Just Following Orders? Nae Excuse!

I have recently received a copy of an email sent by Stevieboy last July.  The member who passed it along assumed that we had already seen it.  Not so.  If others have relevant information that we have not mentioned, please let us know.

When converted to the database time, the email was received at 07:47 am Monday July 19, 2010.

Dear friends, 

I have been asked by Tink to inform you of the situation as it stands right now on the Forum. 
As you might be aware by now, Carlos (Kalua) has resigned as Admin of the site, effective immediately and I and Ross Manarchy (waldog) have also resigned. This is in response to the behaviour by dyebat and Lchris and what is perceived to be an attempt to undermine the Staff. We are also under sustained attack by those member of DJFG's site, who are conspiring to destroy the forum, something they have been trying to do now for many months, even before the recent auction. 

If you wish the bulk of the remaining Staff to remain, then you are requested to say this in the strongest possible terms, for as it stands at the moment, the entire Staff is about to resign en masse.

Thank you,
Graeme

PS Please pass this message on to your friends on the forum, the ones that you can trust!

Tink asked Stevieboy to send the email, so it can be reasonably assumed that she knew what he would say.  I believe that this email further implicates Pickled Tink as one of those coordinating the events of July 2010.

Stevieboy claimed that Dyebat and lchris were trying to undermine staff, but as we have shown, they did no such thing.  They had always expected staff to be in charge, and asked them to return. 

So why had the rumour that Dyebat and lchris wanted to undermine staff been passed around?  Most likely it was the result of their questioning of Kalua’s excessive need for secrecy.  He had refused to provide any identification at all, even though he was to be Director of the Board.  If Dyebat and lchris insisted on it, they had to be discredited.

Stevieboy claimed that the site was “under sustained attack” from DJG members.  We now know that the “sustained attack” had nothing to do with DJG and was done by JudyOkla and Danileo.  But who told Stevieboy that it was the DJGers?

Stevieboy also said that the ”entire Staff is about to resign en masse”.  He asked for members to say if they wanted the staff to remain “in the strongest possible terms”.  This is further confirmation of the ploy by staff to walk out and orchestrate the membership to demand their return.

It is clear that the events of July 18th were coordinated by the several staff members.

It is possible that some of the staff members were unaware that it was a sham and were used by others.  Stevieboy had been trusted by the membership of the forum.  If he knew that that the whole thing was a set-up, it was a betrayal of the forum members.  If he did not know about the activities of JudyOkla and Danileo, it is especially unfortunate that he would be used in this way to spread disinformation.

Facts Are Stubborn Things.

I have prepared a synopsis/summary of relevant points as some readers told us that it would be helpful.  This is the story so far:

No former members were unbanned on July 18th.

No banned members were approved, contrary to the comments made by Pickled Tink in the Board report.

False rumours of forum takeover were spread by staff including LonniR, Waldog and Truus. The cybertroll known as Orgonon/Mark Conner/Walkerd/willson/MaryAnn (et al) was in direct contact with most staff members and told them lies which they believed and acted upon.

LonniR rallied support by perpetuating the lies among certain members.

JudyOkla and Danileo created at least six false identities and attempted to give them Admin powers. They were partially successful. They altered records to hide when the false member accounts were created and when they were given Admin powers.

A new member account was created which Lonnirose used in the name of larryF. This account information was also altered to make it appear that 'he' had joined the forum in 2009. LonniR used this account solely to spread misinformation.

EvaMarie/Danileo logged on to the forum as an Admin. After JudyOkla and Danileo announced their resignations and had apparently left, they continued to work in the Admin Control Panel under false names. EvaMarie/Danileo returned with the same user account, but using two different proxies. A proxy is a way of disguising identity and location when online.  One of these proxies gave a UK location as described in my previous blog.

 

Stay tuned!  Watch this space.....

*Title credited to John Adams.

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?

Long Walk to Freedom

We should put the spin-doctors in spin clinics, where they can meet other spin patients and be treated by spin consultants. The rest of us can get on with the proper democratic process.

Benn,Tony (Anthony Neil Wedgwood)
In The Independent,'Quote Unquote', 25 Oct.

It is said that a year is a long time in politics.

That being accepted, eighteen months in the Susan Boyle community can seem like a lifetime.

Since April 11th 2009, I think I can truly say I have experienced the full range of emotions several times over; from exhilaration, to the depths of despair.

When I first heard Susan sing, I experienced what everyone else on the forums describe.  Her audition tape still has the same effect.  Nothing has diminished.  I don't think it ever will.

I had never joined a forum before, let alone a fan forum, and in the beginning I felt awkward and quite shy.  I lurked for a number of weeks before summoning up the courage to join susan-boyle.com.  It took me almost as long to make my first post, and when I did I felt like a school kid sitting an examination.  I still remember the wave of relief when someone did actually reply to my post.

I soon made friendships, several of which I'm sure will endure. 'Virtual' friends became flesh and blood as we discovered the joy of Skype and could hear each other's voices.  We laughed, cried and celebrated Susan Boyle together and it was wonderful!

At times it seemed too good to last, and of course, it was.  

The community became splintered quite early in the history of the forum and it appears to me that some opportunists used that to forward their own agendas.

On numerous occasions I have had my words twisted around to mean something entirely different to what I intended.  Two individuals were particularly good at this.  One was the cyber bully; the other was Pickled Tink.  

A brazen example of this was illustrated in the Board report.  Not only did PT knowingly lie about my actions, but she manipulated my own words to make her lie seem more plausible.

When words are spun repeatedly, changing the characterisation and context of what was said, it may be clever, but it is not commendable.  It creates a pattern of deception.

I could have expected no better from the cyber troll, but I certainly expected better from Pickled Tink. I have only one message for her.  Nietzsche said it well,

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you”

And that is why I can never go back to susan-boyle.com.  It truly has been a very long walk to freedom....

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and mirrors is a metaphor for a deceptive, fraudulent or insubstantial explanation or description. The source of the name is based on magicians' illusions, where magicians make objects appear or disappear by extending or retracting mirrors amid a confusing burst of smoke. The expression may have a connotation of virtuosity or cleverness in carrying out such a deception. (Wikipedia)

Tonight the Board of SBFII meets again.  I see that a 'correction' has been made to the report of November 14th. It was done quietly yesterday afternoon.  In fact, had I not looked myself I would have had no idea this had happened. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the amendment.   My time travel days are over. I hope we get no more 'smoke and mirrors' from tonight's meeting.

To get the right answers, one has first to ask the right questions...

The Board's 'independent' investigation into the events of July 18th failed to ask the right questions of the expert.  

The 'Independent' investigation promised to members was to be conducted by someone not involved directly with current Staff or Board Members. It was moved (unknown to members and lchris/dyebat) to be conducted at the home of the Director of the Board by a friend/neighbour of her son.

All seven members of the Board approved this. All seven members of the Board presented this report to members as their 'Independent' investigation. What is untenable is the fact that two (staff) Board members signed the original report dated November 14th even though they knew it contained statements that were at best misleading.  How on earth could this have happened?  Are they not aware of the weight such a statement carries?

From the official report of that investigation the investigator was asked to "examine the data base to see if there was any evidence of hacking, or interference and to comment upon the database errors which we were and are continuing to experience."

Had this been a genuinely neutral investigation all involved should have been asked a few questions in order to piece together the chronology. Neither Xeno, lchris, dyebat or I were ever asked any questions by the investigator. lchris collected data throughout, yet no one asked for it.  The findings would have been very different had this happened.

But sometimes it pays to ask people the wrong questions so you can make the outcome appear to be suitable for your purposes.

I want to give credit to two technical analysts on the forum who, after the events of July 18th, came to lchris and apologised unreservedly for their part in the confusion that night. They told Chris they had created two admin accounts because they genuinely believed that the forum was under attack (by the faction named by the cyber stalker bully.)  They had been unable to grant super-admin powers to those accounts, but their logic at that time had been perfectly rational.  Was it any wonder they were led to believe that the attack was genuine, when another staff member had issued a call to arms earlier that day?

It was by working with certain staff members, and others, that the cyber stalker was so successful.  He did not have to repeat his deceptions; the 'team' did it for him.  That gave his lies far more credence.

What I find extremely difficult to come to terms with is the assertion that those two new admin accounts were created as 'redundancy' (safeguards).  It makes no sense that two experienced technical officers should practise a fire drill if they thought the building was genuinely on fire!  The truth, on the other hand, makes perfect sense.  If those two accounts were authorised, they were authorised retrospectively; not on July 18th/19th.

But I still find it incredulous that the report also laid the effect of the troll's influence firmly at our door.  By 'our' I mean lchris, dyebat and me.

I really think it is time for people to stand up and 'fess up.

Some of the staff, some Board members, and some of the general members know more of this story and are keeping quiet, allowing innocent people to take the blame. To them I would say, you owe all of us in the Susan Boyle community the truth. We want to move on and forward in unity. You are preventing that. There is no shame in telling the truth.

On the Internet, No-one Knows You're a Dog

(cartoon by Peter Steiner)

It has been something of a long day today.  Some obstacles overcome and progress made; some still to face.  I have always tended to judge people on what they do, rather than what they say.  Some people talk a very good game....

Today was a day of reflection, amongst other things.  How much do we really 'know' about the people we think we 'know'?

I borrowed the iconic cartoon image from Peter Steiner to illustrate tonight's blog.

My husband used to refer to my forum friends as 'virtual friends'.  Thanks to Skype, I speak to most of them now, on a regular basis.  They become less 'virtual' and more real each time.  Even my husband speaks to one of them, and they exchange video clips!  Who'd a thunk it? But even that does not guarantee safety on the internet.

Some people are unwilling to chat by voice.  Those are the virtual friends of whom, perhaps, we should be wary.

I had a long period of correspondence with the cyber-troll; mostly about trivia, trips to the cinema and travelling.  I suggested a couple of times that we chat.  He always ignored that request, or had some excuse.

Someone on the forum once asked him what accent he had, and he replied that he had a Norfolk accent.  I am familiar with Norfolk accents, coincidentally.  I wonder if he avoided talking to me because he actually had the 'wrong' accent?  Intriguing, isn't it?

The important thing is, take nothing for granted.  That handsome 6' hunk you think you are talking to could be anything from a fictional character to something far, far more sinister.....

Think safety always.  You know it makes sense!

More tomorrow folks.  It's been a very looooooong day.