Darat is abusing is power. Again. Just yesterday I sent a complaint e-mail to James Randi and D.J. Grothe (President) of the JREF complaining about the abusive and childish conduct of Jeff Wagg. I guess it took a day to filter down to Jeff and subsequently to Darat to once again kick me off the JREF. Or maybe I am paranoid, like Jeff says.
The following is the appeal I have submitted. Decide for yourself.
I appeal the following:
This Edit
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=5686812#post5686812
This Infraction & Suspension:
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=169156
The thread is about bias in closing FM threads. Darat in one of his posts in the thread in question wrote:
Well yes and no. The "yes" is the fact that someone, for example, who kept opening a thread about something they've been told not to do so would be treated differently based on the warnings they have received, but in the more general sense, it's a "no".
The text that was removed from my post was an example of exactly what Darat described in the quoted paragraph. How can it be on topic for Darat to discuss it but not myself?
In my infracted post, I presented further evidence of bias in thread closures, which is exactly what the thread is about. I dealt specifically with how many threads are left open, which is a direct answer to Darat's question of "in what way" do Plumjam's statistics indicate a pattern of bias. The infraction was for Rule 11. and for the life of me I cannot see how answering Darat's question in the thread is a Rule 11 violation.
Esssentially, Darat has determined that talking about thread closures in a thread about thread closures is so off topic that I need to be suspended for doing so. This wasn't about ignoring a mod directive. Truth is, we all know what it's about: Power.
Lisa Simpson's ruling:
Darat warned you not to bring up other complaints in that thread and you did it anyway. Appeal denied.
See? It's about power. She completely ignored the first part of my appeal, which is that Darat was incorrect in editing my post because we were both talking about the same subject. Either it was on-topic or off-topic for both of us. That was her first mistake. Second, she failed to understand that my infracted post was not about the content of posts but about the threads that Darat leaves open when under other circumstances he would close them. I was given a Rule 11 violation, which is what I disputed. She didn't rule on that. It's okay, really, folks. Lisa is incompetent as an adminstrator. About the only thing she is good for is approving new accounts. She's so disconnected from how the board is run that it's no surprise she fumbles so often when asked to actually do anything beyond basic clerical work.
What's evident is that Darat abuses his power. That's what he did here with me. He issued an unjustified warning because he was pissed, and then in his insecurity decided I somehow ignored that warning. Bingo! Now he gets to suspend me. Both he and Jeff Wagg are power hungry. If the recent abusive and childish conduct of Jeff Wagg is not enough to convince you of this, read Jeff's other posts in the thread. Is this guy paid by the JREF to manage communications? Really?
For another example of Jeff's power trips, look at his recent post where someone was questioning the phrasing of copyright rule in regard to images. Jeff's reaction was to call the guy "pedantic" and threaten to prohibit the use of images entirely. He didn't bother to address the concerns the member made even though the thread was started by the JREF to solicit feedback about the new membership agreement. He asks for comments, gets a comment, lashes out at the member making the comment, and then threatens to take away the use of all images.This guy gets paid for that? Really?
Then we have this post where Jeff had just about everything he wrote redacted for breaching the membership agreement. Jeff is paid to run the forum, and even though he rarely posts, he can't even stay within the rules? He's paid for that? Really?
It's just not a good idea to disagree with the Communications and Outreach Manager of the JREF. When a member complained about a moderator and called for his dismissal, Wagg didn't actually address the concerns expressed. He just reminded the member that only He, Jeff Wagg, could dismiss a moderator and told the member to take a hike. Great communication and outreach, Jeff! I hope you get paid well!
And here's a classic. I pointed out that while the Admins had authority from the JREF, it wasn't absolute authority. I wrote , "If you [admins] told me to add I will not repost redacted text to my signature, I wouldn't do it, and I'm hoping Darat wouldn't suspend me for it." Amazingly, Darat responded telling me that if he or Lisa ordered me to add to do something so incredibly ridiculous, I could be suspended or banned for disobeying. Jeff Wagg, chose to make one of his rare appearances in FM. Would Jeff, who once pointed out that if Darat turned "evil" he would be fired, actually take Darat down a notch to remind him that he really didn't have that kind of power? No. Jeff decided to chime in and declare that yes, Darat and Lisa have absolute authority to issue a capricious command to a member and then suspend that member for not obeying. Jeff gets paid for that? Really?
Darat's Admission to Abuse of Power
By the way, do you know why Jeff told the membership that Darat would be fired if he turned evil? It was because Darat unquestionably abused his authority in suspending two members for using an avatar to similar to Darat's. Sure, he apologized, but only after a staunch defense of his actions resulted in a huge outcry. It wasn't like he quickly realized his mistake. He repeatedly defended his action, which included suspending somebody for only having an avatar similar to his. He threatened to suspend or ban anyone who "tested" him further. Then he closed the thread. Ironic, huh? Tricky reopened it, though, because he realized Darat was out of line. Still, Darat continued to defend his heavy-handed actions. He closed the thread again. And then it was reopened. Again. Yeh, he wasn't trying to stifle dissent, was he?
It's funny how a few people accuse me of losing perspective. Truth is, I know what I'm doing. I am exposing just how much Jeff and Darat have lost perspective on managing the forum. I was actually content to walk away quietly. With no drama whatsoever, I asked the JREF to disable my posting privileges so that I could continue to read the forum and use a few of the features. One feature I used was the reporting feature. In a span of two months I reported several posts, all of them for being in the wrong forum or for hot-linking images (something that the JREF works hard to avoid). But then Darat changed my password without telling me. Do you know why? Do you know the real truth behind his decision to suddenly make it so I could not use my password?
Here's the background. A few months prior I questioned the moderator decisions regarding RSLancastr, a man for whom I have respect as a skeptic. I was personally attacked by a number of moderators and members for questioning moderator actions because it seems that people really love RSL and assumed I was somehow criticizing RSL for the behavior of the mods. What nonsense. After being told repeatedly that RSL was not receiving favorable treatment, I sent an e-mail to none other than Jeff Wagg outlining my case for favoritism. Jeff responded briefly saying, "Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Robert Lancaster has a relationship with the JREF that extends beyond the forum. He does get special treatment because of this." So I was right.
Well, after reporting several posts as a guest for two months, I reported a new thread in GS&P started by RSL. It was a story about his stroke and belongd in Community. I reported the post. I don't recall the exact text, but I was definitely a smart-ass. I wrote something like, "This thread belongs in Community. Unless, of course, this is another case of RSL getting special treatment. In that case, feel free to ignore this report." As I recall, I quoted Jeff Wagg's comment above.
Less than 12 hours later Darat changed my password without telling me, and drama ensued. I was severely mistreated in that exchange, though I do not hold myself blameless in the misunderstanding. It was a clear abuse of power. So, when the JREF reinstated my account, I decided that walking away quietly was not an option. The JREF deserves better than Jeff and Darat. The forum is a valuable asset, and they, quite frankly, treat people like shit. Somebody needed to stand up to them.
I know. You're going to say that when you ask for your account to be unregistered, they change your password as a matter of course. Darat just did what he should have done two months earlier. Not true. Now that I am suspended, I can get the proof. When I try to access certain features I'm restricted from using, I get the message, "Your account has either been suspended or banned or you have requested it to be set to unregistered." This is not a standard vBulletin message. Darat or Lisa customized it. Why would they do this if unregistering an account meant disabling the password? Jeff and Darat argued that if you ask for your account to be unregistered, you can't expect to be able to log in. That's clearly a lie because they customized the system to present access level messages specifically for people logging in from "unregistered" accounts.
The mistreatment is bad enough, but the outright lies are even worse.
They Hurt the JREF
I support the JREF. I've offered numerous suggestions to them and even started this thread talking about things the JREF could do. Did Jeff respond? No, it was ignored. Apparently Jeff only responds when there's a power trip involved. It saddens me that the outreach manager would ignore a thread about outreach. Ignoring people is bad, but publicly throwing temper tantrums and threatening to take away the ability to post images is bad public relations.
Consider how poor public relations has adversely hampered Richard Dawkins' website. It's only a matter of time before Jeff throws another temper tantrum and has it blow up in his face. Darat's abusive and incompetent management style, which included the banning of all jokes in the humor forum for a while, is slowly driving people away and hampering growth. That the JREF would allow a long-time member like King of the Americas to leave under formal accusations of "advocacy to commit suicide" for telling another member (me, actually) in effect, "Ignoring your senses is crazy - try doing it on the train tracks and see what happens," is absurd.
If you really want to see how useless Jeff Wagg is, then I suggest you read this thread he started a couple of years ago. It's patently obvious he is incapable of critical thinking. He dismisses outright any complaints in Forum Management, and bitches about its very existence. He actually ridicules people outright because he's too stupid to understand the value of the asset he's paid to nurture. Businesses would pay big money to have 3,000 active users and over 100,000 unique visitors to a website monthly. No business would pay somebody to piss all over them.
It's not like suggestions haven't been made for how the JREF could better leverage this asset. Jeff even started a thread about it, but has he implemented any of the suggestions? I don't think so. Read for yourself and tell me what Jeff has actually accomplished. According to Alexa, the JREF Forums get 2.3X as much traffic as the main site, but it doesn't seem like Jeff realizes it. It's much more fun to ridicule people and play power games.
New blood is needed. Jeff and Darat need to be replaced. Power shoud only be asserted to achieve the goals for which the power was granted in the first place. When individuals assert power for the sake of it, they need to have that power taken away. You can't tell me that Darat is the only person capable of running this board. He's only there because of inertia. And it's obvious Jeff has no clue about communication or outreach.
P.S. I see now that the JREF has added two new moderators. One of them is LashL. What a joke. Just this week Darat issued a warning in a thread not to personalize it. LashL responded with, "You're really going off the rails these days, UncaYimmy. Have you considered taking a break?" First, this is off-topic. Second, it's attacking the arguer. Third, it's ignoring the mod box that says not to personalize the thread. I reported it the post, and it was not actioned. Still don't see the bias? More on this ridiculous choice here.