"No apologies" over teen who hanged herself over failed romance, kin say

The parents of a 13 year old Missouri girl who hanged herself after a failed MySpace romance, later uncovered as a hoax say they have yet to receive an apology from the family they blame for their daughter's death.

"They have absolutely offered no apologies," Ron Meier told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer on Monday. "They sent us a letter in the mail, basically saying that they might feel a little bit of responsibility, but they don't feel no guilt or remorse or anything for what they did."

Rather, said Tina Meier, the people are upset with her for going public with their story. Last week, while shopping, she ran into the woman who invented the hoax, Tina Meier said.

"She asked me to stop doing all of this," she told Lauer.

"I told her that we would not stop, that we were going to continue for justice for Megan because we knew what they did."

The Meiers daughter. Megan. hanged herself Oct. 16, 2006.

The Meiers have not named the people because they do not want to identify their teenage daughter, who had once been a friend of Megan's.

After the two girls had a falling out, the mother invented a 16-year-old boy, "Josh Evans," created a MySpace account for him, and made Megan believe he was new in town and thought she was cool.

"Oh, Mom, you don’t understand"
Megan, a girl who had battled attention deficit disorder, depression and a weight problem for much of her young life, believed him, despite her mother's warnings to be cautious.

"That was always the talk," Tina Meier told Lauer, repeating the conversations she had with her daughter: "Megan, c'mon, we don't even know this person. Let's not get too excited." She'd say, "Oh, Mom, you don't understand." So I did talk to her daily about that. But children at this age, they don't think that."

And then the boy turned on Megan, leading a campaign of vilification and online name-calling that ended when Megan took her own life.

For a year, the Meiers kept quiet at the request of both the FBI and local law enforcement officials while they investigated the incident.

Ultimately, investigators told the Meiers that while the hoax was cruel, it was not criminal.

"Continue to monitor your children"
The case remains open, though, and the Meiers continue to hope that criminal charges can be filed under a federal law passed in January 2006 that prohibits online harassment.

"We are still continuing on with the fight on the criminal and the civil side," said Ron Meier.

The family’s story is, Tina Meier told Lauer, a cautionary tale about the trouble that lies in wait for kids on the Internet, a tale made more painful because they had monitored their daughter’s Internet use closely and had talked to her about "Josh" and the events that ended so tragically.

"It was monitored highly," Tina Meier said of her daughter’s MySpace account. "We had the password. She couldn't sign on without us. We had to be in the room" when she was online.

They have not filed a civil suit against the people who invented Josh, but are not ruling that out. 

And they also want to warn other parents and children to beware of people online who claim to be their friends.

"Continue to monitor your children," Tina Meier told Lauer. "Take an extra step. Ask the question. Look at their computers, know what they’re doing. To kids, don't trust anybody online that you do not know is your true friend."

Tina Meier has said that she doesn't think anyone involved intended for her daughter to kill herself.

"Absolutely vile"
"But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year-old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile," she told the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, which first reported on the case.

Tina Meier said law enforcement officials told her the case did not fit into any law. But sheriff's officials have not closed the case and pledged to consider new evidence if it emerges.

Megan Meier was described as a "bubbly, goofy" girl who loved spending time with her friends, watching movies and fishing with her dad.

Megan had been on medication, but had been upbeat before her death, her mother said, after striking up a relationship on MySpace with Josh Evans about six weeks before her death.

Josh told her he was born in Florida and had recently moved to the nearby community of O’Fallon. He said he was home schooled, and didn't yet have a phone number in the area to give her.

Megan's parents said she received a message from him on Oct. 15 of last year, essentially saying he didn't want to be her friend anymore, that he had heard she wasn't nice to her friends.

"Megan seemed upset"
The next day, as Megan’s mother headed out the door to take another daughter to the orthodontist, she knew Megan was upset about Internet messages. She asked Megan to log off. Users on MySpace must be at least 14, though Megan was not when she opened her account. A MySpace spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.

Someone using Josh's account was sending cruel messages. Then, Megan called her mother, saying electronic bulletins were being posted about her, saying things like "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."

Megan's mother, who monitored her daughter's online communications, returned home and said she was shocked at the vulgar language her own daughter was sending. She told her daughter how upset she was about it.

Megan ran upstairs, and her father, Ron, tried to tell her everything would be fine. About 20 minutes later, she was found in her bedroom. She died the next day.

Her father said he found a message the next day from Josh, which he said law enforcement authorities have not been able to retrieve. It told the girl she was a bad person and the world would be better without her, he has said.

Another parent, who learned of the MySpace account from her own daughter, who had access to the Josh profile, told Megan’s parents about the hoax in a counselor's office about six weeks after Megan died. That's when they learned Josh was imaginary, they said.

"Creator of fake account not charged"
The woman who created the fake profile has not been charged with a crime. She allegedly told the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department she created Josh's profile because she wanted to gain Megan's confidence to learn what Megan was saying about her own child online.

The mother from down the street told police that she, her daughter and another person all typed and monitored the communication between the fictitious boy and Megan.

A person who answered the door at the family's house told an Associated Press reporter on Friday afternoon that they had been advised not to comment.

Megan's parents had been storing a foosball table for the family that created the MySpace character. Six weeks after Megan's death, they learned the other family had created the profile and responded by destroying the foosball table, dumping it on the neighbors' driveway and encouraging them to move away.

Megan’s parents are now separated and plan to divorce.

Aldermen in Dardenne Prairie, a community of about 7,000 residents about 35 miles from St. Louis, have proposed a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment. It could come before city leaders on Wednesday.

"Is this enough?" Mayor Pam Fogarty said Friday. "No, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it's something, and you have to start somewhere."

Y guy recently posted a blog entitled "stop spamming" here >> http://ww7.yuwie.com/blog/entry.asp?id=284&eid=110983&t=Stop%20Spamming

Here is a small excerpt from it;

"We're glad you're excited about Yuwie, and we're glad you want to help us spread the word, but the spam has to stop. It is causing problems with mail delivery and it is giving Yuwie a bad name across the internet. "

The very first thing wrong with his blog is then line;

"We're glad you're excited about Yuwie, and we're glad you want to help us spread the word"

 the above is totally disengenous. We are not spreading the word to HELP THEM, it is for us, and THEY, IN THEIR FRONT REFERAL PAGE ENCOURAGE US FOR OUR BENEFIT to do so.. shame on such a patronizing  and disengenous view there from Y guy!!

 we arent helping "them" spread the word, we are building our referal base.. I mention it below, and I will say it here as well. On the referal page, its YUWIE PAYS FOR THIS, AND YUWIE PAYS FOR THAT UP TO 10 LEVELS DEEP, thats the sales pitch to get us here, WE AINT DOING IT FOR THEM, I find that sentence revolting and totally patronizing from Y guy.

Our response to his blog is basically that spam does suck, but why is it now he mentions this? What did they expect at yuwie after they basically market this site as a multi level money making deal? Does anyone see any other pitch on the referal sign up page that first and foremost mentions Yuwie primarily as a social site? I don't, All I see is "get paid for this. and get paid for that", The key word over and over = GET PAID..!!

They then go on to show a crazy case scenario where a person can make 10k a month which entails a person needs a krap load of referals.

 Now I ask again, when they market yuwie as a MLM, what else did they expect, people not to post their referal links all over internet creation?  If Yuwie has a bad rep right now, its their own fault PERIOD!!

Instead he quirps about yuwie receiving a "bad rep" and further adds negativety when he goes on to say " if the spam does not stop, then we will take away the external links and only allow the users to invite from within yuwie"

To me not only is this wrong, it is the lazy way out!!

Also, it possibly opens up Yuwie to various legal issues which I wil not get into TOO MUCH at this time. 

Most of us do not SPAM as classic spam is defined, yet the threat exists that Yuwie will shut down the external links, the very pitch they use and give us to build their base for them?

It is nonsense when he says " we know all of you are excited about yuwie and want to spread the word"

NO THATS not it Y guy;

Most of us have been sold with your pitch you present on the referal page.. "get paid" We came here as something different, and the people who say different might be fooling themselves, its western world human nature to be greedy!!

That is a bait, and its called reasonable expectation hard work = results. the fact is external referal links brought us here.

legally if you change the referal process in the middle of the game, you are baiting and switching.

Allot of us have worked hard to get referals and have built huge referal bases.

Also, Most of us have had myspace and various other sites for years.. There is nothing wrong with sending out comments and mails to people already existing on our friends list.

Is there another reason for his blog? Is it Yuwie cannot keep up with the growth and is this a precursor for shutting down external referal links because they simply cannot keep up with the growth?  Are we asking a fair question here? Why do they have the issue such an absurd threat? We are making them money and getting them the referals!! that is the rep THEY HAVE CREATED FOR THEMSELVES!!

 Don't be "YES PEOPLE" for those who have worked hard, suggest to Y GUY he warns offending sites and users if they are indeed sending "SPAM" If they do not cease and desist, DELETE THE OFFENDING ACCOUNTS, plain and simple..  WITH PROOF, not conjecture and a swoop effect "shut down external linking"!! LAZY and wrong minded!!

People need to understand, if they end the external links, its the end to anyone ever making any kind of real money here, which means the end to the idea of yuwie = the end of yuwie PERIOD!!

 It is too their benefit to keep them.. f the rep!! SELL THE CONCEPT, advertisers are blowing smoke up your butt y guy!! its called an objection. sell them past that for the long run!!

IF YUWIE has a bad rep, its from at the get go offering and presenting the site as a 10 level MLM.  now Yuwie is thinking about renigging on their model that they themselves STARTED, bringing most of us here on that premise,. only to bait and switch it?

I say to Y guy to ease on his threat to get rid of external links, if other sites dont like it, legally its not on yuwie. again, go by the tos, warn people, they dont stop delete them. BUT DO NOT REMOVE THE EXTERNAL LINKS!! again the legal responsibility is not on them, and rep means nothing, especially if the user base continues to grow as it has been growing. I see things slowing down here.. its to me nonsense to say " we are worried about our rep" worry about LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS,, your not spamming!!

Also, the rep means nothing, advertisers WANT RESULTS, they care about the bottom line and Y guy should know this.

Again, is there another reason for his blog? Could it also be he is trying to appease advertisers who are weary of the referal process?

SELL THE ADVERTISERS. If Y guy cannot sell them, give me a call and I will do it!! Again, the bottom line for advertisers are results.

If they are telling Y guy objections to the referal process here, its a sales objection, and perhaps he should learn to address the objection correctly? Y guy and the Yuwie owners need to settle down, the advertisers will come. They need to see the bigger picture and the growth down the road and be patient. I sense they are not doing this.

Don't worry about THE DAMNED REP, do they think it matters in 4 years when they got 100 million users or more about the "rep" PLEASE!! THINK Y GUY!!  DOES myspace worry about their rep as end user restrictive nazi bastards? HAH, THEY WORRY ABOUT THE MONEY!! so should you Y guy!!

Shutting down the external links will result in Yuwie FAILING, and I guarantee that!! people will turn on Yuwie and sour on it and leave, and the advertisers then will certainly have real OBJECTIONS!!

If Yuwie cannot handle the load, LOWER THE RSR until they can handle it, that I am in favor of!! Sacrifice now Y guy, take less money now. DON'T TAKE THE QUICK AND EASY WAY OUT or your site here will fail!! If it does, I will open up a site like this "was" and do it right and sell the advertisers..  the growth will get the advertisers in THE LONG RUN, end the external link and you end the growth = END OF YUWIE dude..

Y guy does not need to issue such a threat to end the external referal links, and certainly Yuwie would be most unwise to actaully carry the said threat through, from legal ramifications to the site dying, just SAY NO Y GUY and think about what we have said here!!

Now dont delete my account because I disagree with your approach, be a good leader and accept criticism and delegation.

 Yuwie is a great idea, but in the hands of those who are seeking a quick and easy buck, it will crumble, we assure everyone of that, and if the external links are shut down, 100 percent for sure it will fail!!

 As an alternate suggestion, if Yuwie cannot keep up with the growth, shut the site down for 3 days or more and get the house in order, WE can live with that, lower RSR, WE can deal with that :)

 Y guy and the yuwie owners, you got a potential gold mine here.  Now how are you going to extract the Gold?

What you do with it at this crossroad will determine whether another great idea fails because it was implemented wrong, or the rare case of one SUCEEDING BECAUSE IT WAS HANDLED RIGHT!!

Remember this blog and mark our words here!!

"The Matusows"

In part one, we will review the do's and do nots of sng strat.

 Let us start by hand ranks BLIND LEVELS, only RAISE in level one with the following hands..

AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 10 10  Make it a pot size raise in position with limpers in front, or simply call in position early in a tournament(first few lower levels) when someone else has raised in front of you.

Limp in at middle position or later button limp, sb and bb limp with at least 3 limpers in front with the following hands..

AK AQ, AJ A10 suited kq suited, kj suited, qJ suited, j-10 suited, 10-9 suited, 8-9 suited..

Limp in with at least 3 callers with 99, 88, 77, 66, 55.

THROW AWAY 44 OR LESS IN ROUND ONE

throw away A10 offsuit in level one or less

Throw away A9 or less even suited unless the whole pot is limped and you are late for pot odds.

 II will explain why this is briefly here, your level one raises mean nothing with suited connectors, even ak, aq, aj, a10 off suit, because they are drawing hands wiuth exception of A-10, even if you get them all to fold and that is highly unlikely because they are plain and flat out mostly moronic donkeys who think " hey its cheap to call" You do not want 3 or 4 callers with AK trust me!! AND YOPU CANNOT BET OUT ENUFF TO move people off of anything in early levels, If you have been busting out early in sngs, this is likely the hands you are mainly busting out in, you will receive more bad beats at -EV.. You want to steal blinds early? blah, not worth it early on, WHAT TO STEAL 20 CHIPS? LOL, and you think your raise with AK will chase out the limpers? think again, even when you raise huge, which is flat our bad poker early on, you can expect at least 2 calling station morons to call almost everytime..

 The idea is to survive early, The reason you limp with those other hands is to hopefully nail a st or flush to build chips early.

Next to come in multi parts, I will continue this and teach you how to value pots correctly, how to small ball and fake weakness against the over aggressive moron donkey by calling in position, limping the buttin, check calling and raising the turn even with nothing which is THE KEY TO WHEN TO BLUFF more. Many of you do not understand that bluffing is a small part of poker. Many of you think I bluff a ton. This is totally untrue, ESPN AND WPT LOVES TO SHOW A FEW SELECTED HANDS OUT OF 100'S REMEMBER THAT!!

Notice not one time on here does the moron who is talking mention anything about position play, and that is huge in these things when determining when to make plays at pots and when not to.

 a hand of note is when the moron had QK early, you  NEVER LIMP THERE EARLY, YOU RAISE IT OR FOLD THERE. The reasons being;

1. it is a drawing hand

2. It is KING HIGH, someone limps with a2 your beat before the flop. but the biggest reason is;

3.  NO  EXPECTED VALUE, QK is a hand to limp in later position with limpers in front to give you better pot odds. Limping early with this hand, you cannot assume or know how many others behind you will limp, unless of course you have been at table for awhile and have picked up the opponents table images. Still, you either raise or fold with QK early, and you can limp late provided you have correct pot odds to limp in rather than raise late with limpers in front. Many times online these low level sng's most limpers call the raise anyways. Raise with this hand early to clear out people behind you or simplt fold this hand early position and early in a SNG.

  But pay attention herem your opponents in these low level sng's and some higher level ones are kiddies with no clue about  NL Holdem poker.