Banned...

As a big science fiction fan, one of my particular sites of interest was the audio podcast escapepod.org, and its sister podcasts, the fantasy-centric podcastle.org and the horror-centric pseudopod.org, of which I have followed for several years.

Until recently though, I had never joined their forums, usually just leaving a comment on their informal comments section episode by episode. But when that system was scraped in favour of all-forum discussions I had to register and sign into Escape Artists Forums everytime I wanted to leave a comment, which was a pain in the arse but it was bearable...until this...

Finally getting this blog off the ground, as well as my webcomic Delirious Comics, I decided on the thread for a particularly forgettable episode from Escape Pod, to "advertise" as it were their existence in a short paragraph, which quickly out-lined both of their contents, and linked them.

Believing this would get traffic going, I went back to the thread the next day to if anyone had commented on my blogs; but when I got there I saw that my short paragraph which linked them had been covered over with something along the lines of this:

Oh no! No shameless self-promotion here; you can leave your links in your
signature but anything else is inappropriate.

Now, being a bit annoyed, but also a little amused, I posted another comment in the same thread which said the following:

""Shameless self-promotion"? You fascists!"

Now, the above was clearly meant in jest but appartently, the forum-master didn't think so, and so when I went back to the same forum again the next day, I found that my "fascist" comment had been completely eliminated, and the following e-mail in my inbox:

You have just been sent a personal message by Russell Nash on Escape
Artists.

IMPORTANT: Remember, this is just a notification. Please do not reply to this
email.The message they sent you was:

ScatterBrain, This is not the blogs. We keep a civil community here. Another
piece of crap like that and your ass is banned.

Now, it seems that the forum-master--or forum-despot, as I prefer--clearly isn't playing; why have I been given a last warning? What about the three-strike rule? Now, taking my comment this seriously implys that this Nash has some serious issues about his position, and that any attempt to question such a position such as his means a clear questioning of his minor authority.

So I responded to him in kind with the following e-mail:

Dear Russell Nash-or whoever the hell you are,

I accept that "advertising" myself in a short paragraph on one of your Escape Artists forums after leaving a much longer
comment about one of your podcasts was
immature and self-serving--although I
thought at the time I was doing a
bit of community
intergration. But then you have to censor me, and
then, when I
retort in half-jestful, half-mildly annoyed spirit, you
completely
eliminate the latter comment and send the obscene e-mail
below(obscene
you ask? It says "crap"; need I say more?). I can't deal with
that, and
I demand an apology and a correction of the forum achive to its
historical
truth(though, if need be, with my "shameless self-promotion" still
covered),
and if you can't handle such a request, then go ahead and ban my
ass!
Okay?

Cordially, he who riseth from the ashes, Scatterbrain

Simple, to-the-point, he also responded in kind, me finding the following simple message from him in my inbox today:

Bye!

I am now banned; in-fact, its not just my username that's banned but my whole fucking computer is banned! Fucking banned! I keep trying, but even as a guest I'm banned! Which is, quite creepy really...

If I was The Amazing Atheist, this post would end with me catching a flight to America, finding Russell Nash, and beating him to death with a steel rod; but no, as an eco-socialist, I condemn most plane travel as unnecessary(even for arseholes).

So, what to do?

Well I can e-mail the CEO of Escape Artists, fat lot of good it'd do. It seems I'm at a loss. But don't worry gentle reader; I can still enjoy their podcasts at least, and if that bastard John Nash should tour the Lake District, I've got a rod on hand...