I made an account just to post in this thread. As way of a preface, let me say directly that I'm not trying to attack anyone or claim a moral high ground.
It seems pretty apparent that almost all the internet attention to Chris is now ethically untenable. Chris is a very damaged person who - at the very least - has transitioned from simply being an awkward nerd with pervasive personality flaws to someone who might be legitimately unfit to live an independent life in free society. For some time now Chris has been displaying signs of what could be serious and progressive mental illness. Again, not to blame anyone, but the trolling he has experienced may very well have contributed to a serious fracturing of his ego. He appears to understand himself along with the world at large primarily through the externalization of his insecurities and dislikes and certainly these things have been underscored and exaggerated by trolling. I don't want to go on at length about any of my pet theories concerning his mental state or motivations nor rehash Chris' history. It goes without saying that you are all free to disagree partially or totally with what I'm saying but regardless, ask yourself, do you honestly think that the trolling hasn't been a net negative for Chris?
It's also not just a question of active trolling because the CWCKI is a permanent, extensive archive of Chris' fuck ups. If anything, it should be taken down. I freely admit that I've read many of its pages over and over again. I have watched plenty of the videos of Chris on Youtube. Chris is an extremely interesting and entertaining person, or should I say was, because what's happening now is morbid. It's one thing to laugh at a drunk when he's young and healthy, embarrassing himself at a party after having a few too many drinks. It's entirely another thing to eagerly anticipate observing the same person laying face down in skid row, years later, going through hallucinatory seizures brought on by withdrawal due to uncontrollable alcoholism. It's no longer 2008 or 2009. What we're witnessing isn't just ridiculous or bizarre, it's tragic.
People say that Chris is his own worst troll and it's hard to argue against that. For all his problems, it is his childish irresponsibility and unwillingness to change that holds him back from making progress as a person. I'm not going to claim he's an out and out victim but the major point here is that Chris is not the one who is maintaining the CWCKI. That's our decision. He would have it taken down and I think that's fair. People should have a right to be forgotten. Chris might suffer from a host of significant defects of character but that doesn't mean he deserves to have a damning compendium about him on the internet. The CWCKI is about us being entertained. Does our desire to be amused or shocked outweigh the anguish of a disturbed person?
This is my two cents and I doubt anything will change but it's the way I feel.
The Chandlers had persecution complexes well before Chris arrived on the internet. Blame was the easy way out, and Borb taught Chris to embrace the attitude. The existence of this forum and other material justifies Chris's attitude to himself, to his mother and certain other people. Yes, he still feeds the trolls. He shouldn't be making public facebook posts. People that are trying to help him, whether by taking on a persona or in real life, shouldn't be reporting their results and findings publicly if their motives are honestly to help Chris. If you've got an "in" with Chris and are dispensing advice to him, that doesn't mean you have to come and tell it. That's not what a counselor, a friend or confidante does. If and when he ever puts two and two together (or has a picture painted for him), and he discovers recent conversations he's had with people he took as meaningful and fulfilling was simply another fake person, that doesn't help him, it simply confirms what he feared to be true.
I first discovered Chris in 2010, I didn't pay much attention to the encyclopedia Dramatica article, and it was another year before I realized that this was a real guy without exaggeration. By the time Bob died and the Game Place arrest, I'd say Chris was dried up. He was no longer in a give-and-take with his audience, and he was very scarred. Despite that, this forum came online a year and a half later. I find that incredible, that that long after he jumped the shark such a dedicated and active forum would pop up.
If it wasn't for this forum, I wouldn't be following Chris, I wouldn't be telling other people about him. And other people wouldn't have a venue to obsess over him and possibly be inspired to do all the things we supposedly frown upon, like calling the jails, sending information to the prosecutor or calling the phone number in his craigslist ads.
Chris didn't even get a fair shake in his pepper spray incident, because most people that go crazy and chimp out in public wouldn't be recognized by some random customer before the assault. But that tumblr user recognized Chris, and knew that even if Chris was minding his own business and not causing a scene, there is an audience ready to devour footage of Chris. Any footage. Sure, GameStop probably had surveillance, but there's always the chance the cameras are down, the angle is bad, it's grainy or there is no audio. But Chris didn't get the same chance other random wackos would've had.
Chris deserves to answer for his actions, but his chance at trial will be nil and his ability to bargain very weak because some customer recognized him. I doubt they would've shot the video had they not known who he was, because by the time they started filming, the disturbance seemed to be over and the irate customer seemed to be leaving. Who would expect him to pepper spray a random employee? But thanks to the notoriety we've perpetuated, some guy with a camera knew better.
