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Banned
| Joined: 17 Oct 2006 |
| Posts: 9931 |
| Location: Merseyside Supports: Everton Hates:Liverpoo |
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 Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:45 pm |
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| twmcat wrote: |
Some time ago, Mr D posted this thread about conduct on the forum.
The responses at the time showed that most of you were confused, to say the least, although it seems that quite a few members now have a good idea about what had been going on.
I'm not going to name any names here, but it's about time members were given more information about what had happened to prompt this topic, and also about the decisions that were made at the time, and recent consequences too.
The day before Shane posted his topic, I had been chatting to a young member (under 16, male) on msn. The convo was pretty normal until he mentioned that the forum was really good apart from the "perve". I'd no idea what he meant, so he explained that another member, well-known and male, had been chatting to him on msn and asking him for pictures and whether he had had sex etc.
I was concerned about this, and at the first opportunity had a chat with Shane (Mr D) about it. It was difficult to know what to do, as no complaint had been made, and it was just an allegation - although there was no reason for us to assume it to be false.
The member was about to go away for a few days, and had gone by the time Shane and I had a chat, so we couldn't ask for any further details, so thought it would be best for Shane to make the post he did. If there was nothing serious taking place, the post was reasonable enough to appear just to remind everyone of the rules, and, if there was anything more serious, it just might open a can of worms.
This was not discussed amongst mods / admins, as we wanted to get something under way quickly, and none were around at the time.
There were a few jokes and comments made after the thread started, but no-one at the time came forward with any further allegations. But, people will chat, and a few people had an idea what was going on, and a few posts were made in various sections over a period of time - although some were obviously pure guesswork.
The member alleged to have been a "perve" was not contacted at that time - nor was he banned, as there was too little proof of anything - and anything we said might have been regarded as libellous.
A couple of months later a new thread was started about this - naming the person who was alleged to have made an approach, and there was a reply there from someone else who had been approached.
The "perve" was apparently contacted by admin, and warned, but technically, there was nothing illegal in what he had done on the forum, he had contacted members, either by asking to be added on msn to people who'd posted their addy on their profile, or PMing them for their msn addy and chatting there.
The only person on the forum that was under 16 who had been contacted now denied anything had happened anyway, so there was little that could be done by anyone here.
Then I was contacted on msn by a member the other day who had been approached by the guy, and had chatted on msn, and had also given him his mobile number. He is over 16, but felt he was silly in what he had done.
He was now being pestered by the guy, and was rather worried.
I suggested he go to the police in that case, but he was concerned his family might find out.
He was also asking another member for advice on msn, and that member contacted me and said we should have done something earlier. I'm still not sure what we could or should have done, but decided I would go to the police myself and try and get some help.
As Shane said to me, the police are asking for anyone who spots any suspicious behaviour in chat rooms etc to give them info so they can act, so I got little bits of info (like the IP address) about the guy causing the problems, although he has left this forum now.
Basically, I had to sit for ages in the police station while a guy who'd witnessed a minor traffic accident had to produce his driving license etc, as requested at the scene of the accident, and they had asked hime to take it to the nearest police station as he'd not had it with him at the time. This took ages, with all the forms etc, especially as he'd not been able to find his license and was off on holiday later that day, etc, etc.
I'd said at the desk that I wanted to report a possible paedophile, then this guy walked in, so they asked if I'd wait till they dealt with him so we could discuss it in private.
Stupidly, I thought they were going to have a serious discussion with me.
But, when they got to me, they couldn't let me report on behalf of the youngster, he'd have to do it himself, or a family member, like a parent.
When I said he was too worried to go to the police himself, and didn't want his family to know, the next get-out was that he didn't live near me and was from outside their police area, so they could do nothing.
So, I decided on a different tactic - "What about the pervert?"
"He's from a different district too, so there's nothing we can do."
When I mentioned there was a possibility he had a spare time activity working with youngsters, the response was "Yeeugh."
We have all heard that anyone working with young people - even in a voluntary basis - must be cleared before they do so. I suppose that means they must be checked for convictions. But, what if they don't have a conviction - yet?
They certainly weren't interested during my visit.
I was told that we mods / admins had no reason to worry - if we suspected anyone on the forum, it wouldn't be our problem, we couldn't be held responsible.
When I mentioned that banning him would just let him move elsewhere, and he could find msn addies anyway, the response was something like "It's not your problem."
So - when the police say they are actively seeking paedophiles on the net etc - forget it. If they're online, they're probably just playing games or something.
You'll have to be assaulted before they drag themselves away from filling in unnecessary forms.
Basically then, if anyone here suspects someone of anything - inform us immediately, so a ban can be put in force.
Do not give your msn addy or any other online contact until you feel sure about them.
And don't give any personal details that may help them find you - or even a mobile phone number.
If you feel the police could be behaving differently - maybe let your MP know (not that that is likely to help much - you'll probably just get another raft of excuses.) |
Call me slow like but I've just found out about this... Man I was even thinking of leaving the forum! As the first few posts I read on another forum stated he had not even been banned, So I instantly thought he wasn't reported to the police. Anyway, this has cleared things up and you'll be glad to know I'm staying. 
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