The Smiley Smile Message Board

This place really seems like it is falling apart these days.  I am tired of all the bullying here and the "herd" mentality that runs this place. Why does liking the BBs and posting about them have to be such a pain in the ass?

erm... would you care to elaborate on that? it does seem to me that nothing has changed.

I can't see any issues like that. Phil's gone and Bil just posted about his wacked out essay and did not get howled down??

Its just I don't like seeing people like OSD and I.Spaceman got banned over nothing in my opinion. This place is boring when everybody agrees on everything.

I have to agree.

Ian did nothing wrong to deserve the sh*t that was thrown at him on that thread (as for his initial post that started that mess, was it really that threatening?). As for OSD, I think he's been in time-out long enough.

Mostly everyone that posts here brings something great to the table. And I'm all for banning trolls who, half the time, spout off nonsense (yikes, I'm describing myself ;D), but when these people bring useful information and/or good conversation, we shouldn't ban them outright for one silly spat.

Ian was banned because of his comments in two threads today, and was already on a final warning as of 31 Jan 2013 because of, once again, starting fights. He should've been banned a while back, but I stupidly let it slide because he did bring some knowledge to the board. I stood up for him time and time again, despite numerous complaints and allegations of threats made via email/PMs/Facebook ect. I figured, 'hey, it's off the board, none of my business'. Today was the last straw.

 One thing...when a member is banned and tries to log in, they see a message stating why they were banned. You know what he got when he logged in? An apology, because I didn't want it to come to this. He had no way of knowing it was me who banned him. This guy you folks are defending? Check out my signature. THAT was the response I got from him after his banning. I also got several nasty comments left elsewhere. This guy has followed me on You Tube and elsewhere just to harass me; I managed to get him blocked. This is from someone who was allegedly my friend. And he's getting defended?

Maybe the problem is me. I should have ignored the complaints and let him continue attacking others. If that's the case, maybe I'm the one who should leave and never come back. Let me know. If that's what the board wants, then fine...I'll re-instate Ian, and make him an mod in my place, and then never come back here. Serves me right...that is what I get for defending people. My mistake.

I won't defend what he said to you in PMs. I just feel like things are nasty here right now and groups of posters seem to gang up on somebody who doesn't agree with them. Happened to me, Mike's Beard, and now Ian.

sh*t. Why do we have to ban smart guys. OSD, I could care less, I'm already sick of running into that dude's stupid comments on Youtube, and, he never helped me enjoy music or enriched my mind like the spaceman. This is a damn shame. There's still a lot of smart dudes here, but none of them who bring the Rock and Roll spirit quite like him. I hope it's a temporary ban.

I stood up for you, and Mike's Beard too...hell, he was one of the ones who was getting a hard time from Ian. Nobody was ganging up on Ian...he has a history of bullying others. And God forbid anybody have a difference of opinion with him. Yet I let that slide, constantly.

If anybody is getting ganged up on now, it's me. Why do I have a feeling nobody who asked me for help with him is going to chime in?

Billy, I did not know about the PM threats and won't defend them. I respect the hell out of you. All I saw on the main board was Ian getting harassed by Mikie and Howie.

Ian has gone beyond the pale countless times here. There's a difference between being "rock and roll" and simply behaving badly.

People periodically complain about this board going downhill. There has always been churn, and people come and go. Some get banned. It's the way things go.

Billy has simply been trying to do what a good mod should do, which is actually listening to people and enforcing certain basic standards of decency.

Yes I was defending Ian because nothing I saw today warranted a ban. He was pushed into a corner in one thread for asking a question (and yes, it was sarcastically asked, but who doesn't sarcastically ask questions around here?)....how do you expect him to react?

And if he was banned for other sh*t, just say so when you initially give reasons for banning him. You said he was banned only for the comments in that thread (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15257.msg353082.html#msg353082 (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15257.msg353082.html#msg353082))....hence I was a little put off at how easy it is to get banned here anymore. Say it was because you got complaints, say it was because he was harassing people, say it was for previous fights he started here. But don't act surprised when people question you for banning someone when you gave one silly reason as to why you booted him.

Billy, I think you're a great guy and a great mod. I can see that being a mod is a tough job. So pardon my ignorance when it comes to questioning your decisions. People are assholes, the internet sucks most of the time. If Ian was harassing people off the board, it was probably best he was booted.

That being said, I'll still miss his commentary.

Things are at a dry spell lately. Especially considering the sonic richness we got from Nov 2011 to Sept 2012. So it's natural that things should sway towards the mundane and fights erupt here and there. Per Ian, he sort of created this reputation around himself that I think put people on edge when engaged in a discussion around him - made people a bit defensive. I got into it with him a while ago but I too felt he contributed enough to the board that it was easy to overlook the times when he did get a bit too snarky. But reading what he wrote to Billy has banished (no pun intended) all doubt from my mind. I can only assume that Ian in real life is a very bitter unfulfilled guy (I guess who isn't unfulfilled to some degree) but to pull that kind of douchery is inexcusable.

come on guys, don't dramatize it. ok, some dudes you guys worship got banned and you miss them, i get it. so what? is it really the end to your living days? whats done is done, lets just move on and go back discuss BB. the board is still active and full of cool peeps.

No doubt. That PM is jawdropping to say the least....and is definitely inexcusable.

@Gertie J: Wut? I don't believe SMiLE Brian or myself "worship" Ian or OSD (thanks for your analysis though), we just appreciated their input. I found Ian to be much at times, but informative. I found OSD to be excruciatingly annoying at times, but he still contributed worthwhile posts.

Thank you Wirestone. Greatly appreciated.

Putting aside sending threatening emails to other members (like, actual threats made, not to me but to others)...even ignoring today ( He was out of line for what he initially said to Mikie, who was just pointing out Howie was more knowledgeable than Ian was giving him credit for, although Howie's initial response could have been a lot better)...you know how many times I pm'd him about stuff he posted? Look at his post history and how many edits there were. He should have been banned a LONG time ago.  Check his posts from last December. Now granted, Newguy could be annoying (heck he's another one that's gone), but do you think Ian was justified with

This was right after the Sandy Hook shootings. I took heat for not banning him.

And, yeah, I should've went into more detail when I made my initial post, which was

I thought 'final straw' made it clear that it the last thread was not the sole reason he was banned, but I should have indeed worded it better.

I too will miss his input, because when he wasn't going all psycho on people, he did indeed add a lot to the board, which is why I gave him more chances than I should have. Hell, previously when he'd get complaints I'd PM and almost plead with him to chill out, because I did not want to have to ban him. 'Sorry, I'll make sure it won't happen again'. Well, I got played, and I'm not going to be so trusting in the future.

The Classic Works of Ghost  
Part 1
(http://www.goldminemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Al_Jardine.jpg)

Al Jardine, tantric sex god; special power: using his abnormally large ears to perceive the vibratory beginnings of the female orgasm giving him complete control over its expression, making him the beloved of all women; secret trick: In his dentistry books Al studied every possible movement of the human tongue and its possible reaches within its own mouth or any other cavities of interest, making Al a highly prized cunning linguist among the ladies.

(http://www.cokemachineglow.com/images/7869.jpg)
Mike Love, karezza master, can keep a boner going for 15hrs without viagra;  secret trick: lightly hums "Whennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn" onto the most sensitive little point on a woman's body to send her right over the edge.

Again I didn't know the whole backstory with the threatening PMs from Ian. I thought Ian got run off the board just like OSD did for getting into a tussle with a high ranking poster. I just get annoyed when some of the senior posters can just about get away with being rude and nasty to other posters.

In my opinion, people being banned is a very minor problem on this board. It only happens to a few, and it is usually warranted. Do people really get wound up or have hurt feelings over people being banned?

To me, the biggest problem on this board, and one that I think has been prevalent for years, are the Honored Guests and their advocates. Hey, we're just a bunch of fans, a bunch of diehards, a bunch of people who love the Beach Boys' music and enjoy an outlet - this board - to talk about it. We come on this board because it's fun, or it's supposed to be fun. And, all we're basically doing is expressing opinions; it might not always come out that way, but that's what it is. We're just expressing what we think, what we feel.

But what happens, too many times in my opinion, are Honored Guests coming on here and belittling people, being rude to them, basically telling them their wrong, basically telling them that their OPINION is wrong. And then what follows are their Mutual Admiration Society cronies coming on and piling on. SMiLE Brian, you mention "piling on". That's the only "piling on" I see.

It's one thing to be corrected about facts or statistics or dates or history. We all make mistakes and should be corrected on them. That's not what I'm talking about. It's another thing to have people enter a debate with their "do you know who I am" attitude, people who are interested in getting their name mentioned in the "credits" or "thanks" on the album cover, or they're interested in getting a Christmas card from a Beach Boy, or they're trying to make a couple bucks - from us. I guess we're good enough then, regardless of our opinions.

You know it's funny. The one thing we have all learned on this board - and there are even threads about it - is that you shouldn't believe EVERYTHING you read and hear about The Beach Boys. You should question it, debate it, challenge it. Unless it comes from one of our Honored Guests...

 

And that's not going to be stood for any longer, either.

Note: Most of the time when I issue a warning, I do it via PM, because I really don't like to call anyone out in public. If it's more than one person, I will post but in more of a general manner.

How can one read this and not crack a smile? :-D

Of course he could be very offensive, but knew his stuff about the guys. I laughed at or agreed with 85% of his posts.

Ghost was banned, but registered under a different name and resumed posting without incident, but disappeared.

WTF is a karezza master? I'm afraid to look that up.  :lol   Can you give me a clue?

I agree Sheriff, I hit upon this on in my last post right before yours was posted.

Well I am going to air my main complaint I have had that builds on lack of respect from "honored guests" mentioned earlier. The double standard with some guests is asinine and must stop. This guest treats everybody like he is way superior to them. He can get away with this horrible internet behavior because he is a "beach boys historian" and hints that is knows insider "information" which he never reveals until it is common knowledge. He rubs his status as "king of SS" at other posters and the mods do nothing to correct his behavior as of late. OSD got banned because he only responded to a nasty, nasty insult that was totally uncalled for. I also know first hand how the guest's posse attacks you to no end if you state a BBs opinion that is disapproved of. This just must stop and EVERYBODY here must be treated as equals again. Having a BBs book and website does not give you an excuse to be rude and belittle other posters for expressing their opinions on this wild and unpredictable group.

Hate me all you want,but I must get this off my chest.

I cannot remember what his user name was. He didn't stay around too long when he came back.

you mean AGD?

I go by the old axiom, "I only know what you say (write), I don't know what you mean". People need to think about what they are posting. If Howie took offense and Ian didn't really mean it like he posted, then he should have just apologized instead of arguing the point. I liked Ian even though I have had run-ins with him in the past, but Billy did what he had to do. Being a Mod can be a thankless job. Everyone that has been banned here had been warned many times before the banning took place. If you are that stupid a fuckhead, then the banning is deserved. Billy, you did the right thing. You did what you had to do.

No arguments here, but one correction...OSD's post that he got banned for wasn't in response to AGD; it had to do with an entirely different complaint by a different member (otherwise I'd have let it slide...there's several posters here who have beef with each other but I let them have at it until it crosses a line. That's when I'll step in). It's also not a permanent ban*. Again, as mentioned previously, if someone comes to me with a complaint about a poster, I address it privately. Sometimes that may look bad, but I'd rather do that and make myself look bad  than to break confidence.

Thanks dude...greatly appreciated.

* I just checked, and he has 60 more days on the ban. Phil Cohen's not perma-banned either, but I keep having to move it because his is scheduled to expire on the original release date of the boxed set :lol

Same! That "Whennnnnnnnnn" bit makes me laugh out loud :lol

Wasn't Ghost 'SoColdIGoBurr' at one point? I was always suspicious that 'Ukelele Jesus' was Ghost, but UJ's posts were never as off the walls.

Yes! That was the username. Before that he was 'nobody'.

That's right! Jeesh he went through a lot of usernames.

Billy,  Thank you for doing what you did.  I wanted to PM you about things I have read on here before, particularly the Newguy thread, but I felt like a newbie complaining about an established member.  What he said was so offensive I was suprised he wasn't banned on the spot. So thank you for elaborating on why you didn't.  I also agree his posts are informative and interesting but I often felt intimidated and to be honest, not just by him.  I also agree it can be belittling at times, particuarly since I'm no historian or musician, , I just love the band all all that goes with it.   

Where is Newguy anyway???  :)

Newguy was banned, but not by me. I agree with it but I wasn't online when it happened.

Let's see - NewGuy, Craig, Mike Eder, Mikie, Howie, OSD, Fishmonk, Ethan Clarke, even Chuck the site's owner have all had to deal with Ian's abuse (did I miss anyone?). The guy has a great music knowledge and can be fun to talk to until you hit upon a difference in personal taste and then he has a tendency to try portray you as a lesser person rather than respect your opinion. Annoying yes, but people can live with that. It was when he crossed the line and went into all out verbal attacks (including remarks against family members) that he earned his ban. Yesterday's incident was quite mild by Ian's usual standards but as Billy has mentioned he was skating on very thin ice by that point.
He mocked me yesterday and I threw one straight back at him, then waited for the fireworks which oddly never came (I think he was too busy trying to drag Mikie into a flame war).

BTW I never felt ganged up on yesterday on Bill T's thread. Stuff was said on between Stephen, Jason and myself but at no point did we cross over into name calling, threats and verbal abuse. We came away from it still on friendly terms with each other.

Billy you couldn't have handled yesterday any better than you did and as for what he put on facebook, that is one of the most disgusting things I have ever read.

Well, I guess I have a case of BBs fandom burnout. Don't expect to see much of me for the next couple months.

I think we are just all slowly going crazy waiting for this damn box set to come out.  :lol

Yeah, I think that should feel like an awkward thing to do. I'd like to think there's a hierarchy to the board that allows the "established" members more sway with mods than "newbies". We have an equal chance to express our opinions, but all opinions are not of equal value. Does anyone on this board believe that there are lesser persons, or that human beings are not all of equal value? I doubt it. We all get to say our piece.The board would run better we all dutifully observed my imaginary hierarchy.  :o

1.Mods
2. Smart folks/authors/expert collectors /'established' members
3. Newbies/everyone else/me, etc.

I guess not.

It's Psycho!

I'm sorry but I don't understand one single thing you said

He said VIPs should be given a wider birth of standards when posting.

"But all opinions are not of equal value"

BULL.

My opinion or any one else's is just as valid as a mod or an "expert" or an established member.  An opinion does not state a fact to be argued or rebuked. It's what someone thinks or feels and they have every right to do so, regardless of whether it's right or wrong.

You need to careful with that, though. Quite few here, as well as at other boards try to pass off their opinions as fact. Those do need to be called out and clarified.

Opinions and facts are different things though. If I'm stating an opinion it's different from me stating a fact.  If people are passing opinions as facts they would actually say that are stating a fact not an opinion,  and yes they should be called up on it.. and...  my head hurts :/ 

^ I agree. My one big regret in all of this is not acting sooner. As I said previously, there were things he posted in the past that he should have been banned for, but I let it slide because 1)I felt he did add a lot to the board  and 2)I considered him a friend. Well, I was wrong to let either of those cloud my judgment, and that is not going to happen again. Just, please understand everybody...if any of you are ever banned for anything, it is nothing personal. Everyone should be held to the same standard, whether it's an honored guest or somebody posting for the first time. That includes us as mods, too. If one of us steps out of line, let another mod know. Although I can't imagine anyone ever being mad at Smile Holland...that is one cool guy. 8)

:lol

Everyone is entitled to an opinion some peoples opinion however are more educated than others.

OSD wrote a book??? Now THAT I need to order from Amazon asap!

But seriously, I agree with The Sheriff and Smile Brian but the problem seems to have leveled off as of late. Didn't we even see the reverse problem with someone telling Desper he's full of shite?  .... It should be roundly understood that this is a discussion site: a bunch of fans just hanging out. It is not a Beach Boys desk reference.

Some are more educated, yes. But there are also good teachers in this world and crap ones....

You don't have to tell someone they are full of sh*t when you disagree with them. Honestly, I never understood why people get so defensive that they have to lash out. It's like they have no self-control or manners when they sit behind a keyboard.

It's like that Brian song about being the kind of the world when he's in his 80's hot rod! .... People are invincible behind a keyboard.

Just got an email from him talking about how he wishes he could hear me choking in my own blood. Not a smart thing to do considering he was stupid enough to leave his phone number as his location on his profile. I'm going to be letting the authorities know if this continues. What a whack job.

Oh my god, what a colossal, titanic, foul son of a bitch. As much as I've chatted with him on this board about music and stuff, well, just f*** him. Throw the book at him if needs be, man. What a fucknuckle.

At this point I'm just trying to figure out whom to report him to.

Dude has lost his mind...

There have been a raft of laws passed in the last few years against cyber-harassment here, and as a quick google tells me, in the States and Texas, so you could just call the police! If he's sending you repeated death threats*, well, I guess the shoe fits. What else would you call it?

*of the internet hardman variety, but still

BTW, as much as I rep for this place, if I just typed out the phrase 'repeated death threats' and there's no mention of either Phil Spector or Mike Love in the immediate proximity, well, I guess we are going downhill  ;D

I think we need a Smiley Smile convention so we can all meet each other and chill out. I say we have it at Seaworld. ;D

Sorry to hear about this Billy. What an absolute shame.

I'm trying to see if I could contact his internet service provider, which appears to be Roadrunner (they're still around?!). Trying to use the police as a last resort.

:lol

I don't go online for 2 days and we get another shitstorm.

That freak out against Howie Edelson was a little unnecessary.

You're a good dude, Billy. Sorry about all the crap you've been going through.

Does Ian have a mental illness or something?
He seems to snap an awful lot.

And that's an awesome idea!
We could all wear striped shirts, slick our hair back, and wear our pants up to our nipples!

I think it's obvious he's nuttier than squirrel sh*t. Again, I felt real bad about this whole thing until he just started going off on me out of nowhere. If he's doing  this to me, someone who was on friendly terms with , imagine if we'd bumped heads constantly. Hopefully this is the end of it, and I don't wake up tomorrow and see a story on the front page of yahoo on how some kid in LA  went on a killing spree, then proceeded to write the lyrics to 'Hey Little Tomboy' on the bathroom wall with his own feces before hanging himself with a pair of nylons. You never know with some people on the internet.


Dammit...I'm bald! Anybody got a sharpie? :D

I'll buy you some, but only if we can draw you multicolored hair!

:lol

First, get the BB 85 track rating topic up before I beat ya to it 8)

You should hijack that one from me!
That would be cool!

Also, it would be really funny to see if anyone even noticed.
Lol.

I will put it up tonight most likely!

Great!
I can't wait!

It's up, and...I think I'm going to get a lot of disagreements.

 Could this be considered a *FLUX* thread?  :3d

Nah...nobody has brought politics up...thank God.

Funny sounding word. Flux.  Here's a little song I've written to the tune of Still I Dream Of IT.

Seaworld meetup time
for the members of the board
pulled pork we're eating now
smell the restroom now
wafting scent of salty water
and pork feces now
towards my front row seat
where the smileysmile conventioneers
are sharing love
but it haunts me so!
additional light-hearted shamu lyricsetc.

Good riddance. I think I've had some sort of disagreement with every other poster here at one point or another, but Ian takes the cake. I don't think people like phil cohen or osd or even ghost should have been banned, they may have been annoying to some posters, but only ever in a very inoffensive way. Ian is the only person who seemed truly hellbent on brutalizing and humiliating the posters that got in his way. It was just too much.

Apparently Ian has been giving OSD issues on YouTube. I am tempted to reinstate OSD just for that.

I'm in favor of that. OSD could be pretty awesome at times!

Why reinstate when I can give you this middling to fair quality imitation.for demonstration purposes only.

Bihly CastIHLo You are sharp as a tack, boy!  Reinstate Oldesewerdude, and you'll be doing it for the TRUE FANS  . not The TRuh Fanhs of Mykke N BroozDon't fail me Bihly! like a certain "lead singer" has failed me for years now, when I attend his concerts expecting genuine musical entertainment, but instead its my disnticnt pleasure to see for Umpteenth time those infirm balding old frauds RuHN TRhu ThE PuRhFunktORee Hitz while conspicuosuly pretending theyre not an over the hill lounge act(and charging oldsurferdude a premium for his merch, beverages, and earplugs thank you very much) Yippe! Ooo, there's a guy from the CowhSillS on the stage. And Oooh, look over there! - look! it's one Myke Luhv's many illegimate children!! . . . Wow, Sure beats seein' Dennis Wilson in his prime and after the show having him tell me about the time a BlAcK DuhD raped him, and getting him to sign my copy of sunflower I bought the day it was released. .

That's pretty accurate!

Thanks, I guess.   :lol

I do miss seeing him get angry though.
 :lol

:lol

So Ian got banned??  :o The guy has been annoying me after i was banned and when I came back,  well i hate to say it but Karmas a b*tch

Billy, you should seriously report him to the police for threatening behavior, perhaps he wont act such a tough guy when the police knock his door?

Yeah, if I get any more emails from him I definitely will. I know somebody else on the board had a similar issue with him...if I could remember who it was, I'd ask him if he still had the emails Ian sent him.

Just think of all the SeaWorld cracks we've missed out on due to OSD being banned :(

This message board will break up into East Smiley Smile and West Smiley Smile like ancient Rome.

Yeah, I'd love to hear his thoughts on that.
 ;D

I herd from someone on the forum (I forgot who) He had a meltdown a while back or something when he first came on the board and then made his own forum (Ironically i went through the same thing), But then he came back 4 years later and then, well the rest is history lol

I don't like dipping my toe into board drama, much less diving in, but I want to say a few brief things.

1. Ian is one of the most interesting and informed listeners and critics of pop music I've ever come across. And his board, especially in its assorted active times, has been the best board I've been a part of, with a great community of diversely intelligent and eloquent people.

2. Everyone should behave to one another. I give no free passes on that, including to myself: plenty of old-timers know I can be a dick, too. (In fact, I once quit Ian's board over a spat with him that started off about double albums but escalated ridiculously. I rejoined a few weeks or months later, when I was bored here, to be entirely honest.)

3. It's too bad when things devolve, and nothing to be celebrated afterward. I hope there isn't any more piling on regarding what is done, but rather that everyone just move on with their lives. Anyone having issues that need to be handled, by all means those people can and should do what has to be done. Otherwise, I say "nothing to see here--move along." One man's hope, anyway.

I think there are two kinds of bans on this board -- one of which I tend to agree with, and the other of which, well, I'm not always sure about.

The first kind is people who just go over the line -- Ian did multiple times, ghost/nobody/whatever else did (remember the corpse photos?). Folks like this simply need time away.

The second kind is people who are pursposefully irritating -- but not necessarily offensive. To me, folks like OSD and Phil Cohen fit into this category. And it bugs me to see folks like this banned (even though their behavior can border on the sociopathic and -- sometimes -- cross the line in and of itself). Because I think a measure of a board's health is how it deals with dissenting opinion -- can it take the lumps and move on, or do people need to be cast out?

Overall, I think SS does an excellent job of taknig a careful, reasoned path on this stuff, and letting most people post most stuff they want.

Well I did get banned for my actions, than apologized for them.
I think if you apologize then maybe you can be come back, whatever your actions is, Ian could've apologized for his actions but instead he threatened Billy C instead of apologizing i'm not to sure about OSD And or Phil but it is what it is.

The second category doesn't result in permanent bans...they eventually expire. Phil's ban, for instance, expires in 36 more days. It's more of a time-out than anythinng.

Ian, as brilliant as he can be, can also be one of the nastiest people around.
What he did, and continues to do towards Billy, makes me feel that he should never be allowed back here.
No grown man should act that crazy, ever.
He really needs some serious help.
He's not very welcoming to new people generally. Myself included. I don't know nearly as much about the Beach Boys as a bunch of people here, but I don't want to feel like a moron because of that. That makes me not want to learn.

wait what corpse photos

one word. buddahat.

Ian got mad at me because I didn't like Love You and I misunderstood a question or point he raised. We exchanged nice PM's and that was the end of it for me. Thiis happens somtimes. Yet Billy is a good friend of mine and I don't want him to have to be afraid somebody is going to snap and hurt him. Not liking my view on Love You is one thing, threats are another. I hope it all works out and mainly that no one is hurt.

This guy.

Yeah, Mike's Beard is right, but...Ethan has turned out to be a pretty swell guy, and I'm glad we gave him another chance!

Oh thank you for the compliment Billy!
Well anyhow, even though Ians knowledge of music's great, he is a psycho and needs some help
Its A Damn shame lol, also didn't he make his own music forum ?

I once received a couple of messages from Ian which contained pretty harsh words, apparently just because he disagreed with my opinion. I didn't reply, and I won't be more specific here. But from what I had read about him in the past and what I'm reading in this thread, I'm not surprised it ended with teh banhammer.

You hate to say it? It seems more like you enjoy saying it. You couldn't wait to dance on his grave. I have a gambling problem, and I'd bet on it. If only that action were possible...

Well, he's right. Karma IS a bitch, and He Who Shall Not Be Named did end up being a douchebag in the end. That said, he's not here to defend himself, so I'm going to close this.