

It would seem that he didn't want the truth to become public and has been doing damage control ever since, gagging people from asking the pertinent questions as to what really happened.


Real classy.

I still haven't forgotten how he hacked that Buddy TV poll to give Jack more votes to prove his point.

This May poll tampering now has me questioning all of the poll results and tournaments on his site.

If he has so little scruples regarding a recapper, what about all those Character and Episode Cup competitions? Were those votes also messed with?
He could have manipulated them to get the results he wanted there too. I'm certainly not going to trust any of those previous poll outcomes on his site any more.

lyly ford said...

fish *hug*
i know what you can feel and i'll not say more about andy here but you did the good choice to go in doc's place he's very nice man and a good friend :)
kiss
Lyly

Unknown said...

PWND!!!

Can't wait for the Flub expose either! :)

Andrew Sparkes said...

Dark lies all the time and changes his own rules.

Here is a set of comments on the "Kate being killed off?" thread (I apologise for the long copies and pastes, but I have no other idea on how I'd show them - I have italicised my own thoughts on them now):

First someone had asked why this wasn't in the rumour section, and I replied something along the lines of "Because Dark posts everything in the spoilers now to get the quantity up to boast about it."

Dark:

Andrew, just leave the site if you have nothing positive to say. I'm fed up with your snide little remarks. How about trying to actually contribute something? Oh wait, that would involve work.

Admittedly, I was snide, but I feel Dark's was just as snide, which makes him a hypocrite. You can't be snide while calling someone else snide without it losing all meaning.

Me (deleted by Dark):


Dark, can you please tell us why this was posted as a spoiler and not as a rumour, please?

Until a character was definitely getting killed off and it was speculation until the confirmation in previous years, it was a rumour.

If you can tell us that, I will take back my previous remark. If you can't, I feel that I am justified in feeling that you are posting all sorts of random, non-spoiler material in an attempt to bulk up the spoiler count.

It wasn't a snide remark, it was a valid comment, albiet a little sarcastic.

I hope that is polite enough for you.

Polite, truthful questions.

Dark:

It was posted here because it comes from a respected media outlet and not some anonymous email that was sent to me personally.

Misses the point that until the actual death (rather than auditons) is confirmed by a news outlet/TPTB, it always appeared in the rumour section.

Me (deleted by Dark):

Dark, you are missing the point.

That Evangeline Lilly is auditioning for shows is not a spoiler in the first place, whether it is true or not. It is what actors do.

That Kate is getting killed off is not a spoiler, because that part of the story is not confirmed yet. Unconfirmed things go in the rumour section.

So, once again, why is this in the spoiler section?

Also, if it is your rule to post all stories with future episode titles in the spoiler section, why did you post "Episode 5.11 - Whatever Happened, Happened - Nikki Back?" in the rumours section?

Like I said, it is your site, in which you make up the rules. It just seems like you have interpreted your own rules recently in an attempt to bulk up the spoiler count and then boast about it.

I feel that is a valid observation, since the actual quality of spoilers have been decreasing and had you posted this (and unconfirmed stories like it) in the rumour section and the 'when will the break be?' stories (with future episode titles) in the main section, this spoiler section would be noticebly slim this year.

Insightful comments backed up with evidence.

Dark:

Andrew, I've not got the time for your games. Please don't post again I'm too busy to take up my valuable time with your silly questions. I post where I want on my blog. If you don't like it, go find another site. No one forces you here.

Games? More like questions he couldn't answer.

Me (deleted by Dark):

Dark, my last comment which you deleted in no way had a personal attack, was spam, was self-promotion, was condescending pomposity (admittedly some of my posts have this, but the one you deleted didn't), was general assiness (it was a valid observation backed up with your own rules and examples from your own site), did not have any isms/homophobia, acrophobia not destructive criticism (fair enough I do that sometimes but this was a valid, backed-up observation on the site's changes recently).

Like I actually said, it is your site, but this is in no way a spoiler, even by your own rules. That Lilly is auditioning is not a spoiler, whether it is from a confirmed source or not (and even so, this is looking to be disproved as we debate). And that Kate is being killed off is not confirmed by any source, even the one that gave the 'Lilly is auditioning' story, which means it would usually be posted in the rumour section.

I sincerely apologise for maybe being a little direct/snide in previous comments, but I feel that this really is a valid observation. And I understand that it is your site to do with what you want, but hosting it on Blogger (a Google service) and allowing people to subscribe to the comments was also your decision, and these appear in the subscriptions, deleted or not. So to delete my comments containing valid observations, trying to pass them off as mere 'troll games' is just shooting another bullet into the slow decline that is this spoiler section.

If you don't have confirmed spoilers, just don't post things in this section. You have plenty of other awesome sections, linked together that people are creating communities around too. I visit the rumour section just as much as the spoiler section, and I'm betting many other people do to, so they would have seen this regardless, especially with it being posted to the twitter feed.

You don't need to be a leader in the Lost internet spoiler war with the most spoilers to be the best site there is on Lost, which is why I, and many others, continue to come here.

So thanks for the hard work, sorry for the snide remarks before, but there's some constructive criticism without a hint of assiness that I hope you won't delete.

See? Even a few scattered compliments, and constructive criticism...

Dark:

If you have a problem or an issue with a comment, do NOT post it in the comments, email me here.

That line is there for a reason. Either comment on this post or don't post.

I didn't have a problem with a comment, I had a problem with the article being posted in the wrong section. I thought I had made this clear already?

Me (deleted by Dark):

Ah, so you would pull the old "covering the seeds of discontent" routine to make it seems like no-one has a care in the world that this part of DarkUFO is floundering.

Well done. I fully expect this comment to be deleted, but I expect people will read my previous comments through Google's own Blogger subscription service and agree.

You, sir, were the destructive critic on this occassion. But hey, you go against your own rules time and time again anyhow, and it seems people are beginning to see this.

Quality over quantity, Dark. That's the only way to win the spoiler war. Not through posting things which aren't spoilers in a spoiler section and hoping people won't notice. Because let's face it, it wasn't just me that's pointed that out and is beginning to lose faith in you as a spoiler king.

Just try focusing on the other aspects of the site, such as the fan-fiction stuff and I'm sure this site will be remembered once Lost has aired for at least being knowingly laughable towards the end of the series.

Much love, Andrew xxxxx

Alright, I got a bit mean towards the end, but sometimes the most hurtful things to people are true, and I think what I said is true. And yes, that was sarcasm with the signing off.

So there we have it. Dark changing his owns rules to post as many news articles in the spoiler section as possible, to try and maximise ad click rates, presumeably. Yes, it's a basic tactic of a webmaster, but when you are masquerading as a news source, you should have some integrity.

But to say I don't put in work when all of my comments were quite clearly backed up with meaningful evidence and insight while his were insulting one-liners? He's probably the biggest hypocrite on his own site.

Nicole said...

I really don't know what to say to this.

I did enjoy your recaps Fishbiscuit and am sad they're no longer on Dark's site.

I personally think Andy is a good and decent mad, and I have no qualms with him.

LostTvFan said...

I remember the night Dark screwed with that poll on Buddy TV just to prove he could. What he actually proved is that he cannot be trusted and no poll on his own site has any value since he openly admitted he can and will cheat to make things come out his way. The poll in question was one Sawyer was winning by a landslide and Dark jacked it around until Jack was the front runner. Being a lady and ignoring his sleezy behavior regarding your reviews when he is no gentleman obviously just encouraged him to carry his pique to a deeper level. BRAVO Fish but I think many in the Lost universe have caught this guy out. Watching him try to defend himself is like watching a train wreck.

Bring on FLUB, Darkgate Part Deux!!

Anonymous said...

So YOU are the Andrew whom Dark kept insulting all over the comment section.

He did delete all the comments people made about Fish's blog. When BYL premiered many were asking where Fish's recap was. I answered that they could now find them at Doc's and lo and behold, the comment was deleted!

Andrew Sparkes said...

Yes, I am that Andrew, and now you can hopefully see that I do actually post thoughtful, insightful, backed-up questions in amongst my sarcastic directness (sometimes mistaken for rudeness).

Much more than Dark, anyway, with his rude one-line, short answers.

LostTvFan, the problem with Dark is that on his own site, he never defends himself. He merely deletes every comment that calls him out, and calls them 'games' when they are actually questions he should be answering as the person who is responsible for the site.

He is useless at holding an actual intelligent debate and at proving why he does what he does. He just does them, backtracks, deletes opposition and lies afterwards.

Nicole said...

I just re-read this post and was a disappointed and also insulted to find so many digs at the apparent "unintelligent" and "uncivilised" followers of Dark's site.


However, just because you have an issue with Andy does not warrant insults to be thrown at people who like his site.

Anonymous said...

Nicole, sorry to be rude, but what kind of simpleton could look at that screen cap evidence of cheating/lying and still consider this tool a "good and decent man?" He may still have some value in the Lost fandom as a place where spoilers are compiled - though DocArzt's site does the same thing, and is much more user-friendly - as well as the giving out the occasional original spoiler from one of his rapidly disappearing sources. But I don't think anyone can make any kind of believable argument that he's a decent person. If even the uberfriendly Lyly Ford is over him and his douchebaggery, that pretty much says it all.

LostTvFan said...

Andrew: Your experience is one many a frustrated Skater has had over there and yes, I do understand that Dark doesn't defend, he deletes. You can bet your ass that if he or any of his supporters come here to comment The Fish will let those comments stand. BTW, after cheating on that Buddy TV poll to prove he could, he refused to go back and put the results back to their original numbers. Proving, IMO, that he also cheated because he didn't like the outcome. I think everyone has a right to be suspicious about the results of polls or characters cups posted on Dark's site; as he clearly has a bias and will skewer things to appear as he wants them. What he did with the poll The Fish referenced is not likely to be the FIRST time he messed with an outcome.

Bravo to you and the other posters who have screen captured and kept the evidence.

Nicole said...

Anonymous,

Andy has never done anything to me.

I'm not going to bad mouth him just because someone else is upset by his actions.

As I said, I like FB's recaps very much and am sad that they won't be on Dark's site anymore.

But I don't think its fair to bash those of us who like his site.
We didn't do anything.

Anonymous said...

Really! These pictures don't lie. It is what it is. Unbelievable.

Does DarkUFO even have spoilers anymore? Or any sources? He seems to encourage the nastiest posters also and shuts down perfectly reasonable, intelligent ones like this Andrew.

I'm so glad to read this, because I have felt for some time that someone really needs to hand this guy his ass. He is such a pompous, condescending tool. I can't wait to hear about Flub!

Anonymous said...

Nicole, I am a visitor of Dark's site but I won't deny that the atmosphere there is much more hostile than any other Lost site I visit. Which is probably why Fish decided to leave in the first place.

You visit Doc's comment sections and you will usually find interesting discussions about the mythology and characters.
Too often, Dark's is polluted with Jack fanatics who can't stop drooling over him or crazy obsessive shippers who are ready to cut each other's throats at all times.

Too often, Dark's comment sections makes me feel like i'm in high school again.

Anonymous said...

Nicole, Dark hasn't done anything to me either, but I have eyes in my head, and can see that the way he's lied about Fish's recaps is despicable. Osama bin Laden never did anything to me either, but I wouldn't say I have no "qualms" with him.

And if you like Fish's recaps, why not just read them at Doc's? It's just a click away. Do you ONLY read recaps at Dark's? Because he's rapidly losing his contributors.

Nicole said...

Ok guys, I'm not having this turn into an argument about what I read and where I read it.

Dark's site, is my Lost site. It has provided me with reliable info on Lost since Season 2 and I'm not about to leave now.

My point was that I am disappointed that FB's recaps will no longer be on Dark's site. I can understand completely how she would be angry at what happened.

But slagging off people who frequent his site is uncalled for.

Anonymous said...

Uh, Nicole, are you trying to prove that Dark's fans are not intelligent. Fish doesn't sound angry about what happened. She left Dark on her own. She's angry that this fool is LYING about it to make himself look like some superior person who decides who gets to post where. He's so full of himself it's sick.

If you like the site, enjoy the site, but don't try to make this into some non issue about Fish slagging Dark's readers. This is all about the big asshat. It's not about you.

Anonymous said...

Point taken Nicole. I just wanted to express what I thought Fish meant with those comments. The difference in the quality of comments on both sites is staggering.

Nicole said...

Oh for gods sake.

I know what this is about. I understand FB's decision to leave.

I just don't understand the way she chose to address people who follow Dark's site.

If she has an issue with Andy, that's fine, but don't bring people who have done nothing into it.

:)

Nicole said...

I'm getting confused with all the anon's in here. ;)

Last anon: My last post wasn't addressed to you but with the anon before you.

Wow, my head hurts!

Anonymous said...

Nicole, where did she bring anyone else into it? Why are you looking to defend this pig by nitpicking about something Fish didn't even do? This is exactly what happens at that board, nonsense nitpicking like this. You're manufacturing some offense about something that wasn't even said.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the confusion Nicole! I'll go by Roman now :)

Anonymous, this comment which is obviously sarcastic:
"The brilliant J. Wood had that distinction, since only 2% of Andy's highly intelligent fans had any appreciation for his incredible scholarship and insight."

There's no need to be so hostile. Isn't that what I was just saying about Dark's site?

- Roman

Nicole said...

I am not defending Andy.
As I said I have no issue with him.

As someone who follows Dark's site have a problem with being called unintelligent.

I'm not nitpicking, its clearly written several times in her post.

This is getting out of hand.
I simply posted my opinion which is valid. I didn't come here to get into a slagging match.

Andrew Sparkes said...

To be fair, Nicole, you quoted the words "unintelligent" and "uncivilised", neither of which appear in the article - I tried searching the terms and the only time they crop up is in the comments.

Did you mean to use inverted commas to suggest that this is what she was calling us instead of quoting? I am not calling you out on your grammar, I am just confused now, that's all.

I can't be bothered to read through the whole thing again, but I never really got the impression that she was calling us stupid (and yes, I will continue to use Dark's boards because as I mentioned, as much I have a problem with him personally, unfortunately, his are the most active Lost blogspots there are).

Maybe there was a little bitterness, but you can forgive that in the circumstances, but it was hardly an angry attack on us all - 99% was focused on Dark himself.

Nicole said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nicole said...

Of course I can understand where she is coming from, and that some unintended insults may have slipped out.

I also agree that this is mainly focused on Dark. I was just commenting on a small aspect of the post which I did not think fair.

"...a more intelligent community."
"I moved on happily to a far more intelligent, civilized and positive site."
"...readers submit, scintillating questions"

Just a few quotes to back up what I said.

Eitheway, as another anon put it, this isn't about me, I was simply posting my opinion, as we're all entitled to do.

That's all. :)

Anonymous said...

"...a more intelligent community."
"I moved on happily to a far more intelligent, civilized and positive site."
"...readers submit, scintillating questions"


Nicole: This is an OPINION, it is The Fish's opinion and she has a perfect right to state her opinion. Especially on her own site. Being much more open and fair than Dark is when it comes to opinions, she has also allowed you to state yours. She didn't delete your posts or come stomping in and bitch slap you. Posters on Dark's site often suffer one or both of those response when they post anything negative about him or his site.

Can't you tell the difference between these two sites and site owners just by the fact that your opinions, stated in several posts, are still visible for anyone interested in this debate to read and address?

The point is that Dark doesn't allow a difference of opinion. Beyond that you haven't even addressed the clear evidence that he cheats; which was the entire issue. Attempting to sidetrack the conversation to make it appear as if The Fish slammed everyone who posts on DarkUFO doesn't change the actual topic of this entry; although I am beginning to think that's just what you are trying to do.

Anonymous said...

seriously who cares.

id rather fish posted her recap than waste time on this.

what a fuss over nothing.

Nicole said...

I'm not even going to bother with this anymore.

Everyone is entitled to post their opinion. I am on neither Andy nor Fishbiscuit's side in this.

I am not involved in this issue, nor do I want to be.

I was simply stating a problem I have with something that is written. I and everyone is entitled to post what they feel on the issue. This is what the comment section is here for.

I don't know why I have to keep repeating myself: I am sorry for FIshbiscuit, but this is b/w her and Andy. No-on else. I felt the quoted comments were quite harsh.

Why you feel the need to be argumentative about it and try to implicate me in this issue, I don't know, but I'm done with this.

Have a nice day.

Anonymous said...

I was all excited when I saw a new post hoping for a new fish review and all get is load of drivel that skate fans could not care less about.

forget this shit and post recp

Anonymous said...

There are currently 37 remarks on this entry, 10 of them are yours Nicole. That's a quarter of all the ones made. You have bothered with this ten times. Now you are acting as if everyone is treating you badly. Had you treated Andy this way, your posted would have disappeared. Go be a martyr somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

Although you took the high ground on this for a long time, Fish, I'm glad you're finally having your side heard.

I'm so glad you've moved to Doc's site now: whilst I occasionally went to Dark's when linked, I now frequent Doc's site and it's in my favourites along with Fishbiscuitland :)

I'm looking forward to the Flub expose. The harassment that seems to have been perpetuated by DarkUFO and/or those around him made me sick to my stomach.

Anonymous said...

I am sorry for FIshbiscuit,

Why are you sorry for Fishbiscuit? She came out ahead here. She's on the better site. She CHOSE to go on a better site. Feel sorry for Andy. He just got his pants pulled down.

joAnne

Marisa said...

Wow! This is sooooo funny! I just found out a few days ago that you wouldn't be posting your recaps on DarkUFO anymore, so I went back into the archives to find out where I COULD read your recaps, as I really enjoyed them. And here I find this whole thing on Andy Page.

Well, I just recently had a run-in with him, as well! And for something soooooo ridiculous and stupid! The post that finally got you to write this article - the one to Chili in the comments section - was actually one in response to something I had posted earlier.

Anyway, I won't go into it all right now; suffice it to say that, yes, the comment section can be VERY hostile at times over there - there's comments (just from the last episode) where people are calling each other "baby", "sap", and "dillusional" for their opinions on how good or bad the episodes are.

Now, I personally would list this under "name-calling" but Dark says and does nothing about it. Then, there are other comments, which I feel aren't all that bad and Dark will say something about them.

Now, I don't know the man personally, and I would not say anything against him myself, but there definitely does seem to be a double standard over there. My husband and I were just discussing it - and I read him your article, too.

As for Andrew Sparkes, I've read many of his comments at Dark's site, and I have to say, he has ALWAYS been insightful and engaging to read. I agree with much of what he says, also. He never swears, or flames anybody (although, many have vehemently objected to HIS opinions).

All that being said, I still enjoy reading the recaps by Erika, Lukh's, etc. including J. Wood, but whom, from what I understand, has recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. So, I'll still be visiting the site to comment and read.

As far as what he's done to you, Fish, I find it deplorable! And I don't see what the big deal would have been to tell people the truth!

Can't wait to read the 'FLUB' article.

Anonymous said...

Ouch, Dark. That's some serious evidence there. It's almost funny how insecure he comes across about the whole situation. Infantile and petty. Oh wow. Fits perfectly with his tendency to employ the big mod mop and wipe out those who dare to doubt his actions or criticize his course.
Nicole, you shouldn't take Fish's words personally. I go to Dark's at times and don't feel offended one bit - it is true, his site attracts a more bitter aggressive, rabid crowd that runs on basic emotions. Doesn't add up to a warm, welcoming atmosphere and doesn't provide well for healthy disputes.
I was happy to see Fish's recaps over at Docartzt's. They fit the general atmosphere of the site much better.

Sassynails

Anonymous said...

Fish, I'm so glad you gave this crap with Andy a proper airing. It seems you can't take the high road with this guy. People should know who they're dealing with at any rate... what they decide to do after that is up to them.

I personally stopped going to his site after the Buddy tv poll fixing stunt. He certainly got his jollies off on that one, didn't he. And it was such a well known fact that he deleted any post he didn't want to deal with. So petty and sad.

Bravo for the decision to post at DocArtz. He's a class act.

And now I can't wait to read all about FLUB!

April

Anonymous said...

I love that he got caught! Of course, that is my naughty, "squalid" side, but we'll ignore that for now.

On pins and needles for the next entry on the mysterious "flub."

K

Anonymous said...

Kudos to you Fish for airing coming out with the whole story. If I read one more comment that said 'DarkUFO decided not to post FB's recaps anymore, there was a poll and they came in last' I would have screamed.

And as far as taking the high road for too long, I happen to think that you are STILL on the high road. What else could you do but blow this out of the water? People are STILL asking where your reviews have gone, and people are STILL perpetuating Dark's lie (albeit unknowingly) by stating some crap about this made up poll on other sites.

I am quite enjoying DocArzt & Friend's blog now that you have moved over there and I never miss a recap. Keep on keeping on and just brush the haters off.

-iamme

Gypsy said...

I think Sharon made a good point a while above me in the thread here: this is cool in a 'human drama' sense of the word, but an actual recap would be better.
Here's mine: 'Jeremy Bentham' was the 'Kevin Johnson' of Season 5. Taken with amphetamine's it becomes a tolerable experience. Whatever. As long as Jack's not in Thailand, I'm a pretty happy guy.

Anonymous said...

It is not as if Fish only posts recaps on her blog. Look throughout the history of it and you will see for yourself. So I'm sorry if I don't get the people who are calling on for a recap.I'm glad she shone light on what a weasel Dark can be. I don't think if people were continuously spreading lies about you that you would be such a doormat to sit there and take it. Fish has her own blog and faithful readers that WANT to hear the truth.

Anonymous said...

"what a fuss over nothing."

Easy to say Sharon when you're not the one affected by this. Fishbiscuit obviously doesn't think of Dark's methods as "nothing", since he went out of his way trying to prove that the original poll results reflected what he wanted them to demonstrate. We may never have been the wiser if he wasn't caught in the act of tampering with the poll results, which didn't even ask the readers what recapper they wished to get rid of in the first place. Dark seems to continually sink to new lows, or else we're continually getting to know who the real guy actually is. Not one to be respected unfortunately.

As for the take on the Fish's words insulting those who post at Dark's - her entry here was not about posters over at Dark's, so how anyone can possibly decipher that she meant every single poster over at Dark's is not intelligent has to be a joke. Or else this entry is extremely difficult to nitpick for Dark's fans and that's the only angle that can possibly be thought of for Dark's benefit...which it doesn't even do.

Thanks for revealing the truth Fishbiscuit. It's a pity that Dark can't tolerate truth in this case. It would have stood to him a whole better.

~ Midnight

Andrew Sparkes said...

Just a quick question, can anyone see my comment on Ben could still be the good guy by Goodwin?

I know for a fact that I left a big long-ass reply picking apart certain parts of that theory, not even in the brash/direct way I am sometimes known for, but as far as I am aware, it has been disposed of somehow.

It might just be my computer playing up with cookies, but it might just be an example of Dark having some issues with me at the moment. I've noticed a few other of my more 'proper' (ie - not complaining about Dark) comments being deleted recently since that little exchange we had that I quoted in my first reply.

Anonymous said...

All Dark needed to say when asked about Fish's reviews was 'I believe she is posting them on Doc Artz's Blog this year'. Simple, true and gentlemanly. Apparently his ego got in the way of being able to manage that. Since all these site owners know each other and often exchange information Dark's attitude just seems childish and spiteful.

Anonymous said...

Nope, Andrew, no comment from you there. Dark is probably spending most of his time now deleting comments from people on his shitlist. What a whackjob he has become. And it doesn't seem like he even has any recappers any more. Vozzek and sometimes Erika. This is such a funny report here, because he was trying to make it seem he had too many recappers. How stupid is he?

Anonymous said...

Andrew your comment is not there.

Unknown said...

I'm soooo disappointed to read this about Andy. I've been an avid fan of his site for 2 years now and didn't think the man could be so petty. I too wondered what happened to your recaps there, but thought it was maybe a mutual decision considering some of the rude, pathetic comments your recaps often invoked. I found it so irksome for some of the commenters who didn't even read your stuff to constantly be calling for your head. There are some real asses over there, but there are also some great people too. Anyway, I just read your recaps here since I come here anyway to check on any Sawyer related stuff. Now because of you, I'm also going over to Doc Arzt's. Thanks for getting the word out on this. You do a great job. It's too bad Andy has reacted this way.

Andrew Sparkes said...

I'm actually quite irritated to read that about that comment being deleted.

I usually click 'subscribe' on the comments field of articles I'm interested in seeing the comments to before I post any comments myself, but I forgot on that occassion. That's why I have all of my later-deleted comments sitting right there in my inbox. That means it doesn't really matter to me if something's deleted because at least I know what I said, even if other people can't read it anymore.

However, I forgot to do that on that article and left a long-ass comment picking it apart in what I hope was an insightful way:

The theory said about how Island Locke shot at 316 Locke to delay him, knowing no-one died anyway, during the canoe scene but I pointed out that this can't be the case as 316 Locke must have taken another canoe to the island for Island Locke to find, as the left-behinders found two canoes, which means 316 Locke would already be at the island and cannot therefore shoot at himself, so it's probably Caesar shooting on the third canoe.

Not that interesting to you lot, but I was pointing out the kinda things I was saying that were in no way flames. Also to kinda prove I wasn't just faking it to try and make Dark look worse than he already is (though I know it doesn't really prove anything seeing as I don't actually have the real comment anymore).

Fair enough, posting this on a Saturday night is hardly the indicative of a thriving social life (blame being broke and jobless), but Andy must be having a reeeally boring life to sit around deleting non-complaining comments just because I called him out on a few ocassions...

Andrew Sparkes said...

Fishbiscuit, also, I know that your comment was also deleted on Al Trautwig's Lost Thoughts: Episode 6, as that was the way I found this article in the first place, but now that comment is gone.

Dark usually leaves the "This comment has been deleted by a blog administrator" message thing when he deletes a comment, but in our case, he has seemingly wiped them off the face of his blog. While I can see why he did it to you (you called him out and he did the old delete rather than defend trick as always), I have no idea why he's started doing it to my 'proper' comments, other than bitterness that I can actually put together decent arguments?

Anonymous said...

Andrew, welcome to Dark's shitlist, as someone above said.

Going back to the incident with the Buddy TV poll that he rigged. I was among many of the Skaters that did not pat him on the back and laugh along with him when he changed the results on that poll. In fact we were so vocally against him that I don't think he has returned to FBL since then, after being fairly active in our forum.

His 'punishment' for us handing his ass to him was ensuring that the atmosphere of hate mongering, and negative comments from people who did not even READ Fish's recaps festered for so long, refusing to delete comments that were clearly flaming Fish and instead deleting comments that were tame in comparison and were made in her defense.

I realise that this is how he operates. He likes people who he feels has not bowed to him, or worshipped him enough to "get theirs" and he has no problem with making that happen by the most underhanded means.

-iamme

TRoss said...

Wow. Dark comes off as sincere and kind, but it's obvious he has no problem changing facts to suit his agenda, and then lying to his readers about it. It's always the quiet ones.

Thanks for bringing that to light, Fish. I'm sure it's an eye-opener for those who thought Andy was the type that played things aboveboard.


To poster Nicole:

I feel for you. I saw no hostility in your posts, just that you didn't appreciate the implication the readers at Dark's were less than intelligent. I don't agree with that statement either. I think there's a group of assholes there that can drag a discussion down, just like there is at every site.

~TRoss

Anonymous said...

The people who are demanding a recap, go wait for it on Doc's site. This is fish's personal blog and if you bother to look at the history you'd realize recaps are not all she posts.

She doesn't owe you anything btw

Anonymous said...

Damn, how embarrassing for Doc. I'm sure he'd be commenting and trying to prove Fish is a liar if the evidence weren't so irrefutable. His best move is to just ignore it, but even doing that, he's a total laughingstock.

I think the funniest part to me was the introduction of "Anna" to a poll she wasn't on to begin with. I actually remember this poll, and I remember voting for Fishbiscuit. There was definitely no Anna on it. The fact that he would go back and put here there months later, giving her 15% of the vote, is hilarious.

And I will definitely NEVER be voting in another poll on his site, or taking the results seriously. This is clearly a guy who will make poll results say whatever the hell he wants them to. No wonder Jack wins everything over there, but not on any other sites.

Anonymous said...

I meant Dark, not Doc, in the first part of my comment above. Their names are too similar!! *Doh*

Anonymous said...

He doesn't seem to be a skater so i'm surprised to hear he used to post on the Fish pond.

Jack Finally Believes said...

YES HE HAS A JATE OBSESSION AND 90% OF THE POSTERS OVER THERE ARE ANNOYING SHIPPERS. REALLY REALLY SOME BAD FANS OVER THERE BUT NOT ALL OF THEM. IT USED TO DRIVE ME INSANE.

I am just loving this as you can tell....

hell I didn't know fish was a girl

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't be surprised if Jack got that far in the character cup because of him. A majority of the online community seems to dislike Jack so we were ALL shocked that he made it almost to the end. Even beating Sawyer. This might explain it.

bluefish said...

DarkUfo proves all by himself what a douche he is time and time again.

Regarding The Fish bashing Darks posters, i'm certain she meant the majority not all of them. I remember going there to see comments on her recaps and there were comments like "I never read these they are crap". WTH???

I'm glad Fish found a better place (where there's actually respect for her reviews) and the comment sections don't tend to become a battlefield.

Pinkchimney said...

Not that I am trying to defend anyone, but when season 5 began, I went to DarkUFO to read Fish's review but it was not to be. I emailed the contact (andy) and he did direct me to your blog. Granted, it was something like "I think she posts them on her own blog" but he did tell me that the reviews were still out there to be read.

Nonetheless, it still seems like a shady thing he was pulling. keep up the great work.

PS: The pink background really messes with the eyes. My co-workers say the same thing. I usually have to copy and paste to Word so as not to strain while reading.

Anonymous said...

Melanie, don't you think it's funny that he doesn't direct anyone to Doc Arzt's blog? It's pretty clear he's jealous. And Fish! LMAO at all this. What an incredible jerk that guy is. I'm so glad to see him coming down a peg. Doesn't seem to have any sources or many contributors left over there. Sounds like he's getting what he deserves.

Matt D. said...

I pass along your URL to any interested fans of LOST or just good writing in general.

I'm here for as long as you continue to post. Thanks for all the work and time you've spent thus far.

Anonymous said...

Boy, nothing like a little contraversy to bring out the comments in droves. I hope there's as many comments for your re-cap of 'LD/JB'. ;-)

Oh, Dark...and at one time I thought you a gentleman. I, too, recall the Buddy TV debacle, and I was shocked at how arrogant and obnoxious the guy came across. He proved he could cheat, which called into question each and every poll that went up on his site, but he refused to acknowledge that fact...threw a hissy fit and suddenly the members of FBL became enemies. The whole twisted affair got uglier and uglier as the months went on. Shame.

Anyways, I'm glad you've gotten this issue out in the open, Fish, and I can't wait to read the latter half of this tantilizing drama. :-)

Darbi,

Anonymous said...

oh, this is so sad... (and quite squallid actually).
i didn't even realize you weren't anymore in there just because i could't wait to read you at dark and so started reading you here!!!
I really love your recaps, everybody does, you don't need to be in any poll in my opinion.
big hugs

Anonymous said...

so..........where's this weeks review
:-)

Mary said...

You recaps are my favorites so I searched them out when they didn't appear on Dark's site this season. I just read them here. I also post on Dark's forum, but don't really read his blog site anymore. I've posted several glowing references to your recaps this season on his forum and he's let them stand and withheld comment. I don't blame you for moving your recaps as they really drew a lot of crazy criticism. I'm sad to learn of Andy's behavior. You must've hit some nerve with him. I'll check out Arzt's site as I'm always looking for intelligent conversation.

Anonymous said...

Terry O Locke, I agree that Dark has it out for posters who dislike Jack. For the same reason, he likes to encourage Skater bashing. He is very subjective when he deletes comments. He's so insecure and egotistical that he can't deal with anyone questioning him. He fawns over ass-kissers.

I have enjoyed Dark's site despite the fact that I dislike Andy. I like his recappers and find his site user-friendly. I went back there a few months ago after swearing I wouldn't. I was disappointed when I realized that you weren't posting there anymore, Fiona.

I read this entry last night. I went to Dark's site earlier this morning to see if he had addressed your outing. He didn't, of course, but he's having one of his de-lurker days. I guess he needed some ego-rubbing, poor boy. I noticed my own de-lurking post from back in 2007. It made me realize how much my feelings about the place have changed.

I can't promise that I won't ever go back again. However, after reading about his petty dishonesty and disrespectful behaviour, I have bookmarked DocArtz's site and hopefully can quit the old Dark - very dark, it seems now - habit cold turkey. If anyone is squalid and disreputable, it's Andy.

Saska

Anonymous said...

I just noticed that The Fish changed the background from pink to blue. Can anyone imagine Dark making a change to his site based on a comment made by a fan? I have to admit I always suspected there were a lot of suspicious shenanigans going on over there but it looks as if we are just now seeing the dark side of Dark. Next installment please, but your review of the last episode first!

Unknown said...

Blue! Yes :-)

On another note, I know people are knocking Darkufo for their subjective reasons for removing anit-jack posts. But I had an issue with them posting review after review by "Long Live Locke" for his/her Jack bashing. It seemed like every single review took the opportunity to take a swipe at Jack while proping Locke up no matter what he did. I always found it less like a review and more like a character commentary with declarations much Jack sucked.

Seabiscuit said...

The blue is much easier on my poor old eyes. Thanks for the switch, Fish.

Anonymous said...

Well if there is anyone Dark adores as much or more than Jack its Locke and his site panders to the geeks and fan boys. So no points for him allowing a Locke fan to dish Jack. Note how his character cups always come out with the fans boys’ heroes on top even though Sawyer is arguably the most popular character on Lost. I have no problem with any of that, each site has a different vibe, but we are all left wondering now if he tampers with his own polls.

Jack Finally Believes said...

I am obsessed with Locke and I have noticed the blatant Locke support by dark but it is not as bad as Jack. Any character cup would no doubt end up with Desmond and Sawyer being in the finals.

I would say that 70% of Lost fans are Locke fans while 30% absoultely never stop bashinghim. Then again from the people I know only about 50% of them like Jack (maybe less) but there isn't as much Jack bashing anywhere that I've seen

Anonymous said...

"we are all left wondering now if he tampers with his own polls."

No need to wonder any longer. The answer is yes. If he tampered with one to make it look as if Fish was voted 'least favourite' in order to validate his lie about dropping her recaps, then he would pretty much do the same for any other poll that he wanted to go his way.

crikey said...

Don't forget your tin foil hat!

Hilarious! :)

Anonymous said...

I recently started reading the Fishbiscuitland blogs and I really look forward to them each week. But I don't care about the feud with DarkUFO. Considering the importance of "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham", are we actually going to get a posting this week?

Anonymous said...

LOL, even Crikey lurks at Fishbiscuit.

Ken said...

Hey Fish,

I personally got sick of Dark's site. And at the beginning of this season I noticed your review wasn't on Dark. I didn't really care why... I just found one of the old posts, and bookmarked your personal URL. Which I then did with all my other favorite recappers; Doc Jenson, Anna, J. Wood, Luhks...

I LOVE your recap. Probably my favorite. I think it's well thought out, and down right most humorous. The use of so many screen caps mixed in is great. I can't IMAGINE how much time and energy you put in to it. I do appreciate it.

Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I am immediately deleting my bookmark to the DorkUFO site and I'll spread the word round. Glad you found a new home with Doc!

Your recaps are always the best part of my week to help my feeble brain understand whats really going on in Lost.

Thanks for all the hard work in exposing DorkUFO's fraudulent behavior.

Ben Lundy said...

Why does any of this matter when I can just go straight to Fishbiscuitland to get her reviews?

Having said that, I have heard some negative things about DarkUFO before, but I have never been much for all these Internet wars. I don't think I'll necessarily stop going to DarkUFO altogether, but I sure won't place as much interest in their polls as I used to! Hmm, I wonder if we could take a list of Andy's favorite LOST episodes and the highest poll-rated episodes and see if they match?

Also, I have been trying to cut myself off from spoilers for a long time anyway.

Lastly, FB, your reviews and Erika's are tied for my favorite LOST reviews on the web. You do a great job!

Morcegos no Sótão said...

And where is the recap, really?

No pressure over capuccino. =P

MJNuts

Anonymous said...

So instead of a review , we get this? Lame. I dont really care about Darkufo or any of this. I just wanna read the reviews.

Anonymous said...

Not instead of. As well as. Have patience.

Ben Lundy said...

This is Fishbiscuit's blog, she can post whatever she thinks is relevant. If you don't want to read this article then don't, or start your own blog. Yeesh.

Anonymous said...

we get this rubbish



where is the recap????????

Anonymous said...

Bottom line: We all are missing your recap for TLaDoJB. Hope you post it soon, Fish - looking forward to it!! :)

Fishbiscuitland said...

Check back in about an hour.

BecauseYouLeft said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

WHat's funny about that poll is that J. Wood is an author at Powells and does not write for DarkUFO. And Doc Jensen is a writer for entertainment weekly, who also does not write for DarkUFO. He copys and pastes their work, so putting them on a poll for his sites content is in itself despicable. He doesn't own J. Wood and Jeff Jensen just because he copies them from their sites. Ridiculous.

Steve said...

I found your URL myself after I noticed that the recaps weren't being hosted at DarkUFO's anymore. Don't know why DarkUFO had to be such a tool about it. Then again he did completely spoil the last two finales in order to be the first to scoop them.

No great loss, I still get to read your work, and it sounds like you found a better home. Keep up the good work!

Glad to see you had time to get a TLaDoJB recap done as well. Don't know how you (and the other recappers) manage it.

Anonymous said...

That site is no longer in my bookmarks either since today. What an ass Dark is!

talliann said...

Wow. I had no idea what was going on at Dark's site. Really sad to read how he's been not telling the truth about Fish reviews.
As always, a smart and very necessary entry. Go Fish!

Anonymous said...

Only heard about this through a forum making a thread about it. Must say I love a good bit of gossip!

Sounds awful what he did. I frequent Dark's site and enjoy reading Vozzek69's reviews, so I'll still read those. Never read FB's blog but I'll probably start visiting Doc's site now to check it out.

Anonymous said...

DorkUFO has always been a profiteer and thief. No surprise he's also a cheat and a liar.

Good luck with your new home, and give us part 2 of the saga!

Marcia said...

Thanks for this, and please don't take it down. Leave it posted so I can link other people back to it, thanks in advance.

Matarreyes said...

Wow, I am happy I found this, even if it´s so late... Now I feel an idiot for hanging around the DarkUfo website, calling him out on things and voting nin his polls.

Jennifer said...

Wow. I wonder if he's been rigging all his shipper polls. I wouldn't be surprised. I've always thought that there were way more votes for Suliet than there should be.

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