Karma/carguy69

[mrten]

This makes total sense of the impression I got from the Karma thread. I was not suprised to hear the news that there as an IP/computer sharing situation. I think Mod 5 did the right thing and am wondering why there was any rollback at all.

I would like to hear why certain members don't feel concerned about the shared IP/computer. The rules of this board are clear, and if there has been a pass given I for one would like to know the reason.

There was also a post by jimbo 3X very early in the Karma thread stating that she writes her own reviews, (post 17 & 18) he was jumped on, a flame war evolved and the rest is history. The mod is doing his job properly, it clearly shows

 

[EagerBeaver]

As I have already stated it's been made very clear to me (and other posters) for a long time that internet connections are not to be shared. When they are shared by the admission of those involved, I don't think the Mod should be blamed for acting quickly if he is equally quick in pointing out the true situation. I prefer Moderators to have quick triggers when there is clearly something amiss.

Frankly there should be a clear Board rule stating that a client is to never share an internet connection with an SP, to avoid this type of thing happening again. I had thought there was already a rule against using duplicate handles from the same IP, which is a rule designed to prevent shilling and is in everyone's best interest. Carguy69 was not technically in violation of that rule because he was already an established handle. However, he would have been in violation of a rule prohibiting a client and SP from posting from the same IP.

 

[breadman]

As I have already stated it's been made very clear to me (and other posters) for a long time that internet connections are not to be shared.

EB, there is a huge difference when they are shared by two members and an internet connection shared by a member and a service provider.

I can see a bunch of hobbiest meeting in a hotel room and surfing merb and someone wanting to make a post.

I cant see a hobbiest with an SP in a hotel room surfing merb and both wanting to make posts.

 

[General Gonad]

You know who else acted quite hastily in response to this little soap opera GG? Yes YOU!! Unfortunately, your tirade directed at Helene regarding her banning and my response to you were two of the posts that were cleaned up in the other thread and that I'm really none to happy about right now.

I think that your response there outlined perfectly your character which was extremely unbecoming.

There's shadiness all over this board now and it's blatantly apparent!

My response was based on PMs with Mod 5 asking him if he was 100% sure. Was it hasty? Yes and I regret it. I am at angry at myself but mostly at Mod 5 for acting so quickly and decisively. His responses to me and his decisive actions suggested that he was absolutely sure she was carguy69.

BTW SK, I care about Karma/ Helene so for you to rub it in my face....well, you're pissing me off. Your response was no better so THINK before posting self-evident snipes.

I f_cked up trusting that the Mods can do a proper job. I should not have doubted Karma, but when you get responses that claim they are 100% certain, you do not know who to believe.

GG

P.S. I understand that we all make mistakes because we are all human but this mistake from Mod 5 was careless. I will add this: SPs should never use a client's computer, even when taking a trip with them.

 

[Gentle2her]

I f_cked up trusting that the Mods can do a proper job. I should not have doubted Karma, but when you get responses that claim they are 100% certain, you do not know who to believe.

Many members are constantly bitching at whatever the Mods do: They are too quick to act, too harsh, going beyond their own rules and what not, and yet some also complain that there are too much bullshit on this board, too many shillers, not enough control, Mods not doing their jobs, etc... Talk about being damned if you do, damned if you don't!

Who can ever be certain about the person(s) behind a keyboard anyway? Are we in a totalitarian world where cameras must be attached to each computer and identify the person? Nope. The Mods act upon what they consider "evidence", and if Mod5 saw two handles sharing the same IP at about the same time, posting in the same thread, one being a SP handle and the other a client praising that SP, he was in his own right to assume it's one person shilling for herself. There is no way he can know for sure there are two persons, and MERB history shows that shilling is going on more often than not. Maybe his only mistake was to assume, but if you were an SP and wanted to shill for yourself it would be easy to come up with a bullshit story that it was a client sharing the same room and blah blah blah. How could anyone know what is true and what is not? Even now that everything has been said about this, noone has any proof that Karma and carguy69 are (or not) two different persons behind the same keyboard.

I totally disagree with madmax that Mod 5 should resign. Mod 5 is doing a great job and MERB would not be what it is if he (and the other Mods) were not there.

Moral of the story, like many said in this thread already, SPs should stay away from client's computers. In fact we should all avoid sharing our connections/computer with anyone.

 

[angeleyes]

The Mods act upon what they consider "evidence", and if Mod5 saw two handles sharing the same IP at about the same time, posting in the same thread, one being a SP handle and the other a client praising that SP, he was in his own right to assume it's one person shilling for herself.

For one thing Karma never posted in the thread in question.

Now, I am not here to bitch about what the job the Mods are doing; God knows it's a thankless task and a bit of a hornet's nest at times (and they don't even get paid). That being said I would hope that, in the future, given that an incident like this can totally ruin somone's personal reputation, not to mention their source of income, I would hope that a little more care be taken before such drastic actions are resorted to. All in all though, I am glad this was settled quickly.

Also, for what it's worth I am a little bummed that my posts earlier in this thread were deleted, but whatever.

 

[Techman]

I totally disagree with madmax that Mod 5 should resign. Mod 5 is doing a great job and MERB would not be what it is if he (and the other Mods) were not there.

Moral of the story, like many said in this thread already, SPs should stay away from client's computers. In fact we should all avoid sharing our connections/computer with anyone.

Mod 5 should not resign. He's doing as good a job as any mod ever has and better than some did. No one is perfect and this is a thankless job.

If an SP wants to post from a client's computer, she should post under the client's handle and identify herself in the beginning of the post. Similar to the way that Gia posted her retirement under Celine's handle. If the client does not want to her to know his handle, she should add at the beginning of the post that she is posting from a client's computer. That will immediatly make the mods aware of the situation and reduce the chances of any problems arising. Or the post could simply be preceded by a pm to a mod informing him of where she is posting from. It's an easy enough problem to avoid in the future.

 

[Gentle2her]

For one thing Karma never posted in the thread in question.

And in what thread did carguy69 post? oh yeah, Karma's thread!

I do agree with you however that something like what happened could damage someone's reputation, but shilling and people being caught using the same computer are things we have all seen since like forever and has also been discussed ad nauseam in the past. Old timers like Karma / carguy69 should have expected to be exposed when sharing the same computer. It's too bad if they are indeed two persons, but the Mods did what we all expect from them: their "job".

Please refer to the moral of this story in my post above.

 

[Gentle2her]

Mod 5 should not resign. He's doing as good a job as any mod ever has and better than some did. No one is perfect and this is a thankless job.

If an SP wants to post from a client's computer, she should post under the client's handle and identify herself in the beginning of the post. Similar to the way that Gia posted her retirement under Celine's handle. If the client does not want to her to know his handle, she should add at the beginning of the post that she is posting from a client's computer. That will immediatly make the mods aware of the situation and reduce the chances of any problems arising. Or the post could simply be preceded by a pm to a mod informing him of where she is posting from. It's an easy enough problem to avoid in the future.

I totally agree with all that you said.

 

[angeleyes]

And in what thread did carguy69 post? oh yeah, Karma's thread!

It was her thread in as much as it was devoted to her, but she didn't start it and never once posted in it (so your comment that two users were posting in the same thread under different handles from the same computer was incorrect...this was all I was getting at).

 

[BigPickle]

I can see a bunch of hobbiest meeting in a hotel room and surfing merb and someone wanting to make a post.

I cant see a hobbiest with an SP in a hotel room surfing merb and both wanting to make posts.

I don't think either possibility should be allowed. It creates a clear line where no misinterpretation could take place on either side.

The only quirk is 2 people on the same ISP using the same proxy. In such a case other trace factors would need to be looked at by the mods which they may not have access to.

 

[Gentle2her]

(so your comment that two users were posting in the same thread under different handles from the same computer was incorrect...this was all I was getting at).

And what I was getting at was that Mod5 probably acted upon what he saw as "evidence", whatever that is from his point of view. But you're right, she didn't appear to have posted in that thread. Sorry about that.