Gearwarz Summary | Gear Warz
When I discovered a Change.org petition that urged Gearslutz.com to adopt a less offensive name, I knew it was time to step up and shed light on the site's true origins. Too often the contributions of women are debased and undervalued. In this spirit, I think it's important that my story is told.
My name is Meg Lee Chin. I built and created Gearslutz (now called Gearspace) with Julian Standen in 2002. The site began as a hobby which grew into a business. He was the head moderator. I worked behind the scenes as the main technical operator.
Over the next five years, I poured my heart and soul into Gearslutz. I was tied to the servers and their operations. Unable to tour or make any other commitments, I even had to put my career as an established recording and performing artist on hold, as I clocked in up to 80-hour weeks.
In February 2007, I awoke to a shocking revelation: my longtime friend Julian Standen had without warning secretly replaced me. I found myself locked out of our three servers and all associated online and financial accounts. My replacement, oblivious to his role as accomplice, and unfamiliar with the system I created caused Gearslutz to go offline for nearly a week. Standen exploited the site's outage and used it as an excuse for his theft.
