Hello b3tans.Thank you for your messages.Just to get things straight without gossip, lies, accusations or bullshit of anydescription.1.I was approached by several people who were experiencing nastybehaviour on /talk. I don’t know why they asked me, maybe it is becausewe are friends off the board or they felt that, as I am of senior years andhave a fair and level head on my shoulders, I could help or advise insome capacity, even though I have no authority on b3ta.2.I simply compiled the complaints and forwarded them on to a b3tamoderator.3.I have had not other involvement with any of the people nor havecontacted them by any form of correspondence despite some claims thathave been made.4.The reason I left b3ta is personal and nothing to do with the people whoapproached me, or the person they were having difficulties with.I had received an email from a hotmail account threatening to ‘hack mycomputer’ and ‘make my life a misery’. Now some of you are aware that Ioccasionally log onto a discussion forum, set up for ex-military persons who haveserious issues to deal with, usually due to active service or when they leave andneed help to adjust. This forum is hosted by an approved government agencyand I forwarded the email to the webmaster, who dealt with the problem. As athreat had been made, I was asked not to log on to b3ta, as it was obviouslysomeone had a grudge against me, and that even stupid threats by stupid peopleon a talk board have to be taken seriously for obvious reasons.Now whether the email I received was by the person who was upsetting the guyswho contacted me, or whether it was by someone stirring the shit I don’t know. Ican’t say I care really now either. My involvement with this stopped when Iforwarded the complaints to the b3ta moderator. I contacted him shortly after tosay that I had been asked to cancel my involvement with the site until further notice, and to check if the threats were serious, to check the sender’s IP and totake action if necessary. No further action was taken by the host of the forum.I have now resigned my post on the forum for other reasons, and I can now postwhat I like, where I like. I would like to state once and for all thata. I was not banned by b3tab. I was not asked to leave by b3tac. I left b3ta due to a personal request the webmaster on the discussion forum.I hope you will now see, I never wanted to leave as I have met many truly greatpeople on this site, and I have always enjoyed being a member of this onlinecommunity. I hope this will put an end to the wild gossip, and people spreadingdown right lies about me and/or my involvement with, now 5 members of b3ta

who were suffering real abuse both on and off the talk board, were sufferingunnecessary anxiety due to the nature of the posts and communications and hadnot received a favourable response when they made a complaint, or that their complaint was not being taken seriously enough.I feel that anybody who is working on a public forum has a responsibility tomaintain a safe environment for their users and this had not been the case asreal grief was being suffered as a result.It is only due to my sense of fair play, that I became involved and passed on theinformation I had been given and no more.I feel the whole affair has left me uncomfortable posting on /talk anymore, whichis a great shame, as I felt a part of the online community and enjoyed hostingparties with Gill for many of the members to get together and enjoy a funweekend.I received yet another email, from another hotmail account, which stated thatmany of my so called friends were glad to see me leave, and that ‘at a recentparty’, it was suggested that we try to ‘buy friends’, by throwing parties and it isthe ‘free booze’, which attracts them, not ‘a bunch of geriatrics who will be deadsoon and would feel more at home on a SAGA site’. As for my future on b3ta, I feel that my very presence is seen with contempt bysomeone with a real grievance towards me and as a result I feel uncomfortableposting on /talk. Gill and I will probably continue holding bash parties for themany really wonderful people we have met as a result of our joining this brillianttalk board and, indeed, site in general. We will not be having a Christmas partythis year due to other commitments and not due to any problems which haveoccurred recently, contra to some suggestions.I would like to add that I have only kept in touch with one of the people whocontacted me, who I consider to be a friend, and I have asked that no further discussion on this subject be made from now on. Like I said, I have no authorityon b3ta, and although I understand all the rules and regs regarding publicforums, discussion boards and chat rooms due to my involvement on a privateforum I have now resigned from, I can not do anything more than pass on theinformation to those who

have the authority to deal with complaints. This I didand nothing more. I will take the opportunity to state that I do not or will notendorse any tit for tat actions that may occur in the future, and wish to take nofurther part in the situation. I was simply the messenger and took a professionaland unbiased view.I hope this clears things up once and for all and to those who enjoy bullying,please think…

There is no excuse. ‘Oh it’s just pixels on a board’, just doesn’t cut it when peopleare suffering any kind of anxiety when they come off the site by persons whohave taken a dislike to them or their board persona. I will also miss the two whohave decided to leave on a permanent basis, as they feel that not coming onb3ta anymore, is better than the abuse they were suffering. They, like myself,miss b3ta, but I can live without it if it means not having to put up with people likethis, who are simply bullies who haven’t the courage of disposition to actassertively in real life.I have met many b3tans whose board persona is so different to their real ones.We understand this and play along but when it becomes aggressive and this kindof behaviour takes place, then it is time to issue a complaint to the board’s hostsand if you still feel that it has not been taken seriously, take it to another level. If you continue to suffer offline as a result, then you should probably use the ignorefunction or stay away.Most of us understand the humour on b3ta and the dubious subjects which areused in ‘in jokes’ or memes. We use offensive language and discussions aboutdistasteful subjects which would not be appropriate anywhere other that b3ta/talkand this is generally understood. Anybody offended by these types of discussion,obviously don’t understand the humour the adult themes which mostly are verytongue in cheek yet use subjects such as disability and racism as a platform for humour. The sheer outrageousness of the subjects make it funny, but wouldcause real outrage should it be publicly broadcast on any other media. Usersregularly call each other very insulting names, yet it is understood and even theuse of the ‘your mum’ meme would look very insulting and out of place anywhereother than b3ta or similar sites.So in conclusion, if your posts are causing real upset off the board, then insteadof continuing to answer their threads and posts, simply put them on ignore asyour actions are causing real hurt, not pixel abuse.It is quite pathetic it has come to this whole sorry affair which has left me in avery awkward position, and it is because of this and this alone, that I decided toleave b3ta. I shall miss talking you all very much but now my involvement on thediscussion forum has now terminated, I shall visit the site to see how you areplaying for a while before I feel comfortable posting again, although I don’t think itwill be for sometime in the near future if at all.I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year,and hope to see you at various gatherings.Paul.(Captn Hood-Butter)