After learning about a Change.org petition where a request was made for Gearslutz.com to change the name to something less offensive, I decided it was time to step forward to shed light on the site's true origins. Too often the contributions of women are undervalued. As such I think it's important that my story is told.
Here is an example battle between the Beatles and the Stones.
As a condition of use, you promise not to use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms, or any other purpose not reasonably intended by Gearwarz. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree not to use the Services:
To abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate any person;
To post or transmit, or cause to be posted or transmitted, any Visual Content or Communications that are libellous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, offensive, profane, or that infringes any copyright or other right of any person;
In 2010 I started to stumble when it came to the "disclosure" phase of the trial. This is where each side is legally required to disclose any documents or evidence which are relevant to your case. You must disclose both those documents which help and hurt your case. It is illegal to willingly withhold a document that is detrimental to your case.
At the last minute and just days before the trial, my new lawyer Kovsky managed to wrestle a smoking gun document from Standen's accountant. In it, Standen admitted everything I'd said for the past three years.
The original verbal agreement was for a 50/50 partnership. But the attempt to cheat me into a contractor's position instead of a partner left a bad taste in my mouth. I was pessimistic about a good future working relationship and had a hunch that his wife was behind the scenes and still unhappy with me around.
On February 23, 2007, I awoke at 11am having slept 2 hours. I'd worked all night to deploy two extra new servers. What transpired next would transform my life into a stress-inducing, gut-wrenching nightmare that would last many years and nearly destroy my spirit.
None of the passwords to the servers worked. My first thought was that we had been hacked. I phoned Jules. There was no answer. I tried to log into the main WebHost account. The passwords didn't work. What was going on?
I tried Jules's number again. No answer.
GS grew and grew. Never having trained as a web developer, I didn't know if I could continue to run it in my spare time.
I got my first indication of trouble when Jule's then-girlfriend Yasmin popped around my Soho flat on the day we paid for the rental of our first server. Jules and I had just finished a meeting. We had taken the first step toward the commercialization of Gearslutz. The pair told me of their engagement. Yasmin said "Don't take this personally Meg but we can't invite you to the wedding. It's only going to be for our family." This was a slight blow that was to get worse. Before they left Yasmin turned around and gushed "I'm so happy about the new business you two!
In September 2003, Standen proposed we sell advertising and turn our hobby into a business. He offered me a 50/50 share. I wasn't thrilled with the idea as I didn't want to work on it full time. Unlike Standen who enjoyed the prestige of a popular site to boost his profile, for me, Gearslutz was hard work. Being responsible for the site 24/7/365 meant I would be unable to go on tours. As I was primarily a touring musician, my career would have to be put on hold.