THE TRUTH BEHIND MAME.DK'S CLOSING The Truth Behind Mame.dk's Closing


FastCounter by bCentral

Mame.dk closed because efront didn't pay them. The below alleged logs reveal that eFront's CEOs (working closely with Tim Eckel) never wanted to pay them a dime from the start. They only wanted $$$ for themselves.

These are alleged ICQ logs of conversations between Tim Eckel and eFront's CEOs. Tim Eckel is iBLAMEj00 in the logs.

*I* believe them to be 100% true, although they *could have* been made up by anyone. I think eFront and Tim Eckel's agenda is very clear after reading these logs. Upset that mame.dk is down? iBLAMEefront.

According to the ICQ license agreement, privacy is not guarenteed and it essentially a public forum. The logs allegedly originated from a former disgruntled eFront employee.

These logs were posted by Gridle from this Retrogames message board post. You can download them below and read them in their entirety. Highlights have been posted here (emphasis added).

Full Tim Eckel log
Full Bryant log
ICQ License Agreement
Message board - Post your thoughts!


From eckel1.html
[iBLAMEj00��18/12/20�7:36�am]��Kick�mame.dk�out�next.��Those�assholes�resist


����������������������������������everything�and�still�haven't�added�the�web


����������������������������������guide.



[sam��������18/12/20�7:38�am]��just�asked�nate�what�he�thinks�of�them



[sam��������18/12/20�7:41�am]��and�their�clickthru�rates�suck�too



[iBLAMEj00��18/12/20�7:42�am]��Well,�their�rates�suck�and�they�won't�do

����������������������������������anything.



[iBLAMEj00��18/12/20�7:43�am]��They�have�been�"testing"�the�web�guide�for

����������������������������������like�a�month�now.



[sam��������18/12/20�7:43�am]��well�we're�switching�the�whole�fuck�over

����������������������������������tomorrow�using�webguide�impressins..�so�they

����������������������������������better�get�their�ass�in�line..�cuz�it'll�be�$0


����������������������������������:)



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�11:56�am]�mame.dk,�toku,�etc.



[sam��������13/01/20�11:56�am]�impossible�:)



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�11:57�am]�I�think�they�own�the�domains.



[sam��������13/01/20�11:57�am]�not�legally



[sam��������13/01/20�11:57�am]�nope



[sam��������13/01/20�11:57�am]we�wont�make�a�payment�until�its�transferred

����������������������������������in�our�name
..�good�idea



[sam��������13/01/20�11:57�am]�efront�owns�all�domain�names�:)



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�11:57�am]�Not�leagally,�but�would�be�a�hard�sell�if

����������������������������������there�wasn't�a�payment�=)



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�11:57�am]�Yea,�we�should�do�that.



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�11:58�am]�I've�been�telling�you,�Nate,�Matt�that�for

����������������������������������months�=)



[sam��������13/01/20�11:58�am]�yeah�i�know..�im�not�a�techie�..�i�tell�them

����������������������������������too..�



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�11:59�am]�I�know�leagally,�but�I�bet�it�would�be�really

����������������������������������difficult�to�get�mame.dk�back�if�they�pulled

����������������������������������the�domain�(just�for�one�example�that�I'm

����������������������������������aware�of).



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�11:59�am]�Other�sites�are�on�their�own�servers�and�I'm

����������������������������������sure�that�others�still�are�in�control�of�their

����������������������������������domain.



[sam��������13/01/20�11:59�am]well�i�dont�care..�its�just�a�dumb�rom�site..

����������������������������������we�already�have�aah�for�that�..�:)




[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�12:00�pm]�Heh



[sam��������13/01/20�12:00�pm]�we�can�acquire�so�easily�right�now�for�50�cent

����������������������������������cpm



[sam��������13/01/20�12:00�pm]�its�not�even�funny



[iBLAMEj00��13/01/20�12:00�pm]Yea,�you're�right,�screw�'em.



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�12:47�pm]�I've�already�said�that�you�could�kill�all

����������������������������������emulation�sites.��Like�if�you�killed�mame.dk�I

����������������������������������would�get�100%�of�their�traffic.




[sam��������24/02/20�12:47�pm]�well�when�i�said�kill,�i�mean�get�rid�of�it

����������������������������������from�our�network



[sam��������24/02/20�12:47�pm]�like�kick'em�out



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�12:47�pm]�And�we�could�do�that�will�all�MP3�sites,�but�I

����������������������������������think�you�already�combined�them.



[sam��������24/02/20�12:47�pm]�i�dont�really�want�to�shut�it�down�cuz



[sam��������24/02/20�12:48�pm]we�dont�want�to�make�too�many�enemies



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�12:48�pm]�Heh



[sam��������24/02/20�12:48�pm]�and�thats�part�of�the�49.0009%�evil�stuff



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�12:48�pm]�And�I�think�in�the�case�of�mame.dk,�they�still

������������������������control�the�domain,�and�they�host�it�for�free,

�������������������������������so�they�could�easily�start�over�=)



[sam��������24/02/20�12:48�pm]but�you�can�still�get�mame.dk�traffic�if�we

����������������������������������got�rid�of�it?




[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�12:49�pm]Oh�yea,�the�only�reason�they�have�more�traffic

����������������������������������is�because�they�have�a�tech�support�staff.




[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�1:00�pm]��Get�me�5Mbps�on�a�server�in�tiwain�and�we

����������������������������������could�get�rid�of�mame.dk




[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�1:01�pm]��Or�another�country�with�no�copyright�laws.



[sam��������24/02/20�1:01�pm]��really..�how�would�u�get�all�their�users



[sam��������24/02/20�1:01�pm]��celebs.efront..�probably�since�the�cais�move



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�1:02�pm]��Well,�everyone�that�knows�mame.dk�knows�my

����������������������������������site.



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�1:02�pm]��The�reason�they�go�to�mame.dk�is�because�they

����������������������������������have�downloads�working,�while�mine�have�been

����������������������������������broken�for�almost�a�month
�(and�really�crippled

����������������������������������while�at�cais).



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�1:03�pm]��I�have�about�5�times�the�content�they�have,

����������������������������������all�I�need�is�some�server�support.



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�1:03�pm]��If�you�notice,�mame.dk's�traffic�has�gone�up

����������������������������������as�I�have�had�problem�after�problem.



[iBLAMEj00��24/02/20�1:04�pm]��With�a�server�in�Tiwain,�bandwidth,�and�a

����������������������������������little�tech�support,�they�would�flock.



From bryant.html

sam�����02/02/2001�12:50�pm:�
update?�


sam�����02/02/2001�12:50�pm:�
any�offers�for�me�to�look�at?�


bryant�����02/02/2001�1:11�pm:�
mame.dk�is�willing�to�come�down�from�what�we
surrently�owe�them�per�month�which�is�31.5k
down�to�23.5k�and�both�lower�and�cap�any
further�scales.�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:11�pm:�
23k??????



sam�����02/02/2001�1:11�pm:�
we've�never�paid�them�that�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:11�pm:�
they�are�on�crack�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:11�pm:�
they�are�earning�ZERO�right�now�


bryant�����02/02/2001�1:11�pm:�
According�to�their�contract�we�currently�owe
them�31.5k�a�month.�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:11�pm:�
no�webguide..�and�we�told�everyone�we're
counting�webguide�impressions�as�of�december
15�



sam�����02/02/2001�1:22�pm:�
of�course�those�are�non-payable�pageviews
since�he�doesnt�have�webguide,�but�that�was
for�january..�moving�forward,�anyway�we�can
cap�mame.dk
�to�10k?�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:22�pm:�
of�course,�his�ctr%�suck�


bryant�����02/02/2001�1:23�pm:�
They�claim�that�doesn't�cover�the�hosting.�
Then�again,�they�say�they're�under�an�NDA�on
what�they�pay�for�hosting�and�can't�tell�us.�


bryant�����02/02/2001�1:23�pm:�
We�can�get�them�to�10k�or�even�less�if�we�host
them.



bryant�����02/02/2001�1:23�pm:�
But�that's�more�than�we�want.�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:23�pm:�
they�OWN�their�own�isp�haha�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:23�pm:�
so�its�free�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:24�pm:�
we�can�host�them..�but�they�cant�putillegal
roms�as�downloads�on�our�servers:)�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:24�pm:�
its�better�for�us�to�put�the�html�on�our
servers..�so�we�have�control�



sam�����02/02/2001�1:24�pm:�
so�make�a�deal..�10k�tops..�we�host�it..�of
course,�we're�not�goign�to�allow�rom�downloads
on�our�servers..�so�they�have�to�link�off�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:24�pm:�
and�we�got�our�10k�


sam�����02/02/2001�1:24�pm:�
hows�that�sound..�is�that�too�sneaky�:)�


bryant�����02/02/2001�1:25�pm:�
Might�work,�certainly�no�harm�in�trying.�



bryant�����14/02/2001�9:14�am:�
mame.dk�is�getting�restless�btw.�We�prepared
to�let�them�go?�Or�how�do�you�want�to�handle
that?�We're�looking�for�around�$4k�a�month,
they're�looking�for�around�$24k/mo.�They're
hosting�their�own�site.�They�claim�they�can't
live�with�$4k.�etc.�etc.�


bryant�����14/02/2001�9:15�am:�
I've�let�them�stew�a�bit�and�now�they�seem�a
little�more�anxious.�How�do�you�want�to�play
it?�


bryant�����14/02/2001�9:16�am:�
I�haven't�turned�aggressive�on�them�yet�but
that�was�my�next�play.
�Just�wanted�to�touch
base�to�see�where�they�stand�on�your
importance�perception.�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:16�am:�
how�many�daily�uniques�do�they�have�


bryant�����14/02/2001�9:16�am:�
Having�Jo�pull�that,�one�sec.�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:16�am:�
not�important�really..but�it�is�a�big�site..
24k�is�way�too�much�for�that�though�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:16�am:�
we've�never�paid�them�24k�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:17�am:�
all�our�past�payments�to�them�have�been�less
than�10k�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:17�am:�
traffic�increase�doesnt�mean�we�can�monetirze
it..�


bryant�����14/02/2001�9:18�am:�
60983�unique�viewers�yesterday.�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:18�am:�
60*30=�say�2�mil�..�times�even�2.5�=�5k....
hmmm�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:18�am:�
tell�them�to�test�the�market�out�?�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:18�am:�
brian�is�using�that�ploy�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:19�am:�
tell�them�the�market�is�zero�out�there..�tell
them�to�test�it�out�for�a�few�days�



bryant�����14/02/2001�9:19�am:�
It's�hard�to�think�about�coming�up�on�an
emulation�site.�If�they�don't�want�to�play�in
the�real�world�we�might�think�about�some�of
the�less�friendly�options.�



bryant�����14/02/2001�9:19�am:�
Yeah,�I've�used�that�here�and�there�too.�Let
me�see�what�they�have�to�say�tomorrow�and
we'll�play�it�from�there.�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:19�am:�
yeah..�the�uniques�are�nice..but�we�cant
really�pay�more�than�5k..�we're�prepared�to
let�them�walk,�yes.�



bryant�����14/02/2001�9:20�am:�
How�much�are�you�comfortable�paying�if�they
control�their�banner�inventory?�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:21�am:�
boy�thats�tough..�since�we're�not�hosting
either..�i�really�dont�know�where�their
tfaffic�is�coming�fro�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:21�am:�
we�cant�monetize�the�non-usa�traffic�in�direct
marketing�yet�


bryant�����14/02/2001�9:21�am:�
Yeah,�it's�an�odd�one.�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:21�am:�
us�companies�dont�want�foreign�addresses�or
names�for�d.m.�


bryant�����14/02/2001�9:21�am:�
OK,�that�actually�makes�it�easier.�Lemme�see
how�they�respond�tomorrow.�


sam�����14/02/2001�9:21�am:�
im�not�sure�if�thats�an�option�here�

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1