Having been a member of the Sun Journal's online comments forum, it has always annoyed me that people were allowed to post comments behind an anonymous screen name without ever having to reveal their true identities.
That is about to change. People posting comments after Feb. 1 will have to post using their real names and not pseudonyms. I believe that will make them more accountable and less likely to post snarky comments whose purpose is simply to elicit responses from other members.
For those people out there who have avoided the online comments forum because they didn't like the secrecy, here is the opportunity to join in a discussion group that allows them to voice their opinions. For those people who have been hiding behind a nickname because they feel braver there, now is the time to come out of the closet or quit the forum. No more hiding.
Let's see how many actually do it.
Ed McCaffrey, Rumford
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Hi Vertais
I did have caller ID then and the number this guy was calling from was unlisted. Do you think someone would be that stupid to call me from a number that I would be able to trace? I would have called the police and I am sure he knew I would. I guess I irritate you to no end Vertais and your responses show that exactly. I like to irritate and you are number one on my list. I am sure you will miss my Barbs LOL
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You want to remain "Unlisted" here for privacy purposes - but you have no problem picking up phone calls from "Unlisted numbers?"
Irritate me? No - Poison Ivy does that....... Entertain me with the flimsiness and fractured logic which are the hallmarks of most of your arguments? Yep.... That's what I enjoyed confronting and exposing.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again;
Internet Rule #1: Never under ANY circumstances post your personal information on a website, ever.
Rookie move, and one encouraged by the LSJ. It is great to see the naïve folk proudly display their bright green badge of verification; it makes the search for suckers a little bit easier now.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.I use my real first name but
I use my real first name but I will not be giving out my personal information to this site either. I wrote a letter to the editor several years ago and received a threatening phone call. It was scary to say the least. I felt that I could not even express an honest opinion without being harassed. I have read the vitriolic messages in here that certain bloggers post and I am not putting myself at risk for any further harassment. When liberals become angry they resort to personal attacks and name calling. I will miss most of you, the many that have come to my defense. Happy New Year to everyone but I will be out of here come Feb. 1st.
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He mustn't have tightened down your Vitriol filter quite enough last time he changed it - a number of your posts have been dripping with it.
And you didn't have "Caller ID" several years ago??? Or don't you think callers should identify themselves??
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at the number of commenters who are averse to posting under their real names. While I frequently disagree with Ron's (veritas) opinions and never agree with Dan's (tron), I wholeheartedly agree with the use of their real names in their profiles. Thirty-five weeks ago, I changed my user name to my real name (even though my name was clearly posted in my profile) to demonstrate that I am proud not only of my name but of my opinions as well (regardless of how misguided some think they may be). In the final analysis, the only thing a person has is his/her word. Our republic was founded by people unafraid to identify themselves with their words to the point that one, John Hancock, reported stated that his signature on the Declaration of Independence was so prominent because he wanted to ensure that "... King George will be able to read that!" If you fear any reprisal for expressing your opinions, I would suggest that you keep them to yourselves.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.On the 'Birther Forums""
Do you have to provide your Birth Certificate?????
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I would be willing to send in a copy of my drivers license to keep the riff raff off of these forums.
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about the change is the spammers will need to be verified to......or will they? The majority of postings I have seen in last 24 hours are spammers....Makes your site look very professional SJ....with all your site time outs, spam hackers and the fact that your advertising dollars are way down across the board and you cannot compete with marketshare I would think you might have bigger fish to fry then the posting alias's.....I cant wait until Feb 1st and your unique visits plummet, cuz lord knows the majority of your relevant readership happens online. Your competitors must be elated by your short sightedness.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.For the people that the LSJ
For the people that the LSJ plans to alienate, you can go to asmainegoes.com for intelligent debate. Pseudonyms are allowed, and identity is protected.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.I'm on my way there now.
I'm on my way there now. Thanks BWright for the tip!
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You posted the type of discussion that makes sense and is thought provoking. Good for you!
I'll read it again in the morning and decide if I should be pro or con on your post. Either way I'll be polite and civil.
Best regards and a Happy New Year.
Al Pelletier
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Patti, As a business owner no
Patti, As a business owner no matter how convicted I am of the opinions I express here, how exacting the facts may be, I cannot express them using my name as there will always be clients who disagree, are offended, or could be adversely affected by what I disclose and would than not do business with my company or could even do harm. I also have to do business with suppliers who could suddenly change the terms of our agreements because of what I have expressed here. The same can be said for what an employee may say. If one of my employees were to come onto this forum and express an unpopular opinion make it known they are an employee or have it become known as a result of their working for me it could well have a serious negative impact on my business. If that same employee expresses an unpopular opinion under a pseudonym it will not effect my business as there is no way for anyone to know who the person is or where they work. Pseudonyms permit everyone to participate and to express themselves freely. Citygirl is correct under the new rules, you will end up with the Tron's and the Veritas's and nothing more.
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Candice Casey, I have you sooooo figured out.
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You have a problem with other posters "outing" one another and then you go and do the same thing! The pressure seems to be getting to you the past few days. You are becoming more and more unprofessional as each minute passes.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Admin should OUT any OFFENDERS! - Multiple accounts, etc...
Thats what they get paid to do.....
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.I agree, but some care needs
I agree, but some care needs to be taken. With the proliferation of WI-FI, it is very possible for many people having the same IP address.
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Not only that, but you've been masquerading with at least 4 other accounts for months! Unreal! I should have checked IP addresses sooner.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Then that's a 'Business Decision'
There are some business people I know who get involved in politics - and some who don't. One of our local businesses even includes political commentary in their weekly ad leaving potential customers with no doubt where they are coming from. Evidently it works for them.
As a seller of antiquarian, rare and used books - I have found my shop customers more likely to express liberal thought and opinion than otherwise though the perusers of my 'military section' tend to be ex or retired military. Back in my now past 'gun-collecting' days the shops I haunted were hotbeds of coservatism.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.aww look the sun journal is
aww look the sun journal is already taking away freedom of speech. the sj can surely take what i say off their website if it makes them feel good- i would liek to point out however that some of us cannot get "verrified" due to the jobs they have. What is the SJ's response to that?
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.What do you mean, they can't
What do you mean, they can't get "verified due to the jobs they have"?
If you work certain hours, we can call you in the morning or late at night -- we have staff to accommodate that. Just send me an email (preaves@sunjournal.com) and I'll pass on the info.
If you're saying that you can't comment with your real name because you're ethically bound from expressing viewpoints on certain topics because of the nature of your job — I empathize. I'm a journalist, after all. But that is a sacrifice that I have chosen to make for my profession. And while we regret that perhaps some interesting and relevant dialog from the community may be lost because these people cannot make comments anonymously, that's a sacrifice that we and the community have chosen to make in order to gain some civility in the comments section.
And I say the community because I posed the question to the community several weeks ago and 57 percent of the respondents said they would prefer users comment with their real names instead of pseudonyms.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.So the 57% of Politicos,
So the 57% of Politicos, freelance journalists, and sameless self promoters, Along with the jackwagons and layabouts. Voted the 43% of us regular folks who have real jobs, employers, familys, freinds and neighbors whom they may not wish to share their opinions with on the most sensitive of subjects (Muslim Relations, The President, Gay Marriage for or against, abortion for or against, the Wars, so on and so on) off the island!!! In the name of civility!! I see well that makes sense!!!
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YES Patti!!! Some people of this community have to stay politically neutral publicly!! They must in any public forum act in accordance with their company, Firms or organization beliefs!! They are contractually obligated to not say or do anything in public that could in anyway damage the reputation of aforementioned entities!!! So go write a op-ed pierce about how the Sun Journal is run by idiots and the owners are fools!!! And get back to me on how that goes over for YOU!!! PROFESSIONALLY!!!
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Or even better Patti how about writing a piece about how the CMMC policy of not letting their employees publicly acknowledge their place of employment on the net, with the changes at SJ employers that engage in this form of policy are obstructing their employees right to free speech!! Since CMMC is one of the SJ biggest ad contracts, I don't think I'll be reading that any time soon Patti!!! AHH what ya think!! OH no you can only write what your editors approve!! Not personal thoughts or feelings unless they are in accordance with the thoughts and feels of those at SJ approving what goes out. What's the wait time at the emergence room right now!!! I bet that's expensive!!!
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We're not asking people to say where they work. We're just asking them for their names and where they live. You don't violate that policy by posting on our website.
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You’re not asking them to post their full address, phone number and date of birth either, but with the information you ARE requiring they share, I can easily obtain all three.
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Now Patti By just posting your name on here in these tight nit communities Lewiston/Auburn and apparently Rumford will lead to someone chiming in with where you work, what you do for a living your education how you dropped the ball losing the state championship game and so on and on and on!! I thought Armymom was going to tell us how Kevin likes his eggs!!! She was just trying to prove her point!!! Kevin seems like the shameless self promoters how relishes in the attention he gets from the community!!! Just like Veritas thinks he's a local celebrity for his postings on here!!!
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I was merely using myself as an example of how people respond to an outspoken person in public. I would have used you, but I don't know you. I really didn't want to get into any detail about what I do outside of the political realm. It is off topic.
By the way, I like my eggs scrambled. :)
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Shoot it's St Mary's AD Well I guess Im the jackwagon on that one, But I bet they have a very similar policy!!
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Right ...
So how does saying those things you aren't supposed to say under a pseudonym make it any better?
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Pattie it's not "saying those
Pattie it's not "saying those things you aren't supposed to" It's having an opinion on anything ever!!! Someone will disagree and if that someone is Peter Gieger or Any Gendron or Hannaford got 50 calls camplaining about Betty in customer service. Your Screwed!!!! Don't let the door hit you on the way out and good luck with the labor board!!!!
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That's right, if you are contractually forbidden to say certain things, then DON'T SAY THEM.
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or better yet, don't sign a contract or agree in a verbal contract, to do anything that would hinder your free speech. Shame on you if you did.
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You mean do like Tron and stay home all day posting whatever you call it he posts, cashing in the welfare checks backed by the tax dollars of those of us who can't post because we can't use a pseudonym and posting under our name would cost us the job that is paying the taxes that are backing the welfare check that is supporting Tron's sitting in front of the computer all day posting his garbage. Makes sense, sounds fair, will lead to a great exchange of ideas, huh?
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But if you used your real name, it would give me the opportunity to sue your rump for libel for making up stories about me, the one that never dies is that I'm on welfare. Well, here's your chance, call the state and report me for whatever and when they say "WHO???", you could apologize under your real name. But being anonymous allows you to lie without any consequences. The term for such a person is COWARD!
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.SO Mr Breton if you are the
SO Mr Breton if you are the champion of transparency, who is your employer???? What do you do for a living?? Please enlighten US!! IF it so safe no one should be afraid to post that information!!!
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YOU are the one who's saying such information is simple to obtain, so go for it. It appears the ones concerned about their privacy are the exact ones willing and able to violate everyone elses. Perhaps THAT is why their so afraid to make themselves know, they love to ambush from the dark.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Well Dan after this post I
Well Dan after this post I was determined to find your employer and cause you some grief to prove my point. But now I can not, one family man to another, you have a small child to take care of, he is super cute to by the way that football is as big as he is. You and Jen make cute babies!! Good luck to you the others may not be so kind. And when this blog gets real ugly after Feb 1 remember Ben Harrison tried to warn you all!!!
Sincerely, Ben Harrison
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Tron's employer?
I thought tron worked at The Mystical Emporium, which is right next door to his house. I always look to see if I can get a glimpse of him when I drive down Main St in Auburn. So far, no sign of him. He must not get out much.
I did see one heavy set guy get into a City Cab in front of his building the other day, but I don't think that was Tron.
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Personal attacks are not allowed. Do it again and you'll be banned for a week.
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How in the world can you call my post a personal attack?
I would say that Tron's earlier posts on this thread calling people 'cowards" would actually be a personal attack, but his comments were ignored by you.
I really don't understand the reasoning here on how comments are judged.
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They are judged personally, not professionally.
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I don't see a personal attack....
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Mark you are obviously an
Mark you are obviously an hourly employee some where and not a professional, working under contract!! I have a clause in my contract that if I publicly do or say anything that negatively impacts my Firm, Company or Business (it's only one of those but I don't want give the bottom feeders to many clues) I can be terminated!! Posting an un-popular (by anyone's very differing standards) comments on this forum or getting drunk and making an @$$ of myself at Gritty's are all reasonable examples of things that could cost me my very good living!! Mr. Smith just called and said his wife read comments you posted on Sun Journal that were Pro-Choice or Pro-life either way you lose with a lot of people!! Well She called her husband furious saying they can no longer do business with us. The only way I could save that 6 figure account was to convince them that your views were not the views of the company and we would be letting you go, Sorry Ben they are just too big of account to lose. Ben I just got off the phone with Mr. Smith, well it seems last night at Gritty's you were drunk and kept referring to his wife as grand ma, well he is mad as heck, If I don't fire you he is taking his considerable business elsewhere, Sorry Ben!!!
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Actually "Ben" you obviously do not get as much info from my few words or my profile as you would like everyone to think. I am not an hourly employee, I am a commissioned employee under contract. Had the contract with my company been such that it would hinder my free speech outside of my work, I would not have signed it in the first place and I wouldn't be working for such a company. When you sign a deal with the devil, you lose your identity. It's your choice. If to comment would require me to breach my contract, I would simply not comment and move on.
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Well Mark, What Company?? What I am talking about is pretty standard for anyone in my profession and many others!! Now let's say for example you get pulled over in the morning on your commute and its trooper Ben Harrison. Think your getting a warning?? rdarluv is not on your license Mark Elliot is!! Yesterday rdarluv could have argued with me all night tomorrow Mark Elliot gets a ticket on his way to work! Imagine the possibilities!! Now I'm not a trooper a claiming to be but what if!! Now say I am Pro Hunting and express that here and my bosses PETA crazy wife reads it and now hates me!! You Meet a girl things are going great, Then she finds out your that Mark Elliot that posts on SJ!!! EEEWWWW!!! No Matter what you say, which side your on, on any issue AAANNNYYYY there are the others and their numbers are many!!!! I can go on and on there are so many examples of why this is Stupid and the exact opposite of everything anyone says about the internet!! It's not safe to be you on here it's safe to be rdarluv and it's safe to be Ben Harrison.
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Ben, I don't want you to think that I don't understand your position. I do understand and you are rightfully concerned, but how did you get into that "situation" in the first place? Did your employer force you to "sign your life away"? Did you feel you "had" to do it? Did you negotiate your contract? Did you have a lawyer go over that contract? Life is full of choices that we all must make.
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What is there to disagree with? I stated that I understand Ben's position and that he has a right to be concerned then I simply asked questions....... ???
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.It isnt always "Due to Contract"
I work as a salary plus commission employer and my job security is not based on contract. However as with any employer in the state of Maine we are an at will state. If I commented on a subject that pertains to my employment that may be against the popular opinion of my workplace, it may not infact cost me my job but could make things uncomfortable.
In my case I was very vocal about my displeasure with the potential sale of Camp Gustin, which is the original purpose of me joining this forum. I chose to leave my name out of it for fear that my vocalness could have had a negative impact on my unit and my boys. I am a well respected leader for this program by both the adults and the boys and it would have been a shame if my name was directly tied to my comments and if council decided to not renew my membership with the program because I spoke out.
Furthermore many scout parents and leaders joined the forum anonymously at the same time and because of our efforts we helped to impact the decision to keep the camp.......
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You make good points, Scout Mom, and we'll look into options so that there will still be an option for people who are in situations like yours with Camp Gustin. They might be the form of agrees/disagrees, or a separate anonymous commenting section.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Recognizing the system is slightly flawed
Thank you for recognizing that the new system is slightly flawed. I have said it once and I will say it again, I fully understand the premise behind it however it is not going to fix the actual problem. The announcement of this change has made things much worse, with people outing others, and it getting even more so personal (one article in particular has become exceptionally nasty between Joseph and fat and happy - which the thread should have been closed a LONG time ago and comments being removed because it is completely distasteful and both of those offenders should be "banned" for their embarrassing back and forth.) Another example between Armymom and Kevin where she "outed" him, with some potential matters of truth and some that have been refuted as untruthful, but it just shows to what levels people will go to get their point across and how it can impact peoples credability even if the attacks on this website are completely unfounded and made by those with a personal agenda. and we ALL know lies travel MUCH quicker than the truth.....
You do have a large group of loyal followers that will roll with the changes but they are also the primary offenders of your acceptable use policy. But I can only assume that examples of the personal attacks on this thread and all the other threads of late will decrease the number of new members you recieve because no sane person wants to subject themselves to the potential ramifications of unfounded slanderous remarks that some of you loyalist of followers make.
If you want your new policy to work you really need to hold true to a ZERO tolerance of personal attacks and name calling and "outing" people. Whether the person is a loyal follower that provides thought provoking material, whether they are a respected business leader, the second anyone calls someone a name no matter how trivial it may be, once there is proof that the SJ is heavily and FAIRLY moderating the forum then you will be able to accomplish your mission of hosting an effective and thought provoking forum. And I still feel that job is MUCH bigger then just one moderator.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.to fix all of this problem,
to fix all of this problem, maybe SJ could give create a section OFF the paper, a message board of sorts where all the anonymous stuff could take place, put a big disclaimer that says the sj is not responsible and does not reflect the opinions herein, and you must be 18 to join, a good message board will self regulate or it will go under. Then i don't have to read comments on the main page of the article. just pop a link on there for further discussion go to this forum. then you can have the happy verified people on the actual SJ page, and for the most part will be all sunny and nice and we the people whom may need to keep our names to ourselves can still have a place to discuss local news topics. just an idea
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mark elliot- maine is an at will state, unless you are hired under contract than you wouldnt have to worry-WAIT-, unless your work added a mandatory clause stating that your thoughts and opinions could lead to termination. now lets say that is what is happening in my instance. lets say that you understood that there are no jobs available and maybe just maybe i have something to say like a lot of other people in maine? maybe this is the only place i can freely say what i want about a subject and not fear that i will loose my job that i depend on. or maybe i dont want people knowing that i am someone like mark elliot from mcfalls maine?
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It's funny how you've made it a point to bring my identity to everyone's attention on this particular string in hopes to make me nervous but nobody has had the need to do that before, on much more controversial issues. My profile has never changed. It has always listed my real name and town......
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asked to act with responsibility and maturity. My God, rdarluv - It's more than they can handle!!!
You should see it when I ask them to provide a references or a citing.
I wonder if any of them wanna see Obama's Birth Certificate???
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its so childlike and endearing when you use playful little "swears" that mean nothing to anyone but you and your uneducated mother. pizz on that! peace!
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Actually, Veritas, the responsible among us insisted on seeing One Big Ass Mistake, America's Birth Certificate and you can too at http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth... that is being a responsible American Citizen voter. Secondly, acting resonsibly and maturely is not putting your self in a position where you are not employable, your identity has been stolen, your record criminal, financial, and civil has been trashed by identity theives and hackers, and family and friends have been injured physically, mentally, and financially because you had to see your name in the paper and run your mouth in the forums instead of follow the recommendations of every law enforcement agency in the world (so much for you having been a cop, ya right), child protection and search group from DHS to childfind to missing and exploited children along with every reputable website. Yup, we responsible ones did insist on seeing the birth certificate and we responsible ones are going to follow the recommendations of all those reputable and knowledgable organizations and not put our names on our posts.
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Looking for Bush's 'Certificate of Live Birth' work out for you.....
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Because as Ben Harrison I can give my personal opinions on any topic, without fear of professional repercussions!! So say for example I work for planned parent hood. However personal I am Pro life!! I can under a pseudonym comment on abortion issues!! Or I teach at the high school, under a pseudonym I can comment on education issues. Or I work at any local company the makes, sell, distribute virtually anything, under a pseudonym I can comment on any topic without fear of customer complaints to my employer about my comments!!! Patti when the Sun Journal prints a story about an area business that shows them in a less then positive light. When that Business is an advertiser, what happens? They pull their ads right, because that's how the real world is, petty and reactionary. How dare the Sun Journal print a story about our defective widgets? Call REX and pull our ads immediately!!!
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But won't abide by their TOS? (Terms of Service)
Are you a "Good Thief" or a bad "Thief?"
Get your own "Press' then you can set your own TOS
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i am a free human being and can say what i want -as long as i am not at work and my name on here is not connected to my work. if i have to choose between the sun and my work i can give you a hit about which one i will have to go with, however i dont think you need that hint. its lame that you guys think forcing people to spill is gonna work. you will end up with dan, dhs collecter commenting everywhere until the forum dies off.
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Ah? Your name is not known, your employer is not known, and since your name is not know no connection can be made to your employer through anyone who knows you are an employee of that employer from outside the forum. And Patti, I notice you have VERIFIED Ed McCaffrey, he is employed by Rumford Community Hospital which is owned by Central Maine Medical Center. Central Maine Medical Center has very strict policies, no posting under your name under forums like this, don't list your employment on facebook, myspace, etc.; the policies at Central Maine Medical Center also apply to Rumford Community Hospital employees, Ed McCaffrey at the very least is now subject to repremand just for being VERIFIED here at worst, he may be looking for a new job very shortly.
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thats right common sense, i can say what i want as long as no one can call my work and connect me, like employees of CMMC have to abide by. i am sure Ed's opinions are worth more than his job, afterall in this economy he better be sure that his paycheck isnt that important to him or his family.
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no Pattie i do not mean certain hours what i am saying is certain jobs in the community that you find so endearing cannot be expressing thier opinions openly and honestly. I hope that the sun is aware of who will get to stay, tron, veritas and anyone else that do not work for the direct public. As i understand it the sun, like most papers today, are failing. I understand that the sun would like to clean up the dialog but putting your heads together i would think you would be able to find a more suitable way that would save private information about ourselves. The sun is supposed to be full of educated people so there should be better ideas out there. I cant understand why a failing paper would want to enrage so many people.
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If you work for the public you may have to make these little sacrifices occasionally. If the most intrusive one you have to make is that you feel unable to publicly express your opinion - too f*ing bad. Some on the govt. payroll make sacrifices a wee tad greater in scope. Get a grip and deal with it.
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ohh dear veritas, i do actually work and for the public, i, like freyt believe that you NEVER SERVED, WERE NEVER THE COP YOU CLAIM TO BE AND WERE NEVER ANYTHING. somewhere your mom is crying for what couldve been. time to face reality.
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oooh look more cutting and pasting from the spin doctor, aka know it all. i have news for you, i also dgaf! mmmuahh ( thats me blowing your crusty azz a kiss!)
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I will say goodbye now. I have no landline, and I have no intentions of giving the LSJ my cell phone number. Goodbye. Go ahead and deleted my account now.
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Ed, I agree with you 100%. Just reading the responses to your letter convinces my that ID-ing
the author will help stop some of the useless discussion I have just read. But Ed, stop having a war of wits with unarmed writers. I think your above that.
Al Pelletier
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Hmmm...Veritas and I have often had a difference of opinion. At least he has the decency to back up his point of view and not resort to attacks.
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Mac you and EVERYONE else are entitled to speak thier opinion, unfortunately people like veratis insist on shoving their opinions down everyone elses throat. i dont believe that veritas is a bad guy, he should just learn about over kill. but then again there are the personal attacks he makes on armymom daily....
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... by Ronnie Rim-shot and Danny Brat-on. That's the level of commentary you'll have here after 2/1. Let the 2011 snark-fest begin.
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You are now up to 2nd Grade Name Calling!!
It's obvious why you wouldn't want to post your parents' gift when there are folks like you on the Forums.
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Does this mean that the ass who keeps posting the following advertisements will be weeded out permanently as well?
[This comment has been edited by the administrator]
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The Sun Journal will have to verify the advertisment postering fiends in order to keep the forum alive come February 1 when all the quality participants head to greener and safer pastures. Tron, Veritas and Mac anti Savior won't have anyone to argue with except the one in the mirror, leaving SJ with a lot of blank space to fill. They will be welcoming the mad advertisers just to say they have the participants.
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Anti savior..haha! It actually means literally Son of the carpenter and is the name given to Jesus in the Gaelic translation of the Bible.
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Sorry Mac, I ran your name on a national search and found nobody in the U.S. with that name. NOBODY.
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well said, however i am sure this comment will disappear-i posted one earlier stating the same thing with the same people in it...apparently the sun is looking forward to the limited mentallity it will feature.
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I edited this comment, which reposted the spam comment that was on this thread, because ... I don't want spam on this thread. Capice?
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Sure was a lot more advertising SPAM overnight from the same pseudonyms that where "SPAMMING" while you were on vaca. How is it they were not suspended like the folks that put up comments you don't like?
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Part of me thinks that it may just be some poor moron who got duped via craigslist to post for a few bucks, but mostly I want to see them thrown into a woodchipper.
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I have filed a complaint as you are not in compliance and should not be denoted as VERIFIED as you are using a pseudonym which is not permitted under the rules to be VERIFIED and permit posting after FEB 1.
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Doug IS verified. I just spoke on the phone with him.
Just because YOU don't want to comment with your real name doesn't mean you need to worry your pretty little head about the people who do.
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"Just because YOU don't want to comment with your real name doesn't mean you need to worry your pretty little head about the people who do."
Not quite what I would expect from a web editor! Of course I realize that you're stressed as you have many phone calls to make to "verify" individuals, but your job will slow down once Feb. 1 rolls around as the comments section dwindles to nothing. Just as I wouldn't give out info over the phone to a telemarketer or someone trying to verify my bank information, I wouldn't give out info to someone claiming they were from the SJ.
How do you know that you actually spoke with Doug? Maybe you spoke to Pete, Fred, or Joe pretending to be Doug? So, I could register as Jack Frost, give you my friend's phone number, and let my friend know that the SJ will be calling their number to verify who I am. All they would have to do is say "Yup, I'm Jack Frost" when you call and they are verified?!? Don't worry. I wouldn't do this. I'm just letting you know how foolish it sounds to say that someone is verified through a phone call.
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It was a rather interesting choice of words to use in addressing a male of mature years.
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It was a rather interesting choice of words to use in addressing a customer - and not just 1 customer but EVERY customer who reads these blogs. With "editors" who are so blatantly condescending it will be no surprise when this little experiment of theirs fails.
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Expect I will be getting the boot soon seeing I don't agree with the Tron's, Veritas's, Voisine's, Kevin's and the rest of Patti's Zoo. See you all at the Portland Press Herald sometime between now and Feb 1.
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staff Absolutely agree
Posted on the article "Skiers tumble from chairlift" by sthistle at 12:15 pm on Dec 29, 2010
Troutlily,
Forgive me, for harping on our time line with ArmyMom, she is angry about the commenting changes we are making so is critical even unethically critical and grossly inaccurate and unkind in her anonymous criticism -- especially of the Sun Journal -- but as somebody on the inside I wanted to keep the record straight for our readers.
All of our thoughts are with 3 people who remain hospitalized and we are hoping for a speedy recovery for them. The Sun Journal and it's staff will continue to follow this story and will update with new information as it becomes available. But as some of you pointed out above we are doing our best to verify our information and make sure we are accurate in what we report.
Thanks for reading and supporting us. My invitation to armymom, above, applies to any people in our online community my lines of communication are open for your feedback.
Thanks,
Scott
Armymom was replying to Kevin's latest self pontification, lies he was telling about himself. Seems the chosen Patti Pets are allowed to lie about themselves and when called on it the one who does the calling gets demeened by the editorial board and the boot rather than the liar.
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Wow. Just Wow. Is this the kind of "customer service" we can now expect from the SJ, too? Can you be any more condescending preaves?
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The rules very clearly state that the poster must post under their full name just as the writer of an article does. That means first and last name no pseudonym. Doug whatever his last name is, is not posting under his name he is posting under Mac anit savior a pseudonym. That violates the rules for verification. You made them you get to deal with em. He has to have his full name over every thing he posts. Thems the rules you made em.
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Mac antSaior is his last name.
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so are the unverfied allowed to post until feb1 or did the rules change? i posted alot more on here and it magically disappeared..
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Right, if you don't go through the verification process, you can continue to comment through the end of the month.
I didn't remove any of your comments, citygirl.
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maybe you didnt but someone sure did. remember i got an admin warning earlier in the day about posting letters that sound like a naughty word? than had an arguement with veritas? all of it is gone, which i dont care that much cause most people saw what i wrote which in the end is the point, just amusing that the sun journal who should be fighting to keep freedom of speech alive is so quick to delete thoughts and opinions.
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veritus got upset at me and reported my comment to admin. the whole point to my comment was edited out,even though everything i posted was public info. but that is veritus, when you corner him and prove him wrong he cries fowl.
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Is mise Doughlas Mac antSaior, amadan. It is well within my rights to have a deAnglicized name. I'm glad it's buying so much space in your little head however.
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The Sun Journal is now in the process of verifying people who have requested to be verified, but the real names component goes live Feb. 1. So, Mac anit savior is verified and, on Feb. 1, his name will begin appearing with his post.
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You mean is in the process of lining up all the jackwagons, layabouts and village idiots, while excluding all the profession people of standing and reputations in the community from the conversation!! Good luck with that!! When left with just the bottom feeders googling each other and the work/Criminal history ect, slamming each other with now very personal attacks, it will be so wonderful!! Sun Journal this is the most ridiculous, irresponsible, and shortsighted decision I have ever witnessed!! You already have a Facebook page why would you want another one!!!
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now we all know. If only the SJ had posted this information last week. What? They did? Well it is still nicely written and amazing how well you can type with your head firmly up the behind of the SJ. One of the main premises of online discussions is anonymity. I have always used my real name on here, but that was a choice. Others choose not to and that is their choice. Some people feel safer voicing their opinions using a pseudonym. Demanding real names, phone numbers and whatever else is going to force them to either tone down their opinions, making debate a mind numbing group of myrmidons agreeing with each other, or forcing them to leave. There are about a BAZILLION forums out there for people to go to, and I believe that come Feb1, there will be a lot less posters on this one. Good luck with winning that date with Rex
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your new word for this week? I noticed it on another post too. I see that you chose to take the more vulgar of meanings to use as your definition.
The original meaning was used to describe a people who were great warriors and went into battle behind Achilles without hesitation because they believed in the reason.
You chose to use the modern definition which describes "yes men".
I prefer the old meaning.
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Ridiculous!!! You would have to be an idiot to post on the internet with your real name on any controversial topic!! Writing one or two letters a year to the editor is one thing posting your opinion on a daily basis is very different!! People if you post a comment on here under your real name be prepared to have to defend it every where you go, your friends, Neighbors, co workers and family will I am sure at the ready to hear your explanation or justification for your comments!!!
The Norman Rockwell painting "freedom of speech" of the town meeting was a nice touch to letter. However There's an old saying that you should never discuss sex, politics or religion in polite company, and that's what's discussed on this blog everyday. I don't discuss religion or politics with my clients for a very good reason, OK mostly because offending one or some could cost me some real money!! That being said most people will not speak their minds if they can be called out for it at the grocery store, ball game or around the water cooler!! I am not talking about the Jackwagons that get on hear and throw insults and ridicule slandering anyone they can, Those people will still be here because that's what they do that's who they are. It's the regular folks that like to put their Two Cents in from time to time that will be lost to this blog!
Guys like Ben Harrison and if you are still wondering that is in fact not my real name but I don't hide behind anonymity on here I shield those whom I respect and care about in my real life that I would never give my real opinion on certain topics to because it would ruin friendships severe business connections and so on. And at the end of the day I thought that's really what blogs like this were supposed to be in the first place, a place where one could post their opinion on even the most sensitive of topic (Muslim relations, President Obama, The health care takeover, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) without fear of repercussions, for having an unpopular opinion.
I could not be more against this, it discourages posters from expressing their true feelings on a topic without fear of reprisal. Opening up this blog and exposing the posters real identities ensures posters will censor their comments for fear of offending a neighbor a business associate or even their boss. It ensures that the third grade teacher at Montello wont comment on a Somali article for fear of being called to the principles office, it ensures that the used car salesman wont comment on a political story for fear of losing customers, it ensures the cop on the beat wont comment at all!! It ensures that local political figures will keep their two cents to themselves, it ensures that most of us will stop bothering to air our opinion on here all together!! L/A is a small town we all know each other we don't always agree with each other, but most of us are respectful to our friends and neighbors. Removing the anonymity of this blog takes away the posters ability to say what they really think and feel!! Believe me their are some people on here I would really rather not have to read their nonsensical ramblings however their are also some great comments and great points of you from time to time, that I am sure will go away. Sun Journal reconsider don't ruin a perfectly good thing!!! MY two cents!!!
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if you are going to post something, be ready to defend your position.
THAT is why we need to be open about who we are.
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Kevin Really!!! I don't mind defending my opinion on this comment section!! However I don't wont to have to defend it at the Grocery store, at the PTA meeting, or when I am trying to have a nice dinner at Fuel with my wife on our Friday night date night!!! Or while I am trying to watch my son's basket ball game!!! While this change might make this comment section a little more civil, by the way I think it will make the name calling a belittling even worse!! With comments like what do you know your just a garbage collector/janitor/cashier and so. Or personal attacks like your wife was smart and finally divorced you or your no better then your jail bird brother. And so on!!! It will defiantly make going out and about in the twin cities a lot less comfortable!!!
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This won't come as any surprise, Kevin has a unique ability to clear a room, clear a building, even clear Rumford's entire Island Business District. His presence is telegraphed from person to person in warning. For reasons I am sure you have observed which have nothing to do with disagreeing with his opinion people tend to seek to avoid him at whatever cost. To see his impact on Congress St. is reminiscent of an old silent movie where the gunslinger rides into town and the street resembles a ghost town with the saloon doors swinging, only there is no gunslinger, just Kevin and his mouth that runs and runs and runs. Even if he speaks at a person, and on rare occasions he has managed to corner me, literally, on a topic we agree the cornered persons only thoughts are on how to escape as quickly as possible. You don't have a conversation with Kevin, he talks at you. He doesn't care that you aren't making eye contact, that you are trying your darnest to walk around or away from him, that you seem to be in a hurry, his only concern is saying everything that comes into his mind at someone too polite to tell him flatout out to take a hike he's a bore.
As for being threatened with being firing for expressing his opinion, Kevin's career has been: working as a volunteer at the local cable access channel where he drove the other volunteers nuts with his chronic case of diarhea of the mouth, working as a drug counselor where he drove his clients nuts when he showed up for work, they were generally relieved that he was very unreliable and that is why he is no longer employed in that capacity, and working for his parents taking care of their property which is why he has so much time to hang around town hall torturing the town employees. It is true he is rarely confronted by anyone who disagree's with his opinion, everyone is trying to avoid having any contact with him. As for his TV show on the local access channel, it keeps him occupied and off the streets a few hours a week making them safe for the rest of the community, the same with his blog. We don't watch, we don't read, don't tell him, we don't want him to give them up and have more time on his hands to wander around town cornering the innocent. Unfortunately his insistance on showing up at nearly every governmental meeting in the area has pretty much elliminated the possibility of anyone else showing up, volunteering or getting involved. Having a dead skunk in the room couldn't be more effective at keeping people out.
As you can see from this and his other comments, to say he is a bit of a simpleton is being kind. You and I both know that if anyone gets booted off under the current system all they have to do is set themselves up with a free email address with anyone of hundreds of free services and register a new pseudonym, if they don't have more than one to begin with, and they are back in business in a matter of minutes. We also both know nothing will change with the new system, get kicked out, another email address, a fake name, and a phone call to a friends number, to the same number (hey how many households have only one person in them), the house phone instead of the cell or vice versa or a throw away and walla back in business. But hey, this is Kevin who thinks all is going to be pure perfection and he will be able to talk at people with very little interference with all the intelligent, quality posters who figured all this out in about 3 seconds gone. He thinks he is going to have a captive audiance just like when he gets some poor person here literally cornered. He won't miss the feedback for sure since he is numb to its absence or the repulsion he inspires face to face. He doesn't notice that no one reads his blog or watches his show. The question is what will happen when the paper shuts down the forum or goes under when the advertisers pull out from the drop in readers or they have to reverse their decision and contact all of us to come back to try to save it and he has to deal with real intelligent interaction again.
I hope you have an enjoyable evening Ben and the snow didn't make too much work for you. There sure was plenty of it.
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Entertaining, but inaccurate. I would give her high marks for creative writing.
1. I never "worked" for the local access TV station. I was the founder, and I was a volunteer. I may have served on the board, but I don't recall.
2. I do not currently, nor have I ever had a weekly TV show. in my comments, I was referring to my speaking at the televised Rumford Selectmen's meetings.
3. I do not attend any other municipal meetings in the valley. I rarely attend any others in Rumford.
4. I work for four companies, none of which is owned by any of my family members.
ArmyMom's comments just go to show how little she knows about me. It is easy to make up lies about someone.
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That's it, armymom, you're done.
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another baseless, mindless member removal, had this been a liberal democrat, they'd still be here.
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It's not a baseless, mindless, member removal. This is the third time I've seen her take it write up another member's history to prove her point that you can find out plenty of information about someone on the Internet when you know his or her real name. I call that harassment, and it breaks at least two of our rules. I'm not going to sit around here and watch her bully people.
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"I call that harassment, and it breaks at least two of our rules. I'm not going to sit around here and watch her bully people."
If you were really so concerned about armymom's post then you would have removed it. Instead, you have left her entire post for others to read. Go figure!
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And Patti, you don't even have to take mine, Armymom's or any of the other revenue generating contributor's word for it, give Terry Karkos a call at the Rumford office of the Sun Journal 364-8728 or Bruce Ferrin from the Rumford Falls Times sister paper of the Sun Journal a call at 364-7893 and ask them about Kevin Saisi. I am absolutely certain they will confirm every word Armymom posted and then some.
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I am sure that Terry Karkos would provide you with a very illuminating expose on me and certain other people in town. :)
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Ya In the previous post the one armymom was responding to, Kevin did put his own life right out his T.V. his blog and all his other "claims" to fame in the Rumford area!!! Shameless self promoter!! Trying to further his agenda I think armymom expressed the opinion of the Rumford community as a whole sounds like she knows what she;s talking about. But like I said before I think it was the links to other papers that caused the actual pulling of her account!!!
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Did you bother to read Kevin's post, the one Armymom was replying too? NO! I didn't think so. You should have and now you should restore her account and apologize to her. Kevin lied about himself and Armymom called him on it.
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Everything I have posted in this discussion about myself is truth.
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Well, since armymom's profile and post history has been erased, there are not 3 incidents to prove that this happened, so as far as i'm concerned and maybe a decent part of the forum feels the same way, this "harassment" likely never happened. meanwhile, a few "select" members who have democrat-oriented beliefs do the "supposed" same thing as armymom, but they're still here. And since there was no warning, it is a baseless, mindless removal.
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Armymom was posting links to other news papers, I think that's the root of why she got booted!!
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What the hell did you think was going to happen? Your new policy invites this kind of behavior, whether it happens on your watch or not. How many readers of the S-J do you think have their own blogs on which your newly "verified" members personal information can freely be plastered without any repercussion from you? If I were a lesser man I'd do it myself just to prove a point.
You are putting your readers/contributors safety at risk, and it’s FOOLISH of you not to admit it. It may or may not be intended, but it is a risk non-the-less, and my only hope is that the readers of the comment section realize this prior to 2/1/2011.
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"Ben",
As anyone who knows me, knows of me or may even think that they know me will tell you, I am quite open about my opinions wherever I go. I post here, I talk with people in public, and I am seen twice a month on TV expressing myself at the municipal selectboard meeting. I also have run a blog for a number of years, and participated in forums regarding our region. In short, I express myself A LOT. As you can see from the responses here, my openness is not as appreciated by some as it is by others, and not everyone agrees with my viewpoint. I respect people's right to disagree, however, as they say on MSNBC, "you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts".
My point is that I rarely am confronted by anyone anywhere about my opinion. Many people who disagree with me just refuse to acknowledge that I exist, and will pass by me on the sidewalk without so much as a look in my direction, but I have rarely had anyone confront me. Those who do, approach it in a respectful manner. They initiate a conversation, referencing something they saw me post, or said on TV. Most times, the only feedback I get from the public is in the form of an "attaboy" in support of my action/statement. Some of the least political people in town have encouraged me to stay on top of the town political situation.
I have had one person attempt to get me fired from my job over political views, but the coward didn't sign the complaint. My supervisor showed it to me and told me to be more careful when discussing things in the workplace.
Once verification is required, it will be easier for the SJ to bounce someone for being abusive on the forum. Currently, violators need only wait a few days and apply for an account under another email address. But when a person gets bumped using their real name, it will be more difficult to get back on.
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Boo Hoo.
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Dan if you ever get a job I will call your place of work every day complaining about your comments in the Sun Journal!! But fear not, not much hope of that!!!! AHH
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Here is another angle I hadn't considered with this mess. There is nothing that says you have to be a member to read the comments. There sure is nothing that says you have to be a member to call someone's place of employment and complain about what they post here. Or report that someone you work with is posting when your place of employment prohibits employees from doing that kind of thing like Central Maine Medical Center and Rumford Community Hospital do. Or in some other way make their life miserable. I hadn't thought of that before. Another excellent reason not to become "VERIFIED" and have your name plastered over your comments. I mean there are people who will find fault and take offense with anything even, "have a nice day," or "what a nice sunny day." And then of course there are the stalker types. And someone earlier made an excellent point about the quadraplegic who uses a computer board to even communicate and has his own business but some with a heavy duty direct line to DHS dollars manage to be on here day and night but can't manage to get a work at home computer job. With the names of those people flashing like neon over all those posts, it would be very easy to drop a dime to DHS or the new governor's office and say hey ya know. . .
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Exactly They will be exposing themselves to the world, and yes you can call your local car dealer and complain that thier employee posted comments you did not like and will not be buying a car from them. Or the local store and informing them that you will now be shopping elsewhere due to the comments made on the SJ by one of their employees. Or worse your boss reads your comments and since he and his wife have adopted 6 children, your pro-choice comments just cost you your job!!! It's pretty straight forward thier are a million reasons not to post under your real name and no good one's, unless you are attention seeking jackwagon, who relishes in offending everyone around you or you have an agenda to push!!
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So far I have seen three verified, Tron, Mac Anti Savior and Veritas, and Rex claimed he had over 100 requests days ago and that's the hese three stooges is all that have been verified? The three biggest losers on the forum. I think everyone else pulled their verification submissions when they realized what the potential is. From the postings a bunch of folks are contacting advertisers notifying them what is going on. I drafted a letter for the wife to get out advising all the advertisers we would be switching to the Portland Press Herald, if they wanted to see our money in their businesses they would have to make the switch too since we would not be seeing their adds in the Sun Journal any longer.
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This 'Stooge' (as you say) will be more than happy to pipe you over the side...
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FOUR...
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I am hoping to "go green" tomorrow :)
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What a nice pleasant person Patti is on the phone. I can barely wait.....
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Aw, I just saw this Kevin. You're too nice.
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Confession:
I was on vacation last week, so even though we've had about 300 verification requests, I didn't really start doing many of them until today. Which is why you haven't see 300 people running around commenting with green badges.
I've had a lot of fun calling all you guys, btw, and putting voices to names and usernames. :)
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Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I have always believed that if you were going to voice an opinion then you ought to be man/woman enough to stand behind it. This has nothing to do with whether or not I agree with the new policy at SJ. This is something that I have said from the time I joined this forum.
I have never censored myself and have never been afraid to stand up straight and tell people who I am and what I think. Sometimes I've been wrong and I admitted as much when I realized it. I like having others do the same but it can't be done when they hide.
If a person is afraid to say what they really mean and back it up with their name, then that opinion, in my opinion, is just hot air. I raised my children to think the same way. Anything else is cowardice or deceit.
It really is a shame that our society has reached a point where people have to hide behind fake names out of fear that they might be called to stand up for what they believe in. It's so much easier for them to spout off at the mouth when they can't be called to task.
As far as the date with Rex goes, at least people would know that I'm not afraid to put a face with the name as well. Also, I wrote the letter last week. The editorial staff is slow I guess.
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Ed there are times and places that I would agree with you on what you are saying, SJ forums and other websites aren't among them. At town meeting you can stand up in front of your neighbors if you so choose and speak your mind. In front of your wife and children, by all means, stand up and speak your mind. But, man, you have no idea what kind of crazies are out in this cyper world, correction out in this world that are watching what you say from long distance on here and just might decide you are their best friend, the love of their life, or the enemy of the state they are sworn to protect and come hunt your down to be your bossom buddy whether you are interested or not, replace your spouse even if they have to kill them to do it, or take you out as a matter of duty and you will never see it coming. I respect your integrity man, I really do, now stop and give some consideration to the safety and well-being of your wife and children and to how they need to have you stick around.
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and drag my family into this, as well as disclose my place of employment which as far as I know I've never posted here (something I would never have done to you), I feel obligated to return the favor. At some point in time, I will.
As far as the crazies go, I have lived and worked in places that would make your toes curl up. I know all about them, they're predictable. It's the normal ones who scare me. Some of the people who post here that wouldn't say boo if you met them on the street but become rabid when they can comment behind a computer. Those are the truly crazy people. If people would just ignore them they'd probably go away, but nooooo!
People get dragged into their little political or religious frenzies without even meaning to and it descends into chaos from there. All semblance of civility is gone because people don't know enough not to engage in a battle of words with a fanatic. Nobody wins.
Right now however. I have a simple question to ask. This question is for everyone. When and why did you become such paranoid people and have you made any children you might have this paranoid too?
My family knows that I sometimes lack tact and tend to tell it like I see it no matter the consequences. My two oldest boys usually settled these matters, when they came up, with somebody bleeding. Sometimes it was them, sometimes it was somebody else. Usually, if you're willing to back up your mouth with your fists, people back down. Not everyone is willing to fight for what they hold to be the truth, at least not in this day and age.
My youngest is a little more tactful and when her friends mention something that a parent may have said, she asks them to prove me wrong. If the parents themselves say something she gives them my phone number and tells them to take it up with me. She learned this from her mother.
Never be afraid to stand up for what you believe to be true. Be willing to listen to opposing viewpoints and be willing to admit you're wrong when you are but above all, be true to yourself and be proud to say, I am "whoever" and this is what I think. It's what this country was founded on and what I see now is a populace that is afraid to speak out for fear of being tagged as a dissident or rabble rouser.
Ask yourself this question and answer it honestly. If someone stopped you on the street and said "Hey, aren't you "------" from the Sj? I thought your comment on --- was wrong and I'd like to talk with you about it." would you be man enough to say 'sure, lets talk" or would you tell them they have the wrong person? Then think about your answer. I think you know where I'm going with this.
What has this country come to when people have to fear that what they say might offend somebody? Where is it going when people have to hide behind false names in order to be unafraid to speak their minds. Whatever and Wherever that place is, I don't like it and I'm not going to go.
* Please see my profile by clicking on my name for a disclaimer regarding my employer* Once again, thank you CommonSense for making it necessary for me to take this precaution.
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Ed you missed the point completely on your employer. Whether I posted it here or not people who read these pages including your fellow workers, supervisor, HR department, local administration, and corporate office in Lewiston will be reading your name and know that an employee is violating the rules. That sir was the point. It is the point not only for you who I know to work for RCH where I know there is a strict rule against what you are doing with or without your disclaimer or Joe Blow at company XYZ I know nothing about that also has such a rule. In your case the CMMC's rule has been publicized here by another employee CMMCs employee who kept there affiliation secret participating using a pseudonym in compliance with CMMC's rules made it clear that she/he will not be able to continue once the rules take effect because of this. You would have been outed one way or the other insisting on posting under your full name in violation of your employers policies even before the rules change.
We all have to wonder why your being outed on where you work is such a big deal for you since you by your own words have no concern for the effects on even your children as to what you say. You don't even have a problem with your children being beaten up for your actions when you have the choice of expressing yourself without putting them in harms way you insist on taking the most distructive route irregardless; I find that disturbing. I find it exceedingly disturbing that you claim such knowledge of "places that would curl your toes" and "it's the normal ones that scare me" yet you insist on putting your family in harms way. In my opinion the problems are going to arrise primarily on two fronts, people attacted by those they don't recognize, never met, no prior contact, in both physical forms and through identity theft and hacking type activities, secondly assaults on unwitting innocent family members and friends who don't see it coming and have no reason to see it coming. I expect these to be primarily acts of physical agression to both person and property, as well as identity thefts and hackings. The attacks on family members, places of employment and friends may be by persons known to the writer but not to the one attacked which will facilitate the attack. I wont put my family, my friends, my business associates, in that position, it isn't necessary, the internet has been setup for the use of psuedonyms for this very reason.
While, I won't be reading after Feb 1, imagine we will be hearing through radio and TV news what is happening.
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If an employer wants to terminate my employment over my exercising my First Amendment rights, I will work somewhere else. I am not willing to sacrifice that right for anyone.
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About company policy, but you couldn't be further from the truth. As a matter of fact I went and verified it again last night just to be sure.
Any employee is allowed to post whatever they want as long as they don't drag the employer into it as well or pass along information that is restricted to personnel only. And if the employer does happen to come up, that the same disclaimer that I posted on my profile should be displayed with the post.
They are aware that there are services like facebook and twitter and that employees will use them in their off hours. The NEW policy, dated August 2010, takes these things into account so as not to infringe on peoples free speech rights. All they as is that you be respectful in any and all postings so as not to mortally offend anyone. If you'd care to meet IRL I'll show you a copy. Didn't think so.
One more time, How the he## do you know where I work. I must know you, in which case I'll eventually figure out who you are.
And again, I've used my real name on this forum and on EVERY other one that I belong to and have for YEARS and not once have I had any weirdos bother me or mine. It's the normal people who are the ones you have to watch. My children, when they did get beaten, were usually attacked by someone older and bigger who had been brainwashed by a radical parent to think that their way was the only way. Sort of the same way children of racists hate because their parents do, because they've been molded. Or Republicans, or Democrats, or Catholics, or any garden variety American who has never met a Muslim but thinks they're all terrorists.
Also, I noticed that the two things that you pick out of my post were the employer issue, where you were wrong, and my family again. I have chosen, and they have agreed that it is better to face the world with their heads held high rather than cowering in the shadows , afraid to say anything that might be in the least bit offensive unless it can be done anonymously.
Last point, you didn't address anything else I said. How can you be a proponent of free speech when you're afraid to speak freely?
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but I believe CMMC's policy is only in relation to matters concerning the hospital itself....I know when the layoff happened a while back employees were bluntly told they were not to speak about it in public or on the internet (disclaimer I am not a CMMC employee so am getting this info 2nd hand). In relation to politics or news stories regarding anything other then CMMC internal issues it is fair game to discuss.
I believe that there are extremest on both sides of this spectrum and honestly I do not believe that the problem lies with someone posting with an alias or not. The entire issue is in how the matter on how people behave in general, and the only way to fix that problem is by moderating the content better. If a moderator sees that a conversation is getting out of control it is their job to close the thread, block the user. However it is important that the moderator remains neutral (and I understand how difficult that may be) and seeing how some people are banned and others are not it seems as though there is some sort of favoritism taking place.
Anyone can see this forum and look up a person, other social media outlets allow you access to privacy settings so you can pick and choose who sees your information. In addition because of search engine optimization and keyword searches since you are posting your real name all you need to do is google it with Lewiston Maine and your Sun Journal Profile now comes up....also linking to any comments you make on the site. It is a common "quiet" practice of hiring managers to google an applicants name and think how that could potentially effect a job seeker.
Ultimately there are so many what ifs that play into this and yes many are unlikely to happen to most individuals but there is still that chance. In a world of cyber stalkers, indentity theifs, investigative employers I prefer to control who is seeing what information becuase it is my identity and my personal/professional brand that I would like to protect (especially when there are crazys out there that thrive off trying to make others look bad or cast doubt on their character even when it is unwarrented).
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