Diary of a Madman or a case of Fatal Detraction (?)

"You're So Vain, You Probably Think This Article Is About You", and he did...

The above phrase in quotes was the title of an article I wrote as a guest opinion piece about vanity numbers and those who traffic in them, that was published in an electronic retailing trade magazine at ?id=319435 and distributed to some in the toll free vanity number industry.

Apparently, the title of the article resonated quite strongly for New Yorker Bill Quimby, of TollFreeNumbers.com, a self described consultant of sorts, to those trafficking in, or seeking, toll free vanity numbers. Mr. Quimby, it seems, took the title to heart in a very big way.

In a series of emails, characterized mostly as personally insulting in nature, Mr. Quimby sought to debate me, on an opinion piece no less, by challenging me to respond on his web site, but only under conditions that were not only questionable, but whose purpose was clearly suspect.

The conditions were as follows:

1) I could only respond to the portions of his emails to me that he would allow to appear on his forum, and

2) I was not allowed to recite each of his points in the forum, prior to responding to them specifically,

A curious set of conditions to say the least.

For those with too much time on their hands, the entire exchange between Mr. Quimby and myself can be downloaded , but a sampling of Mr. Quimby's comments, quoted exactly as they were stated, with comments describing their context, included the likes of...

"And I told you not to go off and get side tracked on any variation of what I posted versus what I wrote because the visitors obviously can't see that"Mr. Quimby's response when I stated my preference was to respond on his web site to everything he said in his emails to me, some of which contained sentiments contrary to those he posted on his web site.

"I'll post something to that effect if you continue to refuse to respond appropriately"Mr. Quimby's threat to post something that would characterize me as just being upset, if I did not accept his conditions for the form and content of my responses.

"I'm not taking that thread down for anything. In fact I'm going to promote it in my next mailing which goes out monthly to almost 10,000 people because I think it's an interesting discussion which they would be interested in"Mr. Quimby's response when he was asked to take down the thread. A demand that was made when it became clear that Mr. Quimby intended to dictate, how and, what portions of his emails to me, I would be able to respond to, on his site.

"There's way to much hostility in most forums although it might be fun to put up some of these recent emails just to make you look bad"A look into the mind of Bill Quimby demonstrating how he revels in posting negative, denigrating and potentially slanderous comments about those he disagrees with.

"If the majority of people think you're wrong, it actually proves you're not only wrong but possibly worse..."More insight into the mind of Mr. Bill Quimby, and what guides him. This may also explain why Mr. Quimby chose to phrase the Poll Question on his site the way he did. The article never said or implied (without qualification) that 888, 877 and 866 were as good as 800, except in certain circumstances as explained at 's use of voting polls on his site, but more importantly, his willingness to alter their results as evidenced at the bottom of the page at

"OK, go ahead and run away. I posted my response. It'll be out there for all the world to see for the life of your career. Any time someone searches for your name, this will come up somewhere in the mix"Mr. Quimby's response when I stated I had no interest in responding to his comments under the conditions he had set. This again not only demonstrates Mr. Quimby's willingness to post negative, denigrating and potentially slanderous responses about those who disagree with him, or who are unwilling to debate him on terms stacked in his favor, but to also revel in the opportunity to disseminate those statements unchallenged.

"If you do anything else at all in this, I'll spend the $20 to put up a press release at PRweb which will get onto google and insure that this winds up being in the top 10 Search Results for your name for a long time. I won't do that if you walk away quietly and call it a day" -Mr. Quimby's final threat when I said I would respond to his comments in a different forum altogether that was unfettered by his ability to control the form and content of any response to his criticism. This again further demonstrates Mr. Quimby's predisposed willingness to denigrate and potentially slander those who disagree with him, and then go one step further and actually pay to disseminate those denigrating and potentially slanderous statements over the internet.

"You are an absolute ass hole and you don't have the guts to do anything because you know it will certainly give you a black eye too, so to speak, that will last for an even longer time"Mr. Quimby's follow-up comment to his response above when it was stated a response to his comments would occur in a different forum that was unfettered by his ability to control the form and content of any response to his criticism.

"And every time you keep responding and pissing me off I go back and re-edit the forum to make you look even stupider too"Further evidence of Mr. Quimby's willingness to denigrate and potentially slander those unwilling to allow him to dictate how and what portions of his diatribe they can respond to.

The moral of this story is that not everything on the internet, is as it appears, and that we should all be reminded that there are those willing to go to great lengths to undermine, denigrate and potentially slander others who have a different point of view or opinion, and are simply unwilling to debate them on terms stacked in their favor.

For those who have a professional interest in toll free vanity numbers, please feel free to read my responses to some of Mr. Quimby's objections to my article at 's objections to points in my article at this link have been re-phrased to improve grammar and clarity, and to omit language reflecting personal attacks.

Carlton Roark
877LoanOfficer.com