I take absolutely no pleasure in banning someone. Bill and a few others want Bill's (conventrycat86) banning to be justified and made public. Ok, we can do that. However, this is not a trial or debate. This is done.
Bill joined in '03, and was quickly banned from CP for creating drama. His buddies asked me to give him another chance, so I did. He was suspended two times, and then banned again in '06 for creating a disturbance in the 1st annual CP herf thread. For whatever reason, Bill did not want the 1st annual CP herf to be a success, so he did everything in his power to prevent it from happening, or at least create enough drama to constantly derail the thread. Bill believed CP was being overrun by "asshat newbies" – same old song and dance we still hear today.
Here is the link to the original herf thread: http://www.cigarpass.com/forumsipb/index.php?showtopic=18933
Unfortunately Bill was using another cigar forum to rally support for his mission to inflict drama upon CP. The below text was sent to me by someone who had acquired it from the other forum, and felt it was necessary for me to see just how callous and destructive Bill can be. Below is a transcript:
Even watching Bill's behavior in the HERF thread, I was stunned to read this. I couldn't see how Bill could possibly contribute to CP after having posted this, so I banned him. Once again, his buddies begged for me to reinstate him. I agreed to allow him back in and forgive Bill on the condition that he would change his ways, and become a positive member of CP. It didn't take long for him to start again.
Here's a thread from '07 in which Bill almost caused PuffStuff (a very respected retailer) to leave. http://www.cigarpass.com/forumsipb/index.php?showtopic=29037
Since '06 to present, Bill has been involved in more drama than any other member, and I've given him far more latitude than I should have. I allowed Bill to constantly break the rules, bait and go after members for little to no reason.
Unfortunately, his reaction and behavior around my decision to appoint moderators made it abundantly clear that the destructive behavior had started again. I initially suspended Bill for 3 days. However, after putting more thought into the behavior, and after reconsidering his whole history with CP, I decided on a permanent ban. I am not going to stand by and watch him degrade the community further.
I want to make it clear that the success of CigarPass has and always will be a community effort. Some have said that only a select few have "made CP what it is", and I had little to do with it. In 2000, I set the ground rules for CigarPass and always had an open mind when it came to amending the rules. I have ALWAYS believed in creating a community where EVERYONE has a voice. Over the years we have amended the rules due to input received by the community as a whole – some from FOGs, some from newer guys. No one group of members can claim ownership on how CP operates. The core values that are CP evolved over years and continue to evolve. Again, CP is and always will be a COMMUNITY EFFORT.
The term "FOG" refers to a member who has been part of CP for a certain amount of time AND has demonstrated positive participation AND has put their best efforts into keeping CigarPass a fun, friendly and safe community. Simple longevity does not give anyone the right to step outside our rules or act out in a less than desirable manner.
CigarPass is not turning into a drama haven; I think the ratio of drama to membership is actually decreasing. With any community, there will be more drama as membership rises, I won't argue that. When we were a small site, the number of new posts per day was relatively low. Now that we're one of the most trafficked cigar communities, there are more threads/posts, and with that comes disagreements and misbehavior. Debate is healthy and some drama is a healthy part of a growing community like CigarPass. I will do whatever it takes to keep drama to an absolute minimum. There are pro's and con's to a self-regulated community, however the pro's seem to constantly outweigh the con's, and therefore the community will continue as it has for the past 9 years. For a community of this size, the drama is pretty darn scarce when you think about it… No mods covering up posts, deleting content, hiding threads, scrambling passwords, etc… If this isn't good enough for some of you, simply move on and stop bitching about how CP is going downhill, because in reality, it's not. It's interesting how certain members have recently withdrawn their membership at CP, yet they continue to come back and read the latest happenings – I guess CP is more powerful than I thought…kind of hard to give up.
Like any other community, CP is what you make out of it – If you come here with a passion for cigars and the desire and intentions to make new friends, you'll enjoy your time here and reap a ton of benefits– no doubt.
Again, I'm sorry it had to come to this; I take absolutely no pleasure in ever banning anyone. I was hoping to keep this private between Bill and me, but it seems he wants this aired out. I'm sure what I have posted will be dissected and twisted around by some. Bill's actions speak volumes about his character, and those who choose to back him after knowing the facts are nothing but hypocrites. Accountability goes for everyone, FOGs and new members. The baiting, name calling, and other childish displays of attention will surely continue on other sites, however it's been put to rest once and for all at CP.
Rod
Bill joined in '03, and was quickly banned from CP for creating drama. His buddies asked me to give him another chance, so I did. He was suspended two times, and then banned again in '06 for creating a disturbance in the 1st annual CP herf thread. For whatever reason, Bill did not want the 1st annual CP herf to be a success, so he did everything in his power to prevent it from happening, or at least create enough drama to constantly derail the thread. Bill believed CP was being overrun by "asshat newbies" – same old song and dance we still hear today.
Here is the link to the original herf thread: http://www.cigarpass.com/forumsipb/index.php?showtopic=18933
Unfortunately Bill was using another cigar forum to rally support for his mission to inflict drama upon CP. The below text was sent to me by someone who had acquired it from the other forum, and felt it was necessary for me to see just how callous and destructive Bill can be. Below is a transcript:
Even watching Bill's behavior in the HERF thread, I was stunned to read this. I couldn't see how Bill could possibly contribute to CP after having posted this, so I banned him. Once again, his buddies begged for me to reinstate him. I agreed to allow him back in and forgive Bill on the condition that he would change his ways, and become a positive member of CP. It didn't take long for him to start again.
Here's a thread from '07 in which Bill almost caused PuffStuff (a very respected retailer) to leave. http://www.cigarpass.com/forumsipb/index.php?showtopic=29037
Since '06 to present, Bill has been involved in more drama than any other member, and I've given him far more latitude than I should have. I allowed Bill to constantly break the rules, bait and go after members for little to no reason.
Unfortunately, his reaction and behavior around my decision to appoint moderators made it abundantly clear that the destructive behavior had started again. I initially suspended Bill for 3 days. However, after putting more thought into the behavior, and after reconsidering his whole history with CP, I decided on a permanent ban. I am not going to stand by and watch him degrade the community further.
I want to make it clear that the success of CigarPass has and always will be a community effort. Some have said that only a select few have "made CP what it is", and I had little to do with it. In 2000, I set the ground rules for CigarPass and always had an open mind when it came to amending the rules. I have ALWAYS believed in creating a community where EVERYONE has a voice. Over the years we have amended the rules due to input received by the community as a whole – some from FOGs, some from newer guys. No one group of members can claim ownership on how CP operates. The core values that are CP evolved over years and continue to evolve. Again, CP is and always will be a COMMUNITY EFFORT.
The term "FOG" refers to a member who has been part of CP for a certain amount of time AND has demonstrated positive participation AND has put their best efforts into keeping CigarPass a fun, friendly and safe community. Simple longevity does not give anyone the right to step outside our rules or act out in a less than desirable manner.
CigarPass is not turning into a drama haven; I think the ratio of drama to membership is actually decreasing. With any community, there will be more drama as membership rises, I won't argue that. When we were a small site, the number of new posts per day was relatively low. Now that we're one of the most trafficked cigar communities, there are more threads/posts, and with that comes disagreements and misbehavior. Debate is healthy and some drama is a healthy part of a growing community like CigarPass. I will do whatever it takes to keep drama to an absolute minimum. There are pro's and con's to a self-regulated community, however the pro's seem to constantly outweigh the con's, and therefore the community will continue as it has for the past 9 years. For a community of this size, the drama is pretty darn scarce when you think about it… No mods covering up posts, deleting content, hiding threads, scrambling passwords, etc… If this isn't good enough for some of you, simply move on and stop bitching about how CP is going downhill, because in reality, it's not. It's interesting how certain members have recently withdrawn their membership at CP, yet they continue to come back and read the latest happenings – I guess CP is more powerful than I thought…kind of hard to give up.
Like any other community, CP is what you make out of it – If you come here with a passion for cigars and the desire and intentions to make new friends, you'll enjoy your time here and reap a ton of benefits– no doubt.
Again, I'm sorry it had to come to this; I take absolutely no pleasure in ever banning anyone. I was hoping to keep this private between Bill and me, but it seems he wants this aired out. I'm sure what I have posted will be dissected and twisted around by some. Bill's actions speak volumes about his character, and those who choose to back him after knowing the facts are nothing but hypocrites. Accountability goes for everyone, FOGs and new members. The baiting, name calling, and other childish displays of attention will surely continue on other sites, however it's been put to rest once and for all at CP.
Rod
