So what do you think about Carl Herold?
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I just heard about this guy. Here's the intro from his youtube channel:
My name is Carl Herold and I am a professional programmer and online business expert with over 10 years of experience. I offer a variety of free video lessons on programming as well as run the website www.computerscienceforeveryone.com which is designed to make learning programming easily accessible to anyone who wishes to learn. You can also find me on Reddit at http://www.reddit.com/r/carlhprogramming and http://www.reddit.com/r/livestreamstartup
So this guy had a programming tutorials site and a reddit page and a fairly popular YouTube channel. A ton of effort went into all this, and it was all free. He was even doing personal (and free) Skype lessons for his students. Many people claim to have become programmers solely thanks to his tutelage.
Go look at his videos. They are not bad at all, easily comparable with Pluralsight level quality. Here are a few examples:
How to subtract binary numbers – 18:10
— Carl HeroldTyping and running your first program in CodeBlocks – 07:38
— Carl HeroldSo, not bad right? Seems like a nice guy. Just a goodie two-shoes do-gooder, selflessly trying to help you get into programming.
Sure. Unless you don't mind taking lessons from AN EVIL CHILD RAPIST PSYCHOPATH
He and Dunnavant, who lived together with Herold's son in Huntsville on the 3000 block of Lakewood Drive, are alleged to have held the boy a virtual captive for eight months before Herold's November arrest, according to the Madison County District Attorney's office.
Herold was indicted on 18 counts, including six counts of conspiracy to commit sodomy, four counts of sodomy, three counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12, complicity, aggravated child abuse and conspiracy to commit sexual abuse.
He claimed he was innocent, but never made it to the trial. A few months ago...
Father charged with sodomizing son is found hanged in his jail cell
Carl Herold was found hanged inside an Alabama jail cell on Monday evening, his attorney has said.
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Ok, I just can't wrap my head around this. How do you reconcile who he seemed to be in his nerdy coder public persona, with who he turned out to be behind the curtain? Is there some psychological theory that would explain all this?
Go read some of the comments on his subreddit or comments on his youtube page.
Seems other people are having problems wrapping their minds around this guy too.
So I don't have any great insight here. I just find this whole thing fascinating in a morbid sort of way.
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Subhuman.
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Easy to say, but explain him teaching people for free.
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I guess he liked helping people code and raping boys. Maybe helping people made him feel better about himself. It's not really that interesting. I think the world is a little bit better off with one less child rapist in the world, even if it means losing a good programming teacher.
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How do you reconcile who he seemed to be in his nerdy coder public persona, with who he turned out to be behind the curtain?
It's no surprise that people present themselves differently online vs. offline. Admittedly, not always in an extreme example as this, but presenting yourself differently in different environments is a human thing to do. Let's face it, theyouyour cow-orkers see isn't theyouyour friends see. They're mostly the same, but there are a few differences.Having said that, if the allegations are true, then this guy is definitely not your normal friendly geek…
@boomzilla said:I think the world is a little bit better off with one less child rapist in the world, even if it means losing a good programming teacher.
In a manner of speaking, agreed.
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Yeah I guess maybe it helped him feel better about the rape.... I still don't get it.
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It's no surprise that people present themselves differently online vs. offline. Admittedly, not always in an extreme example as this, but presenting yourself differently in different environments is a human thing to do. Let's face it, the you your cow-orkers see isn't the you your friends see. They're mostly the same, but there are a few differences.
This guy wasn't an online avatar. He presented himself as himself and interacted with students directly.
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I still don't get it.
I honestly don't want to get it.
He presented himself as himself and interacted with students directly.
He could also have used that as a front to get to other kids.
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This guy wasn't an online avatar. He presented himself as himself and interacted with students directly.
Oh.
In that case, I don't get it. And
@boomzilla said:I honestly don't want to get it.
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It's no surprise that people present themselves differently in
onlinepublic vs.offlineprivate.FTFY.
AIUI, this type of personality split is not uncommon (e.g., Jerry Sandusky). When someone is charged with a crime, it is not uncommon for those around them to say, "But he was such great guy!" "She was so involved in the community!" etc.
How often do we make the point here that we are just presenting a persona or a part of our real selves? Is it really that hard to believe that the same thing isn't happening in other ways?
People don't just create personas for online interaction. They create personas for real-life interaction as well.
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People don't just create personas for online interaction. They create personas for real-life interaction as well.
QFT
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AIUI, this type of personality split is not uncommon (e.g., Jerry Sandusky). When someone is charged with a crime, it is not uncommon for those around them to say, "But he was such great guy!" "She was so involved in the community!" etc.
Except in this case you can actually see it in his videos... AND relate to him because he's a programmer.
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When I was younger I went through a real rough spot. I learned how to seem upbeat and positive on the outside while hiding my misery; my husband has remarked on my ability to, when the phone rings while I'm crying, pull my voice together and sound normal long enough to take the phone call. I'd imagine it's like that: an outward persona masking the real inner scumbag. They say a lot of actors are nothing like their on-camera self when you get to know them in person.
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Except in this case you can actually see it in his videos... AND relate to him because he's a programmer.
With Sandusky people related to him on a personal level. He was a public figure. He ran a kids summer football camp. Plenty of people interacted with him. Lots of people were shocked when it came out what he was doing to young boys, including his adopted son. Why is this Carl Herold any different?
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Because i can interact with this guy (after a fashion). I can't with Sandusky.
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Because i can interact with this guy (after a fashion). I can't with Sandusky.
So it's only different because it can become personal for you? BFD. There's really nothing new about this kind of thing.
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So it's only different because it can become personal for you? BFD. There's really nothing new about this kind of thing.
It's practically the norm, right?
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It's practically the norm, right?
If you watch the news, it certainly seems like it.
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Too fucking long. TLDR: Cartman82 yells at child molesters.
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Sure. Unless you don't mind taking lessons from AN EVIL CHILD RAPIST PSYCHOPATH
Frankly, if the lessons are good, I wouldn't mind taking them from Adolf Stalin the Nazi communist.
Consider it a form of useful selfishness. I am taking his knowledge without giving anything back.
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Too fucking long. TLDR: Cartman82 yells at child molesters.
Sore about the fatty comic?
Frankly, if the lessons are good, I wouldn't mind taking them from Adolf Stalin the Nazi communist.
Consider it a form of useful selfishness. I am taking his knowledge without giving anything back.
Unfortunately, seems he did mostly newbie stuff.
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Let's face it, the you your cow-orkers see isn't the you your friends see. They're mostly the same, but there are a few differences.
Only a few? There's a lot in my case - I keep the two totally separate, out of choice.
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I guess he liked helping people code and raping boys.
That almost reads like the interests section of a dating site profile.
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That almost reads like the interests section of a dating site profile.
That's either from a terrible profile, or a terrible site. Possibly both...
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I guess he liked helping people code and raping boys.
And frankly I don't see why this discussion has boiled down to "well obviously his coding lessons were a front for malicious intent / some weird karma-bumping technique / whatever".
So the guy's a sick fuck (and I sure as fuck hope nobody's having problems with my assessment of the guy this time), and he's also a coder running his lessons on YouTube. I don't see those two things conflicting with each other in a way that would imply there's something more to that.
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I sure as fuck hope nobody's having problems with my assessment of the guy this time
We're talking about a single person, so no, I don't think anyone has any issues with calling him a sick fuck ;)Don't worry, I don't hold grudges
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Don't worry, I don't hold grudges
Would have preferred to keep the sinister tone in this thread, but I haven't figured out how to crosspost into an existing thread yet, and the fit was too god to abandon post.
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So the guy's a sick fuck (and I sure as fuck hope nobody's having problems with my assessment of the guy this time), and he's also a coder running his lessons on YouTube. I don't see those two things conflicting with each other in a way that would imply there's something more to that.
The whole of a person is complicated, and very few people ever get to know the whole of anyone else (and even fewer outside their closest family).
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but I haven't figured out how to crosspost into an existing thread yet,
Just start a reply in the same thread of the post you want to reply to and copy the markdown into a post at the thread you want your reply to be in.For example, I could have started a new post somewhere else (even as a reply to someone else in that thread) and copied over the following:
[quote="Mikael_Svahnberg, post:27, topic:8383"] but I haven't figured out how to crosspost into an existing thread yet, [/quote]
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Just start a reply in the same thread of the post you want to reply to and copy the markdown into a post at the thread you want your reply to be in.
You don't have to do it that way; you can navigate to the thread in the current tab. Because all the links are JavaScripted up the wazoo, the reply box stays open ;)
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People are not just one thing.
This guy was a paedophile who did sick horrible things to a child.
He was also excellent at explaining the concepts relevant to learning to program and creating resources.
People are not just one thing, and they are definitely not all about the worst things about them. I have long hair and I am good at programming, hence I must be secretly using programming to grow my hair?
I watch porn and I help my friends/family out with tech support issues, hence I must be helping out to mask the guilt of my filthy nasty porn habit? This is like murder simulators, you are creating a link where none exists.
This man's crimes are reprehensible, but there was more to him than that.
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You don't have to do it that way; you can navigate to the thread in the current tab. Because all the links are JavaScripted up the wazoo, the reply box stays open
While this is possibly true, I trust my clipboard more than I trust Discourse's behaviour on navigation.
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Subhuman.
Oh, he was plenty human, as offensive as it is to realize. Exploitation, deception and violence are very human things to do. Elements of crimes like these are things only a human being would do.
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Elements of crimes like these are things only a human being would do.
If there's any justice in the world, you'll get toe-raped by a betentacled alien tonight.
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If there's any justice in the world, you'll get toe-raped by a betentacled alien tonight.
Only a human being would have such a thought.
Congratulations, you're not subhuman!
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People are not just one thing.
This guy was a paedophile who did sick horrible things to a child.
He was also excellent at explaining the concepts relevant to learning to program and creating resources.
People are not just one thing, and they are definitely not all about the worst things about them. I have long hair and I am good at programming, hence I must be secretly using programming to grow my hair?
I watch porn and I help my friends/family out with tech support issues, hence I must be helping out to mask the guilt of my filthy nasty porn habit? This is like murder simulators, you are creating a link where none exists.
This man's crimes are reprehensible, but there was more to him than that.
QFT
Exactly what I've been saying! (Just more verbose)
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People are not just one thing.
Right. Just like I'm a world-traveling super-spy and also a sex machine.
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Don't forget compulsive liar
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OK, for the pederasty equivalent of a Godwin, how about Jimmy Savile?
One of the first people in the world to become a DJ, at the dawn of popular radio in the UK. Was a TV presenter on Top of the Pops for many, many years. In the 70's and 80's he had his own TV show called Jim'll fix it where kids wrote in with their dreams, and the show basically arranged for that to happen (and gave them a special medal). Did a lot of work for children's charities...
He never married, and had some weird relationship with his mother—some people always felt he was a bit off, but nothing came of it. It wasn't until after his death at the age of 84 that people started to come forward with accusations of abuse against him, and it wasn't just one or two. Apparently he was using his 'friend to sick children' persona as a pretext to get into children's hospitals where he could spend time (alone) with ill children, who were less able to resist him. There was basically a huge scandal about how he'd managed to get away with his behaviour; how the authorities had let his public persona of a charitable old man blind them to he stuff he was being alleged to have done.
So, uh, yeah, some people are just born missing the part of the brain that stops you wanting to diddle kids, I guess...
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some people always felt he was a bit off
As has been noted elsewhere, he didn't just seem a bit off, he was downright creepy in public. Hiding by pretending to be a pædophile uncle in public? The nerve!
Carl Herold indicted on child pornography charges in New York, faces multiple Huntsville child sex counts
