Hey Matt and Matt (The Other Matt) …
Maybe you are missing the point completely - and if it “HAD” been taken to the pub, there might not be an issue.
Read the following very carefully - and you will understand!
** When someone (you) signed up for this discussion board, the Administrator (Chad) asks for an email address. This address is provided so others can communicate with you for sharing of ideas, information, questions, etc. <u>NO FORUM </u>has the email address there for personal and “Direct-to-your-home” personal attacks! The very fact that Doug uses - and has continued to use this forum email tool to harass and abuse a person via email (and at home or at work) because of a difference of opinion is totally and without regard to etiquette, forum usage, and the reason for why it (email address) exists.**
As I noted, there is no problem in keeping the discussion, rants and “bitching” on the web site (in the pub). But <u>NO ONE </u>should have to put up with Doug’s crap arriving at their home or office. For either of you to ignore and/or defend Doug’s actions bothers me a bit, because by remaining quiet - or “poo-pooing” it, provides Doug with a feeling he is justified and vindicated by what he did.
Dan, Greg, I and a few others have <u>NEVER</u> sent those type of emails directly to Doug at his home, without receiving a similar one from him first.
This same type of email abuse happened on the Windpower forum and Bill Mullica took appropriate action, and in hindsight - perhaps a bit late. If Chad accepts this infantile type of action from a so-called “business man” it certainly doesn’t do much for this site - because the next thing “could” be malicious emails containing virus infections or the like.
Would Doug do that - I doubt it, since webmail doesn’t support that stuff. But the point is that like a spoiled person that he is, he has found a way to try to intimidate anyone who doesn’t agree with his ideas, his choices, or his posts - or even asks questions he can’t answer. Again, let the intimidation happen on-line and if Chad doesn’t mind, neither should we. But taking it to a personal level of home email abuse is too much, and I have lost any respect I have for this individual.
Nothing prevents Doug from establishing his own forum, from which he can send personal “hate” mail all he wants. The problem with that, is his audience would shrink a great deal and he would have no “bully pulpit” to attract others.
Banning him from the site is called for in this instance, just as it was from WindPower. Of course, he can always sign up as someone else, but at least it sets a precident, like Bill Mullica did, that personal attacks OFF-LINE using a forums provided email address won’t be tolerated.
Think about this “concept” a bit, and ask yourself if it is really worth supporting these actions?
Still not convinced? Here is one from February 21, 2003 that he sent. (addressee’s name not provided for reasons of privacy) but sent to the person’s private email address:
<font color=“red”>[i]"This email has been sent from lorsail via Ikonboard.
(http://rcsailtalk.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi)
You are without a doubt one of the most pitiful caricatures of a sailor that I have ever had the misfortune to run into!"[/i]</font id=“red”>
Give it some serious thought before you blindly defend or ignore what went on! Hell, even Jerry Springer has a few people to keep things from getting out of hand.