Threat of ban

[Anonymous]

I have received the following from Ned. Since it seems that he intends to ban me (now or later), I thought it would be best to let anyone who cares know in advance, so you will know why I suddenly no longer appear on this forum. This is the message in full:



Just for information, not only was this my last warning but also my first warning! :roll:

In my opinion, the rudeness & aggression in this message is quite unwarranted. I have never been rude to Ned, & it's only very recently that I have dared to add my voice to the protests about the way this forum is being run. I love this forum, I have learned so much here & I have met some great people. And I have also tried hard to contribute something to the discussions, & to help people who want more information about their Tokais.

But this forum isn't what it used to be. Bans on discussing the questionable business practices of certain dealers, knee-jerk reactions to every potential problem, & the way in which Ned treats this forum as though it's all his while the members (who actually have made this forum great) are treated as annoying children & spoken down to, makes this a sad shadow of what it once was.

It's pointless trying to have meaningful discussions under these circumstances - it's like trying to run a race with both legs tied together. Or trying to discuss human rights in China.....

I know from PMs & e.mails I have received that many people are also fed up with this, & will not be posting on here any more. Possibly what we need is a new Tokai forum? One that is run for the benefit of it's members & not it's owner?

Anyway, if I am banned from here, & anyone wants to contact me, you can get my e.mail address from (amongst others) JohnA, & bluejeannot, two guys who I'm sure I will keep in contact with whatever happens on here.

It saddens me to have to write this, but I can see the writing on the wall. The contempt is obvious in Ned's (rare!) messages to me, & in his recent posts on the forum, & I find it very difficult to cope with anyone who has the nerve to view me with contempt. The temptation to respond in a similar vein is strong, but I shall rise above it. I am better than that.

And if I'm kicked off, just remember to send all your queries about Goldstars to Ned in a PM. I'm sure he'll be delighted to spend hours of his time helping you all.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[AlanN]

Cripes, Ned. Rolling out the old "speaking German" chestnut... well, in addition to it being massively shortsighted and arrogant, you've blanket insulted every European member. I know it was a PM, but if that's your opinion then it's clear the contempt you hold for those that fought and died for years before the US entered the fray. It's armistice day here too today - a time when everyone is thinking of their grandparents (and other family members) who fought for world freedom... especially those of us who lost them.

That aside, I can guess that you're probably a bit stressed about the upcoming surgery and that's understandable, but I think we all need to take a step back here and have a breather. Good luck with the surgery tomorrow and let's have a chat about things when you return.

 

[Anonymous]

It's armistice day here too today - a time when everyone is thinking of their grandparents who fought for world freedom.

Or their father, in my case. In the RAF from 1941, as soon as he was old enough to join. I disagreed with him on many things concerning politics, but he taught me how important free speech is - he risked his life for it.

Because of him, I won't take lectures on free speech from anyone, regardless of whether they have the power to throw me off some on-line forum.

Principles matter.

 

[bluejeannot]

TAKE A CHILL PILL EVERYBODY:THIS IS NOT THE SECOND WORLD WAR:ITS A GUITAR FORUM.Ned, I don`t think that Mike has libelled or slandered you so your reaction is disproportionate. He has been though in my opinion unecessarily confrontational and this is not just my opinion but John A`s too.I don`t think Mike fully understands the litigious nature of U.S. society and just how carefully the owner of a forum such as this has tread.Having spoken at some length with Rich from Richtone regarding a certain German dealer I am convinced that Ned had no choice but to enforce a ban on discussion of this affair.If I ran this forum I would be unwilling to put my family and my self in jeopardy from possible legal threats from disgruntled members not matter how unlikely that threat might seem to forum members.It`s easy for members to cry free speech when we personally risk very little and besides I think there is very little censorship here we all manage to get our views across pretty effectively,don`t we?It`s time to put down the guns come out of our respective foxholes and resume civilised dialogue. After all wasn`t that what we were fighting for all those years ago,civilised values?Gabe.

 

[ned]

Well I took care of this issue. Posting PM's for public consumption was one step too far.