David Rooney is banned here - and this is why

[admin]

Every couple of years or so we have another copycat and another attempt to split the forum. I am happy that there are people who find success of baexpats.org site inspiring. I am just a bit upset about the methods they use. And the pattern is always about the same.

Basically, if you just start a commercial site and say I am going to sell you stuff just like a dozen of other sites do, nobody is going to get very excited. You need to create some kind of a publicity stunt. So, at some point when a splitter thinks he has sufficient roots in the community, he just intentionally goes for direct confrontation. It is inevitable, it is a part of the game.

In this case we had another "please rsvp" dinner thread on top of our forum and David started to post complains that it is too expensive to him. I tried to explain that this thread is for rsvps only, that we have different types of meetings and he can go to next one that is going to be cheaper, I offered him to organize a dinner himself, so that he has a chance to make it better. I said that we have a poll on our site discussing dinner prices and he can address his concerns there. Nope. I guess by this point everything was already predetermined.

David has written several very negative posts about baexpats lately, registering new blogs for this with free blogging providers. Each time he emailed me his post in advance basically saying "Do what I say, or I am going to publish it". Well, there is nothing new about SEO blackmail. It may have done wonders for him before, but this is definitely not going to work with us.

So now he pops up a new website, naturally, presenting himself as a martyr. Apparently a lot of work was done on his site long time before all this story happened. I won't mention the site name, but it also has "baexpats" in it (omg, how original! ) and you can easily recognize it since it mostly repeats the structure as well.

What can I say about all this? Baexpats has been around for more than 6 years now. It is the most popular expat site in Argentina. We've been blessed with many interesting writers. The site has literally changed lives of many people and affected their decisions. Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that we do at least some things right? Is there such thing as "just enough" moderation, or is it always "way too oppressive"?

I do believe that some reasonable level of moderation is necessary to keep the forum going and to make it successful. It is just like that. And I have to admit that it is not always exceptionally rewarding activity.

If you go to a restaurant without your shoes on, most probably they will not let you in. But why?? Does it give you a right to break their windows? Or to tell to everybody that they are thieves and liars? May be you should open a restaurant across the road, get a loudspeaker and scream all the time that they violated your right of eh artistic self-expression?

That is what David is doing now, and on top of that I am pretty sure that he had an idea to open the restaurant across the road from the very beginning.

Baexpats may be not perfect, but it has a soul. I hope everybody agrees with me on that. David is just a pissed off guy. I assume we will see him here from time to time joining under different names and promoting his new creations. Well, so be it .

 

[LostinBA]

Every couple of years or so we have another copycat and another attempt to split the forum. I am happy that there are people who find success of baexpats.org site inspiring. I am just a bit upset about the methods they use. And the pattern is always about the same.

he sounds like a dick.

 

[chris]

I am confident that most readers of this website would be very upset if it were to disappear. That ISN'T going to happen but disagreeable people can cause problems. I say just ignore him.

 

[Gringoboy]

Never heard of him.

 

[fifs2]

Don't know the guy but from the description sometimes you have to wonder at the nature of human beings who act this way. Don't lose hope Mr. Admin, the site is very much appreciated and damaged individuals with little ethics but large chips on their shoulder do tend to find their natural end.
I do wonder about your moderation criteria it has to be said, since I think you moderated me twice for some flippant throw away remarks but let long rambling trails proceed with shocking and sometimes abusive language. Maybe try taking off the training wheels and let the site fly for a month with no moderation just for kicks!
Otherwise chin-up. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all!

 

[AngelinBA]

You're right that this site changes peoples lives and you can be proud of that. I haven't been around the site for long, but have been in BA for nearly 11 years now with almost no contact with expats during that time. When I found baexpats I was really depressed and homesick, but the now daily contact with people going through the same things, the familiar 'faces' of the regular posters and laughing at the fights and jokes that go on in these pages has made a big difference to me. So, thank you.

 

[weltawelta]

Sounds a bit harsh and of course you are only posting one side. Maybe people should hear both sides before jumping to conclusions. That would seem rational and fair to me.

 

[gsi16386]

Never heard of him.

never heard of him either

 

[kurtdillard]

Sounds a bit harsh and of course you are only posting one side. Maybe people should hear both sides before jumping to conclusions. That would seem rational and fair to me.

I read some of the dinner thread and I read the guy's post announcing his new site that competes with this one before it was deleted. He was acting like a jerk and violated what I consider appropriate behavior on a community site such as this. Good riddance to him.

I don't agree with every opinion and decision of our hosts, but I think they do a good job with this site and I appreciate their efforts.

 

[Raymond]

What was for dinner?