Major Problem With Sm Lan, Please Read

[primesuspect]

My office got robbed this morning.

Nothing CRITICAL got stolen, we're still in business, and nobody got hurt. So, no worries.

However, this is the FIFTH robbery in the last two months at this location, and I am fed up.

The problem is, there are a lot of people coming and going. One of the tenants is a geotechnical services firm and they have technicians coming and going all the time, at all hours. Many, many times, the door gets accidentally left unlocked and the alarm accidentally gets neglected. So, this morning's burglary was very simple for the burglar: Walk in, no alarm, no locked doors, take what you want at your leisure, and leave.

I do not fear for mine or anyone else's safety. But I cannot leave any equipment here anymore. As of today, I'm looking for new offices. I am paid up through January 1st, but I am not going to be paying January's rent, as I will no longer be here.

So, you can imagine that the LAN was the furthest thing from my mind this morning when I got here at 8:30 to find most of my stuff gone. I just realized a few minutes ago, "oh no, what about the LAN!?!"

I guess the only course of action I can take at this moment is to postpone the LAN until a suitable alternative location can be found. I can do one of two things, and it's everyone's personal choice:

1) hold on to your reg fee for the new date/time

2) refund your registration fee

I am so, so sorry about this, guys.. Believe me, nobody is looking forward to this more than I am, and I want to assure everybody that this WILL GO ON.

So, please let me know what you want me to do. Again, I am deeply sorry about this. :(

//EDIT:

I'm moving this thread to the Pub, since some people who don't have access to the attendee's forum will be curious as to why the 9th came and went and nobody talks about the LAN.

[QCH]

WOW... That sounds like a tough choice for you. I am up for either. I would have to say that we should put it up for a vote so we can figure out the concensus. Worse case, Those who want the cash back, let them. Those that want to wait for the revised date, that's cool too. Those that want to just donate the cash to the Short-Media fund.... that's cool too.

Do you have any time line in mind for a new office? How long after the new office is found and the move is complete do you think you need to be able to host the LAN?

[TBonZ]

I can certainly understand Brian, your bread and butter comes first, sorry to hear you were robbed again. :(

I have no problem with rescheduling the LAN and actually will benefit me to a degree with having more time, when your plan is concrete, let us know about it. :)

[Aranyic]

Understand completely, I would do the same thing. Just let us know when you find a solid date (and don't rush anything :) we'll all live).

[pseudonym]

Awwww crapo. That sucks Brian, I hope not too much got taken, and that insurance will cover it.

Ok, whos got plane tickets/bus etc etc. Need to know how many are fully committed (By that I mean paid for and can't get a refund on a ticket etc). I need to know how hard to look for a good deal on a backup plan. (Hall, etc etc)

[Lincoln]

:( goddamn culturally retarded burglars...

Let us know what the ETA is on plan B when you know.

[septimus]

:shakehead

I am still up for this LAN, I've been looking forward to it all year :)

Perhaps this might give Mackanz an opportunity to join us after all?

[Camman]

Sorry to hear about your loss, maybe with a rescheduling now I will actually be able to attend, so something good might come out of it, meeting me! :D I'm sure thats no consolation...again...sorry to hear about your loss, but, as I said over at your new site, you seem to be dealing with it in a very honorable fasion.

[Clutch]

Oh noessss that sucks Brian. I'm all up for a new date myself, so just hold onto me and my friends money until then. Just let us know so I can have enough time to tell my boss I need new dates off and all.


Maybe with the new date Kanez, Camman and mack can come to :)

[SimGuy]

Damn Brian! That sucks bigtime. Hopefully your insurance provider covers any damages incurred. :( :(

Hope they catch the bastards that did it so you can have it out with them (physically and verbally) :D

I'm up for LAN rescheduling, as I can't make the current date.

[Norge]

Tis sad how little trust you can put in people these days. Can't even have a business without worrying about some idiot trying to break into it. Sorry to hear about the burglary. Just keep my fee until the LAN is rescheduled. I'm all for coming no matter when we have it.

Norge

[test_tube_tony]

Damn, that suks. Keep my $$. I dont need it. Let me know when it is and im there.

[Thrax]

Those ****ing ****ers.

God dammit.

I'm SO pissed.. How DARE they screw us all out of what we've been looking forward to for months, and more importantly, how DARE they burglarize Brian's business.

That's ****ing disgusting to me...

God DAMMIT I'm angry.

On the flipside; maybe this gives Mack, Cam, and Kanez time to gather funds to come! :D

[Crazy Joe]

Yea, that really sucks. I hate stupid people like this. :rarr: I hope they catch them. I passed up LanWar to go to the S-M Lan so just let me know when and where the new Lan is gonna be and I'm there!

[GHoosdum]

Brian, I hope that you find some new and better offices for sarcnet. Sorry about your loss - I know how much good karma you've got built up, man, there's no reason this kind of thing should happen to you. :(

Hold on to my reg fee - pending new date, I'm probably still in for SM-LAN.

[Mr_Bojingles]

Sorry to here that :(

I am still looking foward to the sm-lan, so you can keep my money for whenever we do have one.

Hope everything works out with your stuff too.

[primesuspect]

Thanks a lot for the kind words and thoughts everybody.

After having time to reflect (I made the original post shortly after I found out, got to my office, and assessed the situation), I can see all kinds of positive out of this happening. A couple of things jump immediately to mind: One, we have more time to let people get their schedules cleared out and perhaps get some more of the people that we lost back into this event. Two, it is always little tiny incidents like this that in the grand scheme of things only serve to build a community. Sure, we postponed a date for a gathering, but in the end, we'll all be a bit closer because of it :D

[JLunar]

damn, that sucks man. Doesn't matter to me... keep money and wait, or refund - what ever works best. :)

[RyThom]

Damn, man. I'm sorry to hear about that. Well, im still all fired up for the LAN. Just keep us posted I guess. Hope you have better luck in your new location. Damn theives...

[QCH]

Another Positive.... Half Life 2.... If the LAN get postponed a few weeks or a month.... Maybe?

[t1rhino]

That sucks prime. Hope you find a nice new office.

[csimon]

prime ...in the meantime set up a cheap webcam ...I'm serious.
The bookstore guy here at school has a store in town.
For a few weeks he noticed that every other night or so the register mysteriously was robbed of $100. Then it turned into $200 ...and so on ...so he set up a web cam.
A few days later he's checking the cam and sure enough the mall security guard was letting himself in and helping himself ...he also happend to work for the police department.
He confronted to cop and gave him an ultimatem ...either give me all of the money back by the end of the week or I turn my evidence over to your chief and a good lawyer (sorry for the oxymoron). The cop has the nerve to say "but I don't have that much money". He responded ..."take out a loan if you have to but consider yourseld warned".
He got his money on time and is still at the present location.

might not work with all of that in and out traffic though but just a thought.

[topherice]

Wow. Suxx0rz. I know your Buddhist and all but maybe time to rethink and declare jihad on Those ****ing ****ers.

[primesuspect]

lol.. I'll declare the first buddhist jihad in the history of the world...

"DIE, INFIDELS WHO HAVEN'T LEARNED THAT THEY ARE DROWNING FURTHER IN SAMSARA DUE TO THEIR SELF-DEFEATING ACTIONS!"

[Shorty]

Its so uncool, those bastards deserve a right, well it's obvious what they deserve. Bloody thieving toerags!

We all understand mate. The lan will happen in chez Sarcnet 2! ;)

Buddhist jihad.... ;D

[a2jfreak]

Refund my money.

Oh, wait . . . I'm not coming so I never paid.

On second thought, keep my non-payment. :)

I guess the only "good" that can come of this is that maybe, just maybe, if the LAN is postponed long enough you can sport a new shirt or cap to show off, Prime . . . If I can get it made, I'll try to mail it off early-mid Jan.

[Clutch]

Yea, more people means more fun. I sure do feel bad for those workers when we go out for our breakfast, hehe

Also this means I get more time to work on my car in case shorty still wants to know why us americans like loud fast cars drive :thumbsup:

[GnomeWizardd]

well hell now i might be able to come!!!! I say keep everyones cash and send SM t-shirts out and send whats left to the SMX fund!

[QCH]

I like Gnome's idea... Short-Media tshirts and the rest to the SMX fund.

[GnomeWizardd]

YEA MAN that way we all end up happy and help get a fast Proc for sm20 since thrax's cant seem to get there !

[Clutch]

w00t, SM t-shirts would be sweet

[panzerkw]

GnomeWizardd had this to say
well hell now i might be able to come!!!! I say keep everyones cash and send SM t-shirts out and send whats left to the SMX fund!

Uh, no. I paid for a weekend-long LAN, not a stinkin' T-shirt.

So keep my money, until the new date is set. Hopefully the search for a more secure location won't take too long.

[kanezfan]

i say we find these bastards ad make it part of the even to collectively beat them down. like i said before, keep my reg fee and let me know when you reschedule the thing. this sucks, i hate people who have no respect for other's property.

[MrBill]

Somehow I missed this thread! Sorry to hear about the robbery Brian. :(

Didn't look like I was going to make it, so I was going to donate my reg fee anyway. Maybe I can make the re-scheduled date. I hope it will be after WINTER. :D

[profdlp]

That is really lousy. Sounds like you're doing what you gotta do, though. I wasn't able to even think about attending on Jan 9, but maybe could make a later date.

Either way, you'll no-doubt get it all worked out. Keep your chin up. :wave: