Greg, please ignore. There are some goings on behind the scenes and we are aware of the issue (we being Grant, myself and Jeff). My advice, and I'm sure the others will agree, is to ignore and don't stir the pot; and naturally to make use of the moderation function as you see fit.

Your source for handmade shadow puppets at
Puppets in Melbourne

I wholeheartedly agree with Greg and have read these dreadful posts with concern. I was of the belief that this web site was for the sharing of matters concerning the community theatre scene in Australia with a bent (due to its origins) towards Western Australia.
These postings have no relevance to the aims of our site and in my opinion moderating them down does not go far enough. Whilst I believe in free speech I also believe it is a right that should not be abused and would therefore most strongly urge the complete removal of these posts so that our site is cleansed and can revert to those issues for which it is intended.
I have been involved with varying levels of intensity with the community theatre scene for more than 50 years and have never felt quite so strongly about an issue as this!

I am assuming the offending posts have been completely removed...however it now puts the above postings out of context leaving most of us going "What the?"

A lot of blog sites at least leave a posting with the comment
"posting removed by moderator" to at least give a point of reference.

Without it, it makes this thread,at the very least, superfluous.

Thanks Na

While I'm sure Grant Watson is appreciative of the vocal support from Greg Ross and Maljo, he perhaps won't be thrilled to have his name linked to the scurrilous posts made about another Grant entirely.

Nor am I particularly enamored of Greg's suggestion that mud sticks - a truism for feeble minds that resist change in the face of obvious facts. ...and perhaps an adequate description of Google, as it indexed the messages in the few hours they were prominent and they are now recorded there for posterity. But I'll bear it in mind if I ever decide to sue the bastard.

With regard to the case reported in the local rag (thanks for the tip Greg), this appears to confirms the long standing policy of this site:

Comments posted in the various forums are wholly the responsibility
of the person posting the information.

• If you post libelous comments you may be sued.
• If you cause to be published material you are not authorised to
  publish (e.g. infringement of copyright)
  you may be subject to court action.
• If you cause to be published material that is illegal (e.g. child
  pornography), you may be prosecuted.

Note that there is no mention of whether or not the poster is identified when posting. Anonymous or no, you are wholly responsible for what you post. And as this recent case makes clear, in the event of legal action you can be sued.

Finally, Na's description is entirely accurate. I had the same problem as you, Robert. People were in touch with me directly expressing their outrage, but when I arrived at the site I couldn't see what the fuss was about. Thanks Kim, Jeff, MusicalMum and many others who promptly gave a deserving thumbs down to the rubbish. Where members vote a post down, it disappears from view. Where an individual makes particular complaint about a post, it is replaced with a notice in line with the practice described by Robert above.

Personally, too much time and effort wasted on this matter when I should be attempting a witty rebuttal to that cocky windbag crgwllms.

Cheers
Grant

--
Director, actor and administrator of this website

...stupid posts, clearly the product of an ignorant infantile brain. But is there any techno way to shut this person down? Maybe even place pre-approval mechanisms on anonymous postings for a day or 2? Idiots like this normally have a pretty short attention span. Would probably lose interest if none of the posts make it onto the site.

Cyber poison-penner hunted down and sued

Absit invidia (and DFT )

Jeff Watkins
SN Profile
Photographer
Community Spirit

How do these people enjoy this?
it's more then a bit sick.
It's not a Wolf, It's an Alaskan Malamute.

...that in the perpetrator/instigator's mind, they feel they are proving a point. They believe they have been defamed and/or harassed and that this little barrage is comparable to that which they perceive they have been subjected to.

Of course the problem with that is the flaws in that logic are so big you could drive a truck through them. Clearly zero capacity for logical reasoning. The unintended irony is great though!

It is also a way for the individual who feels disenfranchised to achieve a little perceived power over others. This individual does not even need to know the person he/she is defaming, the important issue is that a response is received. That is why the best way to deal with this sort of bullying is to simply moderate down without comment, it does not provide the satisfaction the troll needs and they soon wander off to other pastures.
Another form of cyber bullying is the individual who threatens legal action when there is really no libel or defamation involved. It is common knowledge that this site will always remove posts that attract that sort of attack and so people with inadequate ego's can achieve small wins (in their own eyes) by having posts removed.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au