Banned for being interested in other peoples posts

Cunsiderthis

Some time ago in the Gerry Ryan radio Show thread, I wrote to Clare Duignan, who is head of radio in RTE, to clarify a few points which were raised in the thread.

My email is here http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=64762412&postcount=157

And her reply is here http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=64762412&postcount=157

The correspondence generated some interest from other members, including one from a member called “Degsy” who, at my suggestion here http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=64762412&postcount=157 said he was going to mail her http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=64767405&postcount=160 and post the correspondence in the thread, on an issue which concerned him.

This all happened almost a month ago so, yesterday, I asked here http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=65143474&postcount=298 if he had received a response.

This last post prompted a moderator, TBH, to reply “I'm sick of this - 3 day ban. Next time will be 3 months. I'm not going to keep telling you to stop with the obsession on other peoples posts.”

Then I got a message saying “Originally Posted by tbh
Hi Cunsiderthis,

You have been banned from Radio for the following duration:

3 Day(s)

for the following reason:

Off-topic posting.

I'm sick of this - 3 day ban. Next time will be 3 months. I'm not going to keep telling you to stop with the obsession on other peoples posts…”


While the term “obsession” is subjective, I had been under the impression that the whole point of boards.ie was to answer other peoples posts, and to ask questions and to discuss the subject of the threads. So I sent a message to TBH to ask; “Degsy said he was going to write to Clare Duignan to ask a question, some weeks ago. If my post was off topic, then so mush have been Degsy's post. Although I am banned for asking about his post, and he is not banned as his post is deemed to be "on topic".

I asked him if he had received a reply as, at the time, he said he would publish the reply in the gerry ryan thread.

I get banned for asking him if he had received a reply yet?

I'm sorry if you think answering other post, or asking posters questions about their posts, is an "obsession" with their posts. Even if it is, *(which is subjective), isn't that the point of a message boards site?

Are you saying that anyone who questions another poster on the basis of what they have written, or replies to their posts, is to be banned?

If so, what is the purpose of boards.ie if not to do that?”

The response from TBH was “Hi Cunsiderthis,

yes, you were banned for that post. If you wish to question the ban, please contact the cmods, and/or helpdesk. I'm not discussing this any further.

Further, once your ban is lifted, please do not post in the Gerry Ryan thread again.”

Seeing TBH has suggested that I write to the helpdesk as he/she will not discuss any further, I wonder could someone outline whether or not we are allowed to respond to other posters posts and follow up issues discussed in threads.

Certainly, looking across other threads it seems to be normal practice to do this, and if there is a rule somewhere that we are not allowed to do this, I’d be astonished!

Thanks for any help in anticipation.

tbh

You were warned over and over not to antagonise posters in the radio forum. You ignored the warnings. I'm not lifting the ban.

Do I have your permission to publish the PM's degsy forwarded to me from you, with regard to his banning?

tbh

ok, cmods, and other interested parties, here's my take on things.

cunsiderthis has started posting in the radio forum recently. His primary focus on the forum seems to be questioning why so many people listen to Gerry Ryan and then come on to boards to slag the shows off, in particular degsy. I have asked him many times to stop doing this, as it's commenting on other posters views, and not on the shows under discussion. In my view, he is deliberately trying to wind up other posters - we have lots of reported posts about him (despite many reported posts, this is the first action we've taken against him), he is annoying (deliberately, I believe) other posters, and I would also ask for his comments in the Celeb and Showbiz thread to be taken into consideration -
for example:

Cunsiderthis wrote: »

Poor degsy - TBH misses you so much he comes here where he can't even threaten you with a ban! :D

I can just hear the tumbleweed a blowing through the gerry ryan thread in the radio forum now you have left!

Cunsiderthis wrote: »

Welcome to celebrity & showbiz degsy - I'm sure we are all holding our breath to listen to your balanced and fair assessment of Gerry Ryan, unfettered by the moderation of TBH.

For someone who says he dislikes gerry Ryan so much, you sure do spend a lot of time listening to his show, reading his books, analysing what he says and talking about him.

Cunsiderthis wrote: »

I know you'll welcome TBH being appointed moderator of "Celebrity & Showbiz" and have proposed him here http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=64982328&postcount=277



I knew you'd want to second the nomination and look forward to him starting here soon.

(link was to a post he made in the radio forum asking for me to be made mod of C&S.) " I'd like to be the first to propose TBH for a job as moderator in the "Celebrity & Showbiz" threads. I know Degsy will join me in seconding TBH and I look forward to THB taking up his new role as soon as possible." - he was not infracted or banned for that comment, I just edited it out.

Please note: there is no problem between me and degsy whatsoever, and never has been. I've banned him a few times from radio, I don't hold any grudges and neither does he (I hope!). I have no idea why cunsiderthis decided to involve me in whatever problem he has with degsy, and I most certainly do not appreciate it.

Having read many many posts like this over a long period of time, I came to the conclusion that cunsiderthis was more interested in winding up degsy than posting about G. Ryan, and I stand over that. If I can publish the PM's degsy sent me from cunsiderthis, it'll add further weight to that, I believe.

Therefore, when I saw his comment directed at degsy, I believed to be a "are you going to bark all day little doggy" type comment, and I stand over that belief 100%

In short, we've given him every chance to express his opinion, to the annoyance of other posters and the detriment of the forum. We've asked him not to continue, but that has obviously fallen on deaf ears. He's gotten personal with a lot of people, including me, with no censure, which is prompting users to ask why he was getting special treatment. The reason was, I had hoped he'd see sense. I'm no longer willing to wait.
AFAIC, cunsiderthis' ban remains and he is not to post in the Ryan thread upon his return.

Cunsiderthis

I'm confused.

When you initially said I was being banned for " Off-topic posting.", and "yes, you were banned for that post", you actually meant it was for "deliberately trying to wind up other posters" and "he is annoying", although you give no examples of this but give examples of what you mean from another thread, from which you are not a moderator? (And from which you seem to have missed the attempt at a sense of humour, although I accept that humour doesn't always come over in cyberspace). I’m sorry if I poked a little gentle fun at your expense in another thread, but it seems an unusual reason to ban someone from another thread, some weeks later.

It is incorrect to say that I intend to "wind up" anyone, but it is correct that I do challenge those who have said the most appalling and often disgraceful things about G Ryan, and insinuate that he is somehow corrupt and uses his programme to feather his own nest. “His "opinion" is a vested interest in reinvigorating the property market...” “5 minute plug for Conrad Gallaghers new restaurant” “Another 5 minute business plug today "Jonathans Barber Shop in the Shelbourne Hotel"” and, (about U2),“Tax avoiders with the connivance of Fianna fail” .

The innuendo in the above posts suggest he is crooked and insinuates that he is corrupt, and I wrote to Clare Duignan in an attempt to clarify, which she did, and which was posted in the thread in full. It is grossly unfair to make such innuendo and insinuations, and consequently it is necessary to try to clarify.

That you consider those who post such innuendo, gossip and insinuations as not winding anyone up, and that you consider someone who wants to clarify and try to clear up such innuendo as winding people up, seems unusual.

I dislike those who throw mud at others (in this case G Ryan) especially when he is not in a position to stand up for himself.

tbh

cunsiderthis has given me permission to post the messages he sent to Degsy after Degsy got banned.

The first one:

Originally Posted by Cunsiderthis
I wanted to know that I reported your last remarks about gerry ryan in that now closed thread. Seriously, you are lucky if he doesn't sue you for defamation. Why are you so obsessed with him? It's a mystery.


the second:

Originally Posted by Cunsiderthis
LOL, I should have guessed that your response would be to avoid looking at yourself and your apparrant obsession with gerry ryan, and employ diversionary tactics.

You're gas, but note that any repetition of the sorts of remarks such as those deleted and you will be reported again and next time a request to delete your profile will be sent.

xx

Originally Posted by Cunsiderthis
I wanted to know that I reported your last remarks about gerry ryan in that now closed thread. Seriously, you are lucky if he doesn't sue you for defamation. Why are you so obsessed with him? It's a mystery.

I seriously think you should go and see a shrink.

In light of these messages, and the posts in the radio forum, and the posts in the celeb & showbiz forum, there's nothing you can say to me that will convince me you're weren't engaged in a campaign to wind degsy up.
You were banned for that, and you'll be banned, permanently, if you do it again.

Your ban expires today. please don't post in the G. Ryan show thread again.

thats all I have to say

tbh

sorry - forgot to include this one:

Degsy wrote:

Cunsiderthis wrote:

I thought you said, last week, you were abandoning the Gerry Ryan Radio Show Thread in the Arts Radio section of boards.ie as here

Degsy wrote: »

Right,i'm out of this thread..its moderated to death...seeya over in Celebrity and Showbiz.

It’s great to see you have changed your mind and have resumed posting their as below

Degsy wrote: »

He was talking to a doctor about viagra...he said "so you can ejaculate and then remain hard,yeah" and the doc says "no,the human male loses his erection after ejaculation..its the way of the species".
Gerry say "yeah but people like you and me can mantain it after we come..hur hurr"
Silence from the doctor...

Do you now think it’s not moderated to death?

I don't think anyone else would have seen cunsiderthis' post as anything else but yet another attempt to "call out" degsy. We told him we wouldn't tolerate that, seems he didn't think we were serious.

Cunsiderthis

I really don't want to become bogged down and am tempted to just let this rest.

However, I must point out that you seem to be inconsistent in your reasoning.

First, you said I was banned for "Off-topic posting.

I'm sick of this - 3 day ban. Next time will be 3 months. I'm not going to keep telling you to stop with the obsession on other peoples posts…”

Then you appeared to change your mind and said it was for ""deliberately trying to wind up other posters" and "he is annoying".

Now you seem to have changed your mind again and have said its for a private email exchange Degsy and I had, part of which you have reproduced here, out of context, and is only one side of the correspondence.

Additionally, I am confused as to why you ban someone from your forum for 3 days, then you request then, when the ban is lifted, to impose their own self ban, even thought your ban has been lifted.

You seem to ignore the points I made about some of the things which were said about Gerry Ryan to suggest that he is corrupt and crooked, which implies you think that its ok to say those things about a law abiding citizen of this country, and that anyone who attempts to correct them should be stopped.

I know moderating a thread isn't easy, but to reproduce private messages, out of context and with only one side of the correspondence, suggests you might be a little too quick to believe one "side" of the story, and rush to condemn the other side before finding out the full facts.

Will

There is a fine line with being interested in someone's posts. However, pretty clear to me anyway that you are out to just annoy and 'bait' Degsy at every opportunity. PM'ing him when he was banned to jut rub it in his face? Poor form. Fully stand by TBH's banning, I think he was even a bit too lenient on you.

You also bypassed the cmods and went straight to the help desk, which is fine. Suit yourself.

Advice would be to stop hounding Degsy.

tbh

Cunsiderthis wrote: »

I really don't want to become bogged down and am tempted to just let this rest.

I agree - I'm not going to get bogged down either, I've given you my explanation.

Additionally, I am confused as to why you ban someone from your forum for 3 days, then you request then, when the ban is lifted, to impose their own self ban, even thought your ban has been lifted.

I'm sorry you're confused. Allow me to clarify. If you post in the Gerry Ryan show thread again, you'll be banned from the forum permanently

You seem to ignore the points I made about some of the things which were said about Gerry Ryan to suggest that he is corrupt and crooked, which implies you think that its ok to say those things about a law abiding citizen of this country, and that anyone who attempts to correct them should be stopped.

You're right, I was ignoring them.

I know moderating a thread isn't easy, but to reproduce private messages, out of context and with only one side of the correspondence, suggests you might be a little too quick to believe one "side" of the story, and rush to condemn the other side before finding out the full facts.

Firstly, I asked you for your permission to publish those PMs, once on thread and twice in subsequent PM's and I didn't publish them until I got it.

Secondly, I published the entire contents of the messages I received, unedited. The messages were forwarded to me, with no additional comment, by degsy. It's a pretty black and white case of cheap goading as far as I'm concerned, although I can understand why you'd try to claim otherwise.

I've said everything I want to say and I won't be making any more replies. If you want to waste your time playing semantics after this, that's up to you. I find it hard to believe you are as confused as you claim, but if you are, maybe the radio forum just isn't for you.

Cunsiderthis

tbh wrote: »

...

Secondly, I published the entire contents of the messages I received, unedited.

The key words in your answer would seem to be

tbh wrote: »

...I received,

You published part of the full correspondence, out of context and with only one side of the correspondence.

If you feel that's responsible, and balanced, and is likely to give a complete picture, and if you feel that there is only one side to every story, then that that's your judgement.

Most of the rest of us have learned that there are, more usually, two sides to every story, and have learned that it's wise to see and hear both sides before reaching a judgement.