Just so you know.....

[tikay]

As many of you will already be aware from Facebook comments, I need to confirm to you all that a situation between blondepoker Forum & "inthebelly" came to a head yesterday, and as a result, his Posting rights were withdrawn.

Initially, the plan was for a "cooler" while the Mods decided what to do. Given the history - there's plenty -  the default setting was a full ban, but I don't believe a final decision has been made yet.

It kinda escalated behind the scenes subsequently, and so it's hard to imagine his Posting rights being restored.

The Forum is owned by the Shareholders, who have mandated control of the Forum to the Moderators.

The Policy is for blonde to be a fun place, where Members & Mods alike can chill, & have a little fun, away from the realities of the harsh, real, world. It's the Mods job to ensure we can all do that.

It's NEVER a pleasant task to ban anyone, & anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Who needs unnecessary hassle?

But there appear to be irreconcilable differences between Paul & blonde, & it's soaking up our time too much, & tainting the ambience , so it's best to move on.

It's not personal, I, & the other Mods will bump into Paul hither & thither, & as far as we are concerned, everything is cool, this is purely a blonde/Paul matter.

blonde is a free Forum, & we hope you enjoy it. But we make the Rules, be they right or wrong, & if Members cannot remain within those Rules, we will do the necessary to protect the Forum overall. That applies to everyone. Nobody is forced to become a Member, & we have no obligations to provide Membership. But if Membership is granted, the Member has to stay within our Rules. It's our train set.

There wil be flak on the Net, Facebook, Blogs & stuff, (there already is!), but we've been there before, and the Mods wlll not be responding.

Should anyone have any questions on this matter, feel free to PM any of the Mods.

It's just a poker Forum, & poker is just a hobby to most of us.

[celtic]

That's a shame, i like Paul.

[sovietsong]

That's a shame, i like Paul.

who?

[redsimon]

That's a shame, i like Paul.

+1 even tho' I ve had a few run ins with him years ago this is a pity. Mods must have their reasons tho'. gg turny






 (hopefully this isn't an April fool )

[Cupcake]

That's a real shame i personally really like Paul always a real good laugh when we bump into each other.

[HOLDorFOLD]

As many of you will already be aware from Facebook comments, I need to confirm to you all that a situation between blondepoker Forum & "inthebelly" came to a head yesterday, and as a result, his Posting rights were withdrawn.

Initially, the plan was for a "cooler" while the Mods decided what to do. Given the history - there's plenty -  the default setting was a full ban, but I don't believe a final decision has been made yet.

It kinda escalated behind the scenes subsequently, and so it's hard to imagine his Posting rights being restored.

The Forum is owned by the Shareholders, who have mandated control of the Forum to the Moderators.

The Policy is for blonde to be a fun place, where Members & Mods alike can chill, & have a little fun, away from the realities of the harsh, real, world. It's the Mods job to ensure we can all do that.

It's NEVER a pleasant task to ban anyone, & anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Who needs unnecessary hassle?

But there appear to be irreconcilable differences between Paul & blonde, & it's soaking up our time too much, & tainting the ambience , so it's best to move on.

It's not personal, I, & the other Mods will bump into Paul hither & thither, & as far as we are concerned, everything is cool, this is purely a blonde/Paul matter.

blonde is a free Forum, & we hope you enjoy it. But we make the Rules, be they right or wrong, & if Members cannot remain within those Rules, we will do the necessary to protect the Forum overall. That applies to everyone. Nobody is forced to become a Member, & we have no obligations to provide Membership. But if Membership is granted, the Member has to stay within our Rules. It's our train set.

There wil be flak on the Net, Facebook, Blogs & stuff, (there already is!), but we've been there before, and the Mods wlll not be responding.

Should anyone have any questions on this matter, feel free to PM any of the Mods.

It's just a poker Forum, & poker is just a hobby to most of us.

I have no idea what been going on behind the scenes with whom or about what .... but from a joe average readers perspective I have to say that the ambience is a two way street is it not and from what I read posted by some mods who are supposedly trying to deflame a situation - tbh they fan the flames even more sometimes

Hate to say it because the majority of members (and mods) are fantastic happy go lucky people .... but blonde isnt really that happy a place anymore 

I feel like I've been transported back my old junior school playground.


Hope you all get it sorted

 

[thetank]

Pretty sad day for me.

Paul/inthebelly/Turny was a guy I considered a friend. Not a good friend, only met a few times in real life, but that's the same as most of the friends I've met on blonde. I could perhaps better describe him as a good acquanitance.

We like to see our good acquantance's now and then, at the blonde bashes and such. Waving to the Wottingers when you see them, it's good for the soul.

I liked Paul. He liked a ruck and a bit of controversy it's true, but so do a lot of people. The thing I liked about Paul was his honesty.
There's not too many people who, when you speak to them, give off a sense that you can be 99.98% sure what they're saying to your face is the way you really feel. He was outspoken a lot of the time, but you knew that if he was ever going to knife you, it would definately be from the front and not the back.

Forgive me for speaking about him like the guy died, but the (albeit slightly melodramatic) reality is I'm not going to see him or hear from him again. Blonde is my one stop shop for poker related mixi-popping. cba with facebook tyvm

I'm a gambler, a mathematician, and a statician by profession, I don't use the number 99.98% lightly. Some people are ~90% and that's well and good, but it's a rare old man indeed who hits the higher percentiles. Ironically, the only other person on blonde I think has this quality in abundance is Rod Paradise.

I always admire this quality in a person when I see it because it certainly isn't one I possess. (You can maybe be about 50% sure I like you if I'm being nice to you)

I'm always wary of saying bad things about people, but only when they'll be seeing it. I like to think that's out of a sense of diplomacy and consideration rather than disingenous cowardice, but the reality is that it's probably a bit of both.

So it's out of rebellion against this sycophantic and two-faced nature, and as tribute to the best qualities of Rod and Paul, that I'm going to go ahead and diss them both in another tl:dr post that is to follow directly after this one.

[thetank]

This is my take on things. Might be crazy and off the wall logic but there you go.



Tikay talks about a careful balance in the forum that you guys  the moderators are always wary of keeping.

He's a wise old man and I think this is a good way of looking at things.
Although a balance and an equilibrium always exists, that's not to say that what you do is always in the best interests of maintaing it.

I don't want to talk about the individual circumstances behind the itb ban, because I am ignorant to them and wish to remain so.
Perhaps it was warranted for whatever he did, and it is now irrevocable or whatever, I'm certainly not going to debate that because it would be pointless.

I am a little sad that it has come to this. What was probaly no more than internet bullshit and angry words being exchanged has stolen a "good acquantance" from more than just me. There will be one less Wottinger for all of us Pontypines to wave to at the bash.



Here's where I start to diss you (the mods) and so it's probably where you stop listning and decide that I don't know what I'm talking about. That's your right, but I'm going to say it anyway.

As part of the balance and the equilibrium, there will always be a voice of opposition that stands up and continually questions the authority of the mods and is a troublesome thorn in your sides. A principle antagonist if you will, a dark lord of the sith even. When one dies, another will take their place.

Inthebelly was that voice, and although he is gone, it is an inevitability that someone will step up to take his place. It won't be a concious thing, it'll just happen as part of the natural order of things.

If was ifm, M3Boy perhaps, then it was certainly itb. Now he is going, it will be someone else. Why I think you've made a mistake is because of the old adage, better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

inthebelly should have been relatively easy to handle, nobody took him too seriously. You could have let him have his subtle digs at you and let them bounce of your shoulders and carried on. It must have been annoying I'm sure, but at least you knew where you were and it was reasonably predictable.

Instead there was the need to constantly engage him and very little visible effort to handle him or turn the other cheek, the incident with Rod the other day on the Charmaine thing is typifying that.

While it's not your responsibilty to 'handle' everyone and you don't have time for that etc etc, what is Tikay referring to when he goes on about how tirelessly you guys work to maintain a balance if not this? Inthebelly was the Dark Lord of the Sith and he required special handling.

The it's my ball and if you don't like it fuck off mentality is fair enough, but it only works up to a point.

Please be more careful if the next Sith Lord is as nice a chap as Turny was. (although if it's a c*** insta-ban obv)

So yeah that's it basically, the mods fucked up the balance imo. Whatever Turny did was probably justifing a ban, but it perhaps shouldn't have got to that stage if you guys were acting like the balance maintaining super heroes we need you to be.
 

[thetank]

Fml, that took an hour.
Instead of writing that I could have made ~$1.34 at the tables. 

[Dingdell]

We all have a responsibility to get along and not cause any issues, we are all grown ups. There are rules quite clearly stated as to what is and isn't acceptable within this forum.

When someone does something that rocks the boat they are warned (as I understand it) and if they continue to rock the boat they will be banned either temporarily or permanently.

If someone doesn't like the rules and the way things are done around here then don't come here, simple. If you kick against the rules and it's deemed unreasonable then don't be surprised about being warned/banned. If you don't want to abide by the rules then don't come in.

I don't know a great deal about Pauls ban or the circumstances surrounding it but he has been warned before so it's not that he is ignorant of the rules.

It was his choice to ignore those previous warnings, no one made him act in the way he did apart from himself, so he made his choice and has to accept the consequences.

It's a shame that he made that choice, but it was his choice and I don't think anyone should be held responsible for that apart from him, he knew what he was getting himself in to.

I can't understand the 'woe is me' brigade, it's a choice that Paul made himself. 

[Indestructable]

No idea of the specifics on this, but I do have a feeling of deja vu. From my own experience you can give some people too many chances as you only have to end up banning them again.

[Geo the Sarge]

As many of you will already be aware from Facebook comments, I need to confirm to you all that a situation between blondepoker Forum & "inthebelly" came to a head yesterday, and as a result, his Posting rights were withdrawn.

Initially, the plan was for a "cooler" while the Mods decided what to do. Given the history - there's plenty -  the default setting was a full ban, but I don't believe a final decision has been made yet.

It kinda escalated behind the scenes subsequently, and so it's hard to imagine his Posting rights being restored.

The Forum is owned by the Shareholders, who have mandated control of the Forum to the Moderators.

The Policy is for blonde to be a fun place, where Members & Mods alike can chill, & have a little fun, away from the realities of the harsh, real, world. It's the Mods job to ensure we can all do that.

It's NEVER a pleasant task to ban anyone, & anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Who needs unnecessary hassle?

But there appear to be irreconcilable differences between Paul & blonde, & it's soaking up our time too much, & tainting the ambience , so it's best to move on.

It's not personal, I, & the other Mods will bump into Paul hither & thither, & as far as we are concerned, everything is cool, this is purely a blonde/Paul matter.

blonde is a free Forum, & we hope you enjoy it. But we make the Rules, be they right or wrong, & if Members cannot remain within those Rules, we will do the necessary to protect the Forum overall. That applies to everyone. Nobody is forced to become a Member, & we have no obligations to provide Membership. But if Membership is granted, the Member has to stay within our Rules. It's our train set.

There wil be flak on the Net, Facebook, Blogs & stuff, (there already is!), but we've been there before, and the Mods wlll not be responding.

Should anyone have any questions on this matter, feel free to PM any of the Mods.

It's just a poker Forum, & poker is just a hobby to most of us.

I have no idea what been going on behind the scenes with whom or about what .... but from a joe average readers perspective I have to say that the ambience is a two way street is it not and from what I read posted by some mods who are supposedly trying to deflame a situation - tbh they fan the flames even more sometimesHate to say it because the majority of members (and mods) are fantastic happy go lucky people .... but blonde isnt really that happy a place anymore 

I feel like I've been transported back my old junior school playground.


Hope you all get it sorted

 

This is my take on things. Might be crazy and off the wall logic but there you go.



Tikay talks about a careful balance in the forum that you guys  the moderators are always wary of keeping.

He's a wise old man and I think this is a good way of looking at things.
Although a balance and an equilibrium always exists, that's not to say that what you do is always in the best interests of maintaing it.

I don't want to talk about the individual circumstances behind the itb ban, because I am ignorant to them and wish to remain so.
Perhaps it was warranted for whatever he did, and it is now irrevocable or whatever, I'm certainly not going to debate that because it would be pointless.

I am a little sad that it has come to this. What was probaly no more than internet bullshit and angry words being exchanged has stolen a "good acquantance" from more than just me. There will be one less Wottinger for all of us Pontypines to wave to at the bash.



Here's where I start to diss you (the mods) and so it's probably where you stop listning and decide that I don't know what I'm talking about. That's your right, but I'm going to say it anyway.

As part of the balance and the equilibrium, there will always be a voice of opposition that stands up and continually questions the authority of the mods and is a troublesome thorn in your sides. A principle antagonist if you will, a dark lord of the sith even. When one dies, another will take their place.

Inthebelly was that voice, and although he is gone, it is an inevitability that someone will step up to take his place. It won't be a concious thing, it'll just happen as part of the natural order of things.

If was ifm, M3Boy perhaps, then it was certainly itb. Now he is going, it will be someone else. Why I think you've made a mistake is because of the old adage, better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

inthebelly should have been relatively easy to handle, nobody took him too seriously. You could have let him have his subtle digs at you and let them bounce of your shoulders and carried on. It must have been annoying I'm sure, but at least you knew where you were and it was reasonably predictable.

Instead there was the need to constantly engage him and very little visible effort to handle him or turn the other cheek, the incident with Rod the other day on the Charmaine thing is typifying that.

While it's not your responsibilty to 'handle' everyone and you don't have time for that etc etc, what is Tikay referring to when he goes on about how tirelessly you guys work to maintain a balance if not this? Inthebelly was the Dark Lord of the Sith and he required special handling.

The it's my ball and if you don't like it fuck off mentality is fair enough, but it only works up to a point.

Please be more careful if the next Sith Lord is as nice a chap as Turny was. (although if it's a c*** insta-ban obv)

So yeah that's it basically, the mods fucked up the balance imo. Whatever Turny did was probably justifing a ban, but it perhaps shouldn't have got to that stage if you guys were acting like the balance maintaining super heroes we need you to be.
 

Two great posts imo and if I'm really honest can't see things improving. Is this the same people who bang on about the right to free speech.

Pity you were just an average hard working white Brit Paul, we may not have lost you.

Good luck mate, hope we still meet now and then.

Geo

[RED-DOG]

What does white have to do with it if you don't mind me asking Geo?

[AndrewT]

What does white have to do with it if you don't mind me asking Geo?

Yeah, I found that a puzzling phrase. It's not as if the mods have been letting some asylum-seeking foreigner get away with causing trouble only to come down hard on Paul.

We all inherently know the sorts of posts which are going to get us in trouble, more so if you've already been banned for exactly those kind of posts. Paul's not an idiot, he knew what happened with ifm and M3Boy, he knew he was gouding the mods with his little digs and can't really complain that they had enough.

As part of the balance and the equilibrium, there will always be a voice of opposition that stands up and continually questions the authority of the mods and is a troublesome thorn in your sides. A principle antagonist if you will, a dark lord of the sith even. When one dies, another will take their place.

Inthebelly was that voice, and although he is gone, it is an inevitability that someone will step up to take his place. It won't be a concious thing, it'll just happen as part of the natural order of things.

If was ifm, M3Boy perhaps, then it was certainly itb. Now he is going, it will be someone else.

I think we should have a poll to decide who the next stirrer-in-chief will be.

[GreekStein]

What does white have to do with it if you don't mind me asking Geo?

I was puzzled by why that was needed too.

Tank - start a diary imo.