With over 7,000,000 registered users, the online dating app Scruff has an impressive selection of men to choose from, and while doing a little shopping for himself today on the app, the founder Johnny Skandros was so taken aback that his dinner invitation to a customer was not replied to, he felt compelled to publicly share a photo of the man’s profile and picture on Facebook to his friends and over 37,000 followers.
I messaged this guy to chat and see if he wanted (sic) go on a date. No response. See, I go through the same shit you guys do. Happy Saturday.
UPDATE: Scruff Founder Offers Public Apology For Facebook Post While Dodging Privacy Concerns
The post, which was removed before it was even five minutes old, was not received well by anyone who posted a reply on it, and now without there being a public forum to discuss Skandros’ actions I think it’s only fair that we reopen it right here with a screenshot of that post (photo and profile name redacted) so everyone can see it for themselves.
As is usually customary in the reporting world, when a story like this is exposed the accused or the perpetrator of the incident usually receives an email with a list of demanding question and a rather brisk deadline in which to return them in order to go on record when the story runs. No such email was sent to Scruff or Johnny Skandros, I figure that if they’re so comfortable in side swiping a customer publicly, then they should have no problem with it themselves. Fair is Fair right?
So, Johnny, if you or your PR team are reading this, and I’m sure you are because it’s being sent to your inboxes once this prints, there are a few questions that I think many people would like to know the answers to: 7,000,000 people at least.
- Has Scruff broken its own user agreement or privacy policy with the post that was made?
- How can users of the Scruff app be assured that their photos and profile names or not being posted elsewhere on the Internet by Scruff staff?
- Have any customers filed complaints or grievances against Johnny Skandros in the past for being targeted or punished after refusing offers or invitations from him?
- Does Johnny Skandros have access to the personal information and data of Scruff customers and users that he engages in chats with?
- Does Johnny Skandros have the ability and access possible to know when a user has yet to read or has read a message he has sent to them.
- What safeguards are in place to ensure that the personal information and data of Scruff customers that Johnny Skandros chats with while using the app are not used for the purposes of retribution, harassment, intimidation or bribery?
- Is Scruff concerned that Johnny Skandros has now set an example that its customers and user should publicly shame people who do not accept invitations or requests?
- Has the post made by Johnny Skanros caused the company to question his ability to remain at the company?
- What changes will Scruff be making to their policies and procedures to ensure that this type of incident does not happen in the future.
- Will Johnny Skandros resign over the post?
And finally …
- Johnny, what in the sweet hell were you thinking?
If the founder of a company is supposed to represent his product, and set the tone for the type of environment and community users can expect, then what does the post made by Skandros say about Scruff. If this is only a symptom of a larger problem, what else is happening behind the scenes that Scruff’s 7,000,000 users don’t know about.
Scruff, Johnny, it’s your turn now … questions have been asked, and people are waiting to hear the answers. And if anything now happens to my Scruff account after this goes to print, Johnny, who should I call?
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Jeromie Williams Eats The Internet For Breakfast 
If you haven’t read his Facebook profile Johnny apologized publicly to the guy. Enough is enough and this is between the guy in question and Johnny. Leave at that.
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JMixon — You don’t really get what this is about do you?
There needs to be accountability. I think Johnny Skaros’s actions were way shameful.
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You know, I never really post comments, but your line of questioning seems off base. Johnny was acting as a user of Scruff, not as a staff member. The post was misguided and clearly wrong, but he didn’t use access to any “data” that isn’t available to any other user of scruff. Did you read the terms of use before writing this post? I’m sure the answer is in there. I mean, I understand that this is just a blog and you’re really interested in getting clicks, but an attempt at research might make less people annoyed by you. You frame your content like it’s journalism, but it doesn’t really seem like you understand the topic about which you are “reporting.”
Any user could have made the same exact post that Johnny Skandros did. I’m not a user, but I’ve seen people post screen shots of other users to publicly belittle them for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes justified, sometimes not. Were those people being douchey? Probably. Was Johnny? Definitely. Is this article insightful? Not really.
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Happens more often than not, but the clear question here is, is the owner of the company to be held to a higher standard than most of his users? He’s a young guy. He’s just like the rest of us. I think that’s why he does have such a large following. He’s real. And guess what… He made a mistake. As the owner of the company, he should have been smarter. However, as a gay man, it’s what we all feel sometimes. His actions should have repercussions and I think that this should start a dialogue about the treatment of each other online at the very least.
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I’m really surprised how many of you comment about how this was OK for Johnny or to try to find a reason for it to be ok. Or go after the writer of the article. If Mark Zuckerberg did something similar, everyone would want his head on a platter.
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Pingback: Scruff Founder Offers Public Apology For Facebook Post While Dodging Privacy Concerns | Jeromie Williams Eats The Internet For Breakfast
If you ask me this Jeromie Williams dude seems to
an axe to “grinder” with Scruff! Lol! I made a funny!
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OMG! How dramatic! I would hardly call it a public shamming…. Was it a mistake? Yes. Was the post taken down immediately? Yes. Did Johnny offer a personal apology to this user? Yes. End of Story….Move on people. Honestly we have more important things to worry about than this. People have too much time on their hands.
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In the early days I have been messages by him, also asking whether they could use my picture to promote scruff. I replied saying ‘yes on Facebook but I retain the rights and in no way is this used anywhere else without my consent’.
Never received any reply.
I like scruff for the men that are on there but since then, I have an active dislike for Johnny. His success clearly makes him think he’s a star, although in my view he is narcistic and likes attention a but too much…
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This was incredibly stupid of Johnny especially when it’s possible his own app was the reason the user didn’t respond. I can’t tell you how many times I have opened Scruff to see old messages. Sometimes the notifications don’t pop up yet the person says I was showing online when the message was sent.
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Honestly, I’m not impressed with the administrators of Scruff. I have messaged them several times about co-sponsoring a men-only dance party in Montreal, to which they never reply. Not even a “no thank you.” Just no response at all.
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Skandros handled a similar Facebook faux pas badly with myself and others in promoting some new Scruff features about a year ago. He seems quite immature and narcissistic.
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Honestly I think Johnny could have done it better maybe in the same form you did here blacking out the sensitive details so to speak. However I believe he was trying to tell his member base that he has the same struggles on his app that any of us have so not to feel any different than he. He hasn’t done anything that I haven’t seen 100 times already so I think it’s a mountain out of a mole hill simply because of who is involved.
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I have to say that someone blogging here doesn’t seem to read the Scruff App’s terms of service possibly. If you are going to rant on something be sure you read the TOS..
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Or simply, if anyone has actually considered, remove the man from the mission and ask the same question. Just acting the same as most of the twats on the app thinking they are hot and no one says no to them.
Not so much a privacy issue as any user can do what he did, more just insight into who Johnny is.
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We need full-size screenshots, please. You can blank out private info, but people are seriously doubting the veracity of your reporting. More info needed.
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Full screenshot of the post will only be made available to authorities or Scruff member targeted. I am happy to produce it if requested by those two verified sources.
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So, you’re not a real journalist, but someone with an axe to grind.
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No, Vince, I’m someone who’s not putting out a mint perfect version so that other sites and publications can exploit it, use it to identify the man, or claim ownership of it. And so that the person in the post remains a mystery.
There were flourishes and shadows added to the photo in order to make it uncopyable.
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I’m looking forward to seeing Johnny’s response to this article. Pulling a stunt like that looks foolish.
I do have an issue with how you reported this. You say, “As is usually customary in the reporting world,…” the subject would receive a list of comments and a deadline for them to respond. You said that no such comments were sent because Johnny sideswiped the customer. “Fair is fair, right?” Well, you’re not sideswiping a customer, you’re reporting on a story. You threw custom aside, stooped to your subject’s level, left your journalistic integrity behind and now playing a Facebook drama game.
Keep to your level of integrity. Don’t let someone drag you down to their level.
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The privacy policy does not seem to touch on this at all, but it seems akin to the featured member opportunity Scruff asks about when you upload a new pic:
“Would you like your profile and picture to be featured by SCRUFF on its Facebook and/or Twitter pages? You would be contacted by SCRUFF for confirmation prior to being featured.”
So the big question is whether the user clicked “yes” and whether they were contacted for confirmation before this was published.
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If I’m remembering correctly, featured users have the blue dot by their name, regardless of online status. His dot is green, so he’s likely not featured. stupid move on Johnny’s part, regardless…especially if all the guy did was ignore him
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The blue dot was removed years ago.
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