Simon of the Playa has abused his authority as a moderator?

[Here and there]

I posted to this topic

http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?t=38922

on which "Simon of the Playa" was confronted by somebody who had left the board a few months ago, over an alleged cyberstalking incident in which he was the offending party. Simon responded to my post in under a minute, so I know he was on at the time. After I explained the legal consequences of his alleged actions, the entire discussion vanished within a few seconds.

This doesn't prove that Simon carried out the deletion, but as narrow as that window of opportunity was, it surely does suggest that he did. He did not, however, delete the discussion quickly enough to be able to keep me from being able to save a copy of it. The words that come to mind in this are "conflict of interest". It is simply not acceptable for a moderator to be using his level of access to the system to game the system to his own personal advantage.

Please remove Simon, as a moderator. He has shown a willingness to abuse his authority in a manner than can only be called corrupt.




Side note: I was mildly amused to note that Simon had stated, as a fact, that I was "one of his dirty socks", he being the original poster in that thread, JohnPaulQuilliard, who is listed as living in Seaside Park, New Jersey. I live in Chicago, Illinois. We're over 700 miles apart, which would imply that either my arms are so long that I can reach from the Midwest to the East Coast to pound on a keyboard over there, or that your mod is a pathological liar, somebody willing and eager to make up his own facts, if he feels that he can personally benefit by doing so.

In other words, the sort of person that a community needs to be protected from, not the sort of person who does the protecting. Yes or no - is it acceptable for a moderator to knowingly lie with defamatory intent, and engage in censorship, in order to protect himself from the legal consequences of his own unlawful actions? Would the rest of the ePlaya staff care to go on record as saying that they feel that the answer to that question is yes?

Assuming that we're not looking at a coincidence so remarkable as to be almost astounding.



BTW, Simon, I'm saving a copy of this post, too, and the previous discussion, the one that you censored, will be reposted elsewhere, whether you or anybody else in Black Rock City likes it or not. I don't know the OP, but I do know people like you, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you do what you're trying to do, you sneaky little shit.

It's a matter of principle.

[Simon of the Playa]

first of all, i am not a mod.

secondly, JP has many socks, and based on your support of his hose, i assumed you were one of them....after doing some surfing this morning, i find this is not the case, you're just an asshole.

I do Apologize for the guilt by association, ERRI2k / aka JPQ has been a pain in the culo for years.

i dont have access to ip addresses, so i cant do or undo what the mods do.


thirdly, i'm neither sneaky, nor little....a Big Shit perhaps...


in conclusion, after perusing your record of flammables on this board, if you wanna do any reprinting, we can play that game...you will lose miserably based on your rather onerous comments and multiple plonkings by other users.

my socks are transparent, and i dont plonk, it's pointless.

I DO however STAND MY GROUND when i'm right, and Apologize when i'm wrong.

you wanna come after me? remember amigo, when you plan for revenge you had better dig two graves.

i am not your average bear, yogi, and you'll end up like boo-boo.

[AntiM]

Simon is not a moderator. He cannot delete posts or threads.

I am a moderator though. I was asked by another eplayan to view the thread and delete it as it used SOP's real name. This is a violation of the TOS and has never been tolerated. Personal attack threads, whether by real name or by username have always been deleted, along with all replies on the attack thread. There is a fine line between the joking and jousting we experience on the board, and outright attacks. Most of the eplayans have never seen half of them as they are deleted so rapidly.

The timing was purely co-incidental. Astounding as you say, but purely co-incidental. I notified Dork of my actions, as we've been monitoring the situation for several days already. (I blame the time zones)

There is a history here, one which I cannot go into with revealing personal details which are not mine to share with the general population. There is more to this than has appeared here on eplaya in that single thread.

You may PM Dork and ask him if you need verification.

Do feel free to start an informational thread on cyberstalking.

[AntiM]

I have let Dork know about this thread, in case I get called as having a conflict of interest simply because I have a limited, but cordial, online relationship with SOP.

[Simon of the Playa]

Simon is not a mod

you are so right, i'm more of a "rocker"...


thank you for your fair and balanced approach to moderating, for my part, i will try to be less of a prick in my responses, as it evidently has raised some hackles in some members of e-playa.

that is not to say i wont speak my mind, but restraint, especially in a public forum, is something that should be strived for, and i will try to follow this route as best i can.

any attacks will be met with equal or greater attacks, i do not turn the other cheek, and i dont back down, unless i am wrong.

other than that, i'm not really such an evil fuck, in fact, if and when you meet me, you may question as to whether or not it is the same fingers that typed what you have been reading.

so, live and let live, but fuck with me and you wont walk away without a limp.

[AntiM]

I would be happy if you backed off on the name calling. You, anyone, everyone.

Personal attacks is a loose thing, and name calling is just below that level. If I deleted every contentious post, we'd have very little content.

I get caught between the historic "don't delete anything ever" policy of the old eplaya, and I am compelled to uphold the newer "attack threads vanish NOW" ethos. I don't edit posts often, deleting posts in the middle of a thread is less than helpful, and deleting entire threads causes confusion.

edited for grammar.

[Simon of the Playa]

agreed.

i am working on re-wiring my east-coast insult oriented brain patterns to be more west-coast friendly and positive. It's hard to use the soldering iron in the mirror though....we'll see how it works.

i'm downloading the upgrade now. Stuart Smalley for Grumps v 2.0

Happy Pro-Active Uplifting Day!

beep.

[Bay Bridge Sue]

Personal attacks is a loose thing, and name calling is just below that level...

I get caught between the historic "don't delete anything ever" policy of the old eplaya, and I am compelled to uphold the newer "attack threads vanish NOW" ethos. I don't edit posts often, deleting posts in the middle of a thread is less than helpful, and deleting entire threads causes confusion.

I agree... while my short fuse is, at times, legendary, in the spirit of cooperation (and not turning off and/or freaking out a newby eplayer, or worse, having them think such conduct is welcome and encouraged) it's recommended to read what you wrote 3 times, remembering while it may be aimed at an adversary, it WILL be read by dozens (make that hundreds) of people, before you hit the "submit" button.

Like AntiM, I rarely edit posts - I think the last time was a couple years ago, and that was, as M did, to remove someone's name. I have deleted posts - usually accidental duplicates or the like, an advertiser, or a spambot (yes, we get a lot of those!). And I do realize that around the Burnal Equinox tempers get short and may flare. But if an attack starts (which is a viol;ation of that nasty TOS everyone agrees to) then it IS our responsibility to deal with it.

Its a trust we (and I think I speak for the rest of the mods here) don't take lightly - after all, this IS one of the great bastions of free speech. But it's one we are asked to maintain.

(Side note to SOP - remember, in a mirror, left is right. Like the Red Ryder bb gun, you could put an eye out with that thing!!)

bb sue, invisible mod at large, ePlaya

[Simon of the Playa]

i have to remind myself of my own behavior constantly as i shift from being online to being in a cold, dying, mid-sized eastern town. I actually not-so- secretly love my home town, which makes it's slow, painful decay even more agonizing.

i hate to admit it, but here, we treat each other pretty badly...it masquerades as tough love, stiff upper lip and steel worker macho, but really, we don't know any other way to show love or attention except to "bust chops".

if we're not insulting you, it means we don't care.

if we're screaming at you with blood vessels bursting, it could mean we're in love.

talking about someones mother, however, could get you killed in some parts of the city.

seriously.

it's a strange blend of angst, barely veiled violence, bitter irony, sarcasm and fatalism, add beer to that and it's pretty ugly.

the environment plays a great deal into who you are and what you feel.

it's grey, cold, cloudy over 300 days a year and usually windy, which studies have shown, make humans more ornery, having to constantly fight against it.

when i arrive out west, whether in SF or Oregon, i can actually feel a metaphysical change come over me.

i stop biting my nails....i dont fidget...i'm generally, not caustic or negative.

life is, indeed, a state of mind.

why the fuck do you think i check in here so often?

to stay human.

thanks e-playa.

now back to your usual snark you bunch of fucking perverts and miscreants.

[Kinetik V]

Come to Vegas. Houses are CHEAP, the food is not bad, and before Harry Reid gets it banned the cathouses are just 45 min away with a free shuttle from the Strip.

Oh and I forgot to mention the sun...lots and lots of sun. Nevermind those pesky 117 degree days in late July...but still...beats being stuck in "Gray Land" where the sun is rarely seen during the winter.

Simon your post illustrates why I got the hell out of Nebraska as fast as I could. Not seeing the sun for days makes one miserable.

As for the eplaya itself, it's a far cry from what it used to be. This is like the Disney version now days.

[LLQchasm]

i have to remind myself of my own behavior constantly as i shift from being online to being in a cold, dying, mid-sized eastern town. I actually not-so- secretly love my home town, which makes it's slow, painful decay even more agonizing.

i hate to admit it, but here, we treat each other pretty badly...it masquerades as tough love, stiff upper lip and steel worker macho, but really, we don't know any other way to show love or attention except to "bust chops".

if we're not insulting you, it means we don't care.

if we're screaming at you with blood vessels bursting, it could mean we're in love.

talking about someones mother, however, could get you killed in some parts of the city.

seriously.

it's a strange blend of angst, barely veiled violence, bitter irony, sarcasm and fatalism, add beer to that and it's pretty ugly.

the environment plays a great deal into who you are and what you feel.

it's grey, cold, cloudy over 300 days a year and usually windy, which studies have shown, make humans more ornery, having to constantly fight against it.

when i arrive out west, whether in SF or Oregon, i can actually feel a metaphysical change come over me.

i stop biting my nails....i dont fidget...i'm generally, not caustic or negative.

life is, indeed, a state of mind.

why the fuck do you think i check in here so often?

to stay human.

thanks e-playa.

now back to your usual snark you bunch of fucking perverts and miscreants.

You must be talking about Rochester, NY. I grew up in Central New York. Get the hell out while you can. I came to Vegas too because the tax burden was too high running my business in New York. Eugene, OR is one of my favorite places besides Vegas. It's a different culture here in the west. If you're staying there because you have a job, in the long run it will probably not be worth it based upon my own experience.

[H.G.Crosby]

[graidawg]

i like simons snark

[DVD Burner]

What a funny thread.

[jkisha]

i like simons snark

Then don't be shy about it!

JK

[Sail Man]

i like simons snark

+1

[graidawg]

[Ugly Dougly]

now back to your usual snark you bunch of fucking perverts and miscreants.

Thanks, that made my day!

[DVD Burner]

now back to your usual snark you bunch of fucking perverts and miscreants.

Thanks, that made my day!

Thanks for picking up on this and posting on this first!

I should have but glad you did Ugly!

[DVD Burner]

Simon is Ballsy!

[Here and there]

Simon is Ballsy!

Simon isn't the one who had your back when you were the one getting ganged up on, not so very long ago. I was, which I guess just goes to show that others understood you more clearly than I did. I will be pleased to learn from my own mistakes, and their insights. Goodbye, DVD.

Do feel free to start an informational thread on cyberstalking.

No need. I've already sent the information to the OP in the previous discussion by PM. As a lurker who has talked with other lurkers, I've found that those who read boards without posting to them usually avoid the serious discussions, focusing on the fun or silly ones.

That being the case, the main difference between doing as I ended up doing, and posting that information here, is that by doing the latter, I'd be giving helpful advice about the law to the sort of people who'd love to put that information to bad use. As the regulars on this board show every day, ignorance might not be bliss, but in the right hands, it surely is helpful for the rest of us.

[Here and there]

blah, blah, blah

The only thing better than favoritism: self-righteous favoritism, corruption that pretends to be something other than what it is. Tip the playing field in favor of your friends by deleting any material that casts their behavior or their arguments in a worse light, and then pretend that you're serving some kind of higher cause through such venal behavior.

I've looked over your comment stream, BBS, having heard more than a few stories about you. For you to speak of your "short fuse", as if that were the problem with you as a user of this board, is for you to put your own willful stupidity and arrogance on display. At no point have you ever been the fair-minded voice of reason in any discussion that I have seen, and in at least one case I found you were openly supportive of a crank's blatant attempt to defame somebody in retaliation for some well documented fact checking that had been done, encouraging others to ignore the inconsistencies in the crank's stories.

On any sensibly run board, not only would you not be a mod, you wouldn't even be allowed to post. For you to pretend to be acting out of some sort of nobility as you do as you have done is stomach turning, and a clear sign of your real motivation. Lies are so much easier to maintain, when evidence can be made to disappear.

[AntiM]

There is a background to this situation which I cannot explain in an open forum. Those who were here for JPQ's meltdown with his hoarde of socks know of the problems we had with him several years ago. He disrupted the board to the extent that several theme camps and artists had to abandon their own threads.

Many of his posts/threads were removed as he posted personal information about eplayans, neighbors, and police officers in his community.

The issue with Simon? Let us say cyberstalking is a two way street, and all is not as was posted here. Privacy issues prevent me from explaining it in great detail to you. However, given our past interactions, I feel you would not believe me. Once you condemn a person, they stay condemned. I feel as though I cannot change your mind as you will not take me at my word.

That your post was deleted was a casualty of JPQ's posting of an eplayan's real name in the title of the thread. When his threads are deleted, all posts within that thread are deleted. Period. It was not in defense of Simon, but as a standard operating procedure.

[AntiM]

Ask Simon if I've reprimanded him via PM in the past or pulled his posts. I have. His, and others. Just because it isn't announced does not mean it does not happen.

[Here and there]

There is a background to this situation which I cannot explain in an open forum. Those who were here for JPQ's meltdown with his hoarde of socks know of the problems we had with him several years ago.

Not knowing JPQ, I have no strong feelings about his actions one way or another. I will admit that I did skim a few of his old posts, and got weird vibes from the guy, like he was somebody that I wouldn't want to let get close to one of my sisters. But until I have facts to back them up, I make a point of putting very little faith in my gut reactions.

I have noticed that the sock puppet accusations gets used kind of freely around here, so I hope you'll understand if I'm skeptical when I hear it, again. I'm not saying that you should talk about anything that you shouldn't talk about, just that you keep in mind that past performance can cause present misunderstandings. Remember the end of the story of the little boy that cried wolf?

[Sail Man]

Here and There, maybe these forums will be more lovey dovey for you.

I personally love Simon's attitude and posts, entertaining, ass puckering and rough around the edges. Reminds me of the 2 tracks I drive. Maybe if you can't take the deep end of the pool, you should retreat to the kiddie pool.

[AntiM]

As a moderator, I can see socks. Besides, JPQ freely admits the identity of his socks.

viewtopic.php?p=587062

(Ironically, at a time when my moderator email got locked out and I has two mini-socks, for a day. Pretty easy to see my socks, they use my names.)

The thing is, I do know JPQ and Simon, and others not mentioned at this time, and this is not a fresh new issue. Another chapter, written more places than eplaya. You joined sometime after the original blow up/melt down. It was very public.

[junglesmacks]

viewtopic.php?p=587062

Wow. Some people seriously have way too much time on their hands.

[Here and there]

As a moderator, I can see socks.

How?

Besides, JPQ freely admits the identity of his socks.

viewtopic.php?p=587062

Check - and he acknowledges having done the same sort of thing in the past, I see:

viewtopic.php?p=582641&highlight=#582641

The thing is, I do know JPQ and Simon, and others not mentioned at this time, and this is not a fresh new issue. Another chapter, written more places than eplaya. You joined sometime after the original blow up/melt down. It was very public.

I'll look into that, later. Well, if Simon was the stalkee instead of the stalker, he did himself no favors with his reaction. If one is not guilty, why make oneself look guilty? The first thing I saw him do is lie, claiming as a fact that I was one of JPQ's socks, as he went on the attack. Then I saw him try to defend his own behavior by talking about being from Rochester, as if that somehow excused it. None of this earned my trust or my respect.

I'm from the West Side of Chicago, and my Mom was originally from the South Side. Wouldn't we all be in for an interesting time, if I started living up to my background? I guarantee, uncomplimentary posts would be the least of somebody's worries, at this point. But we are defined by our choices, not our backgrounds.

If Simon is as innocent as he claims to be, then the information I gave to his enemy, having been seen by him, can be used by him, as well. The law will serve him as well as it would anybody else. So, if I seem to be making my deeper understanding of this fight a last priority, this is why - how much do I need to know? The responsible parties have the information they need, potentially face the consequences that they deserve, and the people I just put on ignore were assholes, regardless, one of them by his own admission. Even without knowing for sure what was going on, I've made the right choices, so do I need to be enlightened? It's not like I'm going to go hanging with JPQ, who does seriously creep me out, for some reason. Not saying that I'm right to feel that way, but it does make any personal vices of his a moot point for me.

At this point, I've got stuff to do, and would rather detach myself from the situation, having no reason left to be involved.

[maggiemayday]

As a moderator, I can see IP addresses for every post if I choose. See the Quote button? For a mod, there are more buttons in that corner. The IP address is our primary anti-spam tool. Just a useful side effect that we can see socks.
Most folks who use socks are not careful in which device they post from, so an IP often comes up with all usernames attached. I do have to be careful, as any users with the same IP comes up, such as friends using a shared computer. Years of being on the board is what sorts that out.

The board looks different to mods than it does to users.