very new to this forum, but not new to online forums, moderated or not. In my experience, with the anonymity and distance that the internet provides, people really let it all out. Also, we only have the written word, without all the other cues, visual and physical that go along with a conversation. So, things can be misinterpreted, or misspoken I don't mean to imply that what happened here was a result of misinterpretation, I am not implying anything since I have no idea what went on. But, I do see this sometimes. And, it's really sad.
Minerva said
Jul 2, 2011
Hi Annie,
I am sure Steff will respond to you herself, i just wanted to point out a couple of things.
Firstly, it would be in no-one's interest to post ANY messages they have received, or to reveal who they are. That would go against the ideal of keeping the forum a safe space and would not help anything.
There are messages and they have been seen by both myself and Steff. I hope you can understand that we cannot post them due to the delicate nature of this situation, nor send them to members either.
On any Forum there are always things that go on 'behind the scenes', as it were, and those things are necessary in order to keep the Forum running smoothly.
A decision to ban was made based on Gail's behaviour after she was removed as Mod. It is not a decision that was made lightly Annie, and would not have been done were it not totally necessary. It would achieve nothing to start listing the behaviour that led up to this decision, and it would be totally inappropriate.
I hope this helps to clear up your questions.
Hugs
Heather xxx
-- Edited by Minerva on Saturday 2nd of July 2011 04:51:30 PM
medusa said
Jul 2, 2011
LaurieBluesGuy wrote:
Gail has been banned because some people have been receiving some very disturbing pm's from her, which we have been made aware of. If people are being intimidated in this way, then we have to put a stop to it.
Hi all, don't drop by here that much anymore, life, work, an incredible wife and children, demanding hobbies and my love of sport have all taken their demand on my time.
Hep C has taken a back seat, after recovery perhaps that is the way it should be, like all veterans, once the battle is over - the painful memories fade and get replaced with the wonderful gift of a full life that we now have the opportunity to partake.
Anyway, I digress.
The above comments attributed to Gail does not sound like the Gail that I am personally very fond of and in-tune with, doesn't sound like Gail at all.
People being banned, fighting, arguments - seem to remind me of another Forum that I once belonged to and was glad to see the back of.
Never believed we would see it here.
Makes all our original efforts in setting this place up seem worthless.
Ah well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Love,
Lau
With all due respect Lau, using the word "attributed", implies that we are being less than honest. Sometimes people behave out of character, for reasons that we are not aware of. Glad to hear that all is well with you and yours.
Love Steff xx
-- Edited by greenqueen on Thursday 30th of June 2011 06:59:27 AM
Hi Steff and everyone, Do not take this as personal criticism, I am keeping an open mind on the subject until I know more.
Gail has been a moderator and key member of this forum from long before I joined. She was a very good moderator, always active in sorting out problems, defending those being bullied whether she agreed with them or not, and providing a wealth of useful information. She has put a tremendous amount of time and energy into this forum, as have both you and Heather. If there was some internal antipathy and disageement between the moderators, leading to her dismisal on a majority decision, then it is perhaps comprehensible if that is how the forum is set up. The problem is that banning her, without allowing her to defend herself, on the grounds of private messages which are deeply disturbing attributed to her, and intimidation of forum members, poses more questions than it answers. There is no evidence visible to the forum members. I would like to know if you have seen these messages for yourself? Does 'deeply disturbing' mean abusive or threatening or showing signs of incipient mental breakdown? It would help to clear up the underlying unease and distress if the forum members thus intimidated would be courageous enough to post. Until then it does seem very out of caracter from what I know of Gail. The situation has not been helped by the sacking and banning not being anounced straight away, allowing rumour, shock and speculation to circulate among us.
I would like to say thank-you to Gail for her enormous contribution over many years to this forum, and to wish her all the best for the future. I will miss her.
Love Annie xxxxx
Minerva said
Jul 2, 2011
Hi Iris,
James is not banned. Also as others have said, you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about and are in no way responsible. There were sadly things going on behind the scenes too.
Hugs,
Heather xxx
-- Edited by Minerva on Saturday 2nd of July 2011 11:26:33 AM
Greg said
Jul 1, 2011
Dear Iris,
It is not your fault Iris, It is indeed unfortunate that Gail has been banned from the forum. As Gnome has said, you are not responsible for what other people say or do on the forum, please don't take it to heart.
Like Jill I can't comment on James's status, but I know everyone is glad he is here.
Please read Lau's post below and be re-assured that it had nothing to do with you.
Love and Hugs, Greg xx
-- Edited by Greg on Saturday 2nd of July 2011 12:01:26 AM
Gnome gardener said
Jul 1, 2011
Iris, please, do not blame yourself...you are absolutely not responsible for what other people say/write on this forum. This is what I know...and I don't know much:) hugs, J.
James10500 said
Jul 1, 2011
Iris not your fault !!
Jill thanks for the kind words. I couldn't have done it w/o you guys last fall and winter !!
james
Cinnamon Girl said
Jul 1, 2011
Dear Iris, rest assured that you have NOTHING to blame yourself for AT ALL, please, please don`t think that for a moment. From what I know of the situation, it was a much wider issue than what was said on that one thread. Nothing to do with anything you said AT ALL.
I can`t comment on James` status. He is one of us and a very supportive and helpful member of the forum, well loved by all of us. All I can say is that Moocow was one of our Moderators and as such went beyond the guidelines. Scroll down and read Laurie`s post again and you will understand.
All the best to you, love and hugs, Jill xxx
Iris Dragonfly said
Jul 1, 2011
I'm soooooooooo sorry,... I feel partially responsible for Moocow's departure. I dont' understand "banned" because I see that James is banned and he still posts.
Gnome gardener said
Jun 30, 2011
YES...Greg is back!
Thank you Greg... Hugs,J.
tobytucker said
Jun 30, 2011
Greg I am glad you are back. all of us need the support and encouragement from each other. I am very new here but you already mean a lot to me, all of you.
borowif said
Jun 30, 2011
Welcome back my friend.
Lovely to see you here again. How could we cope without your kindness & support. Plus who would take over with your baby....... The Juke box?
Lots of luv & hugs
Lesley xx
Minerva said
Jun 30, 2011
Thanks for all the supportive feedback. Greg, great to see you back!!
Best wishes to all.
Hugs, Heather xxx
Jean said
Jun 30, 2011
I realise that I am only a newbie here but would like to comment if thats OK?. I have been a member on moderated and un-moderated forums and I must say that in my opinion that the moderated ones are best!
I dont know whats been going on here as Ive only recently joined and everyone has been very nice and helpful to me in the few posts Ive written.
In my experience with any forum you get a mix of people and although most get along some wont, its a fact of life and we all have to live with it. Unfortunately in the hep C world there is an added emotion in that many people are on a mental roller coaster much of the time.
I don't think that the 2 ladies that run this forum would have done what they did yesterday without a very good reason.
I am sure that being a moderator takes time and energy and I would just like to say thank you to them for making this a safe place for people to be.
Please could we pull together and get this forum back to how it was when I was just reading it and not a member?
Thanks xx
Cinnamon Girl said
Jun 30, 2011
Hi Lau, lovely to hear from you, but it`s so sad that you`ve had to see this distressing state of affairs. But as the others have said, your efforts certainly have not been in vain, this is merely a hiccup and will pass. We have so many valued and loved members on this forum who will continue to make it the friendly. open and supportive place it was and is meant to be.
Very pleased for you that you`re life post HCV is so good.
Hi Greg, so pleased to see you back! Well done my friend, we are all here for you.
Take care all, peace and love, Jill xxx
Ty - I know what your favourite sx was - walking off with other peoples` shopping carts! xx
greenqueen said
Jun 30, 2011
Lovely to see you back, Greg - you and Catie have been very much missed!
Hope you are doing well and please keep that Jukebox going
Love Steff xxxx
Greg said
Jun 30, 2011
Hi Everyone,
I have had a lot of messages of support from people that I hold very dear, and I have realized that I wouldn't have made it this far without their wonderful love and support. I cannot turn my back on my friends and just walk away from you lovely people, it would be rather bad form indeed and very unlike me.
I love you all, Greg
Back from my short sabbatical
Kirstin said
Jun 29, 2011
I have no doubt that the forum will get back to being the wonderful place that I have experienced since joining.
Laurie, I am so happy to hear that life is moving on for you, as it should.. Reading your posts gives me the hope that this damn thing called HepC will only be a bump in the road & I'll getting back to living once again.
The future is bright & life is wonderful
ty said
Jun 29, 2011
Hi Lau,
I can't let you get away with thinking like that. This forum got me through tx and all those wonderful sx's. (and yes, Jill, I'm still trying to think of which one was my "most" favorite, lol.)
I've had a few fairly serious illnesses in my life, but this tx almost "required" me to have people to talk to who could understand what I was going through. The friends that I have made on the forum helped me understand what was a normal sx and what was the best way to deal with it.
I went through the learning phases like everyone else and am now in the final stages of this battle. Whether I attain SVR or not it was this forum that got me this far, so thanks again for your time and effort, ty
Minerva said
Jun 29, 2011
Glad to hear things are going so well with yourself and family Lau. It is indeed very sad what has happened and i am confident the Forum will recover from it and return to being a safe and friendly place for the members. People on treatment certainly do not need this.
I think that our original efforts were most definitely not worthless and I believe that there is a strong enough membership here to survive this sad disruption, if people choose to allow that to happen.
Hugs
Heather xxx
LaurieBluesGuy said
Jun 29, 2011
Gail has been banned because some people have been receiving some very disturbing pm's from her, which we have been made aware of. If people are being intimidated in this way, then we have to put a stop to it.
Hi all, don't drop by here that much anymore, life, work, an incredible wife and children, demanding hobbies and my love of sport have all taken their demand on my time.
Hep C has taken a back seat, after recovery perhaps that is the way it should be, like all veterans, once the battle is over - the painful memories fade and get replaced with the wonderful gift of a full life that we now have the opportunity to partake.
Anyway, I digress.
The above comments attributed to Gail does not sound like the Gail that I am personally very fond of and in-tune with, doesn't sound like Gail at all.
People being banned, fighting, arguments - seem to remind me of another Forum that I once belonged to and was glad to see the back of.
Never believed we would see it here.
Makes all our original efforts in setting this place up seem worthless.
Ah well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Love,
Lau
With all due respect Lau, using the word "attributed", implies that we are being less than honest. Sometimes people behave out of character, for reasons that we are not aware of. Glad to hear that all is well with you and yours.
Love Steff xx
-- Edited by greenqueen on Thursday 30th of June 2011 06:59:27 AM
Hi Annie,
I am sure Steff will respond to you herself, i just wanted to point out a couple of things.
Firstly, it would be in no-one's interest to post ANY messages they have received, or to reveal who they are. That would go against the ideal of keeping the forum a safe space and would not help anything.
There are messages and they have been seen by both myself and Steff. I hope you can understand that we cannot post them due to the delicate nature of this situation, nor send them to members either.
On any Forum there are always things that go on 'behind the scenes', as it were, and those things are necessary in order to keep the Forum running smoothly.
A decision to ban was made based on Gail's behaviour after she was removed as Mod. It is not a decision that was made lightly Annie, and would not have been done were it not totally necessary. It would achieve nothing to start listing the behaviour that led up to this decision, and it would be totally inappropriate.
I hope this helps to clear up your questions.
Hugs
Heather xxx
-- Edited by Minerva on Saturday 2nd of July 2011 04:51:30 PM
Hi Steff and everyone, Do not take this as personal criticism, I am keeping an open mind on the subject until I know more.
Gail has been a moderator and key member of this forum from long before I joined. She was a very good moderator, always active in sorting out problems, defending those being bullied whether she agreed with them or not, and providing a wealth of useful information. She has put a tremendous amount of time and energy into this forum, as have both you and Heather. If there was some internal antipathy and disageement between the moderators, leading to her dismisal on a majority decision, then it is perhaps comprehensible if that is how the forum is set up. The problem is that banning her, without allowing her to defend herself, on the grounds of private messages which are deeply disturbing attributed to her, and intimidation of forum members, poses more questions than it answers. There is no evidence visible to the forum members. I would like to know if you have seen these messages for yourself? Does 'deeply disturbing' mean abusive or threatening or showing signs of incipient mental breakdown? It would help to clear up the underlying unease and distress if the forum members thus intimidated would be courageous enough to post. Until then it does seem very out of caracter from what I know of Gail. The situation has not been helped by the sacking and banning not being anounced straight away, allowing rumour, shock and speculation to circulate among us.
I would like to say thank-you to Gail for her enormous contribution over many years to this forum, and to wish her all the best for the future. I will miss her.
Love Annie xxxxx
Hi Iris,
James is not banned. Also as others have said, you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about and are in no way responsible. There were sadly things going on behind the scenes too.
Hugs,
Heather xxx
-- Edited by Minerva on Saturday 2nd of July 2011 11:26:33 AM
Dear Iris,
It is not your fault Iris, It is indeed unfortunate that Gail has been banned from the forum. As Gnome has said, you are not responsible for what other people say or do on the forum, please don't take it to heart.
Like Jill I can't comment on James's status, but I know everyone is glad he is here.
Please read Lau's post below and be re-assured that it had nothing to do with you.
Love and Hugs,
Greg xx
-- Edited by Greg on Saturday 2nd of July 2011 12:01:26 AM
Jill thanks for the kind words. I couldn't have done it w/o you guys last fall and winter !!
james
Dear Iris, rest assured that you have NOTHING to blame yourself for AT ALL, please, please don`t think that for a moment. From what I know of the situation, it was a much wider issue than what was said on that one thread. Nothing to do with anything you said AT ALL.
I can`t comment on James` status. He is one of us and a very supportive and helpful member of the forum, well loved by all of us. All I can say is that Moocow was one of our Moderators and as such went beyond the guidelines. Scroll down and read Laurie`s post again and you will understand.
All the best to you, love and hugs, Jill xxx
I'm soooooooooo sorry,... I feel partially responsible for Moocow's departure. I dont' understand "banned" because I see that James is banned and he still posts.
Welcome back my friend.
Lovely to see you here again. How could we cope without your kindness & support. Plus who would take over with your baby....... The Juke box?
Lots of luv & hugs
Lesley xx
Thanks for all the supportive feedback. Greg, great to see you back!!
Best wishes to all.
Hugs, Heather xxx
I realise that I am only a newbie here but would like to comment if thats OK?. I have been a member on moderated and un-moderated forums and I must say that in my opinion that the moderated ones are best!
I dont know whats been going on here as Ive only recently joined and everyone has been very nice and helpful to me in the few posts Ive written.
In my experience with any forum you get a mix of people and although most get along some wont, its a fact of life and we all have to live with it. Unfortunately in the hep C world there is an added emotion in that many people are on a mental roller coaster much of the time.
I don't think that the 2 ladies that run this forum would have done what they did yesterday without a very good reason.
I am sure that being a moderator takes time and energy and I would just like to say thank you to them for making this a safe place for people to be.
Please could we pull together and get this forum back to how it was when I was just reading it and not a member?
Thanks xx
Hi Lau, lovely to hear from you, but it`s so sad that you`ve had to see this distressing state of affairs. But as the others have said, your efforts certainly have not been in vain, this is merely a hiccup and will pass. We have so many valued and loved members on this forum who will continue to make it the friendly. open and supportive place it was and is meant to be.
Very pleased for you that you`re life post HCV is so good.
Hi Greg, so pleased to see you back!
Well done my friend, we are all here for you.
Take care all, peace and love, Jill xxx
Ty - I know what your favourite sx was - walking off with other peoples` shopping carts!
xx
Lovely to see you back, Greg - you and Catie have been very much missed!
Hope you are doing well and please keep that Jukebox going
Love Steff xxxx
Hi Everyone,
I have had a lot of messages of support from people that I hold very dear, and I have realized that I wouldn't have made it this far without their wonderful love and support. I cannot turn my back on my friends and just walk away from you lovely people, it would be rather bad form indeed and very unlike me.
I love you all,
Greg
Back from my short sabbatical
I have no doubt that the forum will get back to being the wonderful place that I have experienced since joining.
Laurie, I am so happy to hear that life is moving on for you, as it should.. Reading your posts gives me the hope that this damn thing called HepC will only be a bump in the road & I'll getting back to living once again.
The future is bright & life is wonderful
Hi Lau,
I can't let you get away with thinking like that. This forum got me through tx and all those wonderful sx's. (and yes, Jill, I'm still trying to think of which one was my "most" favorite, lol.)
I've had a few fairly serious illnesses in my life, but this tx almost "required" me to have people to talk to who could understand what I was going through. The friends that I have made on the forum helped me understand what was a normal sx and what was the best way to deal with it.
I went through the learning phases like everyone else and am now in the final stages of this battle. Whether I attain SVR or not it was this forum that got me this far, so thanks again for your time and effort, ty
Glad to hear things are going so well with yourself and family Lau. It is indeed very sad what has happened and i am confident the Forum will recover from it and return to being a safe and friendly place for the members. People on treatment certainly do not need this.
I think that our original efforts were most definitely not worthless and I believe that there is a strong enough membership here to survive this sad disruption, if people choose to allow that to happen.
Hugs
Heather xxx
Gail has been banned because some people have been receiving some very disturbing pm's from her, which we have been made aware of. If people are being intimidated in this way, then we have to put a stop to it.
Hi all, don't drop by here that much anymore, life, work, an incredible wife and children, demanding hobbies and my love of sport have all taken their demand on my time.
Hep C has taken a back seat, after recovery perhaps that is the way it should be, like all veterans, once the battle is over - the painful memories fade and get replaced with the wonderful gift of a full life that we now have the opportunity to partake.
Anyway, I digress.
The above comments attributed to Gail does not sound like the Gail that I am personally very fond of and in-tune with, doesn't sound like Gail at all.
People being banned, fighting, arguments - seem to remind me of another Forum that I once belonged to and was glad to see the back of.
Never believed we would see it here.
Makes all our original efforts in setting this place up seem worthless.
Ah well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Love,
Lau
With all due respect Lau, using the word "attributed", implies that we are being less than honest. Sometimes people behave out of character, for reasons that we are not aware of. Glad to hear that all is well with you and yours.
Love Steff xx
-- Edited by greenqueen on Thursday 30th of June 2011 06:59:27 AM