Opus Finale .... A Warts an' all Exposé of Paintball's Very Own Megalomaniac

[Buddha 3]

Assuming the English law isn't much different from Dutch law, it isn't. Unless you are trying to use the result of the doctoring as evindence in a courtcase, or try to pass them off as official documents. Both ain't the case here.
As mentioned earlier, looks like he didn't fiddle with the screen grabs, he just uses them totally out of context.

It'd be interesting to see the traffic on his website. This thread has had 63K plus already and is still going.

 

[Where's My Tractor?]

Robbo will know if those posts are genuine and if he lied.
Barnett is using those posts as proof Robbo lied and taking up Robbo's challenge that if he lied Barnett can have P8nt.

Therefore if the posts are not genuine and have been altered he is making a false representation in order to make a gain for himself or loss for another which is an offence of fraud by false representation.

It all comes down to whether the posts are genuine or photoshopped.

 

[oneijim]

It all comes down to context the original posts were meant in.

 

[Where's My Tractor?]

It all comes down to context the original posts were meant in.

Only if that context has been misrepresented.

 

[Robbo]

Firstly, I haven't got anything to lie about inasmuch as it's not me who created a charity appeal and then failed to correctly account for what goes in and out etc ...
I have NOTHING to gain from any lies and so there's no need, that's simple enough leastwise to me it is.
He is the one on the spot, not me .... and because of this, he uses the only tactic he can think of and that is to attack me, and the others who have posted their respective experiences with him ....
According to barnett, we've all lied - as to why, I think his proposed reason is an emergent property of his narcissism and megalomania such that he accuses us all of conspiracy.
He might well suggest it is but the only connection we all have is barnett has either disgusted us, fuhk'd us over, betrayed us or whatever ...

And for that matter, what has any of the people mentioned in this thread to gain from any of this?
Nothing !!!
The only person to gain or lose anything is barnett ... as to why he's in this position?
Once again, it's simple, he put himself there and just how he did, is documented in this thread.
As for him getting p8nt?
Yeah, course he can have it, come and get it barnett ......and so on that basis, I think it's quite safe unless barnett gets some transgender surgery done thus availing him of a pair of testicles.

I think it's obvious he is hurting .. and pretty badly from all accounts, his expedition westward in trying to persuade the Pbnation demographic blew up in his face when the vast majority of those guys soon worked out what barnett was all about and have condemned him and what he's done.
He's had to cancel events and teams are refusing to play his events ....

One thing that still bothers me though, I got told last night that barnett still insists I used his kids in an attempt to attack him - it's easily understood as to why he would keep claiming this but for one slight technical detail, he was the guy who first went on FB and wrote about them - he did, not me, nor anyone else.
The first anyone knew of anything, was when people read the post that barnett made concerning Pete Russsell. Any subsequent mentioning of any kids was done with reference to barnett using them for his own ends.

It's not difficult to understand that the mere mention of 'kids' being used would be huge emotional leverage for someone using them inappropriately, and it is .... unfortunately, barnett has failed to concede that he was the first to do it - it's as though he's in denial he ever did it and in doing so, he thinks it allows him to use them again.
This guy is a real piece of work and I think this one particular aspect of his 'defence' is the single-most disgusting thing he's indulged in ...
An awful lot of people know myself and a lot of the people who have posted in this thread and the bottom line is this :-
If anybody was asked to decide between myself and barnett as to who would inappropriately used kids to gain points in an internet discussion/disagreement then I'm quite confident I'll come out the other side of that decision unscathed, it's just not my style.
I'd sooner just clump him and be done with it rather than use kids.

In the last 13 years or so on p8ntballer.com, I have posted over 12,000 times - not once have I ever stooped as low as to use kids in an argument to gain an advantage.

Fortunately though, hundreds of people were witness to that first Facebook post he mentioned them and so unless he can eliminate all those people, he's fuhk'd.

But nothing this guy ever does now surprises me now ...... I haven't read any of the posts he's created where he alleges I'm a liar, the truth is, it's really easy for me to check, I haven't had to lie to bury this guy, he's provided me and others all the ammunition any of us would ever need. .... I don't even know if the problem Jersey Rich noticed whereby barnett had ostensibly forged the post-count on one of my posts, and I don't know how doing so, it would help him.
It's ludicrous but understandable I suppose :/
He's getting desperate it seems but make no mistake about any of this, he's got everything to lose, I have nothing to gain or lose and if you wish to somehow explain why this thread is even here, it all boils down to what barnett has done in the past .....

 

[Robbo]

On the subject of Simon Cole ...

I haven't read the offending emails, nor do I wish to but I will say this much, I have known Simon for over 25 years and he has never crossed me or tried to; however, the email came as a bit of a surprise when others told me about it.
But if you think about this, if this is all barnett has in terms of a character assassination, then I'm not doing too bad really especially when I can line up a lot more than a couple of emails from 'anonymous' people, especially when one of those emailers he quotes, Simon Cole, comes on here to condemn barnett for the scumbag that he is.

As I've said elsewhere, we all make mistakes and I'm certainly not gonna hold it against Simon because we have other fish to fry here.
Knowing Simon, I think he will be bashing himself up over this, more-so than I ever could do to him.

As to how he was duped so easily?
I think when people do business, a fair amount of 'benefit of the doubt' will be in play especially when that business amounts to thousands of pounds as was the connection between Simon and barnett.
Others who are now in that position will have to make their own choice as to what to do and how much they need his money ...

Simon, of course, had listened to all the crap being flung barnett's way and chose to ignore it all preferring to work on the premise that because barnett hadn't yet fuhk'd him over, then the benefit of the doubt should be invoked, I can't blame Simon for that, he has people to support ..

I'm not going to put words into Simon's mouth but I think it's fair to say he feels a bit betrayed and a bit foolish because the only things that Paul Banks, Steve Baldwin and myself were doing was to try and warn him what was coming his way ..we all warned him, not just once but several times each.

Fortunately, Simon is well-liked and respected in this sport of ours and for the most part his decisions have been pretty sound but every now and then, we get fooled and for the people who read his latest accounts of barnett's betrayal in this thread will respect Simon's honestly and integrity.

For barnett to publish that email shows desperation indeed because he must have known that Simon would respond to it, and in Simon's response, there would necessarily be a damning indictment of barnett's lack of integrity and chicanery.
Did barnett's arrogance really make him believe that Simon wouldn't respond in this way????
It looks as though it did and so it seems these are uncharted waters indeed and shows us all new depths of delusion being indulged ... I wonder where his pathological shortcomings will take him ....I can only think that his position necessitates greater degrees of desperation as he battles against the crushing indictments people lay at his feet ...

As for Simon, he's fine by me, no ill-feelings whatsoever and that's how it should be when people genuinely feel regret concerning something they have done.

 

[Abbottsmead]

I have until now said nothing on this matter except in private conversations. It is true that I wrote those e-mails to Mr Barnett shown in his new website. I did indeed make derogatory comments about Peter Robinson and Paul Banks with regard to how I felt they were victimising him and his company. I felt they were a completely unnecessary series of attacks on him who I considered to be a breath if fresh air in the industry , indeed I also made similar comments about Steve Baldwin and anyone who in my opinion were being paranoid about TB,s influence in the industry, I just could not understand it, why was this anger all being levelled at someone who was putting a little razzmatazz as I called it into the sport and industry we all loved. I thought it was out of spite and fear of losing business market share to the "new school" and it made me frustrated to say the least. I defended TB at every opportunity causing me to be the object of some tongue in cheek ridicule on more than one occasion. However I was warned to be careful, ". He will burn you at some point Simon" was a line I heard on more than one occasion. Nevertheless I stuck to my guns, as long as he didn't cross me, I would reply , I didn't have the luxury of picking and choosing my customers. Anyway the subsequent course of events we all know about took place and I "got burnt" so to speak, as detailed in the published transcript of a telephone conversation between myself and Peter Robinson. I did feel foolish, I was warned repeatedly and chose not to listen. This only proves one thing, I am a terrible judge of character, from both directions, those who deserve respect and time I chose to ignore and ridicule, and those who do not I chose to blindly defend and support.
The costs attributed to my short sightedness I will have to bear as time goes on, I am embarrassed that the contents of my ill thought out e.mails are made public and I hope Peter, Paul and Steve will understand and forgive my shortsightedness. As for the other characters in this " Soap Opera" as it now called, their opinion of me and more importantly, my opinion of them is valueless.
Long live Paintball.
Hugs to everyone.
Simon Cole.

Simon & myself have been competitors for many years & I support him 100%. Simon, unfortunately for him, belived the hype created by this guy, many did including myself for a small time. Everybody in business makes unflatering statements from time to time about competitors, to have these re-quoted by a guy who you trusted, who ripped you off, just shows what scum we are dealing with. What sort of person has the time to spend creating a website, with no right of reply, to defend his undefendable antics. Simon is right, our biggest problems will be the distruction to our industry that he will cause on his way out. What a W**k**.

 

[Robbo]

For those who may be unaware of the identity of Abbotsmead - he is Steve Baldwin, one of our leading industry figures who's hugely respected across the world of paintball.
He owns one of the largest paintball companies in Europe, and these are GiMIlsim, GiSports, Manic, Dark Sports and he also owns the Millennium tournament series in Europe.
You don't get much bigger than Steve.

Steve hardly ever posts in forums but this occasion is unique because of the threat to our sport that barnett poses.
Steve's had enough of barnett, we all have but Steve decided he needed to post because if there were any doubting-Thomas's still out there regarding barnett's pernicious involvement in our sport, they need to read conformation.
Ridding ourselves of barnett is gonna be a process and not an overnight bowel-movement, as long as the progress is going in the right direction, I think that's all we can reasonably ask.

barnett's list of shame .... these are the companies below who barnett has shafted or threatened or both ... who else in our industry attracts this degree of intolerance and disdain?
Nobody else does ...... we all get on, apart from one person, no prizes for guessing.

National Paintball Fields

GiMIlsim

Manic

Dark Sports

GI Sportz

The Millennium Series

Tippmann

BZ Paintball

Maxxs

Warped

Lips

Simon Cole

P8ntballer.com

And this list doesn't even include the individuals who are not connected to companies who've been threatened etc by barnett ...

There will be more to come as time passes ..... of that I'm sure !!!!

 

[H]

*devil's advocate*
Wouldn't TB argue that as they are some of his biggest competitors they are most interested in slandering him for their own benefits?

 

[RobbieG1966]

Some of those in that list are competitors with each other - and they get on with each other ....

There are those who have been publicly labelled as thieves and liars without a shred of evidence, called grubby bedroom keyboard warriors/goober, just to name a couple of things.

There is no remorse from the camp in question - plenty of character assassination, removal of comments yes, once the message is out there of course - but NEVER a retraction of vicious comments and lies.

How do I know - personally on the receiving end of it whilst away on holiday. I am not a competitor, or a threat, but a paying customer who voted with feet and wallet. I will not purchase any product through that particular distribution network on principle - however good the product may be. For me there is a principle.

I do not post much about this, and see people coming in stating that facts have been tabled that answer all of the questions. Just look at the (very heavily edited and orchestrated) context of some of those pieces of 'evidence'. Just see through the smoke and mirrors of statements like 'it is in the hands of the legal team and the police'. Do you really think the legal representatives would condone publishing a website of out of context remarks and clippings?

Before coming to the defence of someone you think you know, gather some facts and not just rely of heresay. You don't trust everything you read in a paper, or on social media etc. I know what my personal experience is.

Am I hung up on all of this? No. Do I have an interest in it? No. Do I follow it? Yes. Why? I love this hobby and it is on a course of self destruct - which would be a real shame.

I play at the events I want to and have a thoroughly good time. I would suggest everyone plays the events they want to and enjoy it too. Just don't keep turning on each other.

//Rant over ...