Anita Suspended from the JREF...Again

I first encountered Anita Ikonen (VisionFromFeeling, Alenara) on the JREF Forums. The moderators on the JREF are usually tolerant when it comes to suspending people. You need to get a few "infractions" from the mods letting you know you are getting out of line. If you persist, they suspend you. If you continue along the same path, you'll eventually get banned.

Back at the end of November, Anita finally got suspended. Apparently she didn't like the moderators giving her infractions, so she threatened to abuse the system used to report posts (in other words, she threw a tantrum). She got suspended for a day. Just 10 days after that she got suspended for "multiple breaches" of the rules. This usually means the member was being a real pain in the ass.

She wasn't allowed back on the forums for a week, which was about December 18, 2009. On December 28, Anita had another meltdown. She received five infractions in less than two days. These were mostly for personal attacks on other members including our very own V.P. of Patient Relations, Desertgal. Many of us felt she deserved more infractions, but we all figured, "Who cares? Five infractions coming just 10 days after back-to-back suspensions means a really long suspension."

We were wrong. Apparently the JREF Forum administrators were "too busy" around the holidays to do their job. They decided she would not be suspended because it took them several days to review the infractions. To be fair, they might have suspended a few other people from that contentious thread, but they didn't. Personally, I was shocked. Based on what I've seen there with other members, I expected at least a two week suspension if not 30 days. The admins really hate it when a member openly defies them after receiving a suspension.

Anita went quiet, then came back to the forums again. She had several posts tossed into Abandon All Hope, which is where the mods dump inappropriate posts. Then in early March, she changed her signature to personally attack Desertgal. Again. It was the same person and type of attack for which she has received multiple infractions. The mods changed her signature to remove the attack and put her on notice. Personally, I think she deserved a suspension considering her history.

So what did Anita Ikonen do? She changed her signature again. This time, she made what looked like a link to this website, only it actually went to a post on the JREF with a personal attack on Desertgal. This time the admins suspended her and took away her signature privileges. It was only for a week even though her last suspension was for a week (usually they get longer).

So what did Anita do? Apparently she harassed Darat, the administrator who suspended her, by "spamming" him with private messages. Remember, she was suspended for threatening to spam the mods via the reporting system. What did Darat do? He extended her suspension by a week.

There have been accusations of favoritism by the mods regarding VisionFromFeeling. Personally, I think those accusations have merit. She has gotten away with things that in my opinion others would not. So GreyICE, a JREF Forums member who doesn't hang out here, started a thread in Forum Management suggesting that a ban would have been more appropriate. Personally, I agree with that sentiment. Darat, however, closed the thread almost immediately saying that nothing anyone could say would affect his decision. Interestingly, when members start threads protesting a suspension or banning, Darat allows the threads to run their course and be discussed. Why did he close this thread within hours?

I think the reason is that the JREF itself wants Anita Ikonen treated with kid gloves. Last year she inquired about taking the JREF $1M Challenge. More importantly, last year a member contacted Anita's university mental health clinic and pointed them towards her website. This is perfectly legal and ethical - the counseling center is bound by confidentiality laws, so Anita was not at any risk. The member did not say Anita was mentally ill but only suggested that professionals check her out. When the member announced she had done this, there was quite the shit storm. The JREF moderators got all worked up, but ultimately decided that it wasn't any of their business. I'm betting the JREF management was involved in that discussion, which is why I believe VisionFromFeeling is receiving special treatment.

There are those that like to say that Anita is just some nice, innocent girl. Truth is she's a grown woman who is vindictive. She's harassed me repeatedly, which is why she was banned from posting on this board. She's harassed Darat, the JREF admin. She's personally attacked a number of members. And she's repeatedly sent private messages to members who have resorted to publicly asking her to stop harassing them.

She's just not a nice person.