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Request for assistance

  • 27 Jul 2021 2:01 PM
    Reply # 10776770 on 10765235

    Dear everyone

    Thankyou for the responses so far but we are still searching for a more immediate and professional businesslike solution within the next 5 days. My energy levels are at zero though. I am very grateful for offers so far but sadly what I need is the load taken off rather than added to. They have been gratefully received. I also apologise if any messages seem at all blunt of ungrateful. Thats what happens if you are under the stress of a lifetime's investment in career and 20 years investment in business being undermined by one unreasonable party. I only have 5 days for a resolution. Sadly I can't even communicate with the other party any more since I have been so devastated and hurt by their actions I am having to avoid reading their messages.

    As I mentioned I'm just a sole trader business with very few resources. For the last 17+ years I had easy trouble free, very low maintenance domain hosting which has been thrown into total disarray over the last few months by one unreasonable action. Correction. It wasn't just the initial unreasonable action. But also the actions of various other industry players over the following few months upon asking for reasonable assistance. They are also under a cloud.

    I neglected to put a preferred contact email on my post and most people tracked me down via web site or Linkedin. All my contacts have been thrown into total disarray by this provider over the last few months so apologies for any delays in finding messages and getting back to anyone. I will keep checking those addresses which were not the places I was expecting replies

    You can use this email which will come to my primary mailbox for the time being legal@duncanlowes.xyz

    TBH there is only one reasonable and adult solution to this whole thing but there isn't much evidence that I am dealing with a professional person or business

    kind regards

    Duncan

    Last modified: 27 Jul 2021 2:24 PM | Duncan Lowes
  • 23 Jul 2021 9:46 AM
    Reply # 10768877 on 10765235

    Hi Chris and everyone

    Thanks for the reply but its not really the type of assistance I need at this stage. I have gone though most technical precautions (that I can), not that I should have to be wasting any of my time dealing with the issue at all. I have been trying to get the character to help reasonably for two months that failed. I should not have to put any significant resource into dealing with an issue like this at all.  All reasonable steps have been gone through. I'm not going into details. I am dealing with many processes and organisations to achieve a resolution or dispute processes. I should not have to do this. I was also bullied and slandered on a major forum by web hosting people, supported by their moderators who joined in the slander and attacks on me. That is also under investigation. As is anyone who obstructs what is going on. It may have nothing to do with the current situation (an attack on my business and reputation) but those attacks have occurred over the years on many other forums and even in professional slander within organisation. That is unfinished business too.

    I am certainly not engaging a consultant. Unnecessary expense too. I am asking please for material advice or professsional advice from a society of professional colleagues in an emergency. This society and forum is full of many people at all levels of seniority in many major organisations, here in Australia and overseas. I am an alumnus of several of those powerful organisations. Several of them have been my clients over the years. Many of them have trusted me with projects, analysix/modeling, data etc

    Let me outline the issue. Anyone can check my resume, experience, education, history online. I will outline some of it here.

    I started my professional dedicated life at high school as most serious professional people do. They invest most of their lives in trying to achieve at the highest level, to contribute professionally at the highest level. They act professionally with everyone they deal with. They invest many times the effort and energy they have to stress themselves out on behalf of their clients. They even make themselves sick trying to do their best for their clients. Its not desirable but it is what a true professional does. I am nearing the end of a successful and high achieving career and do not like anyone slandering me or undermining everything I have worked for and achieved, the reputation I have. Nobody. It may not have involved becoming a professor or anything like that but what people like me do is be one of those people (usually quietly) working to help the community (local or global) in many ways, usually unacknowledged.  A few people occasionally are nice enough to do so. People like me deserve no professional disrespect or slander at all. We do not deserve to face anything other than fair competition. No dirty tricks. No attempts to destroy businesses and reputation.

    Material assistance or advice could include the following (or many other things)

    1. Give me a call. I may be able to help deal with the guy who is causing you problems. Professionally. Its easy to find out who it is

    2. I can setup trusted professional web and email hosting/forwarding for you (for a reasonable fee). I have the resources or my organisation does to help out a colleague in need, who actually does not have the resources (health or otherwise) to even try to find a solution to this situation forced on him by an unreasonable denial of an essential service - one provided to me without trouble for 17+ years. it should require no demands on me at all. Note my requirements are minute in terms of storage, traffic and email, even the spammers don't seem to send much.

    I am asking nicely if anyone, including all those highly senior professionals in our society can help out in a real way please. For a colleague in need who does not deserve it. And has not deserved any of the slanders or trolling he has experienced in many forums for many years. Who knows if any of it is linked to destroying a competitor (which I am not), to undermining someone seen as too knowledgeable. Strange that a highly experienced knowledgable person would be seen as a threat to anyone. But that is the world

    But I only have 8 days to arrange email hosting for two domains. Otherwise I am in trouble. Hoping someone can assist. This is a very serious situation. As I said I am an alumnus of many august institutions, many fellow alumni would share this forum

    But I am not going to let attacks on me, my business, my reputation any way be attacked or undermined in any way at all. I do not deserve that

    regards Duncan

    PS (always an afterthought with my posts. thanks for edit capability). Appealing to one of my societies is almost a last resort. Full of busy professional people. I do not do it lightly. I had to get assistance from another of my societies in desperate straights once, when nobody else would help. They were there for me

    PPS Another thing that professional people such as myself feel when faced with attacks such as this is a broken heart. It has happened a few times. It genuinely breaks a heart to face cruelty and injustice - seemingly intentionally, unnecessarily and without care for the client at all. Many of us let clients down from time to time. But that should make you feel bad, not your client

    PPPS I realise this list is not the Society. etc I may formally ask the Society for assistance soon. I'm asking more broadly among esteemed respected professional colleagues and (previously perhaps) competitors for some serious assistance please

    PPPPS At the risk of TLDR, and boring people, maybe not everyone (yet/ever) has experienced professional stress. I don't regard it as an essential part of being professional but it comes close, or at least understanding what it would be like and how debilitating it is - its selectively debilitating. Its a strange thing. Just another of my pet-areas of interest shall we say. I imagine many of you later in careers (even early) have experienced it and can empathise. Maybe it will come along later. As will end of career, need for some peace, and not to have your reputation trashed when you are too exhausted to fight

    PPPPPS I have been involved in enough communications with enough responsible parties over the last few months that I am tempted to fight by just expecting them to do their jobs and sort it out without stressing me out any more



    Last modified: 23 Jul 2021 12:28 PM | Duncan Lowes
  • 22 Jul 2021 9:28 AM
    Reply # 10766600 on 10765235

    Morning Duncan,

    I'm very sorry to hear about your problems, sounds like a nightmare!

    May I suggest exporting all of your email contacts, then you have them backed up even if these nefarious forces prevent you from accessing your current email and web platforms in the future.

    Next I would look at changing who hosts your email and webpage. Hopefully, you will be able to move them over to a new host. If that's not possible than you might need to create a new online presence by creating a new domain name and email handle for yourself. Assuming you have all your emails backed up you could then email out to all of them your new email and webpage. No need to tell them why, you could just say it was time to refresh and start anew.

    In terms of dealing with the slander. I suppose you have a few options. You could tackle them head on by replying to all of their online comments in a professional and calm way, trying to diffuse the situation by dealing with their specific accusations and not 'returning fire' if possible. 

    You might want to look at engaging a PR consultant to help you develop a plan. And even possible get a solicitor to send them a 'cease and desist ' letter and discuss your legal options with. I don’t think either need be particularly expensive.

    Hope this helps!

    Last modified: 22 Jul 2021 9:30 AM | Chris Howden
  • 21 Jul 2021 7:47 PM
    Message # 10765235

    Dear Society Colleagues

    This is a bit of desperate call out in case anyone, especially in my state, Queensland, can assist me.

    Most of you probably don't know me but I am a professional sole trader consultant. I have worked for up to 35 years here and in the UK on predominantly data and knowledge projects with many big clients. I have been trusted on many projects and many big datasets with clients in private and public sectors, including academia. I have been a sole trader for almost 20 of those years.

    I am a professional person. Yet recently my web and email hosting are under threat due to a slanderous accusation by a CEO. I have also faced vicious and slanderous trolling in web industry forums. I have faced those kinds of attacks in other forums too either openly or behind aliases.  As a sole trader I, more than man, have very few resources to defend against such attacks on my reputation. Often all I have as assets are my online presence and any contacts I may have made over the years. For all those to be put at risk by defamatory comments, and with loss of web an email hosting, potentially many trusted accounts and contacts, is a massive stress - without eh resources to defend or fight back. I do not have legal departments or financial resources. I rely entirely on my professionalism, reputation and good character. Maybe often those who engage in such attacks are used to dealing with people who do not have to face those risks.

    What I am asking for, is if anyone knows how a professional of my experience, reputation and dedication to clients can get assistance in this matter. I am just a sole trader, near the end of career, unable to work much due to a stressful career taking private business risks and responsibilities for many clients projects, many in public sector.

    I do not have resources of any kind to deal with business threats, slanders, stresses such as denial of utility services. 

    Hoping someone may be able to advise or assist please

    Regards

    Duncan


    Last modified: 21 Jul 2021 8:54 PM | Duncan Lowes
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