


I've had enough.
« Thread Started on 4/7/06 at 15:47 »
I've been a long time fan of Saved by the Bell, from the very beginning of the show, and continue to be an avid fan of the program today. It's a very safe assumption to make that it has been my absolute favorite television show of all time.
That said, it would also be pretty safe to say that, after the internet's rise to prominence, I had begun to use it as a means to get my Saved by the Bell fix, to read more about the behind the scenes aspects of the show and so forth. Especially in the periods of time before the DVD collections began coming out in 2003, the internet was pretty much the only source for all things SBtB related, unless one had old VHS tapes, or somehow managed to come across old reruns on television. As such, I've done more than my fair share of wandering along the net, occasionally browsing through random websites related to the show.
For the most part, what one tends to find on your average site or subsite devoted to the show is relatively normal fare... nothing too apart from the norm, the basic information, the occasional (and asinine) stigma that goes along with "child stars", and that's about it. Nothing extensively elaborate, but it's nice to know that people still care about the show enough to talk about it, right?
Anyway, as many of you know, there exists a disturbing contingent of "fans" who have taken, shall we say, extensive liberties with the content of this show which the rest of us hold so dear. In particular, they seem to be hellbent on utterly destroying the good name of Mario Lopez, Dennis Haskins, and most of all Dustin Diamond.
I found the original guestbook of "Dustin Diamond" a few years ago. I expected to see a benign display of old school Saved by the Bell fans giving their kudos to the actor. What I encountered instead was a nonstop barrage of the most horrible degradation of a human being that I have ever had the misfortune to observe. The terrible things that were said on this guestbook were enough to make my blood boil.
I've observed the monstrous lengths that the people within this sick community have gone to in order to absolutely dismember the name of Dustin Diamond and many others. And it utterly disgusts me.
-Do you realize that they were responsible for the closure of the forums on Dustin's band's website? What kind of evil freaks would have the nerve to seek out and attack not only Dustin himself, but everyone around him as well? What kind of people take delight in succeeding to tear apart a significant part of something that Dustin has dreamed of doing for so long, and unlike most of us, is a dream that he is actually getting to live out? Salty the Pocketknife was in my opinion a fantastic band with limitless talent, and ought to have once and for all evolved Dustin well past the perception of him as only being Screech. However, it seems that the monsters from that guestbook couldn't allow him to have that, and tore his website apart. Eventually, the entire website was hacked and ruined by someone as well... I wouldn't be surprised if they had something to do with that also. These people have helped to murder Dustin Diamond's dream.
-Do you realize that the Wikipedia article for Dustin Diamond (and probably many other SBtB articles as well) has been so thoroughly vandalized by these people that it's near impossible for the casual browser to distinguish between facts and these people's ridiculous lies?
-Do you realize that these people have so infected the internet with their disgusting propaganda that all the major search engines now have their forum site near the top of their lists for searches for "Dustin Diamond"? That real fans who are genuinely curious about the man himself will potentially be bombarded with this crap?
-Do you realize that these people are now attempting to wreak havoc here as well? Although I'm sure it was obvious, but that Dner guy who made such a big stink about homophobia is one of the main culprits of their dumb group. There are posts on their forums, ruthlessly mocking this site, when I don't think it's any of their business what goes on here in the first place. I find it to be both excessive and idiotic.
And the worst part is, that they have been doing this for years, and they aren't stopping.
Surely, being a public figure will naturally force a person to be exposed to a reasonable amount of backlash or good natured teasing. That's just the nature of showbusiness. But this is so far past reasonable.
I don't want to dignify their ridiculous antics or give them any sort of endorsement or publicity by posting their web addresses here, but I'm sure the people here who have been around long enough have been tricked into going into these horrible places already, and know where they can be found.
However, I do think it's time that the true fans of Saved by the Bell gave these degenerate monsters a piece of their minds. This little subculture of theirs has moved so beyond mere internet trolling and has damaged the very foundation of how the show and its contributors are being perceived.
It's about time that the people who genuinely care about this show to stand up to these people and take back OUR show.
Here's a nice cartoon of Screech, Mr. Belding, and Slater dancing to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." song! Mr. Belding and Slater certainly appear to be having a great time dancing with Screech.
Parody Site Wins Domain Fight vs. Ex-Child Star Art Triumphs over Celebrity In Precedent-Setting Decision
In what appears to be a first in Internet history, the World Wide Web's legal arm has rebuffed an attempt by ex-child actor Dustin Diamond ("Screech" of TV's "Saved by the Bell") to claim the eponymous Web site, http://www.dustindiamond.com. Instead the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will allow on-line artist Max Goldberg to continue to maintain his parody Web site at the dustindiamond.com address. An arbitrator acting on behalf of ICANN issued the decision on Monday. The precedent-setting decision is believed to be the first time that a celebrity has lost a domain name dispute to a non-commercial parody site.
NEW YORK (PRWEB) April 14, 2004 -- In what appears to be a first in Internet history, the World Wide Web's legal arm has rebuffed an attempt by ex-child actor Dustin Diamond ("Screech" of TV's "Saved by the Bell") to claim the eponymous Web site, http://www.dustindiamond.com.
Instead the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will allow on-line artist Max Goldberg to continue to maintain his parody Web site at the dustindiamond.com address.
An arbitrator acting on behalf of ICANN issued the decision on Monday (National Arbitration Forum Claim Number: FA0402000237446)
. The precedent-setting decision is believed to be the first time that a celebrity has lost a domain name dispute to a non-commercial parody site.
Goldberg, 21, is a free-lance programmer whose parody Web sites have been entertaining thousands of fans for several years now. His cyber-installations include www.yourethemannowdog.com, which continues to get tens of thousands of hits every week, and another heavily visited site, www.getyourasstomars.com. Another Goldberg art site, www.ytmnd.com, is set to debut on April 10.
Faced with Diamond's 38-page legal complaint, and unable to afford to hire his own legal firepower, Goldberg wrote a 28-page response himself with the help of his mother and older sister. "I was outraged that Screech would attempt to revive his floundering career by destroying my work of art," Goldberg says. "The ICANN decision shows that an artist's right to fair use still has clout in the legal arena."
Goldberg, a resident of New York City, created the dustindiamond.com site when he was just 18 years old. The site is a low-tech masterpiece making fun of America's worship of celebrity. It includes a public forum "guest book" that has been taken over by pranksters posing as rabid Diamond fans. In a typical post, someone calling himself "Kurt Steinberg" wrote to the child actor, "Your queer fans (who comprise 97% of the people who view this guestbook daily) are simply looking for homo-erotic Saved By The Bell fantasies involving you, Diamond! Such messages allow your gay followers to lose many loads annually!"
Diamond's attorneys had argued that Goldberg's site infringed on the trademark value of the actor's celebrity, calling him "a major pop icon of the 1990s" whose "'squeaky' clean image" was being damaged.
Goldberg's response pointed out that the site's reference to Diamond as a "sex symbol" clearly signaled that it is a parody. "His 'Screech' character is a stereotypically asexual geek," the response says, "and Mr. Diamond's subsequent attempts to revive his show-business career have portrayed him in a similar light, notwithstanding his recent cultivation of facial stubble." Goldberg included a photograph of Diamond as one of the exhibits in his response as proof of the actor's lack of sexual charisma.
Goldberg also pointed out that his site sells no products, carries no advertising, and yields no income. "The site exists solely for the sake of its humorous and artistic value," his response to Diamond's complaint says. "It is truly art for art's sake."
The arbitrator found that Goldberg's site falls within the realm of "fair use." The decision reads: "The Panel accepts [Goldberg's] arguments that the 'outrageously ugly and low-tech graphics and numerous errors and misspellings,' as well as the sheer absurdity of the site's claim that Dustin Diamond is a 'FAMOUS SUPERSTAR AND SEX SYMBOL' clearly signal that the site is not meant to be taken seriously."
The decision continues, "Whether the site is regarded as parody, satire, or critical commentary, and not withstanding [Goldberg's] assertion that 'lawyers are notoriously bad at understanding how humor works,' this Panel finds that legitimate non-commercial fair use commentary is involved.'"
The complete text of the decision, together with Diamond's original complaint and Goldberg's response, are available at a site Goldberg's associates registered just in case the ICANN decision went against him: www.dustindiamondsucks.com.
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Screech, remember the time you saw the movie "Short Circuit"? Remember how cool you thought Number 5 was, and how you wished your robot Kevin was as cool as him? Remember how you used to have wet dreams about Kevin getting struck by lightning and magically becoming a cyborg with homosexual tendencies and fully-functional genitalia? Remember how you started to have feelings for Kevin?
Remember that one time you took Kevin for a walk in the park? Remember how people laughed and called you a shithead for taking a robot for a walk, but you didn't care because you loved Kevin and you wanted the whole world to know it?
Remember how you sat down on a bench and said "Oh Kevin, you're my only friend in the whole world...if only you could understand"? Remember how, suddenly, Kevin turned to you and said "BZZZT...KEVIN...LOVES...SCREECH"? Remember how you looked at him in amazement as he went on to say "NUMBER...5...IS...ALIVE"? Remember how you thought that the artificial intelligence routines you had programmed Kevin with must have evolved somehow? Remember how you were so happy that you threw your arms around his metallic frame and said "Oh Kevin! You've come to life! Screech loves you too", and you gave him a kiss? Remember how Kevin said "OOOH, RIGHT ON THE SENSOR", and you laughed and hugged him harder? Remember how you imagined yourself winning the Nobel prize for your pioneering work in AI?
Remember how your joy turned to confusion as you started to feel something hard poking against you? Remember how you looked down and saw a 12" iron rod with a bulbous end sticking out of Kevin's crotch? Remember how confused you were because you hadn't built Kevin with genitalia? Remember how Kevin said "BZZZT...KEVIN...NEEDS...ASS" and he grasped you with his powerful metallic claws, rendering you motionless? Remember how you cried "ZOINKS!!! No, Kevin!! Stop!!! Abort program sequence!!" as Kevin turned you around and tore down your zubaz? Remember how you squealed as Kevin thrust his cold iron cock up your poop-pipe? Remember how he thrust back and forth several times until he said "ZOINKS...I'M...GONNA...CUMMMMMM"? Remember how you felt him ejaculate oil in your ass? Remember how liters of oil spewed out of him, filling your digestive tract and distending your belly? Remember how, as the orgasm subsided, he started to quake violently with sparks coming from him? Remember how he exploded, and you were thrown to the ground?
Remember how you looked up to see Zack emerging from a nearby bush, laughing and holding a remote control unit? Remember how he told you how he had been controlling Kevin all along? Remember how he said he paid some of your fellow science nerds to build a monster penis onto Kevin? Remember how he said he'd caught the whole thing on camera, and that he was gonna get rich selling copies of the tape to your schoolmates? Remember how he walked off laughing?
Zack sure taught you a lesson about messing with technology that day!