EROS, WHO????
BY SAM ABBOTT
On 18 March Blow Torch and Crash held and emergency Town Hall Meeting in Eros to dis-spell some of the rumors of the pending closure of Eros and to fill in the blanks and clarify the existing story. I attending this meeting as well as several other staff members of this magazine. Editor Richard_DeGrey, writer Kate Purple and I gave our accounts of what they reviewed in that meeting. Between our accounts we felt we covered that event very accurately. I'm not going to reiterate the information they reviewed nor will I pose judgment to the accounts they have given.
On 12 March in the Utherverse Forums Brian Shuster, CEO Utherverse Digital Inc. had posted a letter that was NOT seen by any of the masses or brought to the attention of the 600 people in attendance at the Town Hall Meeting on the 18th. After review Brian's letter there are some serious questions that are now arising and that will surely be asked of Blow Torch and Crash.
This is an exact copy of the letter that Brian posted in the Utherverse Forums on 12 March:
“Rank: Administration
Joined: 2/12/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,506
Location: Vancouver
Medals:
This posted message is being made in response to information which appears to have been given out through official channels by representatives of the Eros Island franchise, at least in the form of a Town Hall and posted videos.
Because of ongoing legal matters, my statement will be very brief, although I anticipate releasing many more details once the legal dust has settled.
Due to the outrageous misinformation that's been told and broadcast, however, I feel like I must set the record straight.
Eros Island was sent an official notice that they were in breach of the Affiliate License Agreement. That notice was sent on February 14, 2017, and in addition to laying out a set of very important terms that were being violated, we gave them 30 days to rectify the breaches and bring themselves into compliance.
I will not discuss all of the ways that Eros was violating the Agreement, but I will highlight one very important one:
The last payment that we received from the Eros franchise covered the money they owed us up to about two years back. That payment was received on June 29, 2015 and it covered the amount that we were owed by them as of the end of April, 2015.
Despite our repeated requests and then demands for reports and payment over the past two years, we have received nothing whatsoever.
I have been unbelievably patient - some may say I've even been a sucker to allow this to drag out for two years while we covered all of the costs associated with maintaining this franchise - but I drew the line at two years.
On top of all of the other problems that management and owners of Eros Island have caused, as outlined in the demand letter we sent them in February, I simply had to draw the line somewhere. And not being paid, month after month, for almost two years was more than I could accept.
Now, please understand that I care very deeply about the users and members of Eros Island, and the wonderful and joyful community that has been built up around the platform that I love. I have tried to keep things civil and operational because I really did not want to disrupt you or your lives if it was possible to avoid. I'm very sorry to all who have been affected through no fault of your own.
Rest assured that I have tasked my top team here at UV headquarters to do everything in our power to get you back to a familiar home with a minimum of changes.
I know it is a less than perfect outcome to have change like this. We have some good ideas and we are already hard at work on implementing solutions. I know the concerns that you all face, for loss of your home, loss of your layouts and clothes, and the concern over separation from your friends and family. I am dedicated to doing all I can to smooth things out and minimize any of these and other losses. I will have more to announce over the next days and weeks.
--Brian Shuster
CEO
Utherverse Digital, Inc.”
Now Blow Torch and Crash did address financials during the Town Hall meeting stating that their operations were running in the read several years ago but there should be no worries they are functioning well within the black currently, and did state there was a money man involve with the finances. Through investigative resources we have uncovered more information related to these situations. We are looking forward to providing more information from both sides of the fence and will keep everyone as informed as much possible. As always we will do our best to keep an accurate account of each side’s story and help sort out the details as they become available to us. We thank you for your patience and ask you to please remain calm and email both sides requesting more detail information to the status of Eros Island.