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The Control of Information

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By Dr. John L. Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

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Whether people realize it or not, there is a battle currently taking place on planet earth and it’s been in play for a heck of a long time. The battle is over the control of information. The people, in the world, that have access to accurate information have a distinct advantage over those individuals not privy to the essential facts.

The most powerful corporations in the world have always had a firm grip on controlling and accessing the regular flow of important information. The world’s media companies are all carefully controlled and monitored by government agencies. In addition, media ownership, at the highest levels, is reserved for a select few. Information that is released to the public is always sanitized by the authorities first.

It’s a well known fact that many wars have been fought by different countries over the control of information. It’s also a well known fact that the world’s governments regularly influence their citizens through the dissemination of information, disinformation and misinformation.

Information is so vitally important to our own government that special agencies were created to keep track of every piece of data ever collected. In many situations information is so secret; it’s prohibited from ever being disclosed to the public under national security laws. I think you get the point; information is very important.

There are more people, than ever before, looking for answers to important questions that could drastically affect their lives. Information that could help humanity achieve better health, true spiritual ascension, financial freedom, a truer understanding about our existence on the planet, and a much better understanding about what’s really happening in other venues off world is currently available. But it’s only available to a select few. Everyone else is being fed an attenuated version of reality.

Our limited perceptions of reality are very far removed from what is truly taking place in the world and throughout the universe. Until society gets a clue and begins to understand that what we are being fed, concerning most current events, is inaccurate and misleading, we will continue to struggle in our attempts to comprehend the true nature of reality. Hopefully this trend will begin to change in the upcoming year. At least I hope so.

911: Eleven Years Later There Are Still Plenty of Unanswered Questions

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By Dr. John Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

When we take the time to revisit some of the truly horrific moments in history that have traumatized  the collective psyche of Americans, (Oklahoma City, Columbine, WACO, Pearl Harbor, 9-11) many of us are not emotionally affected because we only remember the headlines that were attached to those significant dates. What we have lost and continue to lose, as the years pass us by, are the memories of so many innocent, human beings (the real story content) that unfortunately lost their lives simply because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The mainstream media companies continue, eleven years later, to keep the horrific memories of 9-11 fresh in our minds by making available, through television, movies and magazines, the accounts and pictures that were permanently recorded that September morning in New York City. But the version of the story that’s repeatedly drummed into our heads, ad nauseam, is the government’s official account of the story that was authored by the 9-11 Commission. They would later publish, in a very lengthy book, their official findings so that all Americans could learn how Islamic terrorists cleverly hijacked commercial airplanes and later crashed those airliners into the World Trade Center Towers and U.S. Pentagon.

Eleven years later, there are more people than ever before questioning the government’s official version of 9-11. According to quite a few independent polls, which have been conducted by Internet and mainstream news sources, most people believe in various alternative (conspiracy) theories regarding September 11, instead of the government’s published account.

In all fairness to the conspiracy theorists, there are numerous unanswered questions about the 9-11 Commission’s official report. Some of those outstanding questions have to do with the alleged hijackers; the commercial airliners; the inability of our military to respond to those hijackings in a timely manner; the resemblance of a controlled demolition explosion twice in each of the World Trade Center buildings; the resemblance of a third controlled demolition explosion hours later in WTC Building number 7 which had not been struck by an airliner; the absence of any significant airplane parts at the Pentagon after the supposed crash; the lack of any airplane remnants or debris in the Pennsylvania countryside where another commercial airliner supposedly crashed; and the absence of the four black boxes that contained the flight recorders (the same kinds routinely found in virtually every other commercial airline accident in the history of aviation) for the hijacked planes.

Many years ago, I enjoyed watching the television crime series, ‘Columbo’. Detective Columbo (the late Peter Falk) was meticulous with his police work. He could solve any crime in sixty minutes. He’d methodically collect various pieces of evidence that seemed to the audience, insignificant. As the show progressed, Columbo would reconstruct the entire crime scene and make it seem like he’d been present during the exact time the murder had taken place.

Columbo always had, for the primary murder suspect, just one last question before he made his way out of the person’s home. That was his signature trademark and the audience loved this part of the disheveled looking detective’s personality. He was a wreck in most areas of his life. But Columbo could reconstruct a crime scene and solve a murder like no one else.

It’s unfortunate that the real perpetrators of 9-11 didn’t have to deal with a detective like Columbo. He would have never been satisfied with the government’s official version of what transpired that sad day. I’d bet he would have at least a few last questions for a number of people that were in prominent government positions at the time of this event.

Most investigative journalists (what a joke) have rarely bothered to ask tough questions about 9-11. In the few isolated instances where certain reporters have asked pointed questions, that have challenged the authenticity of the government’s official story, the questions have been ignored and the persons asking such questions have had their careers threatened.

As we approach the eleventh anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are, once again, being bombarded by news stories, movies and magazine articles that remind us how evil, Islamic terrorists committed a horrible crime against the citizens of the United States. Just like every other year since this tragic event occurred, we are being forced to watch, listen and read the government’s official accounts of what supposedly happened on that horrible day. And just like every other year, the real important questions that still need to be answered, that could absolutely help give some real insight as to what might have happened that morning, will be ignored by the mainstream media corporations.

After more than a decade of being exposed to countless stories about 911, I’ve finally had my fill of the official story. I’m not watching the ‘prop-agenda’ this year. Instead, I’m going to slide in a DVD and watch my favorite detective, ‘Columbo’, work his magic. At least in that television series, the bad guys received the credit for the crimes they committed and had to pay the ultimate price.

Belief Systems: What Do We Really Know About Them?

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By Dr. John L. Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

Quite a few of the topics I have written about are sensitive subjects in the minds of most people. As human beings, we have varying degrees of emotional attachment to the individual components that make up the very fabric of our reality. The subject of religion is one such subject, within that fabric, many people feel strongly about.

It has been written by some scholars that there are so many formalized religions throughout the world that it is difficult to count them. Each one of these “belief systems” is accepted by its members as a legitimate explanation about spiritual reality. In more simplistic terminology, it could be written that each religion believes it is correct and that all of the others are wrong.

Most of us have very minimal knowledge about the belief systems we have embraced or accepted to be reality. We have learned most of what we do know about a particular belief system from our parents or because a priest/preacher/rabbi has demanded that we do so.

Once we have accepted certain belief systems and welcomed them into our lives, it is absolutely natural for the concepts to be reinforced by the members of our immediate community. The belief systems eventually become attached to our core beliefs and from that point forward, we tend to aggressively defend such concepts until the very day we leave this planet.

Our emotional attachments to various belief systems are quite strong. We are often more than willing to fight to the death to defend such concepts. (Almost all the wars that have taken place in the world have had something to do with religious beliefs.)

A Double Standard Exists

I have always found it interesting to note the reactions people have when confronted with different types of information. On numerous occasions I have witnessed students, professionals and others routinely demanding a certain level of proof when assessing comments or claims being made. These individuals apparently needed the information they received to be scrutinized for a high degree of accuracy. Obviously, these folks wanted to make sure that the “claims” in question were “the real deal.” Their rationale for having everything validated in such a careful manner was to satisfy personal or professional standards.

The same individuals, in other scenarios, would suddenly and without warning dismiss their high standards when assessing equally important information that impacted their lives. I found this to be especially true when the information in question was attached to a specific belief system. It has always fascinated me to watch this process unfold. An important, ancient event that allegedly took place several thousand years ago was not being scrutinized by the same people using the same set of standards because they chose to accept the ancient information via blind faith. Meanwhile, the present day claim was being assessed by them using a completely different set of standards.

I can guarantee that if I went on top of a mountain and claimed I had heard the words of a divine angel and I then reported my experience to the members of the media, I would most certainly be laughed at and not taken seriously. Another person making the same claim several thousand years earlier, with no one around to witness the miracle, is regularly given a free pass and their story/information is believed to be genuine by most people in society. Why the double standard and why do so many of us believe that miracles only occurred during ancient times?

A few years ago, one of my students asked me if I believed that life existed outside the confines of our Earth. I replied to the student in the affirmative and gave the reasons for my beliefs. The student, who was very religious, explained to me that most of the people that had written about such experiences had allegedly established communications with the supposed extraterrestrials through a medium known as channeling. The student wanted to know why I believed in something that was so ridiculous. I proceeded to answer his question by asking the young man another question that I already knew the answer to. I asked him if he went to church on a regular basis and he replied that he did. I also asked him if he prayed in church and at home. Once again he replied yes. I then asked the student if he thought someone or something was listening to his prayers and if he expected the prayers to be answered. The student paused for a moment and then responded with an affirmative nod. I took that opportunity to explain to the individual that he was sending and receiving channeled information every single time he said a prayer and perceived that he received an answer. I then asked the student if he thought the act of praying was ridiculous. The young man declined to answer me.

It might be too painful for many of us to question certain things that we have embraced in our lives and decided a long time ago were valid or not. This is human nature – the way we are wired! I think it is important that every person makes an effort to assess all information fairly, using the same set of standards regardless of whether the data is current or thousands of years old. By doing so, we will have a much better chance of attaining a truer understanding of where we have come from, where we are, and where we might be headed as a civilization. What do you think?

And the Next President of the United States will be….Mr. Robama Obamney

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By Dr. John L. Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

The 2012 presidential election is fast approaching and everyone seems to be getting excited about the big day. Unfortunately, there’s not anything to really get excited about because both candidates are essentially the same bad choice for America.

The election process is an illusory exercise at best designed to convince American citizens that they have a choice in selecting their commander-in-chief. And that they do. They have a choice to pick one of two men that will, for the most part, be a puppet manager for the ruling elitists that really run the world.

Just as Michael Moore put out his documentary film (“Fahrenheit 911”) in 2004 that showcased the shortcomings of President George Bush, Dinesh D’Souza has created a movie, “Obama’s America: 2016” that critically examines the leadership style and philosophy of the current president, Barack Obama. Both Moore and D’Souza’s creative works have a similar agenda in that they attempt to convince an American public that there is something suspect about the current president of the day. This strategy is regularly employed, financed, and widely promoted by the corporate media that is owned and operated by the global elitists.

The ultimate goal of the ruling elite is to install a puppet (U.S. President) that will continue to serve their wants and needs. And make no mistake about it, the next president, like the ones prior, will not serve the needs of American citizens. He will serve the puppet masters behind the scenes.

The next president of the United States will support the Federal Reserve System that is currently in place along with the current banking practices attached to Wall Street. As long as that philosophy remains in place, the elite are quite content.

Sure, there are subtle differences between the latest two political “opposames”.  And depending on your political affiliation, these differences might be important enough to you to cast a vote in one direction or another. But in the grand scheme of things, subtle differences such as these are not at all important to the real controllers of the global construct.

This November, once again, Americans will pull voting levers while incorrectly believing that they have a real choice. What they will have is an opportunity to pick a president that is completely acceptable to the real power structure that influences world events.

And the winner of the 2012 presidential election will be – Mr. Robama Obamney!

When Conventional Answers Fail to Explain the World…Read David Icke!

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By Dr. John Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

We live in a complex and dynamic world filled with never ending streams of news headlines that, more often than not, depict negative events. Grab any newspaper or watch the television newscast of your choice and you will be hard-pressed to find a story that makes you feel good about the state of the world or even your immediate community. On top of this, we usually catch up with these negative news reports as soon as we get up in the morning or right before we go to sleep, late at night. The information streams, supplied by national media companies, are considered very important by most Americans. They are the fundamental tools we rely on to help form our reality construct.

With so many stories simultaneously taking place locally, domestically, and internationally, it’s often difficult to keep track of everything going on in our crazy world. I use the word ‘crazy’ because that’s the way things often appear when we attempt to make sense out of all the negativity transpiring on our planet.

Although most people are aware of the fact that mainstream news feeds have a repetitive theme of doom and gloom, it’s hard for many of us to understand that a lot of what’s taking place is, completely, connected.

Years ago, when I attempted to follow certain events transpiring in the world, through the eyes of our national media, I’d often develop a headache from all the confusion and mayhem. It’s no different today. A war in Afghanistan; tensions between Israel and Palestine; global, economic systems in sudden collapse; totally bizarre weather patterns; nuclear disasters; the list of confusing stories is never-ending.

Everyday we are alive, worse news than the previous 24 hours has usually occurred.  The conventional, scripted answers about world events, offered by our ‘trusted’ media sources, seem to fall drastically short in their attempts to explain what’s really taking place on any given day.

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon the website of British author, David Icke, who had authored some lengthy books about the global manipulation of the world by certain, elite families. When I first began reading Icke, I thought he was really out of touch with reality. His explanations about the world were literally (and I’m not kidding) out of this world.

The one thing I noticed, almost immediately, about David Icke was his superior research skills. I remember thinking that he, quite possibly, was the best researcher I’d ever encountered. Another thing I noticed about Icke was that he was a very gifted communicator. Whether it was the writings in his books or various presentations he created on radio and video, this man could take very complex concepts and make them easy to understand.

For those readers that aren’t familiar with this author, please take the time to visit his website at www.davidicke.com where you will find many free articles and videos that will get you up to speed on the world according to Icke.

Many years ago, I began to read David Icke’s books. They were fascinating texts that instantly made sense out of what I previously perceived to be nonsense. His theories and accompanying research backed up his unorthodox views and helped me to “connect the dots” so that I could finally understand how the world really worked.

In a nutshell, and I am being extremely brief with my synopsis of this individual’s incredible work, Icke explains how a group of very advanced inter-dimensional, reptilian extraterrestrials came to earth, a very long time ago, and genetically engineered modern human beings from primitive creatures that were roaming the planet at that particular time. The prime motivation for these genetic alterations, by the alien race, was to create a durable slave being that could be relied upon to perform mining chores and other work details. The reptilians were interested in certain resources the earth offered and the new human species was designed, specifically, to help them accomplish their campaign of securing these assets.

Icke’s research explained how the reptilians created another genetic variation of human beings that were very similar to their own DNA signature. Although these beings looked human, they were more easily controlled by the reptilians, because of their genetics, than regular humans. Their ability to be controlled so easily by the reptilian aliens was the primary reason they were intentionally inserted into the human culture as world leaders. In time, these beings became the people let loose to rule the masses. They became the elite family bloodlines – royalty.

According to Icke, the ruling bloodlines are still in control on earth and are, themselves, being controlled and manipulated by the reptilian, alien masters. The people we elect into office, at the highest levels of government, according to Icke’s research, are the direct descendants of aristocratic (alien) bloodlines and continue to be manipulated by the reptilian aliens.

Coming from our current, manufactured perspective of reality, most people would probably dismiss Icke as a raving lunatic. His theories might seem more like bad, science fiction than an explanation about what’s happening in the modern world. But if you can be open-minded enough to get over the drastic shock that will certainly challenge your core beliefs, you will begin to appreciate just how brilliant David Icke really is.

What I have come to finally understand, after sifting through years of reading materials that Icke and other researchers have compiled, is that the traditional stories we have been fed to believe about our world, through so-called official, respected sources, are more far-fetched than anything David Icke has ever uncovered about reptilian aliens. When we take a close look at what we think we know about our world and the various beliefs we harbor, we will discover that the history we’ve been taught is, pretty much, a giant leap of faith. We’re clinging as a society to various religious stories and supposed scientific explanations that, quite frankly, have more holes in them than Swiss cheese.

So, if you’re really interested in learning about a different perspective of reality that makes sense out of everything taking place in the world…read David Icke.

Navigating Your Way Around NoFakeNews.net

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By Dr. John L. Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

I would like for every guest, visiting this website, to have a great experience accessing important news and links. NoFakeNews.net contains a tremendous amount of information and the content continues to grow each day. If you are a new visitor, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by everything here.

The first thing new visitors should do is become acquainted with how the website operates. To begin with, NoFakeNews.net regularly updates its content and news links, periodically, throughout the week. This is done so visitors can always access the latest alternative news stories taking place throughout the world. You should be sure to signup as a NoFakeNews.net subscriber so that you will be notified via e-mail every time a new article is published. In addition, bookmark the site’s address and check back frequently as there’s always something important developing somewhere. If it’s taking place, chances are pretty good you’ll find it here.

Once you land on the welcome page, you’ll notice the website is divided into a number of different categories. Specific categories are listed on the right side of each webpage. Simply click on a desired category to be redirected to that particular section of NoFakeNews.net. Each category provides editorial commentary and links associated with a specific topic.

Due to the requests of many international site visitors, I have recently installed a translation program that can also be found on the right side of each web page. Click on the language you prefer and the entire website, and its links, will be immediately translated to that language.

On the website’s home page you will always find the most recently published, original articles for the current month.  To access articles from previous months, simply click the desired link on the right side of the menu and scroll down the page to select an article. In addition, you can always type a “keyword” into the site’s search database to look for articles that have been authored about a certain topic. Please take the time to read all articles and be sure to leave us your comments. Keep comments clean and be respectful to others regardless of your position on a particular topic. Distasteful and vulgar posts will not be published and your address will be blocked from posting additional content!

“Breaking Real News,” also found on the right side of each page, is derived from a large variety of alternative media sources. I feel confident that the alternative news sources I have selected consistently deliver accurate articles that provide our readers with an opportunity to gain a truer understanding of what’s really taking place throughout the world.

I take great pride in providing this free service. Since February, 2012, NoFakeNews.net has been providing readers from the United States and around the world with a wide variety of interesting and informative, original content. My intent is to continue operating the electronic magazine for as long as it remains possible to do so.

There are no advertisements on NoFakeNews.net. This is not an oversight on my part or due to a lack of interest from prospective companies. This is intentional! You will not find any original articles here that were written to influence readers to purchase products/services. I would never write or publish articles in an attempt to please advertisers and do not have to worry about doing so because I have zero ads on the entire website.

I hope this information will be helpful in making your visit to NoFakeNews.net less confusing and more productive. There are many things occurring in our fast paced world and it’s extremely important to keep a close eye on world news.

I believe very serious situations are currently taking place on our planet, and more will likely be taking place very soon. Because of this fact, the world’s traditional media sources are spewing out even more disinformation than usual. Within those mainstream stories are both valid information and blatant disinformation. By accessing this website, I hope to offer readers a tool that can help them separate truth from fiction.

Finally, thank you for visiting NoFakeNews.net and please encourage your family members and friends to do the same. The world will become a much better place to live in when more people become enlightened and truly aware of global happenings.

“I’m Not One for Conspiracy Theories, but…”

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By Dr. John L. Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

It’s official! Conspiracies really do occur. I have proof that our national media companies have conspired to employ plenty of brainless morons. And on top of not having an adequate number of brain cells, many of these employees lack journalistic integrity.

This past week I must have listened to ten different sports talk radio show hosts state repeatedly for the record, “I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but…” It was as if these brain-dead talk show jockeys had to constantly remind their audiences that they lacked the capabilities to think for themselves.

“Not buying into conspiracy theories” was the major topic of discussion for various talk radio show hosts this past week due to the NBA draft lottery which, recently, handed out a first round pick to its New Orleans franchise.

If you’re not a follower of the game of hoops, you probably didn’t know that the New Orleans Hornets was one of the NBA’s worst teams (based on wins and losses) and was also previously owned by the league.

The NBA recently convinced Tom Benson, the owner of the NFL franchise, New Orleans Saints, to purchase one of basketball’s most troubled franchises. After Benson purchased the Hornets, the NBA held its annual lottery that awards draft picks to the basketball teams with the league’s worst winning percentages. After the lottery was held, the New Orleans team was awarded the first pick in the upcoming draft. Because Benson purchased the Hornets directly from the NBA, the appearance of an impropriety was placed on the table of public perception and certain fans, through the use of social media tools, cried conspiracy.

First of all let me write that there are plenty of real conspiracies taking place in this damn country. Why are people wasting their time worrying about hypothetical wrongdoings in the NBA? I have no idea if the NBA conspired to fix its annual lottery draft, and I couldn’t care less.

Second, let me write that the real conspiracies, which have occurred and deserve the complete attention of our entire nation, are routinely swept under the table and dismissed by the masses. It’s truly a pathetic situation when people are more concerned about a conspiracy theory attached to the NBA draft than some of the legitimate conspiracies committed by our national space agency. There is extensive evidence available that’s been provided by whistle-blowers and other credible sources proving NASA has lied to us about almost every program it has been involved with since its inception. This agency has obviously conspired to create cover-ups concerning many historic space happenings. Despite the existence of proof, no one seriously challenges NASA’s official photographic records or its claims that are currently in the public domain.

I cannot comprehend the collective stupidity of numerous sports announcers that made comments this week to national audiences about not believing in conspiracy theories? These individuals have completely ignored the facts that prove thousands of conspiracies occur around the world on a yearly basis. These producers of hot air refuse to even look at the evidence associated with a given conspiratorial claim. They’ve decided for everyone in society that it’s not possible for conspiracies to exist. According to these corporate mouthpieces, it’s beyond the realm of possibility for human beings to conspire against one another, and it’s beyond the realm of possibility that corporate and government officials would ever conspire against the public at large. Really? Are you that stupid that you actually believe the propaganda you are regularly delivering to the public?

It’s time for our national media spokespersons to get some real integrity. Stop conspiring to influence listeners into believing corporate lies!

Mars: Lies, Damned Lies, and More Damned Lies!

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By Dr. John Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

I admit that I am guilty as charged! I have an unusual fascination with the Red planet. Mars has piqued my curiosity for a very long time. As a young person, back in the 70’s, I can remember waiting, patiently, for the first Viking Lander to send back its initial set of photographs from the Martian surface. At the time, I thought the event was one of the coolest things that could ever happen. Here I was, a young boy glued to the idiot box, watching the landscape of a distant and foreign world appear before my eyes on live television. Could it have gotten any better than that?

As it turns out, the answer to that question was a resounding…YES!

Who would have guessed that the government agencies taking the pictures of an alien world would intentionally leave out the best parts – the aliens and their infrastructure? What a bummer. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy looking at thousands of rocks littered across the Martian terrain, and the artificially filtered, red sky that was disingenuously placed in many of the photos to sell the lie that there was no water present on the planet. That stuff was all very exciting, but it could have been a much better educational experience if just a bit more transparency would have been applied to the space expeditions in question.

The lies just keep coming, year after year, about how the Martian surface is a rocky, barren world devoid of any forms of life. Our space agency continues to take thousands of photos, financed by taxpayers’ dollars, and routinely airbrushes the images so that the buildings, waterways, and civilization evidence is nowhere to be seen.

Watching the mainstream news agencies continue to support this ongoing fraud gets a bit nauseating after awhile. The corporately owned news giants that supposedly keep us informed of world events are either the largest enablers in existence or they are completely controlled by the powers that be. I, personally, vote for option number two.

I guess covering up the fact that Mars is inhabited by intelligent beings is considered “good science.” The reason I write this is because anytime someone posts credible evidence demonstrating the contrary, it’s quickly labeled by the mainstream, scientific community as “bad science.” It’s hard for me to imagine that reporting the truth about Mars, and revealing the fact that  incoming photos from our space agency’s deep space probes are being obfuscated, would be considered “bad science.” But apparently this is the case.

While the mainstream, scientific community, through the process known as “good science,” continues to promote the myth that they are still searching for microbial life on the red planet, I’ll be looking at this amazing photograph of a custom built home that was photographed on the Martian landscape by Mars Global Surveyor. I just think “bad science” is so much more interesting.

A Sad Example of How Human Beings Often Police One Another

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By Dr. John Reizer

Editor at NoFakeNews.net

Recently, I had the, unfortunate, opportunity to post comments on one of the many message boards (threads) of a very well known company; a company that sells books and other products. The lesson I learned from my visit to this forum was that the company has a strict policy in place that prohibits self-promotion of any creative works within the various threads found on its website.

When I entered the forum, I did so to learn more about the company’s policy of no self-promotion because I didn’t want to inadvertently break any house rules. As many of you know, I’ve been writing, publishing, and selling books for over a decade. I’d been warned, by several writers, that a small group of posters within the company’s forums routinely policed the message boards and that these individuals would expeditiously report offenders of different policies to the parent company in an effort to get self-promotional comments deleted. I was skeptical about such claims and seriously doubted that people, not employed by the company, were trolling around the threads, on the watch for violators. Boy was I wrong about that one!

Before I entered my first post, I took the time to review prior postings on various threads. One such thread I visited had a theme that addressed posters that were slipping in the fact that they were authors in their comments. The title struck me as being quite odd. When I entered the different chats and began reading comments, it became clear to me that the same names were repeatedly showing up on various threads. These individuals were posting very harsh statements about other posters that had casually mentioned, somewhere in a comment, that they were an author, or something else the group perceived to be a violation of the company’s terms of service rules.

Before I write another word let me first explain that I believe said company has a right to do whatever it wants. If it doesn’t want posters creating comments of a self-promotional nature, I can live with that. I will respect the company’s wishes, and obey the house rules like anyone else. Let me now continue.

When I began posting comments that questioned the need to have a self-imposed police force on the message boards that wasn’t employed by said company, I was swiftly inundated by a barrage of posts that offered explanations about why the group was needed and fully supported by the company. Some of the posts contained polite explanations and others had a much more aggressive flavor to them. When I pushed the issue a bit further and interjected my opinion that the group’s policing activities were not something that people not employed by the company should be taking part in, I received another barrage of posts that told me, in not so very polite terms, what I could do with my opinions.

As our exchange of comments continued throughout the day and into the night, I was insulted, threatened to be placed on a blacklist that would adversely affect my creative works both now and in the future, and I was also threatened by one poster who explained that he was going to report me to the company for being abusive which could, ultimately, lead to my permanent removal from the company’s website. “OUCH.” Keep in mind that I never posted a self-promotional comment on the thread. I was merely questioning why this group, not employed by the company, was acting as a self-imposed police force.

I was very upset after my visit to this forum and it bothered me to know that this type of activity was taking place. I don’t know if what is currently taking place on the company’s threads is supported or endorsed by the parent company. I seriously doubt that it is.

It’s one thing for a company to have a policy that creates a level playing field for all consumers and creative artists. It’s quite another situation when a group of people, not employed by the company, take it upon themselves to police other customers and determine, through their own definitions, what constitutes a breach of the company’s terms of service rules. On top of that, the group, in question, seems to repeatedly bully fellow creative artists by loosely throwing out threats in the form of mean-spirited posts to any individuals that attempt to question the group’s self-imposed authority. Then they post follow-up messages that congratulate one another on how they were able to intimidate a particular customer/author. From perusing many posts, I’ve come to the conclusion that quite a few of the members enjoy making fun of their colleagues.

Some of the comments I received were down right nasty and I found myself, after awhile, in an all out posting war with a lot of different individuals. I tried my best to keep a cool, professional approach when posting my replies. It was difficult to adapt to such a hostile environment. For the most part, I behaved politely considering the circumstances. I was pretty shocked by the sheer numbers of people participating on the threads.

You might ask why I cared so much about a forum on a retailer’s website. Why didn’t I walk away?  The reason I am writing this article is because I believe such behavior is unacceptable and shouldn’t be tolerated by the parent company or its customers. Those customers include creative artists that have published within the company. Said company, currently, has a policy and solid safeguards in place that adequately prevent self-promotional comments from being posted. I believe that said company, and only said company, should detect and determine if a particular post should be removed because a guy or gal slips in the fact they’re an author without listing the name of a publication or a product link. The company even has a convenient link button, on every page, so customers can help point out, to the parent company, abusive comments posted on the website.

New writers often have a minimal degree of confidence to begin with. Any serious writer will tell you that the book writing business is a challenging industry. Why should a group of people, that don’t work for a company, have a regular platform to intimidate and threaten other customers?

On two separate occasions I received cordial responses from forum members that explained the thread was made up of fun loving people that were also authors and they weren’t out to harm anyone. To their credit, they probably do view themselves as being benevolent and not a collective entity that would be injurious to others. The group in question, obviously, believes that they are doing no harm.

I did not encounter harmless behavior. I was most definitely offended by the comments and threats I received. A day after I had made my final post on the thread, the hornet’s nest was still buzzing and they were still insulting me through distasteful and derogatory posts. Keep in mind that these are supposed to be grownups and professional authors.

Very often we see this type of a situation happen in society. People become drunk with power, or in this case the illusory perception of power. Once a group of people have governing power it often seems as if they become corrupted and proceed to abuse the authority they were entrusted with. In this situation the individuals, in question, weren’t handed any governing authority. They imagined it out of thin air!

As a society, we observe similar behavior characteristics in many facets of life and especially within the construct of governments. But even on a much smaller scale, in a retail website featuring a chat room, it is plainly observed. And the people that are creating the abuse are quite oblivious to the damage they are doing to others.

Human beings like to police one another in many different ways. It’s important for readers to understand that there are many sheeple types all too willing to be policed and pushed around. I choose not to be one of them!