The Beginning of the End

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. (Winston Churchill)

It has been eight months since the events of last July set us on our present path.  Establishing the truth has involved a long period of examination and analysis.  We might have been able to publish our findings a little earlier but we have experienced illness, surgery and other real life situations which took priority.

lChris, dyebat and I have been lied about publicly in particularly vicious ways.  I have been a victim of malicious communication by CB, approved by SBFII staff, and so it is of particular importance to me to make it a matter of public record that this was done without foundation.

For four months we put our faith in the Board of Directors of (the now) SBFII and took them at their word when they promised a full investigation as to what had taken place.

When, after months the promised report failed to appear, Knudt, lChris & Dyebat and I started to blog, in order to bring the truth to light by putting pressure on the Board to have a full examination of the forum record and the results made public. Our actions did appear to have some effect.

A report from the Board of Directors was finally posted in mid November but it became apparent that no thorough investigation had been taken, and that no honest disclosure would be forthcoming.

So we continued with our own investigation.  We examined relevant threads from the July period, establishing a time-line and converting times for data into EST, which is 'forum time'. We continued to blog and to continue to try to clear our names.

By December, it became quite obvious that the administrators at SBFII were not prepared to bring the truth to light and so I made the decision to resign.  So did lChris and dyebat. Knudt did not resign, but was (soon) banned.

It was at this point that dyebat decided that knudt and I could be handed some of the Hostgator records (for the period during which she had been the owner) to carry out a thorough investigation.

In January we received the first part of the database. We then had to learn how to read, search, analyse and interpret it.  We sometimes had to search in several places to find the truth, when attempts had been made to cover it up.  

We received more of the database in March. The pieces of the puzzle began to come together at last.  Despite the delay and the length of the journey to truth, I am able to confirm that we did get definitive answers. We are now posting our findings.

It is regrettable that those responsible for the events of July 18th - 21st did not step forward in an honourable way to admit their parts in what happened.  That would have saved a lot of time and further angst from within the community.  

They Had Come to a Time When No-one Dared Speak His Mind......

 “Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth. By simply not mentioning certain subjects... totalitarian propagandists have influenced opinion much more effectively than they could have by the most eloquent denunciations.” (Aldous Huxley)

Banning knudt was just one part of the new draconian atmosphere at susan-boyle.com.  Now they are treating members cavalierly and breaking their own rules.  They are rewriting history as well as policy.  They have deleted many threads, denying members access to part of the forum record.  

There has recently been another example of the administration not treating  a member at the forum in accordance with their own rules. 

Last week a dedicated fan of Susan Boyle, active on several forums, felt she had no option but to write to the administrators of susan-boyle.com.

These words touched me, because they summarise very eloquently what many of us feel, and so I asked her permission to share them here.

"Pickled Tink and Kalua:

In spite of the fact that I've broken no rules of this forum, not one, not once, and in spite of the fact that I've never been given a warning of any kind, last night I was designated "pre-moderation." I don't even know what that means, but I'm guessing it amounts to a seat in the back row of the Naughty Corner.

In every single post I've made here since this forum was a blog, I've been civil and respectful when speaking my mind. My posts have never been capricious or frivolous. Last night I asked a question because I really wanted to know. My question went unanswered, and my post was deleted, and my name was removed from your list of members. You have violated your own procedures and treated me rudely, without so much as a PM to tell me why.

The legion of your former members, the banned, the damned, and the disgusted are beginning to outnumber you. Your ever-expanding rules and definitions are a lexicon of restrictions, warnings, and punishments. It's way too tedious and banana republic for me. I've been a grownup for quite a while now, and I have no desire to be "pre-moderated" and sent to the Naughty Corner by a couple of paranoid control freaks, who are bent upon squeezing the life out of what once was a very nice place.

Please delete my account.

Sincerely,
Skywriter

Has the forum, as George Orwell wrote, come to a time when no one dared speak his mind?  What are members to think when someone can be punished for simply asking a question?

Speak the Truth and Shame the Devil.

The truth is "hate speech" only to those who have something to hide.

(Michael Rivero)

January 11th 2011 will go down as another dark day in the history of susan-boyle.com.

This afternoon knudt was banned from that forum by kalua for "disruptive beahviour (stet) on the forum."

What had she posted today to deserve such a fate?  What was so disruptive?

Not a thing!

This afternoon Knudt was saving print versions of threads for her own reference.  It is important to her to be accurate in her blogs.

She received an email notification of a PM from kalua.  She had to read the message in her Hotmail account as she was unable to read the message on the forum; she had already been banned.

This is the message she received,

Knudt 

For the last several days you have been copying and printing entire threads.If I see you doing it once more you or one of your croonies I will ban you and the lot. 

I'm absolutely sure that the international court in The Hague will accept your complaint. 

Your behaviour in this forum has become intolerable, you are warned! and if this pm lands in your blog, the same applies a complete ban.

Kalua
Administrator

It is a good thing that someone is preserving threads from susan-boyle.com because today quite a few 'disappeared'.  

Why?  Unless there is something to hide of course.....