Last year several members of this forum stormed off to start an alternate, the Deep Phertilizer Forum. One of the principle reasons given for their exodus was the supposedly favored treatment afforded me (and to a lesser extent Craig) by the administrators and moderators especially Evan. A big fuss was made over the fact that on other forums I use the “nom de web” LenBrazil even though this forum makes no restrictions on use of aliases elsewhere, a restriction which would effect a large percentage of forum members, and it doesn’t take a lot of brains to figure out that “LenBrazil” and some guy named “Len [Colby]” in Brazil with the same interests, POV and writing style were the same person. Calls were made for me to “prove” who I really was. Most of the people leading that hysteria formed the DPF. One of the ones who crowed the most was “Maggie Hansen”, she wrote:

“Mr 'what document do you have to support this claim' Colby is being let off with out being required to provide any proof of his own or being called to explain.”

“Doubt has been created about the identity of some one called Len Colby. I and others here have asked that this be clarified. I would ask the same of any other member if the circumstance were the same.”

“David, Jack, Charles and Jan are totally right to bring up the matter of the identity of Colby/Brasil in this forum. What he or any other member does on any other forum is not relevant but what he does and who he is here does matter a great deal.”

Bill wrote:

“…the problem isn't with Charles, it's with Len Colby Brazil, or whatever his name is.

He is always asking for posters to cite sources, and now it is important to know if Len Colby is his real name.”

To which she replied “My thoughts on this matter too.”

But when she started the DPF, which also requires that members use their real names she did so as “Magda Hassan”. The difference between ‘Magda’ and ‘Maggie’ is not significant, the latter is an obvious short form/nickname and it is common for people to adapt given names to the country they live in, my name is really Leonard not Len and here in Brazil I’m known as “Leo” or “Leonardo”. The use of different surnames is harder to explain though. I suggest that so as to not be blatantly hypocritical the good folks at the DPF oblige “Maggie”/ “Magda” immediately explain this discrepancy and suspend her if she doesn’t. But the thing is I really doubt no one there noticed until now so the hypocrisy is all round. It seems like they only believe the rule should be applied to people who hold contradictory views.

Unbearable? For who? I don't see much pain and suffering there... sounds like a bit of Len whining... What would Redd Foxx have to say about this, eh?

The title was a play words based on the title of a famous book which was made into a movie. But "Maggie"/"Magda" was stunningly hypocritical and I predict her cohorts will be equally so by not questioning her about this.

Indeed David. Len doesn't seem to realise that many women change their name when they marry. A simple thing really. But too simple for some it seems. Don't tell me Len sees a conspiracy here? Twelve months and he's just noticed? Nothing better to do with your time?
Talking of double standards I see they are still selective about enforcing that photo requirement round here.
Robert E. Cox doesn't even have one: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...st&p=173407
And who can these people be?: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...st&p=173434
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...ost&p=39993
Yet they can post here.

And yet you won't allow a non-member to view your site. How open!

No. The DPF allow non members to view their site. The DPF just don't like stalkers watching every move of some of their members for hours and hours almost every day. They have many visitors from the EF but not all of them stalk.

I thought of that but since:

You wrote in your bio on Sept. 24 2007:

“Gender: female. Age: late 40's. Location: Sydney, Australia. Educational background: Social Sciences and Humanities. Employment background: unemployable so have spent many useful years having children, thinking globally and acting locally, resisting the US and neo liberal empire and gardening.”

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=11069

And on Dec 13 2007 wrote: “My husband is Chilean and was involved in the events of 1973…”

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...&pid=130946

I assumed you were married at the time but I guess coincidence of coincidences you an unemployed single mother (of multiple children) in her late 40s just happened to marry someone with a remarkably similar surname during that 80-day interval.

But wait in the December post you provided a link to an article supposedly about your husband that referred to a man named “Vlaudin Vega”, so when were you not honest then or now? Or did you an “unemployable” mother (of multiple children) in her "late 40s" (or perhaps early 50's) coincidence of coincidences divorce Vega after making that post and marry some guy named Hassan by the time the DPF started up on Sept. 13, 2008? Odd that you opted to adopt Hassan’s name there but not Vega’s here.



No I think you are capable of being dishonest on your own.



You sound like a thief saying his victims were at fault for not locking up better. I’m not a member of the DPF and don’t spend a lot of time there.



More than a bit ironic coming from someone who made numerous posts concerning my use of an obvious webhandle on forums/sites where this IS allowed.

Hang on: you claim I'm spending hours and hours there every day, "stalking". Jack claims I'm always here, ready to pop up at a moments notice if he posts. Yet I spend my days at work, where both the EF and DPF are blocked. So who is being untruthful: you or Jack, because I have about 20 witnesses who see me at work every day (that's called proof Maggie; you're probably unfamiliar with it).

Poor Vlaudin has had enough troubles in his life without you also making me as his wife lol! Why do you want to involve some poor innocent into your conspiracy theory? And my marital status means what exactly? It is a) irrelevant b) none of your business. I had no idea I was not permitted to marry someone with a name similar to my own or my previous husband's name. Perhaps that is the case in Len's world, a unique place if ever there were, but I choose my friends and partners based on other criteria than the combination of letters in their name. Or are you into numerology?

No, Len, you are not a member of the DFP, and that's the way I like it, but you spend plenty of time there. Just not quite as much as some others.

I have no idea what you do with your time now Evan. Your IP used to spend many, many hours at the DPF until your IP was blocked to give the members some privacy from your prying eyes. I really don't know why it bothers you so much as there is nothing there of interest to you. You have nothing but contempt for the members or anything discussed there but you really did spend an inordinate amount of time there and now you can't you are mighty pissed off it seems.

Whereas the Education Forum encourages people with divergent views to become members and discuss matters which interest them. Significant difference in approach Maggie /Magda/Mowgli (or whatever your name is) is it not?

Lack of a straight answer noted. Yes my use of a webhandle elsewhere was irrelevant but it didn't stop you and others from harping on it. You demanded answers to a question that already had been answered, funny how you change when you get caught up in a similar situation.

Let me get this straight (this is implicit though not stated outright), December 13, 2007 you were married to Vega but divorced him sometime after that and by Sept 13 2008, despite being an unemployed mother (of a few kids) in her late 40s (early 50s?), married some guy whose late name just happened to be remarkably similar to your maiden (?) name.

Ironic that the folk from the DPF like to divulge who visits and how often I imagine if Andy would report on the visiting habits of non-members associated with the DPF they would whine about privacy violations

I wouldn't dream of doing so.
The traffic through this forum is so extensive that it would be very hard to track even if I was inclined to be paranoid
I also think there is something rather sinister about tracking a person's IP for no good reason other than the fact that you don't like or agree with them.

Like I said before my marital status is a)irrelevant and b) none of your business You are showing an unhealthy interest in my private life Len.

If only that were true Mandy.

I have divulged that Len and Evan visit the forum. Others also visit. I know why others visit. I don't know why Evan and Len do. Len and Evan are not members. I will not discuss any members. Unlike here where it seems members can be interrogated about their marital status and sexual activity with strangers.

Like all good web masters I am very interested in where our traffic is coming from for SEO purposes. What countries and organisations they come from etc. I am also interested in protecting members from trolls and stalkers. Unlike some.

diddums - did the nasty men disagree with you?

It would be irrelevant but for the facts that 1) you harped my supposed obligation to establish my identity even though I had never used another name on a forum that requires using your real name 2) you use different names on 2 such forums 3) your non-answers are in conflict with other things you've said here.

Why is it so hard for you to give a straight answer? The scenario I spelled out in my previous post is only one that doesn't make you a ****<disallowed word removed>, let us know either way.

You members of your forum have repeatedly displayed "an unhealthy interest in my private life".

I don't know why Evan visits I do so mostly because I'm discussed there apparently my family history is a relevant topic and suggestions that people try to get personal data like my credit card numbers are considered OK. Odd that Evan visiting is considered a violation of your member's privacy but stating who visits and how often isn't.

And yes the topic of my "sexual activity" was brought up here but it was done so by a member of the DPF.

Logic not your strong point is it Len? Neither is geography apparently. Or counting. Where am I again? An education forum? Forgot for a moment. Nice of you to leave Greg Parker in peace for a while. Tired of baiting him? I suppose this is why I am blessed with your undivided attentions. After twelve months. A straight answer to what? Do I really care? The answer is no. And I have no interest in anything of what passes for your private life. With friends like this the less I know about your private life the happier I am. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GG_Allin

No. I have no problems with disagreements. It was the disappearing threads, censorship, hypocrisy and double standards which was rampant that I had trouble with. Not to mention the patronizing tone of some.

All in your mind dear lady.

Well, it's been fun. Good bye all. Fortunately, I have better things to do than hang around here answering Lightning Len's 'questions'. Such as they are. Good luck to you all here who have to put up with him.

Sure Andy. What ever you say.
Got better thing to do than chat with you too.
Bye!

It's good to hear from you, Maggie.

I enjoy reading your Deep Politics forum from time to time.

Take care.

You’re right of course it was completely nonsensical of me to expect you to adhere to a consistent standard.




??? I think you mean Greg, he’s the one who seemed unaware that Broome is in the north of your country.




???? I have no idea what you confused about.



So, on the DPF pointing out errors in others research is considered baiting but suggesting people be “hung by their thumbs” or that they have their privacy invaded is OK? Bizarre! Greg is resting in peace because he has yet to address my questions, don’t worry if he stays under that rock too long I’ll ask him again.



Yes, if he had replied I probably wouldn’t have taken a look at your forum and noticed the inconsistency



12 months? More like 12 hours, a straight answer to the question, what’s your REAL name? Do think people will really fail to notice you never answered?




Shall I rephrase?

“You and members of your forum displayed an “unhealthy” obsession with my name and some of them have repeatedly displayed "an unhealthy interest in my private life"



Say what you like about GG, I can understand people being offended by his lyrics, music, band names, stage antics and sexual preferences but I never knew him to act in a hypocritical manner.

Good Bye Maggie(?)
You are always welcome to come and chat here.

Correct. It has been proven repeatedly that threads or posts were not removed or censored (except when they violated Forum rules). It was even shown that Maggie and Jan were completely incorrect in their version of some events - and they still continue to elsewhere propagate a version they know to be incorrect.

I personally know this to be a disingenuous statement based upon my experiences with you on this Forum.

Michael, could you cite an example of this? I don't think it is true but am always willing to admit error if I am wrong.

Back in April – May 2008 Mike in I got in to a rather nasty exchange over his favorite topic, my typos and spelling/grammar errors. See the 1st linked thread. You made BOTH of our posts ‘invisible’. Even though we were treated equally Mike interpreted this as some sort of attack on him and sign of bias on your part. He claimed you “chastised him” simply because you told him to “stop bickering” You advised John and since he didn’t overrule apparently agreed. Mike has bitched and moaned about this a few times and even claimed you were trying to “intimidate” him.


http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...st&p=144758


http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...lite=%2Bdeleted

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...te=%2Binvisible

As a matter of interest, how are you able to identify Evan to block his IP (I understand it would be easy to identify a Brazil IP)? furthermore how do you know who is visiting your site from the Education Forum?

With moderate traffic it would require a monitoring of her board logs so intense as to perhaps qualify as 'stalking'. With very little traffic it would be easier. Not sure which applies.

uh-huh... yeah, sure

Michael... great to see a post from you... you've been missed. Hope all is well!
David

I understand that, Andy - actually it would be a piece of piss to script something cheap and nasty which could easily audit the logs - for IPs durations, DPF username, EF username if known, irrespective of volume of traffic.

My implied question, which you missed, is where do the username identifiable IP's to facilitate the monitoring come from?

Are IPs routinely visible to ordinary members/visitors on the Education Forum and therefore readily available for intelligence gathering and comparative use by the DPF? If so, then that's the answer to my question.

If not then how can one know with absolute certainty that a visitor to the DPF is a member of the Education Forum?

That's interesting - but to your first point - no it wouldn't!! Happy for you to prove me wrong here by authoring said 'piece of piss' - good luck!. Your second question doesn't make a great deal of sense either. However if the DPF is set up on a similar lines to this forum then it is possible for administrators to view the IPs of individual members and guests should they wish to (I assume that 'Mowgli' is an administrator of the DPF). Members are easy to track - guests harder - unless of course you have very few of them. Why you should want to then ban a 'guest' on the hunch that it might be that well known 'public nuisance' Evan is beyond me.
Members and guests of course cannot see IPs nor can they be enabled to do so.

My guess is that "she" was simply referring to people to people who clicked on links to there from here. I was easy because of my Brazilian IP and because I used term 'colby' on the search engine. Evan's IP is probably RAN and imagine he might have searched his own name as well.

Yesterday I got in contact with Vlaudin Vega who “Maggie”/”Magda” claimed was “her” husband or perhaps now her “ex” ‘she’ was vague and had good reason to.

Mr. Vega,


In September 2008 a woman who had previously called herself “Maggie Hansen” started calling herself “Magda Hassan”. When asked about the change she implied, but did not say outright, that this was due to her getting married. In December 2007 however she said you were her husband. The only way this makes sense is if the two of you were divorced sometime after 13/12/07 and she married “Mr. Hassan” sometime before 13/07/08. Normally I would not care about such matters but previously she had repeatedly pressed me to prove my identity. Can you shed any light on this?

Yours,

Len

It did not take him long to get back to me:

Dear Len

I have no idea what you are talking about. I have no idea who this woman is.
Can you please give more info in regards to this; please.

Regards.

At this point I’m not even sure if “Maggie” is really a woman or if the details "she" has told us about "herself" are true. What I’m sure of is that hypocritically the members of the DPF who repeatedly insisted that I “prove” whom I was will NOT even question “her” about this.

I forwarded the message to John, Andy and several moderators for verification and am willing to send it to any administrators from the DPF.

Andy – Can you tell by “her” IP address if “she” is really in Sydney or even Australia? Normally I would not ask a forum moderator to invade a member’s privacy but since “she” was so insistent I had to prove my identity yet has been so dishonest about “hers” this is warranted.

Len

Yesterday she posted from Australia - North Sydney to be precise.

I think privacy is important and details of same shouldn't lightly be given out publicly. I also think this sour milk threat is just a way of some venting their misplaced discomfort with certain others for their beliefs. Len's post somewhere just above was typical - a 'politely disguised' way of causing dissension and putting salt in old wounds - practically a description of his general activities here.

I would imagine the DPF could determine my IP by looking at all the IPs who had visited, and eliminating all those outside NSW. That would have left very few, if more than one.

Since I have made no secret of my location, and my IP resolves to my geographic region, it would have been pretty easy to block me. Of course, that's assuming I have a static IP (which I do). Even if they couldn't pinpoint me exactly and had a dynamic IP, they just need to block a range of IPs.

Of course, as soon as I move away from my home network, the IP block is ineffective.

Len, internet access from work blocks access to chat sites such as the EF and DPF.

Agreed he replied posting from Dartford in repsonse to Father Peter's posting from Prague

S/he twice claimed on this forum to be married to some guy who's never heard of "her" and almost certainly is using a false name on the DPF where s/he is an administrator despite the fact that using your real name is a requirement there as it is here. This after s/he and other DPF founders (including you IIRC) made a fuss over me using an obvious webhandle elsewhere. And I'm the bad guy? It seems my prediction that hypocritically the DPF lynch mob will ignore this was correct.

The logs are I assume a blobs of text? If so then they are like nearly every log file I've ever worked with and they have a common structure and are delimited. Now I understand you might not be able to create a 'pull' mechanism or set up ftp jobs into/from the folder containing the logs. But to save off/put to your local machine and then open in Access or Excel, create the relevant queries and make the result informative? really is quite easy. To paraphrase you - I reckon I am both more qualified and experienced in this type of work.

Why you have been so obtuse and defensive in the second half of your response is beyond me. I will however give you the pleasure of a response. Not only administrators of this site can see IPs - moderators can - perhaps the penny will now drop

In light of this revelation, perhaps, given the absolute certainty with which some statements have been made that the DPF admins have more than just banned Evan and Len's IPs on a hunch. I'm not sure that they have only link through traffic to work, as someone else (apologies for not bothering to check, who) has mentioned.

To answer your last question, I, like John, am against banning of people on forums and for freedom of speech, in general. I understand that when you said "Why you should want to...", you may not have meant me but to be sure - I didn't and I have no problem with Evan and wouldn't class him as a public nuisance. He is probably aware I think he can be too enthusiastic in moderation, hardly the stuff of feuds

I have never requested a member ban on this or any other forum (in fact I've fought some 'high profile' ones on this forum).

Lastly, I deplore the abuse of your administrator privilige in identifying users home IP locations - this is not offset by the fact you used your own, that was your personal choice - as much as I deplore the DPF's glee at percieved 'schisms' here and other petty comments re: the Education Forum.

Furthermore, this thread should not be locked, it is a very informative thread, in at least as much as it has revealed about some users, maybe even myself

Hadn't realised I was being either of those things .
I will however know where to come for lessons in grace and charm in future.
You are correct about moderators they can see members IPs and use simple search tools - only root admin can do much more than that however.
Sorry you have cause to 'deplore' things - that must be tiresome - however I think you may be overeacting a tad - it is common knowledge I live in Dartford, Peter lives in Prague and whatsherface lives in N Sydney - its in their bios for goodness sake.

No Len. You are the only person in the whole world claiming I am married to this poor man. An innocent man who is no doubt totally confused by the demented Brazil Nut contacting him out of nowhere asking personal questions from someone he does no even know. It is all a creation of your overactive imagination and your under utilised brain. Your own strange personal conspiracy theory with no basis in reality.
I said my name was acquired by marriage. I have been married several times. I have also said my marital status is none of your business and irrelevant to anything. It still is.

I wanted to ban Evan's IP on my home computer as he sent me nasty emails and I didn't want any more from him. I got the IP from his email.