Comments on: Drama, drama, and more drama!

By: Marianne McArdle

Marianne McArdle — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:35:19 +0000

Hi again,

Wow – there’s two of us… double trouble! LOL

thanks for the update! Haven’t been to the Book Lovers board, but I’ll check it out..

Thanks!

By: AztecLady

AztecLady — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Marianne/thestar: Marianne McA was one of the original posters at the now defunct SB’s board. Funny coincidence but just that

Have you discovered the Book Lovers Message Board yet? Many of the regular posters and sometimes lurkers at SB’s board visit it regularly.

By: Marianne McArdle

Marianne McArdle — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:54:24 +0000

Hi all,
Used to post on Brockmann’s board a few years back and occasionally lurk there still. I used to post as “thestar” and I’m waving hello to some familiar folks I see here. Anyway, went to lurk there the other day and was so surprised the board was gone. Followed some thinks and ended up here.

What’s troubling me is the post from Marianne McA on March 9 at 12:09a – which is not me… someone else here have the same name?

Curious minds and all that…..

By: Rosemary Laurey

Rosemary Laurey — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:10:13 +0000

Karen: Have you seen this?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/student-facing-twenty-years-in-hell-1643069.html

By: Louise van Hine

Louise van Hine — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:51:39 +0000

Hm, seems like I am one of the few who doesn’t know the source site/author/situation, but maybe that’s just as well if it’s gone now anyhow. Unmoderated blogs run by an author for readers is not a good idea. Never a good idea. Many author-run blogs are small affairs, for fans who read the author and are discussing the publication or plot or whatever. It should be understood if someone comes gunning for the author and is disturbing the flow of an otherwise friendly discussion, then whoever is responsible for moderating can just delete the nastygram and move on without it becoming a flamefest. But unless it’s REALLY a nastygram, an author running a public blog needs to grow a bit of skin to take a certain amount of negative commentary. I think this is controlled quite a bit by the personality of the author, and how volatile the normal discussion is around that author. But if someone is foolish enough to set up an unmoderated forum and finds they can’t take it, changing the rules midstream and then banning people just breaks down all the mutual trust the blog had before, and maybe it’s just as well to close the discussion community down.

By: Star

Star — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:26:14 +0000

Just wanted to thank you for being so eloquent in describing a horribly sad event (at least for me). If just a few things had been done differently (sooner?) we would have seen a happier outcome.

As for me, the ‘if I don’t acknowledge it doesn’t exist’ policy is nothing but self-serving and wrong. One can see what one gets while doing this. And — naming mods who are actually posters of the board puts those posters in such uncomfortable ’set up to fail’ positions as to be just this side of cruel. Naming moderators who have actually flamed and slandered other posters during heated arguments? Completely self-serving and doomed to fail.

I will be watching and waiting to see what this author, who has in the past craved interaction and reader attention — does without this vital link to her reader community.

By: KristieJ

KristieJ — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:58:07 +0000

I was a lurker there for a while off and on. It was while I was ‘off’ that most of the drama went on.
It’s sad to see it gone – there seemed to be a lot of nice caring people there. But I think the author has done herself some serious damage with her ‘do as I say – not as I do’ attitude. In the world of ‘authors behaving badly’ I’m sorry to say – but in my opinion she is a poster child.

By: Sybil

Sybil — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:53:51 +0000

I was wondering if you were going to address this…

I sort of agree with teddypig and wouldn’t be shocked if the board doesn’t reopen (again) at some point. Then again who knows.

I think it is sad, I like her books. I like the author for the most part. I am thinking she has drink her own koolaid but hope I am wrong.

No author should surround themselves with nothing but fangrrls. They end up like LKH or Lori Foster. At the same time I do agree with some of what she said at the B&N forum. When the book is published, it is published. The author can’t change it. And they SHOULDN’T it is their name on the book.

The thing is I don’t think readers expect that, ok not most of them anyway, the author can’t argue a bad review into a good one by belittling, judging, reasoning, threatening or bargaining with the reading. So either don’t say anything or just thank them for their time, answer their questions if they had them and if they were rude ignore them. You still got their money. You win.

I haven’t read all… 50 pages? at AAR but what I have skimmed… there is nothing there to make her fear for her life and uh if she did, contact AAR, get the IP’s, take it seriously and do something about it. The OMG something is wrong on the INTERNET way about it? uh just makes it look like nothing is wrong but a diva’s nose out of joint

By: vein

vein — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:41:19 +0000

I don’t know what the underlying situation here is but taking in some of-board action is potentially reasonable. Here are some real situations I have seen as a mod.
* Member targets women from the forum and sends them explicit emails and is abusive when ignored or rejected.
* Member gets annoyed with people after arguments of forum and repeatedly flames their blogs and guestbooks with violent threats.
* Member runs a blog devoted almost entirely to saying how crappy the forum is and how morally evil each moderator is, yet continues to particpate there sweetly.

By: Marianne McA

Marianne McA — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:09:15 +0000

I’m just still sad about it. I’ve mostly only lurked for the past while, and – while I did go back to read the DoN discussions – I couldn’t in all conscience agree with the definition of freedom of religion that members were supposed to endorse, so I had mentally left the Board when that became a requirement.

Didn’t know it had gone until Annie emailed me. So, no opinions, because I wasn’t there – but really sad because it was a great place in it’s time. I have, however, a book that PS sent me from the NY(?) signing, which is signed by a lot of the BB members who were there, as well as Suz, which is a nice memento to have.