eBob/Squires Refugee

Hello all!

I've been a member of the Squires board for a few years now, but in light of recent events I have decided to "take my business elsewhere" so to speak. I'm not going to sling mud in Mark's general direction, but I'd rather not be part of a public community where the moderator feels that he has to threaten his entire membership base with criminal and/or civil action.

I really like the vibe of this board, and I'm looking forward to discussing wine with everyone here!

Ciao...

Hello all!
I've been a member of the Squires board for a few years now, but in light of recent events I have decided to "take my business elsewhere" so to speak. I'm not going to sling mud in Mark's general direction, but I'd rather not be part of a public community where the moderator feels that he has to threaten his entire membership base with criminal and/or civil action.

I really like the vibe of this board, and I'm looking forward to discussing wine with everyone here!

Welcome to the group Ken. I have been here since about day one, and I like the vibes here too.

Welcome Ken,
I've posted there as well. I like the sense of community here and we discuss a lot of different wines here as well. I hope you have the same great experiences here as I've had.
Ed

Welcome Ken. I've been here for about 4 years and have never felt the need to explore other boards. I've learned a lot here and made some very nice friends here and have met many of them in person. If you enjoy it here half as much as I do, you'll have some good times and meet some nice folks.

[James Roscoe]

Welcome Ken. I have no idea what you're talking about, but we're glad you're here!

[Robin Garr]

Welcome, Ken! Glad you found your way here, and hope you'll hang around. We don't do gurus, but we like to think we're a pretty friendly community of wine-loving peers.

Welcome, Ken! Glad you found your way here, and hope you'll hang around. We don't do gurus, but we like to think we're a pretty friendly community of wine-loving peers.

Maybe we don't do gurus, but there are some folks here with great experise in somewhat narrow areas of the wine world and I respect their judgement in those areas.

Welcome Ken, great bunch here and everyone is most social. There are some real experts here, some great TNs, some marvellous threads. Where are you?

Welcome, Ken! Sounds like you did not have a good experience where you were. There are many winegeeks with the utmost integrity on this board - hope you enjoy your stay here!

Ken, welcome aboard.... I didnt know that recent events had turned so "ugly" over there. Im also a participant on the Squires board but Ive not been very active lately... is there a link someone can provide so I can catch up on what happened?

Ken, welcome aboard.... I didnt know that recent events had turned so "ugly" over there. Im also a participant on the Squires board but Ive not been very active lately... is there a link someone can provide so I can catch up on what happened?

There is a sticky, locked post in the social hall. I don't know the background of what is happening.

We don't do gurus, ...

I thought we are annointed "Wine Guru" upon reaching the 100 post plateau?
Redwinger

[Robin Garr]

We don't do gurus, ...

I thought we are annointed "Wine Guru" upon reaching the 100 post plateau?
Redwinger

Well, yeah, but that's a different kind of guru. It's a democratic (lower-case d) guruship that anyone can achieve. A guru without followers!

...A guru without followers!

Is that like a one goose flock?

[James Roscoe]

We don't do gurus, ...

I thought we are annointed "Wine Guru" upon reaching the 100 post plateau?
Redwinger

Well, yeah, but that's a different kind of guru. It's a democratic (lower-case d) guruship that anyone can achieve. A guru without followers!

Bob Ross being the one exception to the rule. He is amazing with the information he can get!

Ken
A warm welcome.

The two forums are very much chalk and cheese, which is all the more interesting as there are a few who post on both boards. I could never see myself registering for that forum, but do pop over to read the odd 'train-crash' thread to remind myself why

regards

Ian

Ken, a hearty welcome to you! This group is a little different from those blokes over there - great that you're here! cheers, Bonnie

Wow!
This is quite an amazing posting by the moderator (sic.) of that forum. I liked the bit about being 'accessory to the fraud' for posting in the same thread as someone using a pseudonym.

Well worth a read and thanks for the tip off.

regards

Ian

I think this somewhat mischaracterizes the events over there, at least from what I understand.

Mark Squires is very aggressive about fraudulent posting on his board; he has an explicitly stated real names policy that I believe he makes every effort to enforce, so takes personally any attempt to violate that policy. The latest incident apparently involved an individual who'd had his posting privileges revoked some time in the past reposting under a false name, with several other posting members, allegedly in on the scam, playing along. [I don't know who the poster was, what his previous violation had been, or who was or wasn't in on this with him.]

At any rate, Mark Squires found out about what was going on, eliminated the thread (I never saw it and wasn't aware of it), and posted a note to all members STRONGLY reminding them of the rules on the board, with special attention to the dire consequences that he'd try to visit on any future violators. As I read it he was directing his ire towards those he felt had been complicit in the transgression, rather than threatening his entire membership.

There are genuine style differences between this and Mark Squires' board, but both offer genuine value -- although to different audiences for the most part -- and both Robin and Mark are performing genuine public services by hosting these discussion boards. There have been potshots between the two sites in the past but I don't think those served anyone's interest and I'd hate to see that start up again.

Frank, I could not agree more. Taking shots at other boards strikes me a puerile and a waste of time. I read and post on many boards.

BTW, Serge was banned here also and I doubt many want him back. While he was posting under a nom de board on Squires he was fairly toned down, but I remember one thread where I was tempted to ask if Norbert was Serge, but didn't want to start a firestorm. I guess I should have known since he pulled the same stunt--pretending to have health problems to cover his awful spelling, Serge is a disgusting person--on the WS boards.

... both Robin and Mark are performing genuine public services by hosting these discussion boards.

I agree. Though some people say they'll have nothing to do with Mark Squires's board because of his editorial views, and though I have argued with him about those myself, a wide range of people post there; a forum with wide participation is a service to the community of wine lovers.

Below, something I posted elsewhere once on the thankless contribution of forum moderators.

--
When you see what a cesspool you get with unmoderated fora, you become tolerant of the human imperfections of moderators, and appreciative of their work.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I certainly have no intention of creating friction between this board and eBob. I know nothing about the person in question, but I know that there were many, many people that we aware of it.

This was just the last straw for me. Discussions that too often turned pedantic, troll-like behavior from the moderator, and just a bad vibe overall for me.

I just want to share and learn more about wine from people that have been doing this longer than I have, that's all. Thanks again for the welcome....

Welcome Ken! I used to be there too, but lately have almost dropped out (Musary stuff seems to be excepted) for similar reasons. This is a friendly place, so I hope you enjoy it and stay!

-O-

Ken, I think you'll find this to be a fine, civil community of wine lovers. Opinions vary and sometimes passionate disagreements can take place, but that's a normal part of life! So to add to that which everyone else has written, here's a warm welcome to you.