I have been banned from the JREF Forums without even posting there for months. Did they not like my previous blog or was it something else? Here's the rundown of what happened
* In September I requested that my JREF account be set to disable posting privileges. I did not give a reason nor did I make some farewell speech. Truth be told, I needed a break.
* The JREF admins changed my access level to Guest. They did not ask any questions.
* I continue to log in and use the features available to this reduced access level. I have done so for the last few months.
* Within 12 hours of posting a blog entry critical of the JREF, I find I cannot log in. Using the forum software, I request a password reset by giving my registered e-mail address. I receive a new password and log back in.
* Within hours I cannot log in again. This time the system tells me that my e-mail address cannot be found, so I cannot do a password reset.
* I inquire with the admin (Lisa Simpson) known to handle the registrations and ask what is going on.
* I receive a reply that simply says that I had requested that my account be unregistered. No mention is made of what this has to do with anything because I have been able to log in for two months after the admins "unregistered" my account. Lisa offers to reset the account.
* I ask Lisa why my password and e-mail were changed.
* Lisa responds, "We did none of those things. We only did as you asked and set your account to unregistered. Again, if you wish for me to reset it, I will. If not, our conversation is over."
* I ask Lisa to set the account back to the status of once again being able to log in as guest.
* Lisa does not respond. I find I am still unable to request a password reset.
* I use the forum software to inquire as to what is going on with the system because if the admins aren't messing with my password and e-mail, then somebody else has access to my account. I ask for the e-mail address to be corrected so I can request a password reset. I also ask what e-mail address was given in its place and the IP address of the user making the change.
* Darat, another admin, sends a cryptic reply that he changed the e-mail address and that the password was reset to one even he doesn't know. Darat also states, "to be blunt I am not interested in receiving reports from a non-member."
* I have occasionally reported posts before and after having my account status set to Guest. Almost all of the posts I reported have been moderated, so I know I am no making frivilous reports. At no time has Darat ever said anything about not reporting posts when logged in as a guest (or as a full fledged member). If guests are not permitted to do this, why set the software up to let them?
* I, assuming that Darat changed the e-mail back to what it should be, try to request another password reset. Once again, the system tells me that my e-mail cannot be found. Believing that Darat had reset it back to the correct e-mail, I become even more concerned about the security of my account.
* I now use e-mail to involve Jeff Wagg, who works for the JREF and oversees the forums. I outline my concerns and suggest that perhaps someone on the inside is messing with my account. I mention the blog critical of the JREF coming just 12 hours before these problems start. I also mention Darat's rude comment about not wanting reports from me and the other personal insults I have received from moderators. I explain why it is highly unlikely a hacker has access to my password and suggest that perhaps someone on the inside is responsible. Most importantly, I want this investigated.
* Jeff Wagg accuses me of paranoia. He accuses me of whining. He states flat out, "nobody is playing games with you." Wagg goes on to say that my request to have my posting privileges revoked means I should not expect to be able to log in.
* Confused, I explain again that I have been able to log in for two months and that I was never told that I could not. I simply asked for my posting privileges to be suspended, and they were. Along with that restriction came other restrictions, but at the same time I had access to (and used) forum features that ordinary visitors do not.
* Wagg claims that I really wasn't logged in and that what I saw was only due to cookies. He says there is no Guest status. He's wrong.
* I point out that I was able to use certain forum features including reporting posts and resetting the password. I, in fact, was able to log in and out of the system just as before, only with reduced privileges. Clearly logging in as a Guest is permitted.
* It comes to light that Darat was the person responsible for my account changes. First, he changed my password without telling me or Lisa that he was doing so. After I reset my password and logged back in (impossible according to Wagg), Darat changed the e-mail address for the account so that the reset password feature wouldn't work for me. Again, he did not tell me or Lisa he was doing this.
* Darat, in his typical uncommunicative way later clarified, "I did not say that I had changed your email address back to [deleted], and I have not done so." Apparently he thinks it's my fault for not knowing that his answer of "I changed the e-mail address" to my request to "change it back to [deleted]" meant that he changed it to some junk address. Silly me.
* I explained this all to Wagg and wrote, "if...my choices are either I cannot log in at all or that I must have a full membership, then I respectfully request the latter."
* Wagg responded with, "One last chance. No whining. No theories. Do you want an account, yes or no?" I guess he can't read. Well, I know he can read, he probably didn't bother to read my response. Communication with the JREF, it seems, is one-way.
* I responded by saying that the answer was in the previous e-mail (see above quote). I also explained that this was no "theory" but actually what happened - Darat, seemingly without telling the other admin or myself, changed the password and later the e-mail for my account because he says he doesn't want to receive reports from non-members, namely me.
* Wagg responded telling Darat and Lisa to permanently disable my account on the forums.
Am I paranoid? Clearly not. The JREF did, in fact, alter my account. Is the timing suspicious? Yes. To be fair, I did report a post a couple of days ago. I have made several reports in the months during which I have been reading and not posting. I think this unfair treatment is the result of a combination of things, all of which center around the JREF's inability to accept criticism no matter how constructive. It's a shame how they, especially Jeff Wagg, treat people. C'mon, this is the guy they hired to be the Communications and Outreach Manager?
I had an exchange with Wagg a few months ago regarding how a certain member seemed to be treated as a "favorite" by the moderators. This member was doing things for which other members had been moderated and even suspended. I brought this up in the Forum Management section of the JREF Forums, but was viciously attacked by members and moderators alike because this person was well liked. I was told in no uncertain terms by the moderators that this person was not receiving special treatment and that I was being "petty" and "mean-spirited" for even suggesting it. After all, I was told, all members are treated equally and everyone, including the moderators, had to follow their precious Membership Agreement. When I later asked Wagg about this, he said that this person has a special relationship with the JREF and does, in fact, receive special treatment. Of course, I received no apologies. And I'm sure the moderators keep telling the members that everyone is treated fairly and equally.
It's truly a shame that such a valuable resource like the membership of the JREF Forums are treated so poorly, but with such arrogant and rude people at the very top, nothing is going to change.