General Chat

John's ban has nothing to do with this thread which is days old, Cynthia.

He was banned for posting the same thing again and again and again. Please don't accuse Lynda of something she was not responsible for.

Hang on a mo indeed Lynda.

In your opening comment, you make the statement....

"I'm asking because I have contacted GR to say that I feel that the chat board is being used to score points by some posters, and feel that because of that, it's not being used as much"


If therefore, you have contacted GR re 'some posters', I imagine names must have been mentioned, as I am sure they haven't picked John's name out of a hat at random.


I would also say that when John was on one of his soapboxes, life on this board picked up speed and became interesting again.

Hang on a mo fairness to both parties, why is that comment on this thread?

Again, this thread is NOT about John, even though some would like to think it is.

Looks like even though apparently he "isn't here" some seem to like to add his name at every opportunity.

PM GR, tell them how unfair you think his ban is, they might interested.

I am reminded of the witty words of the satirist Samuel Butler, who died over 110 years ago:

"I believe that he was really sorry, that people would not believe he was sorry, that he was not more sorry."

Hi Tania, the ban is for 6 years. I have also known members be banned for life. :-(

Hi Det,

Yes, I know that, but I do like to see fairness to both parties. :-)

It's rare for a ban on here to last longer than a good sleep
In fact many a person has been banned and not realised it so I wouldn't get too worked up

Cyns - GR don't like members discussing the whys and wherefores about a banned person. Any stand-alone thread might get deleted.

Who knows? Even the posts on here might be RR'd!

John's faith is his faith and as such does not concern me, in defence of John I will say that, he can and has posted some very interesting threads and comments. OK he has a what I call a slightly warped sense of humour and I don't mind that, however he does appear to relish in winding certain people up, and John's problems is that when he starts doing that he does not know when - enough is enough.

I will indeed post a thread re John's ban. Good idea. Thank you. Cx

Ann. GR do not ban a member on a whim. In fact I am sure I am not alone in being surprised that many more members haven't had 'a holiday' due to the number of RR's and subsequent post/thread removals by GR.

Let's not pretend that this members ban is down to one disagreement.
It appears to take A LOT more than that for GR to ban someone these days.

Sorry, Lynda, I only mentioned him because he'd already been mentioned.

Ann, several of us knew he was sailing close to the wind and told him so, I can't understand why he is confused about why he was banned. If you post the same contentious thing again and again and people keep reporting it then GR will take action.

Island I am not on holiday now and am most certainly not making anything up I have heard from John and that is what he has said.

Why would anyone associate this thread to John being banned, there is no mention of John, and I think I'm right in saying that he was here when this thread was started?
I do wish instead of making assumptions, people would ask the poster what they mean, if they aren't sure I'm more than happy to say what any of my posts are about :-D

Maybe dragging up a thread from 5 days ago, then saying you're going away for 10 days doesn't help, and to bring John onto here telling the world he's been banned, I wouldn't of thought was a good idea, I thought the same as Island on the subject.

The thread isn't about John, no idea he had been banned until it was broadcast on here. Please, if you want to discuss John, start a thread about him yourself.

Ann, for someone who was on holiday with limited wifi you sure seem to be putting two and two together and making five. Best say nothing rather than make stuff up.

The thread went up at the same as a number of 'spat' threads were running. That could be why readers thought there was a connection, if it was a subconscious response.

It's a bit like someone mentioning they'd taken their child/other relative out of school for a holiday. A different person starts a thread on the topic 'Should children be allowed to go on a family holiday during school time?'. There's no indication that the new thread is linked to the old, but anyone who read the original post would have made an assumption.....even if none was intended.

Stella, thank you for your comment at 9.49. As you rightly say, there was no nastiness at all, just a misunderstanding. It was a pity that some mischievous member rr'd your post and another member deleted a couple of their posts.
Nice to see you back :-)


All. Is it not against GR rules to discuss members who are 'on a break'?
Just asking....

I think the reason Cynthia brought John's ban onto this thread was because for some reason his ban was linked to this thread. Something to do with Stella being RRd and John being accused of doing it which he is adamant that he didn't. He is really confused as to why, in this instance, he warranted a ban. I really can't comment because, after seeing the misunderstanding between Stella and Lynda and then the sorting out I didn't come on here thinking the episode was finished. All a bit of a mystery this time really.

Be careful Lynda.. i would hate you to be tarred with the same brush i have been painted with..

Maybe we should not speak to each other again?

I mean i have been a member for a lot longer than most on here, do they think they are any different to those complainers that went before them.. those that never had any real friends because they were miserable..

wonder how long it will be before this post gets rr'd by one of them?

Several people (including me) warned John that if he kept posting the same thing time after time then he may well get a ban. He continued to post the same thing again and again. He knew it was coming but I expect he has taken it on the chin. He appeared to totally lose control and it wasn't pleasant to see. No matter what the provocation he shouldn't have done what he did.

I hope I'm not included in people having a go at John about his faith, I've studied many religions, particularly Christianity, so I, at least do know what I'm talking about. I don't agree with a lot of the teachings of many religions - or at least the way they have been interpreted down the centuries - but find the original writings quite enlightening. I would never have a go at someone just because they had a faith. I would have a go at anyone trying to impose their beliefs on others, though.

John has said on many occasions that he likes winding people up, knowing that doesn't make it any less annoying when he does it.

As for cliques - almost all my board friends are long gone from here but there are still a few people I like to see posting. I used to be a lot more wishy washy than I am now but I have seen too much foolishness here and don't tolerate it as much as I did. I like Lynda's approach of being more direct.