Mikelly Posted November 22, 2006 Share Posted November 22, 2006 There used to be, before a crane fell on him last week in a freak accident in Seattle Washington (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/292774_bellevue17ww.html), A guy named Matt Ammon. I had met him face to face at a motorcycle track day at Summit Point Raceway only once, but had numerous conversations with him on a few of the motorcycle websites out there... Some of those conversations weren't polite or fun. I didn't get to know Matt well because our personalities clashed big time in cyberspace. Myself and others I knew well didn't get along with Matt (including my business partner) and had serious issue with his "online" personality, which I'm told is nothing like who he was in person. Online Matt would be ruthless, operate behind the scenes and stir lots of trouble to get a desired effect. More than once, as an admin on another board Matt would sign in as another existing member and post a lot of negative things trying to start drama between members of that site. He was eventually removed as an admin of that site because of his actions... He claimed it was all in good fun and that those of us who were his targets were just not "getting" the joke. It caused some of us to alienate him, shut him out and not invite him to events or gatherings. All this due to his online personality. In 2003 Matt moved to the mid-west, continued focusing on his driving and motorcycling, and continued focusing on his career as a lawyer full time. I'm told Matt was a young, ambitious guy with lots of promise, lots of determination and drive, and had apparently become a damned fine driver on track. At some point Matt had somewhere along the way become a driving instructor thru BMWCCA. On several boards he is remembered to have been a great personality and wonderful instructor who helped many students with their driving at events around the midwest and in his short time living in Washington State as well. Matt was an avid BMW/Audi club instructor and was known by many in those clubs... So what's my point in all this? How we represent ourselves online directly relates to how we will be perceived in person. Matt Ammon is lauded to have been a great person, with a wonderful personality. I've read countless posts elsewhere from people who knew him on a very personal level and who got past the online personality. Some of us weren't that fortunate. Maybe it was growing pains, as he was about 10 years younger than I. Maybe it was other factors in life... I'll never know now. It may or may not be important to you how you are viewed on the web. Some folks simply don't take online posting seriously. However, I use this example of a person who was apparently one heck of a person, as to why it may well be important for all of us to not judge each other based on text alone, and for all of us to maybe try to give more realistic representation of who we are online and in person, as often the two worlds do meet. My thoughts this morning drifted back to some heated exchanges I had with Matt, and thought that maybe I took him to seriously, and maybe I should have tried to look past the online exchange. Maybe... We won't get a chance to know who each other really was, not now. And that certainly matters, to me anyway. Food for thought as we move furiously into the Holiday Season. As we begin to get cooped up for that long winter grind, lets try to remember that we're all human, we're all likely to meet each other some day, and that we all have the common interest of the Datsun Zcar that brought us here... And maybe, just for a second, remember a guy who was probably a heck of a car enthusiast we'll never truly get to know... RIP Matthew Ammon... Godspeed... Mike Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 That was a mighty big post... and well put in relatively few words too. I agree completely... I have had more than enough drama in several gaming communities to last me the rest of my life. I also found that many people who simply itched to fight all the time online were sane in the real world. Its a shame to hear of someone dying like that.. but thanks for the perspective. tannji Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 somewhere i heard about that crane falling over.but when your time is up-its up.i should be dead by now but somebody wants me to continue working on this earth to pay for all the fun i have had.-as far as what i post on the internet-i wont post anything i wouldnt say to somebody in person.on the internet you are what you write-or type.if you cant post something that comes across in a positive light dont post it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 23, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 23, 2006 Mike, Thanks for the reality check!... I, for one, need it from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QWKDTSN Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Wow, Mike, I am a member on AudiWorld as well as here and this shocking event has been sweeping the board for days. From when I first saw the news blurb on TV and didn't think anything of it, then the next day found out that that crane had killed someone I knew from the internet, this whole thing has just been one strange coincidence after another. The fact that you knew him too and this is turning up on this board is just one more twist. Thank you for this post. RIP Matt Ammon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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