Companies Circling The Drain: What about Chapter Elevenses?

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Biplane: Jul 18, 2005

BUT MY CONVENIENCE

# ? Apr 5, 2019 00:16

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 02:01

Shrapnig: Jan 21, 2005

Ariong posted:

I don�t understand what they are going for with the new XFL. Like, did the NFL not crack down hard enough on players� speech? Unless the new XFL puts players in jail when they kneel, I�m not sure what else they could do. Or maybe it�s that the NFL is too concerned with the health and safety of its players.

In any case, I�m looking forward to it folding within a year or two.

The XFL is going to be what every other �minor league� football league has been for decades. A place for players who would be on the fringes of the NFL to get exposure to the NFL and want nothing more than to be an NFL player. There�s no morality involved with these guys they just want to play football for a living and don�t care about some clause where they can�t kneel. Their goal is to play on Sundays. A guy in that situation who is one good week away from a $480k minimum salary instead of trying to sell seven cars this month to meet his quota to make two grand is a hell of a motivator.

I�m sure if you polled the NFLPA and asked how many players would be willing to give up their incredibly lucrative salaries to further social justice issues 95%+ would say no. That�s not to say that there aren�t a ton of players doing things with the money they make from the NFL to further those kind of issues but you would be hard pressed to find many 25-30 year old dudes to walk away from tens of millions of dollars to play a sport.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 01:09

CharlestheHammer: Jun 26, 2011; YOU SAY MY POSTS ARE THE RAVINGS OF THE DUMBEST PERSON ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH BUT YOU YOURSELF ARE READING THEM. CURIOUS!

That is not what the XFL is. The NFL already has a minor league its college football.

Besides minor leagues don�t really work for football as the toll on the body makes careers to short for that to work.

If the XFL happens at all it will most likely be players who already washed out of the league and don�t want to play in Europe or Canada.

If it does actually play a down it will fold after one season because those players washed out for a reason.

I don�t know where to start with the morality poo poo as it does not seem to have anything to do with anything

CharlestheHammer has a new favorite as of 02:30 on Apr 5, 2019

# ? Apr 5, 2019 02:27

uli2000: Feb 23, 2015

Bogatyr posted:

Late to Soda pop chat but there's a place in Los Angeles that specializes soft drinks. An amazing brick and mortar store if you are local. https://sodapopstop.com/

That looks like a Rocketfizz with a liquor license. And $3.25 a bottle? They sell those 'old timey' sodas for $1 a piece at my local grocery store. Hell, even Rocketfizz only charges $2 a bottle for their bubbly sugar water.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 02:44

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

CharlestheHammer posted:

If the XFL happens at all it will most likely be players who already washed out of the league and don�t want to play in Europe or Canada.

It's Johnny Manziel's time to shine

# ? Apr 5, 2019 02:49

Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

FlamingLiberal posted:

It's Johnny Manziel's time to shine

He's not even a starter in whatever half baked league he's playing in now. I think Michael Vick came back as a coach in one of those semi-pro leagues and they fired him after one game. When you wash out of the NFL there aren't a lot of places to go.

That said, wouldn't inferior players playing against other inferior players still be entertaining since they're all on the same level? People like college ball and even the best Alabama team would probably lose to the Cleveland Browns.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 03:22

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Krispy Wafer posted:

He's not even a starter in whatever half baked league he's playing in now. I think Michael Vick came back as a coach in one of those semi-pro leagues and they fired him after one game. When you wash out of the NFL there aren't a lot of places to go.

That said, wouldn't inferior players playing against other inferior players still be entertaining since they're all on the same level? People like college ball and even the best Alabama team would probably lose to the Cleveland Browns.

Manziel was playing in the CFL but managed to get kicked out of the league, then played for like a week in the AAF before it folded. What a career.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 03:27

Alaois: Feb 7, 2012

Krispy Wafer posted:

I think Michael Vick came back as a coach in one of those semi-pro leagues and they fired him after one game.

you're wrong

they fired him before the first game

# ? Apr 5, 2019 03:36

Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

Alaois posted:

you're wrong

they fired him before the first game

I guess you could say he was....hounded out of the team.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 03:38

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

Krispy Wafer posted:

I guess you could say he was....hounded out of the team.

drat, dog, that�s vicious.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 03:39

Eldritch BiLast: Jul 7, 2009; Pummel Sylvanas
Melee Range
Instant

CharlestheHammer posted:

That is not what the XFL is. The NFL already has a minor league its college football.

if college football is a minor league then the players should get paid and be able to take endorsement deals

# ? Apr 5, 2019 04:30

Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

Xenoletum posted:

if college football is a minor league then the players should get paid and be able to take endorsement deals

But that would tarnish and belittle the sport and those esteemed academic organizations that are dedicated to education and getting boosters to hire hookers or buy cars for prospective recruits.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 04:38

Prokhor Zakharov: Dec 31, 2008; This is me as I make another great post

Good luck with your depression!

Krispy Wafer posted:

He's not even a starter in whatever half baked league he's playing in now. I think Michael Vick came back as a coach in one of those semi-pro leagues and they fired him after one game. When you wash out of the NFL there aren't a lot of places to go.

That said, wouldn't inferior players playing against other inferior players still be entertaining since they're all on the same level? People like college ball and even the best Alabama team would probably lose to the Cleveland Browns.

It's less entertaining and more extremely boring. This is what killed the XFL the first time around.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 05:21

RocknRollaAyatollah: Nov 26, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

Prokhor Zakharov posted:

It's less entertaining and more extremely boring. This is what killed the XFL the first time around.

Also, as stated previously, originally the XFL was touted as the hardcore, attitude era WWE version of football. Now they're billing it as the respectful gentleman league that won't allow players to comment on political issues or players with criminal records, they walked back on this one. It's gone from the extreme, "tough guy" league to what your racist relative says the NFL has to do to bring them back. There's going to be some brand confusion.

All the startups are in markets with established NFL teams so it's going to fail or never move beyond the level of arena football and will be played in NFL branded stadiums during off days.

RocknRollaAyatollah has a new favorite as of 20:50 on Apr 5, 2019

# ? Apr 5, 2019 20:37

Volmarias: Dec 31, 2002; EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...

Which team has signed He Hate Me again?

# ? Apr 5, 2019 22:18

vyst: Aug 25, 2009

Nicknames in jerseys was the one thing the NFL should have stolen. So many hashtags

# ? Apr 5, 2019 22:28

ToxicSlurpee: Nov 5, 2003; -=SEND HELP=-; Pillbug

Another thing that they tried to make a selling point was apparently they had special rigs with special cameras that could get a much closer view of the action. I watched one XFL game briefly and was just like "OK that accomplished basically nothing." You could hear the players talking better and I think it was used as marketing in the whole "now you can hear them trash talk!" angle but instead it was mostly just play calling and what have you. I think they wanted to put the storylines, rivalries, and drama that wrestling has in it even though that only works when you write it all ahead of time in a fake sport.

# ? Apr 5, 2019 23:05

CharlestheHammer: Jun 26, 2011; YOU SAY MY POSTS ARE THE RAVINGS OF THE DUMBEST PERSON ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH BUT YOU YOURSELF ARE READING THEM. CURIOUS!

Xenoletum posted:

if college football is a minor league then the players should get paid and be able to take endorsement deals

They should but then they get less cash and gently caress that

# ? Apr 6, 2019 00:18

Prokhor Zakharov: Dec 31, 2008; This is me as I make another great post

Good luck with your depression!

vyst posted:

Nicknames in jerseys was the one thing the NFL should have stolen. So many hashtags

Right up until the first player puts #BlackLivesMatter on their back and is gunned down on field by triggered chuds.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 00:25

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Volmarias posted:

Which team has signed He Hate Me again?

Rod Smart played for the Panthers.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 01:22

PancakeTransmission: May 27, 2007; You gotta improvise, Lisa: cloves, Tom Collins mix, frozen pie crust...; Plaster Town Cop

Nut to Butt posted:

You do you, but I think it's silly to deprive yourself of something you enjoy because of a hyperbolic interpretation of the views of the purveyors of said thing. Ben and Jerry's makes good ice cream, Chick-fil-a makes good chicken, I don't think either one discriminates in any meaningful fashion.

If your choice is "eat food that funds anti-LGBT causes" or "starve to death" then ok, but there's plenty of food in the US. Eat something else.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 01:43

there wolf: Jan 11, 2015; by Fluffdaddy

PancakeTransmission posted:

If your choice is "eat food that funds anti-LGBT causes" or "starve to death" then ok, but there's plenty of food in the US. Eat something else.

There's also just eating what you want, but not being a "nothing matters" dipshit over people taking an ethical stance by not buying Chickfila. If you can't suggest a more useful form of protest or engagement, then just shut the gently caress up about a given form of activism.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 02:06

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Exploration is ill-advised.

Kinda wild that they're making an entire sports league advertised specifically in that they won't let anyone protest racism. Imagine the uproar if someone put out a new game console specifically advertising how it won't have any gays or uppity women on it. But it's okay when people want to see more mans kick the ball.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 08:17

Strategic Tea: Sep 1, 2012

Ariong posted:

The argument that if you’re not going to boycott every company that does bad poo poo then you might as well not boycott any of them is absolute doo doo water. As is any other argument that boils down to “if you can’t find a perfect solution to a problem then you shouldn’t bother trying to fix it even a little bit.”

It's the mark of the really lovely kind of socialist that is everywhere online. Real, teenager-grade 'abloo bloo the world isn't perfect so burn it all down' stuff.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 09:41

Professor Shark: May 22, 2012

ToxicSlurpee posted:

Another thing that they tried to make a selling point was apparently they had special rigs with special cameras that could get a much closer view of the action. I watched one XFL game briefly and was just like "OK that accomplished basically nothing." You could hear the players talking better and I think it was used as marketing in the whole "now you can hear them trash talk!" angle but instead it was mostly just play calling and what have you. I think they wanted to put the storylines, rivalries, and drama that wrestling has in it even though that only works when you write it all ahead of time in a fake sport.

This would be awesome for hockey, though it would never be allowed because of the advertisers.

Hockey players are foul-mouthed.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 11:20

CharlestheHammer: Jun 26, 2011; YOU SAY MY POSTS ARE THE RAVINGS OF THE DUMBEST PERSON ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH BUT YOU YOURSELF ARE READING THEM. CURIOUS!

Strategic Tea posted:

It's the mark of the really lovely kind of socialist that is everywhere online. Real, teenager-grade 'abloo bloo the world isn't perfect so burn it all down' stuff.

The people who advocate that argument aren�t socialist, they are centralists who want the status quo to remain the same and are arguing in bad faith.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 18:40

UCS Hellmaker: Mar 29, 2008; Toilet Rascal

The lawsuits write themselves for this startup

legaladvice" posted:

San Francisco Based Startup Robs Every Customer they have for Thousands of Dollars Overnight, Fires Entire Staff

Hello.

It looks like the post is locked.

Last week I witnessed a San Francisco based startup company rob each of their customers for thousands of dollars overnight and don't exactly know what I can do about it. It seems like something that would need a class action lawsuit a la Erin Brockovich.

I will be referring to the 3rd party company as the ‘startup', the company that I work for as the 'leasing office', and the people who moved into my building through the startup service as the ‘residents.

TL;DR at the bottom…

CONTEXT: I work for a brand new 'luxury' apartment community. We have been working with a startup that offers roommate matching and rent protection services for individuals who are looking to rent by the room in otherwise unaffordable apartment communities. Their niche is they provide a divider which transforms the living room into a 3rd makeshift bedroom, creating really affordable housing options for people. Each resident pays a different amount based off of their bedroom type and pays directly to the startup. The amount the resident pays the startup reflects their portion of a rent plus a monthly premium referred to as a 'service fee' (usually between 5-10% more than their portion of the rent). The resident also pays the startup a refundable 'move-in fee' equal to one month’s rent when they first move in. This is paid to cover any damages or to be used in the case a roommate fails to pay the startup for rent. The startup also offered roommate replacement and subletting services when one of the roommates failed to pay rent which was covered in the ‘service fee’. Their rent protection and roommate finding services are outlined in a service agreement between the resident and the startup. There is a separate standard lease between the residents and the leasing office which does not mention the startup at all.

This partnership seemingly worked really well for all parties involved. The leasing office gets rent paid on time every month from the startup. The startup collects a monthly profit and has a deposit on file to cover their losses. The residents do not have to worry about the accountability of their roommates. They currently have 45 people living in my building and around 3,000 people nationwide. From my understanding everything that I am going to outline happened to every single person who decided to partner with them.

THE SCAM:

On March 25th everything changed. With no prior notice the residents started their day with email that starts with the following:

"Based on feedback from partner buildings and residents alike, startup will no longer facilitate payments from existing residents. This change will take effect immediately. This means you and your housemates will begin paying rent directly to your landlord on your next rent due date of April 1, 2019."

Further down the email reads,

“You and your housemates have signed a lease with the building and remain fully liable for all necessary payments to the landlord based on your lease agreement”.

What does this mean? Rent protection is gone. Payments made on your behalf are gone. A lot of these residents who were paying rent to the startup mid-month were told they had to pay rent by the 1st. I had some residents who paid rent as late as March 22nd and were told the next day they would be paying rent on the 1st. An almost impossible task.

The email goes on to explain that as a result of these changes the resident would be receiving a refund in the mail. The ‘refund’ is broken down like this:

‘Initial Move-In Fee’ minus ‘Future Service Fees’ minus a ‘Partition Deposit’ = Refund

Basically, the startup decided to take the monthly premium that the resident was paying (which was never explicitly outlined in the service agreement), multiply it by the remaining months on their lease and charge it to the resident in one large lumpsum and call it ‘future service fees’ while simultaneously telling the resident that they will no longer be offering the services they are paying for.

Imagine Netflix emailing you explaining that not only will they no longer be offering streaming servicing while at the same time charging you a years’ worth subscription charges with no warning.

To make it worse they decided to also charge each resident a ‘partition deposit’ to the tune of $568 for the living room partition. With no warning or agreement or consent from the resident.

And the cherry on top is that they have pulled all of these bogus charges from the ‘refundable’ ‘move-in fee’ that the resident has already paid and was expecting to get back.

If your asking yourself, ‘doesn’t this violate their service agreement?’ the answer is YES. They have violated their service agreement at least 6 different times from what I can tell. They hastily made a new service agreement, which had no mention of the rent protection or payments made on behalf of residents anywhere, outlines this partition deposit, and was never signed by the existing residents.

THE BIG PICTURE: I have a very unique perspective here as I have information from both the residents and also from an inside source of the startup. The startup had a local rep who often worked in our building touring prospects and getting people signed up with the startup. He was let go this morning. And he spilled the beans to me as to why this is all happening.

Turns out, the main VC for the startup is pulling out. The startup has been losing money and not performing. The startup did not have the money to pay the VC. Their solution? Pull money from the bank account that held everyone’s ‘refundable’ move-in fees, charge all of their customers a years’ worth of service fees upfront along with a made up partition deposit all to pay off this VC. So that’s what they did. They pulled out of every market that isn’t San Francisco fired all of their staff. They are leaving the leasing offices to deal with the aftermath of the residents who are left without answers or money. They are also at risk of eviction if their roommates don’t pay rent on time which was the case for 50% of the people in April. The landlords are left to clean up the mess.

What can I do? What can they do? Please help.

TL:DR Last week a roommate finding and rent protection based startup company went under and proceeded to take money from their customers deposits to pay off their VC, violating their service agreement and firing their entire staff.

# ? Apr 6, 2019 22:24

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

UCS Hellmaker posted:

The lawsuits write themselves for this startup

I thought this was posted above, but I guess not. The whole �pay off VCs� thing sounds like bullshit, at the least. It�s not a thing that happens.

# ? Apr 7, 2019 13:22

Strategic Tea: Sep 1, 2012

Holy poo poo in the UK we have client money regulations for exactly this sort of thing. Deposits are held in designated bank accounts by a regulated third party and any disputes go to a tribunal.

I guess the moral is never trust weirdo tech start ups with anything, especially if it's important?

# ? Apr 7, 2019 13:38

Professor Shark: May 22, 2012

Disrupting the System by just stealing money

# ? Apr 7, 2019 13:44

ryonguy: Jun 27, 2013

I'm not robbing a bank I'm creating a new funding paradigm.

# ? Apr 7, 2019 14:50

Volmarias: Dec 31, 2002; EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...

We use machine learning to increase our cash flows

Oh, the machine says we should just take everything. Well, you're the expert, machine!

# ? Apr 7, 2019 15:12

ryonguy: Jun 27, 2013

We're a new company called CcLyftr that works by putting card-rippers in gas station pumps and redefining someone else's money as ours.

# ? Apr 7, 2019 16:16

Carrion Luggage: Nov 24, 2006

ryonguy posted:

We're a new company called CcLyftr that works by putting card-rippers in gas station pumps and redefining someone else's money as ours.

quickly develop adaptive markets to pivot your organically grown passion into a successful startup

# ? Apr 7, 2019 16:39

ryonguy: Jun 27, 2013

Somebody hurry up and make a random start-up website generator with buzzwords and stock photos.

# ? Apr 7, 2019 17:19

Volmarias: Dec 31, 2002; EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...

Like there haven't been for years

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/

# ? Apr 7, 2019 17:27

Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

My startup uses independent contractors in major cities who engage favorable demographics visiting from low-density regions in an entertaining exchange involving three cups and a small ball.

# ? Apr 7, 2019 18:58

Veni Vidi Ameche!: Nov 2, 2017; by Fluffdaddy

Krispy Wafer posted:

My startup uses independent contractors in major cities who engage favorable demographics visiting from low-density regions in an entertaining exchange involving three cups and a small ball.

I was involved in a similar enterprise, but it used playing cards.

# ? Apr 7, 2019 20:48