Last summer I was outed as a SC monger via less than circumspect personal comments in a review posted here on tuscl which was available in its entirety on google. At that time I was retired and I didn't give a fiddler's damn.
I am now back in business and I am in the process of doing a deal with a much bigger publicly traded company. If I complete the deal I will probably be asked to join the board of directors of the large company. That would mean a pretty thorough vetting of my career and personal and financial life. Big dollars are at stake so being on the board would ensure that my interests are looked after.
If the stock of the large company traded only in Canada, I have no worries; but the stock trades on exchanges in two other countries as well and I don't know all the 'ins and outs' of regs in those countries. The only answers I can come up with are: #1. Don't do the deal; #2 Do the deal and decline board representation; and #3 Have my brother join the board to represent my interests.
Any advice from worldly and wise tusclers?
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last commentArt, you cannot regain it. You can only hope to hide it. If it bothers you to have people digging into your private life, then maybe you shouldn't do it. As far as legalities go, I would consult an attorney specializing in corporate law. How much more money do you want. You cannot take it with you.
Just call me "happily retired".
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You can pm founder to delete your posts. Make a new tuscl acct and only keep in touch with certain members
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what a coincidence!
i swear art, i was just thinking about the time that one of your cronies asked you if you were the guy posting on tuscl as farmerart and here you go and bring it up again.
ol troop must be psychic or something, or maybe just psycho ;)
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I would probably not try to hide it. As we have seen in athletics and politics the "cover up" is always worse than the crime. Not that you have done anything wrong, but how it is viewed in some aspects of society could cause you issues. If someone wants to find it, they will. Your option No. 2 and 3 are also viable possibilities if you don't want to go through the hassle.
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yeah i would consult your attorney 1st before doing anything
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Isn't everything posted here a work of fiction? So the worst you have to defend, if anything, is a dirty mind. If fantasy is a disqualification, then all board members should resign. Better, talk it through with a lawyer.
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so art, about that sculpting that you're alwys talking about, i had no idea :-)
you best make sure that the vetters don't find this one ;-)
youtube.com
as a last resort you can speak of your faith and show them this
farmerart.blogspot.com
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Fuck em if they can't take a joke. You can't hide what is out there. If they have a problem with it, oh well. Like the man says, you can't take it with you.
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Enjoy your $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ & disappear into the Canadian sunset, I would!
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I don't know what kind of vetting they do for a board seat, but would they care that you enjoy strip clubs? I would hope they would focus on your business experience and integrity, not on irrelevant personal pursuits.
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Just chalk it up to youthful indiscretion?
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Once it is on the Internet, you can NEVER get rid of it completely. Your best bet is to talk things over with a lawyer. I would just assume that you're information will come out. But especially, you should stop posting new stuff that is identifiable.
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I have to concur: if you ever put anything on the Internet, it never, ever just 'goes away'. I can't remember you confessing to being an axe murderer though, or to selling drug or anything like that, so I can't see what sort of problem any company might have with you making the occasional visit to a SC. if it had been done on another company's dime, maybe, but what you do with your own money on your own time should not be anyone's business. also as suggested, a talk with an attorney might not be a bad idea if you're seriously worried....
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Thank you all, for your replies. I see now that there is only one way out of this box that I have created for myself.
All my life I have had the attitude: 'Fuck you, world. I'll do it my way'. Why change now?
Apologies to Frank Sinatra and Paul Anka.
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You could hire a company to create so much fluff about you out on them interwebs that the real dirt would be buried on page 850 of any search. And honestly if I were in your position I'd be in the Fuck You deal with it mode too.
There isn't anyone that would stand up favorably to prying into their personal/private life because everybody's got something going on that would probably offend someone somewhere. If a big dollar deal fell apart because of something minor like you mentioned, well...that would be something. Its not like you hacked into dead people's voicemail trying to dig up dirt or anything!!
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You forgot Option #4: Give up all this crazy "back in business" talk, re-retire and become a full time SC monger again. Problem solved!
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Deny deny deny....like Eddie Murphy said, "Hey, it wasn't me!"
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Art, precisely what are you worried about?
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george,
My worry was embarrassing the partner company. Reporting to shareholders the personal info of board members can lead who knows where? A diligent digger could soon unearth my farmerart persona and the talking shareholder of the partner company is a real tight ass and could queer the deal. This sort of uncertainty is nasty for business.
I have been a lone wolf my entire business career and I guess I should not change at this late date. A deal with a large company would surely put my new venture on the fast track with access to much a larger capital pool than I can generate on my own. The anonymity of a private corporation has some large benefits.
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First, no. Never. Ever hear the term "Internet Tattoo"? You'll be able to find your posts 50 years from now.
That said, ignore it. Do your job. Take your position and excel. If it comes up in some undeniable way (and it probably won't), look them right in the eye and ask how it is relevant? As long as this isn't a daycare company or church you are probably fine, maybe even by law.
The way things are going we're all going to know what everyone else does soon enough, and to be honest, this will change our ideas of what is OK. Propriety (the appearance of virtue) is going out the window and in a giant glass house world, being a guy who gets lap dances is...well...boring.
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Like others, I think it's pointless to try to hide it; it just won't work. If you think it might derail the deal, then you should probably avoid taking a position on the board. But then, I'm not qualifies to speak to that kind of issue. Don't know how viable the brother option is, but is he any cleaner than you? :))
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