Another refugee from PCGS???

[lkenefic]

Well...the end of the semester crunch left me with little time to check the boards and when I did there was a big hullabalu about "new forum rules" and folks getting bammed....what gives?

 

Leo

[MikeInFL]

Welcome fellow copper enthusiast!

[Amanda]

Hi!

 

-Amanda

[123cents]

Welcome Ikenefic.

[realone]

Welcome, right now I am batting on both sides of the plate. Can't count on the top brass across the street so i am doing double lurking.

[AzLarry]

Welcome to this form fellow Flagstaffian.

[lkenefic]

Thanks for the warm welcome. So....who said what and to whom and why??? I heard that coinguy and Conder (of all people) got bammed...L

[Denver Dave]

Well...the end of the semester crunch left me with little time to check the boards and when I did there was a big hullabalu about "new forum rules" and folks getting bammed....what gives?

 

Leo

 

The King has no Clothing but he rules with an iron Fist..."-(

 

Started with the "First Strike" Law Suits and snowballed from there...

 

The PCGS Boards have been hemorrhaging members all week long...

 

I have Dual Citizenship, unless King David reads this..."-)

 

[MunkyMan95]

Welcome!!!

[lkenefic]

Ahhhhh....I'm now enlightened!

 

I guess I'll have dual citizenship as well but it seems like most of the copper people ended up over here. L

[cpm9ball]

Welcome to the neighborhood, Leo! I don't collect Coppers other than some French and Swiss medals, but I sure enjoy seeing them here.

 

Chris

[SkyMan]

Well...the end of the semester crunch left me with little time to check the boards and when I did there was a big hullabalu about "new forum rules" and folks getting bammed....what gives?

 

Leo

 

Basically Mark F. said some totally legitimate, and level headed, comments about First Strike coins. PCGS went ballistic from there.

[LuvToCollect]

Welcome to our side of the street.

[1956Half-migration]

Well, the powers that be over there decided to be censors of anyone who said anything remotely negative about PCGS. This appeared to be too much for them so they started banning people hand over fist gestapo style. Its insulting and sad. I read their new rules, and agreed with all of them except the censorship. I wrote a very polite response expressing my fear that they were going to alienate more people and hurt their immage more than if they simply deleted a few really bad posts. I was banned. This is and was unacceptable. Believe me they heard from me loud and clear. I've deleted my registry sets, closed all of my accounts with them, and am currently deciding if I want to even keep any coins graded by them in my collection. I urge others to do the same.

[fcloud-migration]

Well, the powers that be over there decided to be censors of anyone who said anything remotely negative about PCGS. This appeared to be too much for them so they started banning people hand over fist gestapo style. Its insulting and sad. I read their new rules, and agreed with all of them except the censorship. I wrote a very polite response expressing my fear that they were going to alienate more people and hurt their immage more than if they simply deleted a few really bad posts. I was banned. This is and was unacceptable. Believe me they heard from me loud and clear. I've deleted my registry sets, closed all of my accounts with them, and am currently deciding if I want to even keep any coins graded by them in my collection. I urge others to do the same.

 

It seems they bammed some, and insulted others. This board will see more refugees I'm sure. I come over here and look now and then, but rarely post. It sure is getting boring over there, which will probably bring even more over here.

[Conder101]

I got banned for stating that in order to NOT get banned I was going to cease public posting and just lurk and use PM's. In short I got banned because I decided not to post. I've heard of "publish or die" for scientists or tenured professors but a coin forum?

 

By the way, in lurking over ATS I have noticed that almost everyones profiles have disappeared, and I don't if it is just because I can't log in, but all of the PM links are gone. Are the PM links still there and I just can't see them or have they eliminated PMs so no one can talk about them behind their backs?

[mark]

Conder:

 

The pm links are still present; I was using them last night. By the way, there is a post with a picture you might find interesting in the PCGS set registry forum. It's in the thread with the title "...black box with Hall's name on it."

 

Mark

 

P.S.: Not that it would interest you, but once banned is it possible to come back with a new user name?

[MikeKing]

Well, the powers that be over there decided to be censors of anyone who said anything remotely negative about PCGS. This appeared to be too much for them so they started banning people hand over fist gestapo style. Its insulting and sad. I read their new rules, and agreed with all of them except the censorship. I wrote a very polite response expressing my fear that they were going to alienate more people and hurt their immage more than if they simply deleted a few really bad posts. I was banned. This is and was unacceptable. Believe me they heard from me loud and clear. I've deleted my registry sets, closed all of my accounts with them, and am currently deciding if I want to even keep any coins graded by them in my collection. I urge others to do the same.

 

I appreciate your candor and your forthrightness with the PCGS crew. I was banned for making a supportive statement about Mark Feld and what I thought was a polite and appropriate criticism of their banning without notice rule. I've considered deleting my registry sets and closing my account as well, but haven't done so.

 

I sent an email to David Hall, explaining how I felt about their behavior, and requested they reinstate everyone they banned. His response to me was (mildly) insulting. I hesitated to publish his email because in it he makes reference to MY wanting to be reinstated, when what I actually requested was that EVERYONE be reinstated, and I didn't want to be misinterpreted by board members based on his faulty response.

 

To further explain his response, I accused them (politely so) of planting posters to deride statements if not make negative comments about board members who were banned.

 

Since I just explained it, here's his response:

 

Michael,

 

 

 

 

 

PCGS does not post anonymously on our message boards. If we have something to say, we say it loud and clear with our names attached. Also note that we really don’t look at the message boards that often. We provide them as a service to the numismatic community and we try not to get caught up in the flames and fights…we frankly have other more important things to do…such as grading our customers’ coins.

 

 

 

The decision to reinstate you [sic] would be Carol’s. You need to contact her.

 

 

 

David Hall

 

the [sic] is my only edit.

[MikeKing]

I would also like to add, in response to certain opinions of board members accross the street, that standing up for your friends and appropriate criticism of censorship is of high moral standard, not bashing, and appropriate even if PCGS 'owns' the board and has the right to make up the rules. What they have done, was not just throw a tantrum that shouldn't be tolerated in a three year old, they insulted a significant portion of their membership a removed significant contributors to their board. It was a stupid abreaction to their fears and anxieties which I find even more offensive.

 

Also, the response to this whole fiasco really impresses me in terms of all of those who came over here either because they were banned, or in support of the notion I think I stated above. That's very honorable.

 

The other response is what I've seen by looking over at the board.

It is entirely reminiscient of the complex societal responses to tyrannical acts that one can read in any history book.

 

Yes, making this kind of observation for something as 'insignificant' as a message board may seem like an overstatement. But it's not. What goes on in the microcosm is very much a reflection of what goes on in the larger picture of things. In other words, my sentiments about the behaviors I'm observing are not invalidated by the small social establishement of the PCGS board.

[Amanda]

I agree, Mike. At the risk of repeating myself: There is a difference between what is right and what is easy, and silencing people is the easy way out.

 

Why would anyone not stand up for their friends? That's what friends do.

 

It has reached my ears that some people miss me over there, and for that I do feel badly.

 

-Amanda

[mgoodm3]

Welcome. I've also been working both sides of the street lately.

[66tbird]

Just checking in

[MAULEMALL]

MikeKing

I have to ask,And I want to be clear in that this is in no way an attempt to start a flame or to denigrate any one, But why in the would you feel compelled to give DH the time of day...Or pcgs for that matter...I have had my disagreements with Mark but I will be the first to say that pcgs was totally out of line in their attempt to "Reign him in"..In fact when Mark ,In his own way, told them to stick it up their *spoon* he gained a ton of respect from me.

 

Why as a paying customer would I EVER allow someone to treat me as disrespectfully as pcgs has done us (yes I was banned as well)..

 

 

THE FIRST RULE IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY IS,,,If you do well to someone they may tell one or two others....

 

But if you do bad to someone,,they will tell ten or more ,,,In my case alone 2 or 3 hundred....

 

AND when I was selling on Ebay I Made sure That in every one of my auctions I spelled out exactly why I sold NGC graded coins. As well as my reasons why I Chose NGC over pcgs as My grading company...

 

Don't get me wrong,,If you wish to submit to pcgs thats your biz. I just can't understand the mentality of it. Or the need to be accepted by those who continually accept this as Normalcy

[majorbigtime-migration]

I was banned because I took PCGS to task about the so-called guaranty of authenticity!

[Shamika-migration]

Conder101,

 

PM sent.

[IGWT]

My goodness. Are we really coming up on 3 years since the great purge?

[nwcs]

There were purges before that. The reason I started an account here was during the first great purge (not to be confused with the great DB failure).

[physics-fan3.14]

My goodness. Are we really coming up on 3 years since the great purge?

 

I think the great purge was more recent.

[nwcs]

The first great purge was fall 2002.

[halfpint]

 

.......just curious here. i was wondering, for those that got banned from ATS. did you get an e-mail warning you that you're on deck for a nuke from the forums or did you realize it when you couldn't sign in or what? like i said, i'm just curious on how this goes down, or in some cases, went down?