"Liars" Topic

As some of you have noticed, someone is creating member accounts with various names that accuse me of being a liar.

Only one individual is involved, and he is using a proxy server in Germany to disguise his location.

We are locking and renaming the accounts when you report them or we spot them. Thank you for your assistance.

Some people have far too much free time on their hands.

Sorry you have to deal with this sort of silliness, Bill.

I've missed them all Bill. Good thing. I am glad you have been dealing with them. Though you shouldn't really have to. I guess they have no other way to post their useless attempts to defame you and hurt the site.

I wonder sometimes where people find the time for that kind of trivial pursuit. I barely have time for the daily maintenance of day to day living.

Now he's branching out to include comments on my religion. Looks like the same M.O. as "Banned by Monty" from HMGS-PSW.

Mako hit it on the head, some people really do need to 'get a life'… or grow up… Sad that you have to put up with such BS…

Its a shame that some people never seem to grow up……wonder if he still lives in his Mom's basement….

I can give you a lead to his identity.

Just find someone whose shoe size matches his IQ.

Haven't seen the posts in question, but take heart. Spurious insults are an indication of someone seeking to assuage their own lack of self-worth by focusing on an easy target about which they feel they have no legitimate argument.

While I appreciate there is a rule on name calling and sock puppets, don't we also have a rule on religion and witnessing? This just gives more voice to the double standards arguments.
Its all about toy soldiers boys and girls, nothing else.

don't we also have a rule on religion and witnessing? This just gives more voice to the double standards arguments.

Forum moderation is not instantaneous.

Sorry you have to deal with this kind of horse pucky. Mako11 is correct. Keep up the good work.

The only guy who is combining "liar" and anti-Mormon comments is "Banned by Monty" on Frothers, so he is probably the culprit.

He claims to be a board member of HMGS-PSW, which means he is either:

John Harrel
Steven Reid
Tim Keennon
Adam Hammer or
Frank Vassallo

The only discussion of religion we really need on TMP is discussing how to game the Crusades or the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. I'm just sayin'.

Now he's sent a harassing message to one of the editors.

Back again as "lying bigot" and "lying bill"

Accounts locked.

The only discussion of religion we really need on TMP is discussing how to game the Crusades or the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. I'm just sayin'.

Or the Taiping Rebellion…

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Nope, religion crosses all borders and exists in the whole spacetime continuum. Not talking about it is impossible. And talking about it here is impossible. So the quandary endures forever, Amen….

Wow, when did people lose the TMP bit of this forum? Bill, I am not prone to "open supporting" but I feel for you having to deal with this sort of rubbish.

I think "Most of us" are here for the miniatures bit.

Keep at it.

18 sock puppet accounts yesterday, again through a proxy server. Locked.

Some people are obsessive.

5 more sock puppet accounts, a few PMs, through a proxy server in Romania.

(yawn)

Some people are obsessive.

DEFINTION OF OBSESSIVE: obsessive

/əbˈsɛsɪv/

adjective: obsessive

1.

of the nature of an obsession.

"people dogged by obsessive jealousy"

synonyms: all-consuming, consuming, compulsive, dominating, controlling, obsessional, addictive, fanatical, fanatic, neurotic, excessive, besetting, gripping, haunting, tormenting, inescapable; informalpathological; informal: wackadoo, wackadoodle

Bill, as you are not a trained psychologist, I would suggest you avoid using words with precise clinical meanings.

Our current plague of troll(s) should NOT be labelled "obsessives" but as "wackadoodles". It means pretty much the same & is more fun to say.

One more today…

Dear editor, when you go on with his we will reach a record posting count :-)

One more today… this troll is such a loser…

Bill,

Its a shame that someone has to stoop that low, but don't feel alone.
There are a number of things you can do.
1) Gather the information on the website – IP address
2) keep specific copies of each attributable (to that IP) attack
3) Identify specific threat e-mails, communications etc. especially those that are demeaning, racist, or otherwise threatening in any manner to a specific class, race, person.
4) Report it to either your State Fusion center police representative or the FBI.
This seems as if it is an attempt at an illegal flooding DDOS attack (in a small low threat way).

Not sure if volume would be an issue but can't you require some sort of manual registration process that would require more than a user name, password, and email address?

Some other sites require a bit of personal background or relevant hobby/topic information during the registration process. It's manual but that information prevents both bots from registering and makes more work for griefers. I've never had a problem with providing that information.

Stop announcing your responses to him it's probably putting him in a lather that he enjoys.

You told us once and that is enough …for your own sake!

There are a number of things you can do.
1) Gather the information on the website – IP address

He uses proxy servers, the IP address is useless.

can't you require some sort of manual registration process that would require more than a user name, password, and email address?

Apparently, his only goal is to initiate the membership process and get his snarky membernames (i.e., "liar liar") displayed on the TMP homepage. He doesn't validate the email address, so he can't post on the forums, etc.

Just requiring new members to be OK'd by a mod before showing up on the site should solve the issue with minimum fuss.

It would leave people waiting – the mods aren't always available (they have lots of other work already, and are on a time schedule opposite to Europe/North America).

Bill – I had to wait three days on the Lead Adventurers to get my membership approval through.

No one died. If it helps to remove some of the morale sapping, time wasting trolls you get on TMP, I'd vote for that one.

But then I'm also in favour (as you may be aware) of people logging on with their own names. And "one man, one log in" for that matter.

Fortunately – as this isn't a democracy – my vote doesn't count :)

John T

I think all forums I've ever joined made you wait until the membership was checked by a moderator.

JohnG

I'm in favour of people not logging on with their own names; there are enough psychos in this hobby with obvious anger issues and aggressive tendencies to warrant identity protection.

I think that this has been the only forum where I could join and post more or less straight away. I've had to wait two to three days for some to approve the application. A little frustrating if there was a hot topic that I wanted to put everyone right on, but no great loss in the grand scheme of things.

And let's say that I take 'David Jackson' as my member name. How will Bill know that it is my 'real' name (which it isn't btw)? Will I have to send him copies of my driving licence, birth certificate, or council tax bill? I've only encountered and joined one site that requires you to post with a 'real' name. But there were no checks to establish that you were actuslly called what you said your name was. So for me it acieved nothing other than to remove a bit of 'colour' from the place.

Tightening up the use of a moderately realistic real name is easy. It would cost 5p (or 5 cents) to join payable with a credit card.

An utterly insignificant amount that will at least ensure that traceability (for the editor) is quite straight forward.

We do it all the time – who here hasn't got an Amazon account?

I would also give extra forum/posing privilages to any member who posts using their actual name (say Blue Fez access).

Then – if you want to pick a silly name you just don't get the same options.

What's wrong with that?

Excuse me while I put on the tin hat and crawl into my duggout…

John T

There are some – a very few – online entities which I would trust to manage an activity like that.

I'm afraid TMP isn't one of them

Don – I would suggest that you represent quite a small minority – in the UK debit card uptake from the last figures I saw is over 84%.

For those without I'm sure alternatives could be arranged (you can have my national insurance number for a start).

That's not the point, though, really. Its about an unwillingness to do or be anything on a forum other than 'mysterious'….

And that is what allows the constant trolling that Bill is reporting.

John T

John – You have talked a lot of sense over the past few days but you are dead wrong on this. The idea of handing over any personal details to a site that isn't exactly noted for its security, just to satisfy the editors paranoia over a few sock puppets – no chance!

It would essentially be the same as requiring a nominal fee to become a Basic Member, payable through PayPal.

Pay to join a wargames based internet forum? Now there's an idea whose time has come. Not.

But if I do have to pay to join will that create some form of contract between TMP and myself? Will there be rights and obligations on both sides? Will there be cast iron terms and conditions that are legally binding? How about a privacy policy that cannot have bits deleted from it at will? Now that I've paid to join can I be justifiably locked and blocked just because the moderator decides that I'm a complainer? Heck, I've paid to join, why can't I complain?

Accepting donations to keep TMP running is one thing, but isn't charging people for membership, no matter how little, likely to make TMP into a different animal altogether?

@ rtc105 and deephorse.

Valid points'

Personally I don't have an issue with paying a nominal sum. Whether this is the best place to do that is another matter. Perhaps I'm too trusting.

A contract with a forum that I -along with all other members are paying for- is quite an interesting idea, though.

Thankyou: food for thought

John T

I keep hearing that this site is over run with sock puppets and that other sites are out to destroy it. Often this is followed by calls for tightening security or as John Treadwell suggests sending money. Mabey there is an element of truth but it sounds a lot like that guy in the U.S. Congress during the 1950's shouting "I have a list of known communists. …" what is going on here. Everyday the drama level goes through the roof. Something I do not see on the other war game sites like Lead Adventures or The Wargamers Website or evan Frothers (which BTW is more then the froth pot). How do they stay on topic and have reasonable ond respectful people and topics? Perhaps Bill could look into that. Increasingly there are fewer islands of sanity here (american rev war board is one) and more do not go areas (the ultra modern is merging with the blue fez).

I don΄t see a problem here. The only drama I see is on TMP talk. Of course, I have UM turned off.

@ B6GOB0S

I tend to agree with you.

This is arguably the premiere wargaming site on the web &, surprise! attracts a number of nutters.

The concept of the Frothpotters destroying TMP seems to be increasingly ludicrous: essentially they're a bunch of sad gossips & totally irrelevant.

So, you're right. All on the good ship SS TMP should take a deep breath & just get on with things.

there are fewer islands of sanity here

This is where I can't agree with you. Apart from TMP Talk, the Ultramoderns & a very few other places here I rarely visit, TMP is a place of informed discussion & information sharing.

. I stand corrected and have over stated my case. There are other areas that are islands of sanity. The rev war is my favorite but many other boards still work.

I keep hearing that this site is over run with sock puppets…

The "HMGS-PSW troll" created two more accounts last night. Hardly overrunning anything, just a nuisance…

He also sent harassing PMs to one of the editors.

@ B6GOBOS

Part of TMP's "problem" is its size. When you have this many members SOME will be unpleasant. As a side note, it's worth remembering that although we've lost some good people, Bill's also expelled quite a few of the unwashed, the twisted & the trouble-makers.

However, the pay-off is traffic.

I belong to a warm & welcoming forum where the members seem like friends:
wd3.org.uk/index.php
but it's small & doesn't generate much traffic or has the level of expertise you find here. There are several other small forums out there but what's the point in joining to read a post a day?

I'll put up with some needless drama on TMP, a few ghastly types & even a slightly creaky system in exchange for the overwhelming benefits.

So 'continents of sanity', not "islands".

Very mature -nice going!