Well, I don't know about you other forum member's but a guy by the name of Phunk You,Good Morning Looser's, and many other names, has been dirtying up the forums. I guess this guy is close to being stopped. If you or anone else has problems with this guy, please hit the "Report Abuse" button. Grandpaw Pettibone's order's on the Flat Wheele Cafe. He is known for sending dirty private messages, and posting other really bad stuff on other threads. He apperantly normally posts with our good friends over at the Model Railroader site. So let's all band together and help the TRAINS.com staff, to get this guy off the forum!
Scinceraly,
Anonamous.
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
Justin, you should know that a regular posting on these sites will not allow you to disguise your identity, and the word is spelled "anonymous."
But I do agree with you -- in the past 24 hours I've gotten the finger from a cartoon and (even worse) from a cartoon of Jesus. So the thing to do is complain. I did, and it worked.
Mr. Smalling! That's why I underlined anonymous! That's ok though. I know, but that's what screen names are for. (Course, mine isn't exactaly seecrative.) I got the same 2. I'm sick of this guy. We will together obliterate him! Mwahaahah! I did report abuse like you told me to in our E-mail conversations.
Just hit the "Report Abuse" button and let the moderators take care of the problem. Monday A.M. many of the message threads had a cartoon character flipping the bird. I reported it and within 30 minutes they were all gone, and the user has hopefully been banned.
Unfortunately, anyone can join, create a phony user name, and get immediate access to post their childish remarks. This happens every year as soon as the schools let out and the kiddies are getting bored.
If you see it on any thread again---or some variation on the same ol' theme---just report him
And thanks to the mods who work their tailfeathers off here----
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Hi al! Thanks for replying! I did send a report abuse message, and if I see him again, you can bet that I will do it again! Yall' do the same thing too now. Keep posting so he can relise that we mean buisness.
And defanatelly. Thanks to the modarators who are working this issue!
Regretfully, I saw one of these posts and did not report it (in the interest of free speech). I am a moderator on another forum, and if I had seen such a post there I would have deleted it. In the future, I will report immediately anything I find to be unnecessarily offensive.
Many thanks to the moderators--I hope my posts are not making your jobs too difficult. They seem to generate some interest here, and I try to mention Trains and these fora elsewhere.
"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." Daniel Burnham
Thanks for your kind support and encouragement, Fellas. It turns out that the Reports forum was soon flooded (and I do mean flooded) with complaints and requests to have the offending material deleted. It seems we have feast or famine with this cretin.
Even though it was a dreadful weekend in some respects, due to the good works of this fellow, I feel that the great benefit is that now the staff at Kalmbach are more acutely aware of how serious and onerous this person's behaviour is on their forum. My hope is that they will take concrete steps to change the registration procedure for new members. My suggestion all along has been that new registrants should not be able to post until their application has been vetted by a mod or admin status person, or that their first five or six posts must be scrutinized and approved before they are seen by the membership. This is routine on many other forums.
-Crandell
At one time, you were required to be a subscriber to be able to register to post to these forums. Has that changed? Perhaps this person is so intent on doing his thing that he is willing to invest in a subscription for each screen name? I find that a little hard to believe.
Morning all! I haven't checked my e-mail so I don't know if this creepy crank has been obliterated. I hope he has. People like that are not welcome on this forum. Thank you to all the moderaters who work hard to keep the forums clean, and safe!
Dakguy201 At one time, you were required to be a subscriber to be able to register to post to these forums. Has that changed? [snip]
^^^ What he said. If so, the perpetrator ought to be traceable. If not, why not ? And maybe it ought to go back to that - either Trains or another rail-related Kalmbach publication or book, video, etc., for this and other good and sufficient reasons. Such as: "OK, then why should I subscribe, if I can just come on here without a subscription ?" Not that I would, but I'm just saying . . .
But back to the main point here: Add my thanks to the moderators as well.
Also, I've recommended that these incidents be reported to both the FBI and FCC. No harm in upping the stakes here to some real serious stuff for that - "thing" - and letting "it" know that playing with fire can get "it" burned too . . . .
- Paul North.
The forums are free to all who wish to register. All that is kept exclusive to those who subscribe to the parent magazines in each case is the stuff advertised as such. But, for posting on the forums, all ya gotta do is input your email address and pick a user name. This person does it with a malevolent intent, and if he can do it, so can others. And there are others.
OK, thanks for clarifying that, Crandell.
Then I recommend that Kalmbach add a requirement that all users registering must include a valid phone number and street address*, and that same be verified to some degree before allowing them access to the Forums. Anyone who can't do that for some reason or who has exceptional circumstances - such as being in the military, etc. - can explain that, and then we'll leave it up to the sound discretion of the moderators as to whether or not to permit access.
(* Bluntly put - an address that would be sufficient for a sheriff to serve a citation, summons, or complaint in an injunction suit to restrain such actions, etc.)
This is a privately-owned, privately-run Forum. As such, the traditional U.S. 1st Amendment "Free Speech" concerns about a potential "chilling effect" on robust debate of requiring such disclosures - note that the disclosures would be only to Kalmbach and the moderators, not to the Forum members at large - is simply inapplicable. That doctrine is designed to promote political speech in public fora, not discussions about trains and railroads on a private forum.
I'm not particularly concerned about the risk of losing the participation of jerks like that, and I think almost all of the other participants here - even those who prefer to post under a screen name only - would accept such a registration requirement in return for less risk of this recent kind of nonsense. While some may see this as trading freedom for security, I don't see the loss of freedom as being involved here. Instead, those who are posting ought to be willing and able to accept responsibility and to be held accountable for what they post. But others may have contrary views on that, of course.
This was proof of the classic observation (first noted by the Greeks) that it takes original thought to create, but any nitwit can destroy.
I know that this one hit a nerve, for those who follow a religion and for those who don't. For anything similar in the future, report abuse, and DON"T comment on the forum...
Please don't feed the troll!!!
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Paul_D_North_Jr Then I recommend that Kalmbach add a requirement that all users registering must include a valid phone number and street address, and that same be verified to some degree before allowing them access to the Forums.
Then I recommend that Kalmbach add a requirement that all users registering must include a valid phone number and street address, and that same be verified to some degree before allowing them access to the Forums.
I agree. It would hopefully scare away most prospective "Trolls" since they would no longer be anonymous. That said, our current troll has several times linked himself to his YouTube account where his full address is visible... So I guess this one at least doesn't care if we know who he is!
There was "talk" on an angry thread over on MR a year back about paying an unfriendly visit to this person at his posted address on youtube. He had a good chuckle when he replied...do you really think that's my address?
Simplest approach would be to deny posting privileges until the registration is "approved". It would mean a simple view and click for the mods for 99%, but we would immediately spot the bad eggs.
In time...I can only hope.
As I said to my mod partners off line, we owe this person a debt of gratitude. His exceedingly offensive posture this weekend has done us all a favour and awakened in us a desire to preserve this forum for its intended use, and not his. It has galvanized quite a few to take notice and to take offense. That can't be a bad thing.
My congratulations to all involved {moderators}, etc....for "cleaning" up the forum of the "low life" that had infected it.
Perhaps new discussions of how to treat entry for forum participants will bring new solutions.
Quentin
I am happy the moderators were able to clean this up and thank them. Having encountered a situation on another site I believe the computer address can be traced through, in this case Kalmabch's, server for to prevent a recurrence or for prosecuetion of any kind should it be warrented or elected.
The only residual problem I am having is that I am not receiving updates on the postings to which I emailed customer service earlier.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
Henry, this fellow is adept with computers. He uses several changing IP's with the result that there is only an approximation of his location or ISP suggested. In his case, he uses hotmail or yahoo as his providers, but must use a new registration there in order to register here. We are but volunteers who get to this site several times each day with large spans in between. I can't see a stack of new registrants, only the most recent that everyone sees at the bottom of the index page. If he slips through as Eat Poo, and some other legitimate new user registers within seconds, that person's name supplants his and I would never know it...he is gone and in with the sheep (sorry, but you know what I mean).
When we ban someone, as infrequent as it is, that IP address is done for good. But if buddy picks the new Eat Poo name and registers with yahoo, yahoo's system assigns him a new address that our system doesn't know...so it says, "Welcome newbie!" and probably attaches a smiley to boot.
Additionally, we are pretty certain he "banks" user names. He'll spend 10 minutes one night getting new yahoo or hotmail email addresses, and then use them to register with several names here, which he will record for future pleasure.
A small mind he is in a small world.
We need to do better at our own game than he. I am sure Dana, Wade, and team are working on a fix as we speak.
selectorWe need to do better at our own game than he. I am sure Dana, Wade, and team are working on a fix as we speak
I must have missed the word re: Bergie....? Has he departed the Trains.com organization....?
Has the forum been online since that incident Sunday night? When I checked yesterday morning, it would not open. I just got that page saying the webpage could not be found. I got that all day yesterday and this morning. I just assumed that the forum had been shut down in the wake of the Sunday night incident. Finally I called customer service around noon, and asked them when the forum would be back on line.
I was told that I never have been taken down. He told me that the problem must have been my browser and we did some troubleshooting. However, there is no indication that it was a browser problem. It has never happened before, and when it was happening the last two days, it was only Trains, Classic Trains, and Model Railroader forums that would not open. It made no difference whether I went in through favorites, googled the sites, or just typed in Trains.com in the address line. Then about a hour ago, I tried it and it opened.
After reading Crandell's response (above), I reiterate my advice that it's time to call in the calvary = law enforcement, as well as Yahoo! and HotMail - on this one, for the following reasons:
- He's deliberately = intentionally using up/ wasting too much valuable time of the paid people at Kalmbach at the volunteers here.
- This is a repetitive pattern of deceptive and illegal acts, which misuses and hence interferes with interstate (and international) commerce and the instrumentaliites of same.
- Anybody think this is the only time and the only place he's done this kind of thing - and that this is the worst of it ? What else has he done and up to ? Or, that this is the end of it, and now he'll go away and play nice ? Not likely, in my opinion.
Time for a visit from a sheriff or an FBI agent, and maybe a weekend in the brig pending arraignment, as well as taking away his toy = confiscation of his computer. Maybe a "honey pot" trap needs to be laid and sprung to gather enough evidence - if so, go to it !
We could wish that there were some way of instantly educating this retarded person so that he would realize that mature, responsible people do not behave in the way that he has behaved. He may think that what he has done is an "adult" way of behaving--and it is, at best the behavior of young teenagers as they begin to learn the "humor" of inappropriate sexual behavior. He is not adult; he is puerile.
On the same subject, I was glad to see, when I got to the Humor Thread a day or two ago, that a "joke" which came in my email had been deleted.
Johnny
Paul_D_North_Jr After reading Crandell's response (above), I reiterate my advice that it's time to call in the calvary = law enforcement, as well as Yahoo! and HotMail - on this one, for the following reasons: - He's deliberately = intentionally using up/ wasting too much valuable time of the paid people at Kalmbach at the volunteers here. - This is a repetitive pattern of deceptive and illegal acts, which misuses and hence interferes with interstate (and international) commerce and the instrumentaliites of same. - Anybody think this is the only time and the only place he's done this kind of thing - and that this is the worst of it ? What else has he done and up to ? Or, that this is the end of it, and now he'll go away and play nice ? Not likely, in my opinion. Time for a visit from a sheriff or an FBI agent, and maybe a weekend in the brig pending arraignment, as well as taking away his toy = confiscation of his computer. Maybe a "honey pot" trap needs to be laid and sprung to gather enough evidence - if so, go to it ! - Paul North.
Just curious, Paul or any of the resident ESQs. What law(s) is this person breaking? A couple of misdemeanors?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Well, nevertheless Poppa Zits I think you will agree that his behavior was VERY VERY innapropriot, and he was NOT acting his age if he was a teenager or an adult. I just read a message that Norris sent me and I guess from the way it sounds, he has been stopped for now. (knock on wood) I do however PZ hope that he will be set straight in whatever law he is breaking, has broke, or will break in the future.
Am I the only one not getting notifications of new posts? Haven't since the Mods took this idiots posts.away.
henry6,
Assuming you mean Email subscriptions: Go to Email in youre update profile, and above personal email you should see three bubbles. Select "yes" to all three of these, and this should take care of the problem!
I can't answer your question directly because I don't have that function activated. However, I think it may have something to do with possible tinkering that Wade and his crew are doing. I don't know what that may be because Wade and Dana only told us yesterday morning they were trying to figure out what to do with this problem.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.
bubbajustin henry6, Assuming you mean Email subscriptions: Go to Email in youre update profile, and above personal email you should see three bubbles. Select "yes" to all three of these, and this should take care of the problem!
All is in order there!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.