Guys, I still don't understand why everyone wasn't able to chill out long enough to bring things back to normal. Everyone (on both sides) who was involved took this Us vs. Them attitiude that I didn't understand and still don't. I am loyal to my friends, but not when they are evenly situated on both sides of the issue. Thing is that we shoulda been able to resolve this in person and more amicably at that.
I'm not getting too involved, but I fully support the actions of Vik. I trust his judgment. One administrative point If you want me to remove your account from the database, please send that request to me by email rlay -a-t- ferrarichat.com. Banning does not mean your account is removed. For all practical purposes, you don't need to be dramatic and say anything, just turn your Admin emails off under User Controls and stop coming. Does this mean the old neighborhood can move back in?
In psychology collective hysteria (also referred to as mass hysteria) is the name given to a phenomenon of the manifestation of the same hysterical symptoms by more than one person. It normally begins when an individual shows a hysteric manifestation in front of others who "contagiously" acquire the same symptoms. Examples include cases of accidents in which people act "irrationally", screaming, running in the wrong direction, etc; cases in which a person who is suspected of a crime is caught by a group and one of the members throws a stone or gives the first kick, and the rest join the action; etc. Another symptom includes group nausea, often caused by a publicly witnessed traumatic event. Seeing one person become violently ill can psychologically trigger a similar reaction in other bystanders. Writer Jerome Clarkwhile recognizing that mass panic can undoubtedly be genuine and widespreadargues that mass hysteria can be "a classic blame-the-victim strategy" in cases where authorities or experts can find no explanation for puzzling or frightening events.
In the long run, maybe this is a good thing. I don't think the public nature of the 'ban me too' is meant as anything more than a way of voicing public protest over perceived mistreatment of WoodEar. I don't know all the details, and frankly, don't know that it matters. (I thought the ban of Maranelloman was unfair, but that wasn't my call, and frankly, neither is this one.) The reason why I think that, in the long run, maybe this is a good thing, is the us vs. them issue. This section became a 'with Brad' v. 'against Brad' thing when, honestly, that's not even a real issue, at least to me. I don't go to Brad's board and take exception to his rules, views or positions on anything. He is free to do what he wants there, and I don't remember anybody here speaking ill of him because of that. Maybe it's easier to feel like an outlaw when you think that others despise you, but the truth may be far less dramatic. As to the fracture of EC/notEC, it's also completely irrelevant to me. The notion that this board with "never be the same" without EC also means nothing to me, because I'm not part of a club, a tribe, a gang or a group on any of this stuff to begin with, and don't need to align myself with one to find meaning or identity. I happen to like high performance cars and bikes, mainly Italian ones, and live in NY, and therefore come here for news, events and chatter. I've met some people through this section, just as I have through other sections of F-Chat, and enjoy those relationships. It's not about, and never was, for me at least, taking sides on whether this board sucked after Brad left. All I asked for was a little more openness and civility toward one another- that the board shouldn't be dominated , or held hostage by a few. I guess the point of this posting is that these guys can walk away mad, believing what they will about the mindset here, but the reality is, its actually more diverse, and more open-minded, than some of you were willing to acknowledge. The fact that it wasn't All Gangsta/All the Time doesn't make it a bad place, or make those of us who wanted to improve this section racist, *******, or anything else. It was your choice to be here, and your choice to leave. I'm just not sure what took some of you so long, given your views about this board in the first place.
I love all the myths going around this place. MM was not banned. He left on his own and his account is fully active. Look it up, he lurks almost every day, just doesn't post anymore. I talk to him through email now and then.
WTF just happened? Was just cleaning cars, came back to see everyone banned. I agree w/ Vik on banning Chris, the guy went way too far. And I think lots of people started to take this a little TOO seriously. Just sit back, relax, drive your car and enjoy life; Don't get all worked up over a website. I'll be staying, thank you.
I do not intend to get involved in this, and agree 100% with what Noto posted a few posts ago, but out of respect for the intention that people I count as friends had when they made the first posts in this thread, I will point out what seems to me to be a misunderstanding of intent that Rob may or may not be picking up on in this post. I'll add that I haven't consulted with anyone on this... just providing my interpretation of the original posts, which to me anyway seem to have been misinterpreted by the moderation and administration of this board. No one until the 12th post in this thread said anything about asking to be "banned." Bradley and Gene asked to have their accounts removed from the fchat database, and in a manner of speaking also asked to have any personally identifiable connection between them and this forum eliminated. To me, that means they either wanted their user names and profiles eliminated from any publicly acessible part of the board (perhaps replaced with "Guest" as some other boards have done when posed with a similar request) or perhaps they'd have preferred to have all their posts removed entirely... the first may be easiest and cleanest, the second most complete. Which one did they mean, or did they mean something else? Ask them. Oh, wait, you can't, because they're banned... Banning an account achieves none of that... and in fact has nothing to to with anything they were asking. It strikes me as a rash and unresponsive move in response to a serious request, and one which unfortunately eliminates the possibility of clarification: the very people whose requests you claim to be responding to can no longer explain what they intended, or point out that something very different from what they requested might have been done. Once again, I have no personal vested interest in this, other than that I count Bradley and Gene among the many good friends I first met here about a year ago, and whom I've enjoyed spending time with in person and online ever since then. And honestly they may well have moved on and don't much care anymore whether anyone here respects their wishes. That's not for me to say. But I don't like to see my friends express something that appears to be important to them, and then see it misinterpreted, inappropriately responded to, and responded to in such a way that eliminates any further possibility of clarification, reconciliation, or resolution - even if that resolution in this case might be the ending of a relationship on mutually agreeable terms. That's not what I consider respectful treatment of someone. That's all I really intend to say on this... but if there's anything unclear about what I've written here, I invite you to ask me and I'll try to clarify as best I can. But I would venture to say I'm NOT the one anyone here needs clarification from... V-12 OUT
Rob, I'm confused.... your not involved??? I thought you brought the new Sheriff into Rock Ridge in order to straighten the citizens out. Isn't the result you're getting exactly what you wanted? btw, the Sheriff is a ***.
Perhaps the confusion stems from the fact that their comments were directed at me, with seemingly clear intent: they wanted nothing to do with this board or the Tri-State forum. In fact, both bid their "farewell's" on their posts ("HNIC OUT 4EVER"), implying that, from their perspective, there would be no more posts, no more contribution, no more anything. I don't have privileges to remove user accounts, but my interpretation was that they wanted to see "action" taken, and taken quickly. Which I did. But I also privately noted to Rob immediately that Brad and Gene wanted their account removed. As Rob noted in an earlier post, in order to do that they need to send him an email to confirm. Brad / Gene - please do so right away and make it CLEAR what you want done. In all honesty, I think you're kidding yourself Geoff if you think the ban prevented a lack of communication. Both Brad and Gene know my email address and my phone number. They could have reached me in a number of different ways to express the fact that I misinterpreted their posts, and that they had a burning desire to further publicly clarify how they wanted their accounts removed - or anything else for that matter. Instead, they chose to remain silent - you can draw your own conclusions on how much they cared. But I appreciate you pointing out the technical merits of the argument Geoff, and for that I apologize to Brad and Gene for any confusion. I'll leave the ball in their court - if they want to get unbanned, they know how to reach me. If not, please send those emails to Rob as soon as you can. Best.
1) To remove an account, I need to be notified by email. It will replace all your posts with "Guest" title under your username. You will not exist as a user in the database, no email, or no profile. Only I can remove an account. 2) Banned user can always be unbanned and would still retain all original data. 3) Active user with Admin emails off is of course active and can post, but if falls off the face of the earth next day it is like they are removed, except profile can still be accessed and they will still show up on member list. 4) I'm optimistic about the direction NYTS is going. Without a doubt we will have to evolve with the community and learn from mistakes, but the goal is always to make this a better community for ALL involved.
Hey can I be the Sherrif?. I do have some training in law Enforcement,I think we all need to just cool off and have some real fun with our nice cars. if things get real heated maybe we could do a run to a boxing gym and get all of our frustrationd and name calling out on the ring, just an idea. I think that would be a lot of fun or go in the woods and have paint ball war.
