| Gerald Shaffer owns
and operates the Leatherneck.com domain and web site.
He served two years in the Corps,
but never completed his first term of service. |
 |
Shaffer touts his Leatherneck.com as the
"top online Marine Corps community."
The design and layout of the web site is superior. It is
user-friendly, easy to navigate, and its graphics unmatched. It has a message board, gaming
and a search engine to connect with other former Marines. That is
if they are still allowed access.
The message board is where one runs afoul in Shaffer's community.
Former and current Marines are told they
can "speak and talk like Marines" on this message board, but only
within the confines of a very narrow politically-correct environment. This
environment seems to narrow and widen depending on who the particular
moderator is.
Indeed, nearly all of the Marines and
family members I have met on Leatherneck have now been banned from the web site.
I guess the meaning of "top community" can mean different things to
different people.
Leatherneck.com asks for a lot of
information from those who register with them. There is even a button under
your personal biography, where others can click to pressure you into giving
even more personal information. It is called, "Ask
Me to Update my Profile."
In a world where personal information can
mean the difference in whether one becomes the victim of identity theft or
not, this is troublesome. It is even more troublesome when one asks that his
or her personal information be removed from this web site - and Shaffer refuses.
I guess this is where "community" comes in again.
Simply put, once personal information is given
to Leatherneck.com - it is there forever. I have repeatedly asked Gerald
Shaffer to remove my personal information - including my photograph,
only to be ignored - save one vulgar e-mail, the contents of which described
a homosexual act where evidently he got excited.
The obvious question to ask is why would
this
ex-Marine do this to his brother and sister Marines? Money. In the world of
the Internet, a nobody can make himself a somebody. In the world of the
Internet, the number of "members" can be translated into dollars. That is
why no one leaves Leatherneck.com once registered - at least to my
knowledge.
I continually run into Marines who were booted
from Leatherneck - yet their personal information remains - information
which could lead to identity theft.
One former - yet current member
(remember - no one leaves Leatherneck.com) states:
"Jerry Shaffer, who runs the site, is one of
the most dishonorable, disrespectful person(s) I have ever had the
misfortune of knowing."
At a rival Marine web site,
"TogetherWeServed.com" Shaffer is alleged to have signed up as a
Marine Corps officer, with the intent of causing trouble with that
community. He is also alleged to have given himself the rank of Major, and
used his wife's maiden name and credit card. I guess this is what it
takes to be the "top online Marine Corps community."
Numerous attempts have been made to
give Leatherneck's Gerald Shaffer a chance for rebuttal. We have
received none thus far, but remain open to his side of the story.
Shadowman777
USMC '79-'82
Related articles:
Rensi Racing & Leatherneck.com
Family to the Corps?
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