The MCCH web site is officially Dead!

[Moyboy]

When porno pictures were hot linked to Nick's site, they lead right back to Mr. Curtis' computer. His excuse was that "advertising on Nick's site had caused the photo's to be linked to Nick's forum pages."

Mark first removed a photo of a screen capture, which he posted on his own site and deleted his own post (from his own site). Next, he used the file name for the screen capture photo and assigned it to a porno photo. He went to a lot of trouble to hot link porno to nick's site but failed to hide the fact that it was coming from his own photo bucket account.

The mcch log showed that "Administer" (which is Mark Curtis) had deleted his own post, with the screen capture photo, right before the porno showed up on Nick's forum via the hot link.

I confronted him with all the facts and his reply was "advertising caused it all." I told him to his face what kind of disgusting person he is and that was the last time I ever spoke to him. When it comes to excuses, his lies just ridiculous.

When I checked them all back Joe all came up as his admin account. I bet he was pissed getting called at 2am in the morning as someone had posted said porno all over the MCCH site. Not sure which mod notified him at the time but there sure was panic going on and I got some juicy emails the next day from him asking how I , as a trusted Mod, could have done all this to him. Told him in no uncertain facts that I knew it was him as he had shown those pics before which he used when someone hot linked to photos he deemed as his although someone else had posted them to the site. I still have a mials and when I want a good laugh I go and read them all again and the excuses about Nicks advertising causing it all - the man is a wonder to say the least if he thinks we all only have basic comp knowledge like BTM.
I didn't think the site would come back as its been to long for a basic repair and reload. Looks like he is more into growing his own food instead of diecast going by his FB page.

[Tinman]

Told him in no uncertain facts that I knew it was him as he had shown those pics before which he used when someone hot linked to photos he deemed as his

Yes, I think that was everyone's nearly instant clue as to who done it! He used the same porno photos over and over for his "Hot Link" attacks.

When someone is not all that great with computers, they tend to get excited about each little "trick" they learn. He learned that hot link trick and was always bragging about using it. Another problem he has, the current software needed for a discussion forum is not compatable with the ancient OS he runs on his old computer. His OS wasn't even compatable with the older software that was previously running.

Those who struggle with technology tend to hang onto old computers and old Operating Systems. I'm sure it had become very difficult for him to navigate the web on his TRS-80.

Mick, I've mentioned this before and I want to say it again. I think sending him the exact same trash that he sent to others was an excellent move. It's too bad he was/is too dense to understand what he did was completly wrong on many levels.

[Tinman]

I must say I liked the site. I learnt a lot there. I came here though in search of the members that use to be there and vanished!

You make it sound like those "vanished" members had a choice. Members you noticed missing were handled by a systematic "Final Solution." The architect of that final solution was Curtis. He Banned and blocked many. So many others were banned in a less public manner when Curtis altered their passwords. He even tried to keep some former members from reading his site by blocking their IP address. If he didn't like you, you were kicked out, plain and simple. Complain about something and you were kicked out. If you had an opinion that he disliked, you were kicked out.

Someone else was always to blame for his each and every failure. When he could not blame his own actions on others, he always fell back upon some health excuse. When his health excuses were exposed as frauds, he would only double down in his excuses seeking pity and sympathy from his rapidly dwindling sycophant cheerleading squad.

The demise and destruction of the mcch was caused by one person, Mark Curtis. The only reason the forum was once very alive, interesting and popular was because of its members and not because of Curtis. That "vanishing" membership was far more sinister of an issue. It was part of the conflict that caused Curtis to Ban Jim G. and abandon the Gathering.

It wasn't hackers that killed the mcch, it was Curtis.

[johnnijhuis]

He's never been my friend for a single minute but nothwithstanding this it's always sad when a site is gone at where many people had so much fun. I am always amazed that just having fun in your hobby, being collecting matchbox, can create so much aggression. I think we forget every now and then what's collecting all about. We are not warriors or terrorists but collectors only!!!

I run the eldest online Matchbox site on the Internet and from the start we (John Yanouzas and myself) have always tried to keep commercial activities from our site by financing everything between the two of us. After 23 years we are still there without major problems with about 600.000 hits on several sites per year.

I think the second reason why we are still there is not having a chat box and/or site. That's where all the misery, fights, insulting etc starts.

Although never being friends with Mark Curtis I regret a site , which gave some much pleasure to so many people in the past, is gone.

John Nijhuis

[Tinman]

it's always sad when a site is gone at where many people had so much fun.

This is very true. As we all know, it really died a couple years back and became that place no one ever goes anymore. Like a restaurant where the ownership has allowed food quality and upkeep to decline down to substandard levels, people just stop coming and then the place goes under.

John, he always viewed other die cast sites as competition and did all he could to discourage his members from being involved at other sites. He also freely belittled and talked down about other hobby sites. One of the main reason he had such a large number of moderators (at one time there were about 70 moderators) was his way of attempting to keep specific people at the mcch. He would threaten mcch moderators with the loss of "privileges" if they became moderators at other forums.

I vividly recall his being very concerned and disturbed when the first Mattel Ambassador was selected that did not call the mcch their "primary home" (and was not an mcch moderator). He really felt like he had some additional "control" over the Ambassadors because they were "his people" and when "outsiders" were in place he was losing control somehow. he would structure his comments to people so that listeners would think the creation of the Matchbox Ambassador was something he invented and talked Mattel into sponsoring. Just like he would tell everyone how he created the Gathering, and Jim was just the hired help.

What most people still don't know is that the mcch came super close to disappearing during the height of its popularity. Curtis was going to sell it off ... lock, stock and barrel and his members would be absorbed into a larger hobby site. The only reason it didn't happen is because Curtis considered the offered amount too low. He was counter offering with a larger figure (about twice what they wanted to pay). So, the deal collapsed.

After Curtis banned Jim and left the Gathering event, he contacted the original buyers to see if they would still go through with their original offer. By that time the split with Jim happened, the banning of members was already out of control, Mattel had put up a firewall between the toy company and anything Curtis related and the place was on a severe decline. The word came back: No longer interested at any price!" Today, (based on mcch member numbers from 2006/2007) the site, which once offered to buy the mcch, has 40 members for every 1 mcch member.

As John and others mention, back then, the place was indeed worth visiting, worth being a member and had many great people with which to interact. Long lived sites know it's the members who make the place what it is.

Worth, for Curtis, meant something completely different. In the same year the first Gathering event concluded, he was making decent money off the mcch and pretty much gave up attempting to work for a living. The donations were rolling in every month. The gathering proved to be a windfall of profit for Curtis. There were the multiple models he had color comp tampo for the gathering. The exclusive Convoy model and the auction of donated models. Not to mention the Christmas model and other "fund raiser" models he generated at random.

He was also selling marked up Jammer cases, license tags, bumper stickers, luggage tags, T-shirts and Polo shirts. He sold autographed copies of some collector guides, held raffles for donated models and held ebay auctions under user ID's he kept secret. His "fund raiser" models were about 90+% donated and the tampo printing cost was almost always covered by a member as a "donation." The "convoy" Gathering model's expense was all donated and all the work was performed by others as a "donation." He was literally living off the financial kindness of his members.

[Moyboy]

Wise words John & Joe. After my debacle with him I set up the Moyboyz site and we are just coming up to the end of our 8th year now. I have never seen a bad word spoken on the forum involving members so happy as we all are so not sure why such a view on chat John. At the time I used to donate models to MC for fund raising etc to keep the site running until I found it strange that none ever appeared in the so called raffles. I then find that they were being sold privately to keep him in pocket money !
The site was always great as so many great collectors from new starters to old seasoned hands on there but then - poof - some would be gone with no explanation. We all know now why, like the rest of us who upset him, they were banned for some petty reason or other. The site grew large because a lot of US collectors are very insular (sorry Joe and others in the US) and wouldn't search outside the US for other excellent sites available but times have happily changed with the growth of Nick's and other excellent sites around. It was his loss and when the general chat board got severely controlled as it didn't meet his political views that was the end of board 1 - all went to garbage posts there.
I was then told I couldn't mention Ebay because of his personal fight with them which was stupid as most I know buy from there as one of the best sources for models. Then the gun lobby took action and I had to endure photos of dead animals and silly posts about protecting one self with guns - well we don't all live in societies where 5 year old kids carry guns so that wasn't to my taste either. All in all the quality of the posts deteriorated with the people leaving and it was just constant 'look at what I found at Walmart etc' photos of new Mattel plastic stuff so I wasn't really sorry to get banned. My one claim to fame was that I got to post porn all over the MCCH site - I laughed for days at the panic set up - he must have choked on his breakfast that morning

[SMS88]

When I joined in 2006 , MC already had his mail order collectable books business as a source of income which he regularly pushed at MCCH members using the MCCH members email list. I lasted 18 months before being banned but kept getting his mailing list of bar´gin books for about 5 years.
Growing his own round-up ready chow is better use of his time than online posting, indeed perhaps he can use his Mattel honed negotiating skills to talk Monsanto into sponsering him as a prime example of a small independent home grower......

[motorman]

Well having read these posts i am eternally grateful to Nick Jones for creating this forum which is second to none. I joined MCCH several years ago, i never posted on it so was never banned! When i discovered Nicks forum i was delighted to find it to be a friendly place were open informative discussion was going on without any concerns of being excluded for saying something the boss didnt approve of. So i was very happy to jump ship and stick up my middle finger in MC's direction.

[Tinman]

I joined MCCH several years ago, i never posted on it so was never banned!

There was one instance of a particular member being banned .. whom had never posted a single comment on the mcch. He was banned for his posted comments on another hobby forum. Talk about being a control freak, banning a person for his comments outside of a forum! That one just blew me away!

Several members received a ban for what they said in emails! So, you keep your nose clean and behave like a model mcch citizen while on the forums, then you have a complaint, a concern, or a difference of opinion and you send the site owner an email about the subject. All sounds perfectly reasonable and the proper way to handle a complaint or concern, right? Wrong, your private complaint or concern just got you banned!

It stuff like this that spelled the end for that forum.

[motorman]

I joined MCCH several years ago, i never posted on it so was never banned!

There was one instance of a particular member being banned .. whom had never posted a single comment on the mcch. He was banned for his posted comments on another hobby forum. Talk about being a control freak, banning a person for his comments outside of a forum! That one just blew me away!

Several members received a ban for what they said in emails! So, you keep your nose clean and behave like a model mcch citizen while on the forums, then you have a complaint, a concern, or a difference of opinion and you send the site owner an email about the subject. All sounds perfectly reasonable and the proper way to handle a complaint or concern, right? Wrong, your private complaint or concern just got you banned!

It stuff like this that spelled the end for that forum.

Ah well If thats the case i am definately banned now Joe!!!!!