Forum Freakout, Part 3

Previously, on MinerBumping... Fin Udan failed in his efforts to have EVE-O moderators remove the New Order's storied thread from the Market Discussions subforum. Enraged, Fin went on a rampage. He alleged that "James 315 is now largely running CCP" and accused the ISD of being on the New Order payroll. When an ISD member began removing his spam, Fin dropped an F-bomb on him and demanded to know how much I was paying him. Then Fin was apparently silenced, as the ISD quoted a rule which mandates a permanent forum ban for anyone who abuses a member of the ISD.

The next day, Fin stunned the Market Discussions subforum by reappearing in the New Order market thread. He hadn't been permabanned. To the contrary, he hadn't even been given a 24-hour ban. But the surprises didn't end there.

Fin claimed to have undergone another transformation, this time for the better. He requested a single share of New Order stock in exchange for his one million isk payment. Could it be...?

Incredibly, Fin was true to his word. The million isk was right there in my wallet, in good funds. The MinerBumping IPO's greatest enemy was now its newest shareholder.

But Fin Udan's redemption wouldn't come so easily. He had burned too many bridges. His fellow Market Discussions posters couldn't forget the way he'd treated the ISD.

In a rare move, ISD Dorrim Barstorlode cleared his throat and noted that his inbox did not contain an apology letter from Fin.

Nevertheless, the Market Discussions community was encouraged by Fin's support of the New Order. With the New Order thread cleaned up, I made my weekly update to report additional shareholders and milestones reached.

Without warning, Fin dropped the hammer. Fin's story, it seemed, had not yet exhausted its supply of plot twists.

A few days later, Fin renewed his crusade against the New Order. How had this happened?

After sending in his one million isk payment, Fin opened a new thread in the Market Discussions subforum. He announced his plan to buy and sell New Order stock in a secondary market. Fin didn't disguise his intentions: He wanted to monetize our community!

The backlash was swift. Communities don't like being monetized.

As usual, Fin managed to alienate everyone, even the anti-Code faction.

Of the more than 1,200 owners of New Order stock, precisely zero wanted to sell their shares to Fin. Next, Fin's greed drove him to raise his offer to 750,000 isk per share. Still no takers. Everyone knows New Order shares are worth exactly one million isk and always have been.

For reasons known only to the ISD, Fin Udan had been given a second chance at life in the Market Discussions subforum. He'd wasted it. To satisfy his endless desire for money, Fin took something beautiful and tried to twist it into a vehicle for profit. Having been chastised by his fellow forum posters, maybe he'd learned something from the experience. One could only hope. Because if he hadn't, the ISD would soon come to regret giving Fin his second life.

To be continued...