ZombieSlayer's rant...
 

//Rant on to all folks that fit it....

I'm tired of people making assumptions and jumping to conclusions and trying to mislead people about Mr. Lester and BrainTalk. Some of the stuff said here at Braintalk2 could be construed as libel.

None of you (nor I for that matter) have any proof of any wrong doing, with the exception of his lack of communication and participation. I find this (lack of communication) very disturbing, highly offensive, quite rude, and definately not at all like the Mr. Lester I thought I knew.

So how about you find (and post) some facts before making statements that may or may not be true? Or at the very least take the easy way out and say it's your opinion. That way people won't think what you say is fact.

//Rant off

As for the comments regarding the moderators....I have not had to deal with any of them so I can't say anything about them other than this....

Being a moderator of a community with 50K+ members is not an easy job. Especially when the community deals with health issues. While actions the moderators take may seem uncalled for, they are more often than not justified. Being members at BrainTalk in particular, we will not be privy (most of the time) to the why's of the moderators actions.

lol everything I say is my opinion ZS.

I do think JL has sufficiently been removed from his pedestal and it's time to put that puppy to rest.

Zombieslayer,

I like that: rant on/ rant off - can I use it? Reminds me of the clapper commercials that turned lamps on and off.

Communication is the problem, you are right. And distance from the "location" - may make BT1 seem not as significant anymore. I didn't know that John had moved until I joined BT2.

Lack of communication leads to speculation. While it's not right to falsely accuse, why the heck does John not respond and just end all this guessing?

I know you don't have an answer, just sharing your befuddlement [if that's a word].

paula

haha and it's so much easier on the eyes than CAP BLASTERS :D

Yeah and there were secret prisons to torture the captives who might be terrorists.

It's all good.

Or is it?

i wonder how many funerals it will take?

speaking of puppies....i didn't know you had a boxer? my grandpuppy is a boxer. this is his 1 yr old picture taken a few weeks ago.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...d/munson-3.jpg

i agree with you zs. i think enough has been said in all the old posts. time to let bt1 go from this board. IF it does come back...good luck to it and it's members. :D i'm sorry you had such posts to come back to after not feeling well. but there are some good funny ones scattered around. and many many helpful supportive ones.

I love your dog and your photography!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is such a good picture I wondered for awhile if it was an illustration in a book, or for some ... I don't know... some web site or something.

Well, time to go make more coffee. :)

ie moving on rather than talking about that old forum. :)

YES!

there is quite enough hurt going round by everything related to BT crashing and the silence etc etc etc.
let's not perpetuate the hurt here!

OMG I wanna see!

soooo missy...where are the cupcakes?

:::smooches::: :D

I loved it big. All the ostrich pictures I posted on pbs were big. Big is much clearer, I love big pictures. PLEASE put it back.... Please?

i put it back. i haven't had time to re-size it. he is sistermonkeys dog. i love him to death!!! he is just turned 1. the picture was taken at the pet food store they take him to. he is such a silly. i was shocked he sat still. they moved to the eart coast a few months ago, so i really miss him. hehehe...her and bf too!!

... did you put it back exactly when I was posting hoping that you would...
it wasn't there when I quoted you, I thought... but it's in my quote.

In any case, I LOVE it.

:)

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...cupcakes-1.jpg

Supersized!!:D

::::swoons::::

i'm in heaven.....

those are nutter butters for ears!!!!!!oh goodness....even better than i thought!!!!

haha love the boxer gloves hanging in the pic. he's a cutie!

here's my big brown dufus:

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/2703/smdn3.th.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/2703/smdn3.jpg

I love his low rumble 'speak' lol. Reminds me of Billy Bob Thornton in Slingblade.

Chemar I'm not big on sweets, but damn those look GOOD!

oops sorry ZS! looks like us women hijacked your thread

Okay, I cannot get the cupcakes out of my mind. My mouth is literally watering for them. Are they real? Are there real cupcakes that those are a picture of????


and the dogs, oh my goodness they are so loveable. They look like they would be so wonderful to have around.

yep, real choccy delites........cant take credit for baking them tho...someone posted them on another forum :p

yep. keeps us on our toes and laughing daily. I'd take a dozen of them myself!

Well, that person who baked them has my ADMIRATION.

Wow.
they are just so cute, and the look Good, too.
(Good to eat.)

I cannot believe that they are literally making my mouth water!!!!!

(((((((((Chemar)))))))))))
for posting the picture of them. :)

Back on topic. Thanks, ZombieSlayer. It may be a futile exercise. Once a single speculation or covert accusation is made, in the cyberworld or the real world, the race is on in a game of, "Who Can Top This?"

I've already written a novella's-worth today, so I guess a little more won't matter. I'll post this in two pieces to make it less intimidating.

I used to teach communication classes to executives and managers. One of the exercises I used, my favorite, in fact, was to illustrate how some carefully chosen words could allow the person who used them to do some hit-and-run damage and still be off the hook.

Put the emphasis on the bold words:

I never said he took the money.
I never said he took the money.
I never said he took the money.
I never said he took the money.
I never said he took the money
I never said he took the money.

Perfect set up for "you misunderstood what I wrote." My sister's favorite is, "Well I just asked, I didn't make any accusations." Right.

For what it's worth, I just left the following post on the "is it dead" thread.

Thanks for trying to put out the wildfire.

TCC

My post from the other thread:

Of course Brigadoon wasn’t mentioned. The money went to the server. (If you have a hint of validation for your "it appears" inference, I hope you'll share it with us. I haven't been able to find anything yet.)

http://zero.hastypastry.net/forums/ Donations are accounted for with $3,000 left over for the continued care and feeding of the system. That was a year and a half ago. Methinks the system nibbled more than $3,000 worth in that amount of time. Google ads contributed some revenue, people periodically sent some donations.

mrsd, you posted the Brigadoon description under your post titled "Where OBT donations went." Here’s part of what you pasted from the Brigadoon site and written by John Lester:

"I am using BrainTalk Communities Inc. as the organization to receive and process the funds. Since BrainTalk Communities is a non-profit organization, all donations are fully tax deductible, and all donations made through the "donate" button on this Brigadoon blog will be used *exclusively* for Project Brigadoon."

Since I haven’t been able yet to locate the FAQ from BT1, I can’t know if there is a similar statement there about the exclusive use of donations. BT1 had a "donate" button also. It's not likely since the pages hadn't been updated since hula hoops were in. I'll see if I can find it anyway.

For mrsd and stumps, this is a google link to a cached page of the administrative announcements at BT1. Get past the David H one at the top, if you can. The rest is by John Lester, which gives some introduction to the other places where he’s been working, like Brigadoon. And it clearly states Brigadoon is part of BrainTalk Communities.

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache...&cd=4&ie=UTF-8

BrainTalk Communities Inc. is the umbrella organization. Brigadoon is one of its entities. BrainTalk forums is one of its entities. Because they are under the same umbrella does NOT in and of itself mean that the forums support Brigadoon, nor does is mean Brigadoon supports the forums. It means they are both members of the same corporation. Contributions are processed by BrainTalk Communities Inc. I'm not an expert in how non-profit monies are handled – it is my understanding that money from one entity cannot be transferred to another. Can anyone help in that area?

I’m let down, disappointed and disrespected (and angry) too BECAUSE OF THE SILENCE. Speculating about where money is, and goes, and went, assumptions that there even is any money, and raising passive-aggressive questions about what John Lester does and did with donations, is just plain irresponsible. Contemptible might work, too. Talk about disrespect!

It does a terrible disservice to a person who is not even here to field questions. This is someone who has failed us for over two months. That is after 13 years of taking care of us. I’m ticked that he isn’t here and hasn’t communicated. But to use that as a seque to undermining the man’s integrity with back-door innuendo is nothing short of disgusting.

WAIT -- Is he banned? :eek: Is that why he can't be here to field questions?:confused:

Gosh... poor thing. I really think everyone should be allowed to defend themselves.;)

:D

He is not here. He hasn't been here, and he hasn't communcated with anyone. If he's not here, he can't answer questions. ConsiderThis, from my heart, a request - would you delete your "banned" question so another rumor doesn't take off? Thank you soooooo much. I hope you've had a good week.

Hi Crystal Cave,
No. I won't delete it. Anyone who reads these threads can see that he could very well say something, come here and say something ... but he has chosen not to.

He hasn't said much any place.

He allowed people to be banned and not be able to defend themselves.

So I think it's an apropos joke.

Extremely well written response and statement.

Thank you.

Linda

He's Not That Into You : Popular Book Title
 

What is disgusting is that he didn't post and hasn't cared to explain. Don't blame us that he isn't here or at Brain Talk...

To me, the popular book title describes it perfectly,

He's Just Not that Into You

:D

haha omg I got the j/k :)

here he is http://mystatus.skype.com/bigclassic/DangerJohn3

unless gmail is broke, it's real easy to hit the reply button.

;)

(((((((((Dorry)))))))))))

he doesn
 

Consider This - I have to admit you make an excellent point here. There is no such thing as John not being here. He could read this from almost anywhere in the world.


If you are losing a friend, as ZombieSlayer may feel, then this has to be hard. But I've been posting to braintalk since 1998 - my entire life has changed from contacts made here.......and guess what......I'm over it!

This place is just fine with me. If John ever decides to explain himself, I'm sure he will be forgiven. In the meantime, I enjoy the freedom of this one. John screwed up, we all do, but if he doesn't owe us anything that works both ways.
two cents,
paula

oops, there's a parkinsonian for ya, hit enter before finished.....anybody want to guess what i might have called this? lol

Yes, I see the humor now. I didn't before so I took your question in the literal sense. Thank you.

ZS made some very good points, as did many others..As Paula mentioned lack of communication leads to speculation..I personally have been patient, and more that willing to give John Lester the benefit of the doubt because of his reputation, and that even though there has been a lack of communication I still find it difficult to believe that JL just abandoned us, and doesnt care..I have to admitt that the speculation does tend to have its moments..but it is apparent that something is wrong here, but just what is that something?..Is very unlike John not to keep us updated and especially for this length of time..I cant imagine a man of his conviction and dedication just walking away like it never happened

((((((((((Paula)))))))))

Thanks, a lot.

I had a friend who was sooo hurt by being banned, primarily because she just loved JL. (And she didn't understand what she had done to cause it) So I can imagine how ZS feels.

Your post made me get tears in my eyes.

Crystal, you are a true sweetheart.

((((((((((((The Crystal Cave))))))))))))

hey zombieslayer
 

This is not an attempt to start a political discussion!

If you want a chuckle at my expense, just compare my first attempt to have a civil political discussion. It looks like this ho ho:

http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthread.php?t=460

and the real one:

http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthread.php?t=376


I mean, which one says I'm oK you're ok ?.........hahaha

paula

Please don't think I am out to get you...but what the flying hell does this have to do with anything??? Really...I just don't see why this was posted here.

Curious you have a cute looking grandpuppy :D

Dorry....:p

Everyone else

I'm just genuinely confused at Mr. Lesters actions in the last half dozen months or so. I can see why people are mad and hurt. I'm starting to get a little mad myself.

I'm also getting ****** off about the pure speculation, outright bullcrap, and obvious libel that is being spouted as pure truth.

I'm just sick and tired of people posting crap without any proof.

Typically I hold my tongue when I see stuff on the net that is just pure crap. However this time I don't feel like doing so. Somebody has to step up and correct all of the mis-information that is being posted.

It's time to stop the bs and start supporting those that need it.

I think, honestly, that while people could and should vent their frustrations about the situation and lack of communication, we should try and do this once and get it out of our systems. And then move on and not make any more assumptions about his or anyone else's behavior.

Really, there's nothing more to do about the situation for now. If he refuses to update anyone on the situation, that's his perogative. We just have to accept it and move on.

John

Now see, the way Doc says "refuses" make it sound volitional and biased. If we don't know the whole story, we don't know why John doesn't explain and we don't know if he can help it. By saying refuses like that, it makes it sound as though John doesn't care and I really don't believe that, nor do I know it to be true and neither does anyone else!

Like you, ZS, I am confused and upset. But I don't want to think badly of someone who has behaved so well and so generously for so many years. Seems to me the least he should deserve is a couple of months of trust.

Maybe that's just me though. Evidently, a lot of people don't have very much faith in others.

Lisa

ZombieSlayer
 

ZombieSlayer,

It appears that your thread has been hijacked so I'm posting a new thread to address this:

[QUOTE=ZombieSlayer;6378]//Rant on to all folks that fit it....

I'm tired of people making assumptions and jumping to conclusions and trying to mislead people about Mr. Lester and BrainTalk. Some of the stuff said here at Braintalk2 could be construed as libel.

None of you (nor I for that matter) have any proof of any wrong doing, with the exception of his lack of communication and participation. I find this (lack of communication) very disturbing, highly offensive, quite rude, and definately not at all like the Mr. Lester I thought I knew.

So how about you find (and post) some facts before making statements that may or may not be true? Or at the very least take the easy way out and say it's your opinion. That way people won't think what you say is fact.

//Rant off

I want to THANK YOU for posting this. You are right.

Here are a couple of facts:

John Lester has given more than a decade of his personal time to BrainTalk. It isn't his job and he doesn't get paid for it. BrainTalk is a labor of love. That love is for us. Those who need a place to share experiences and gain wisdom from others.

There was a time, years ago, when BrainTalk wen't down and the fix was $10,000. JL paid for that fix out of his pocket. His personal income. Just as the inception of BrainTalk, the hardware, software, etc. was out of his pocket.

JL has a job. He needs a job to support himself. If he doesn't have a job and has to live in the street, there will never be a BrainTalk. And from the information provided by one of the posters here at BT2, it is obvious that there has been a major meltdown with the hacking at that job. So he is BUSY. It is apparent to me, and others, that he is trying to resolve the issues at his job AND resolve the issues at BrainTalk.

Has anyone ever had that "snowball effect" take place in their life? I have. Just recently. My father died of cancer and 2 months later my FIL had to be placed in a nursing facility b/c I could no longer care for his needs. Then six months later my mother was hospitalized and dx'd with ARDS. Two weeks later my FIL passed away and 2 weeks after that my husband coded twice in ER and was sent to another hospital for heart surgery. One month later I was told my breast cancer metasticized. And all this while caring for several specialneeds foster children whose dx's ranged from cerebral palsy to schizophrenia.

Yes, I know the snowball effect. It has happened to me.

And I think it just might be happening to John Lester.

He travels out of town on business. When he gets back he finds BrainTalk has crashed. It is big. It requires new hardware and software AGAIN. Much to do to get it up and running.... in his spare time while holding down a job. And then, the icing on cake, a big meltdown on the job. And it is his baby so he has much to do to fix it.

And we don't know what's going on in his personal life. Everyone just assumes he doesn't have a life outside BrainTalk.

JL is human. A loving, caring, giving human. He has provided much to us. The least we can do is allow him the time he needs to resolve all the issues in his life.

I can wait as long as JL needs to get BrainTalk back online. He has been there for me for a decade. I can be there for him for the few months it takes, even if it takes more than a few months.


And by the way, while people are posting their frustrations they have violated the TOS of this very forum (BT2).

"By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.

This is exactly why I haven't posted here before today. And your post, ZombieSlayer, is the only reason I registered and posted.

Again, THANK YOU for being you and for supporting JL.

Flowergirl