Nicola Phillips, who used to work for celebrity publicist Max Clifford, has refused a payout offer, lawyer Mark Lewis said. "She ... needs a declaration of the truth," Lewis told CNN. www.cnn.com
I can connect JudyOkla and Danileo to the irregularities at forum.susan-boyle.com last July. It has been shown that Pickled Tink was aware of the activities shortly after they occurred and helped cover them up. The official Board report of Nov 14, 2010 makes the entire Board complicit in the deception.
The SBFII Board wrote and signed an official report which the Board members knew was not true. The report contains many inaccuracies and I will detail some of them here. If I do not address a particular point, that does not necessarily mean it is correct. It merely means that there were so many inaccuracies in the Board’s report that it became necessary to choose which to address. I will skip the generalizations in the first paragraph, describing the growth cycle of forums and the joint bid. (The text in red is the official SBFII Board Report.)
Report from the Board of SBFII
1, Context.
For the past 12 months the forum has experienced a degree of disquiet and periods of dissent as members argued and accusations were made over various issues. The reasons were for this were not clear but factions grew and the then site owner decided that a number of members should be banned. The staff attempted to ensure that membership was inclusive but various groups appeared to want the forum to move in a particular direction, and to exclude certain groups. The then owner and the staff wished in principle for the site to be open to all. All forums have their forming, storming, norming, and performing, phases and we seemed to have lengthy period in the storming phase as the forum evolved. We had moved into the norming phase when the then owner decided that he was selling the site and this destabilised and unsettled the situation. The staff were putting together a bid when they learned that members wished to buy the site and decided they did not wish to bid against the members. A discussion was held with Dyebat who was fronting the members bid and it was agreed that a joint bid would be made. This was felt to be a positive way forward as both groups had been concerned about raising sufficient funds, and also both groups had said they wanted to ensure that the forum and the site was disrupted as little as possible – something which all members were saying was what they wanted.
Throughput the time that the forum has been active the forum has been targeted by trolls, and one in particular. The staff have always been aware of this individual and when he, and others have appeared staff have dealt with them in accordance with the standard advice given on the matter. The uncertainty of the transfer of ownership however proved to be a fertile ground for trolls to sow the seeds of mistrust and doubt and within weeks these were growing thick and fast.
"The staff have always been aware of this individual..."
The troll in question provided the staff with a lot of false and misleading information. Was the staff really aware of from whom they were getting that information?
Things started off well and amicably between all, then Kalua was accused of rigging the auction, of being some one else, of being Paul Wood (previous owner) of lying about a family bereavement, and of being a SONY employee. The mistrust grew and Kalua understandably refused to work with individuals who were mistrusting him in this manner. He withdrew from his position and for the rest of the staff relations became to say the least strained. All parties were very committed to getting the process moving but the misinformation spread by the troll (see below) hindered the process and both sides agree that there was considerable mistrust on both sides.
Dyebat and lchris trusted Kalua from the start. But the staff did not trust Dyebat and lchris. It was unusually secretive behavior on the part of the administrators that led Dyebat and lchris to question the veracity of Kalua’s personal situation and his continued involvement in management of the site.
The Site was purchased and the upgrade was commenced, This took far longer than anticipated and obviously this heightened the already present anxiety and the mistrust which was growing. Things came to a head in July when Lchris removed the admin and mod powers of the staff and rumours circulated that the forum was being attacked or hacked.
This timeline needs to be clarified in this statement because Lchris removed admin and staff powers
as a result of unusual events on the forum. The apparent “hacking” was the reason she temporarily suspended staff powers.
2. Was the forum under attack or were we hacked?
On July 18th a number of database errors occurred and Dyebat posted on the forum that we were under attack. A number of individuals reported seeing a number of banned members reappear and other unusual occurrences.
There were no database errors reported for July 18th in the error log file. Lchris had also enabled a feature that emailed a copy of each error to the forum email account. There are no database errors reported for July 18th through July 20th in the email backup of July 24th.
Lchris removed all admin and mod powers from staff although she left PT “green” she removed her admin powers, stating this was to ensure that she could not be accused of anything. The staff resigned as they felt unjustly treated, but lchris requested they return and they did so.
This is an intentional misrepresentation of what actually occurred. Staff resignations began before lchris temporarily removed any staff powers on the evening of July 18th. Waldog and Stevieboy resigned on July 17th. Kalua resigned just after noon on July 18th. JudyOkla and Danileo told the meeting of staff “investors” on the afternoon of July 18th that they planned to resign. All of these actions occurred prior to lchris removing any staff powers.
When she did feel it was necessary to remove staff powers, lchris told everyone what she was doing and why. All knew that this was a temporary measure necessitated by the situation. It was thought at the time that someone was letting banned members in. Unknown admins were appearing and causing mischief. Some staff and members were behaving strangely out of character, and posting accusations of a ‘takeover’ on the forum.
She posted the following announcement on the forum.
Thread: Heads up to all members
As one or more mods and/or others with access are causing mischief and Tink (official Admin of this site) is asleep, all access for staff is temporary blocked until Tink returns to deal with this issue.
As all is recorded in logs, Tink can determine if she wishes to share any more info about this matter.
Personally, I must say that I am surprised at such childish behavior.
07 / 18 / 10 @ 10:23:26pm EST
She notified the current admin (PT), the current owner (Dyebat).
From: lchris To: Dyebat, Pickled TinkSubject: URGENT : Admin Mischief
1 or more mods and/or tech is causing mischief - some banned members have been allowed in - I believe to continue the meme that djgers are taking over the site?
Hulapig is posting some harsh stuff about going out with a bang, but rumor has it that it is mirrim actually posting. Sheesh.
Honestly, this place is so over the top.
To protect the site, I have temporarily blocked all access by mods/tech team till you return. They made sure to do it while you were sleeping - cowards. I can check the logs tomorrow to see who it was. It or they.
I posted an announcement.
07 / 18 / 10 @ 10:34:57pm EST
She sent a separate PM to the Tech staff; JudyOkla and Danileo.
From: lchris To: Danileo, JudyOklaSubject: Admin mischief???
I was alerted to some mischief by a mod and as tink is asleep, I have to lock all out till she returns to deal with this. Sigh.
Some formerly banned member accounts were unbanned..likely to make it appear as though djgers have taken over the site.
I don't know what else has been done. I downloaded the log and will report back who/what etc.. tomorrow.
Chris
07 / 18 / 10 @ 10:38:56pm EST
The deliberate delay by staff in returning to their positions was not addressed here at all. It was ignored in the report as if it had never happened. The staff walkout was discussed and planned beforehand. If they truly believed the forum to be under attack, was the walkout a responsible action? Or did the staff know there was nothing to fear from “outsiders”?
Whist the board completely understand that lchris felt she was acting in the forum's interests, they feel that her actions were , with the benefit if hindsight, pre emptive. The board feels that if she felt the forum was under attack she should have closed the forum and then waited until PT retuned from Scotland( she was visiting Susan in Scotland that week end) and discussed the matter with her then as is standard operating IT protocol for such situations and is now written into the site's IT protocol. However, rumours and mistrust were rife by this time, and due perhaps to the influence of the troll lchris believed that staff may have been involved in what she was witnessing.
Lchris never heard any rumors from the troll about staff being involved in the events. She did see new admin names appear in the admin control panel, to which only a few staff had access. The possibility of staff involvement was a reasonable consideration. JudyOkla and Danileo neglected to mention that they were creating admin accounts.
Following this a number of wild allegations began to circulate and to be posted, including that staff had hacked the forum, that we were hacked from outside, and that members of another forum had hacked the forum in order to take it over.
The report fails to mention that staff and some members had attended a secret 4 hour meeting during which staff promoted the fiction that the forum was being attacked by the DJGers and that Dyebat and lchris were in league with them.
We have investigated all of these allegations and can find no evidence of any hacker or of any such plot. The board initially spoke with lchris who provided us with some screen caps from the data base which indicated some unusual activity by a previous staff member in the database, however the activity was a physical impossibility and lchris agreed that the member concerned would have to have been the bionic woman to have performed all of the tasks in the time frame indicated.
The reason for the concern was that the staff member in question, Hulapig, in addition to behaving out-of-character, was recorded in the banning.php area of the control panel thirteen times that evening, including six times prior to the mention of the “banned” members. However, it was not necessary to resort to references to fictional characters. An examination of the database would have revealed that Hulapig did not perform the steps necessary to ban or unban anyone on July 18.
Lchris also raised concerned that PT had not “authorised” the creation of 2 test admin accounts by Judyokla and Danileo in July however, they had notified PT by email of the creation of these accounts in accordance with lchris's own advice on redundancy.
Had Pickled Tink really authorized the creation of EvaMarie, kaydaniels (8101), roseym, kaydaniels (8106), looie and jayme by JudyOkla and Danileo? If so, she is complicit in the “admin mischief”.
Creating new admin accounts, for the purpose of disrupting the forum, has nothing to do with “redundancy”. Redundancy refers to backing up important data so that there is more than one copy should something go wrong. Redundancy refers to ensuring that multiple people are trained for specific tasks.
The purpose of “test accounts” is to see the forum as members without staff permissions see it. Test accounts would naturally be member accounts, not admin accounts.
Had those been legitimate accounts, there would have been no reason to use proxies. Had they been legitimate accounts, there would have been no reason to alter the records. Had they been legitimate accounts there would have been no reason to “kill” some of them.
These accounts had no admin permissions attached to them and were fully visible in the admin panel and were never “secret.” PT gets several hundred e mails and PM's a day so had to hunt this out as she did not initially recollect it when questioned by lchris, but has confirmed receipt of this e mail.
The accounts
did have admin permissions and performed actions in the admin control panel.
How much did Pickled Tink know about the new admin accounts and their activities? Tink knew about the faux admin accounts and who had used them by late July. She “killed” two of the accounts herself. But what did she know and when did she know it? There are three possibilities.
1) She knew about them beforehand and was complicit in their activities.
2) She knew about other accounts, but did not find out about their activities until later, after which she helped cover up the evidence.
3) She found out about them later, helped cover up the evidence and lied about receiving the email.
Given the level of concern expressed on the forum the board wished to reassure the members that the database was safe and wished to investigate further,. They asked Lchris and Dyebat to join them in their investigation but Lchris and Dyebat declined to do so.
Which is the only reason that any of this is coming to light.
The board have sought to look at the security of the database. Initially we sought to hire an expert to instigate and were prepared to pay for this out of our own pockets, however this proved to be totally cost prohibitive. We approached a number of individuals including some on the forum. In the end we secured the assistance, free of charge, of a non relative, James W, a friend of one of the board members, (PT). He is a computer science graduate who is also an experienced internet forum user and experience in provision of services to forums.
Lchris was rather surprised when she noticed that the “independent investigator” was working from PT's own home IP address and more so when she discovered that this person was a friend of Tink’s son. She alerted JudyOkla and Truus immediately. They were not at all surprised.
He was asked to examine the data base to see if there was any evidence of hacking, or interference and to comment upon the database errors which we were and are continuing to experience.
Was the investigator, James W, given any evidence at all? Was he asked to check for
outside interference only? Was he told what names should normally appear in the admin control panel? If he did not know what was normal, he could not have known what was unusual.
The data base was examined and no evidence of outside interference was found. He advised that someone with very sophisticated knowledge might be able to plant a script to make some of the changes which occurred but the errors he observed were consistent with what he called “hash string errors”. These are errors which commonly and frequently occur in upgrades and result in a fatal flaw which he advises will remain. This means that the data base errors will remain unless either the upgrade is completely redone from scratch, (and we lose much of the forum content), or we go back to an earlier version and re do the upgrade – neither of which is is something which we relish.
To blame the events of July 18 on database errors is convenient, but not supportable. Lchris never actually upgraded the original forum. She left the original “as is” in case the forum needed to revert back or needed to move any data manually. She installed a FRESH version of vbulletin and imported a copy of the database data from the original. She told this (multiple times) to the admins and the tech team.
We asked if any interference could have been done from within and were told that theoretically it was possible, but again it would require a sophisticated knowledge but that if any such activity had occurred it had been wiped clean. On the basis of his observations he felt that database errors relating to the upgrade were the most likely explanation – and in his experience are very common on forums.
There was evidence of that activity still remaining. I am not a computer expert, but I found it. Why didn’t this computer science graduate (“who is also an experienced internet forum user and experience in provision of services to forums”) find it?
We have explored the issue of the banned members. It seems that in actual fact only one banned member was readmitted, and that one of the temporary admin appointed by Lchris has said she admitted this person as she thought that the amnesty which had been discussed by PT, Kalua, and Lchris towards previously banned members had commenced.
As has been previously described, this is not only nonsense, Pickled Tink
knew it untrue.
Unbanned?
The Board members knew it was not true either. Lchris’s preliminary report, sent to all Board members in August, contained the following:
WHO UN-BANNED THE MEMBERS AND CAUSED THE MISCHIEF?
One rumor I can dispel is that CitroenLady un-Banned the members. Her admin access was given at Monday, July 19, 2010, 9:17:40 PM (as shown in config files), the day after the initial incidents occurred.
I find this one of the most perplexing inclusions in the report. Any of the staff who could view the list of members waiting for their accounts to be approved would have known that no one approved those members on July 18. Yet they kept repeating the fiction that banned members were let in, long after July 18th. Why? And why continue to pin the blame on Citroenlady when they knew she could not have done it?
A great many things were said on that night and in the days which followed which were painful and hurtful and which we all now know were untrue. The ensuing panic and mistrust was again a great feeding ground for the troll and his followers, for he was not acting alone, and it engenders further radicalisation opportunities, for want of a better word, for groups who feel disenfranchised and alienated.
It is true that the troll was not acting alone. Staff and members, who had been in contact with the cyber-troll, were actively spreading the lies and misinformation he had given them. As for the “followers” of the troll, those would appear to have been the staff members and others who were convinced by him. The people who were accused of the takeover by the troll were certainly not his followers.
The phrase about “further radicalization opportunities” for those who feel disenfranchised is curious. Was she saying that the false accusations made by the troll and staff would cause further alienation? That would appear obvious. Was it the intent?
The forum was not hacked and there was no plot to take over the forum by other sites or by individuals on the forum.
This is true. The forum was not technically hacked. The “mischief” and “unusual occurrences” were not due to hacking from the outside. It was done by staff members JudyOkla and Danileo. It is also true that “there was no plot to take over the forum by other sites or by individuals on the forum.” This is one of the few things the report got right.
3. The Troll.
The major investigation into the troll has been undertaken by lchris, dyebat and Citroen Lady. However, the board and the staff have sought legal advice in Europe and in the USA., and also spoken to the police. We also consulted SONY as they too have been affected. SONY consulted an independent expert on this field and passed on the advice to us. PT also spoken to a psychiatrist about troll behaviour. The advice we obtained was completely consistent from all sources.
The legal advice we obtained was that trolls are are fact of life on all on forums, and that in most cases there is usually little to be gained by issuing proceedings. However, individuals whom he has libelled “might” have a case for a civil suit and should seek their own advice. The advice we obtained from the police was the same. The expert advice in dealing with trolls is that they should be ignored and that by constantly discussing them, publicly refuting the rumours they perpetrate, and highlighting their misdemeanour’s is actually feeding their need for attention.
What were the experts and the police told about this troll? This particular individual was more active, more persistent and more threatening than most. Beyond being a nuisance, he had committed crimes (including stalking and harassment of members) which the Admins should have reported to the police.
He apparently had the ear and trust of the staff members themselves. Both some of the staff and forum members were in communication with him, even after the July incidents. The source for CanadianBill’s Urgent Questions thread, which was pre-approved by staff, was this troll. But the admins seem strangely uninterested in reporting or dealing with him. I have no doubt that he is back on Susan Boyle forums under yet more identities.
The advice we have been given was actually the practice which the staff had been following before July. Some information regarding the rumours perpetrated by the troll was published but as the experts advised this has actually led to an increase in the rumour machine, rather than a decrease. The board and the staff have now taken the view that they will follow the expert advice on this issue. The board are aware that this is not a view universally held, and the board accepts that not everyone will agree with this approach. However having taken soundings from various sources the board feels that this is the best approach. Advice on dealing with trolls can also be found here.
1. A police advice forum:-http://policelink.monster.com/topics...e-trolls/posts
2. Definitions of trolls and discussions etc....
http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/...d=60&id=216501
3. IMDB advice on trolls:-
http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/...d=60&id=216501
4. A cultural blog with some intereting insights on human nature and trolling:-
http://www.cognitionandculture.net/O...mentation.html
Lchris and Dyebat have advised us that they continue to be involved in investigating the troll, together with individual members and other fan sites and we understand that there is in fact a police investigation and that as such they are not at liberty to disclose the details of their inquiries. When they are at liberty to do so we are sure they will do so. Their commitment and tenacity in this respect is to be commended.
We share the frustration of those who wonder about the police investigation. It does seem to be taking a long time. But it is a complex case.
4. Members reactions and expectations.
In the ensuing weeks and months there have been a number of reactions from members and these have included accusations made against long standing members which have no basis in fact. Accusations have also been made against staff which again have no basis in fact. It is time for for this to come to an end.
Yes, it is time for the facts to take precedence.
5.Apologies.
A lot of people have been hurt in recent months as allegations and counter allegations have been made both on and off the forum. The board take the view that individuals are responsible for their own posts and that all must accept responsibility if they are in breach of the rules. Under normal circumstances the Board would not apologise on behalf of another member but we are unanimous that apologies should be offered to everyone involved for the events which occurred in recent months. The board feels that all members must accept a degree of responsibility, and the board must accept overall responsibility for allowing the troll and his rumour machine to disrupt and upset the forum.
We therefore wish to make a full and public apology to Dyebat, lchris, Citroen Lady, Kalua, PT , the staff and all of our members who have been insulted maligned and accused of various nefarious plots too numerous to mention. We also wish to make an apology to DJG and his members for the false allegation again perpetrated by the troll, that he was plotting to take over the forum.
The apology to DJG and the members of his forum was the right thing to do. I was disappointed not to see apologies from the individual staff members who were spreading and perpetuating those false allegations.
There should also have been an apology to the members of the forum mentioned in CanadianBill’s thread, especially Citroenlady, as well as Dyebat and lchris. The allegations stated and implied in that thread were untrue. Because it was approved by staff, they have some legal responsibility for the posting of that thread.
Finally, I must comment on the fact that the apology includes the staff and all members. This is equating the questioning of Kalua’s unusual behavior with the deliberate sabotage of the forum while blaming it on others.
JudyOkla and Danileo created faux admin accounts to cause confusion and alarm on the forum. Other staff members spread lies about forum members, Dyebat and lchris. Pickled Tink helped cover up these activities. Compare that to the “transgressions” of Dyebat and lchris. They wanted to fill out the paperwork with Kalua’s identity and became suspicious when he refused to provide it.
To equate these actions is to negate the meaning of the apology.
Conclusion:
The board feels that it is likely that some will have been looking fore someone to blame, and that the conclusion that we were not hacked will not sit comfortably with some who may still be mistrustful. That is understandable. The board has concluded its investigation and feels that enough time and attention and anxiety has been devoted to this matter The board has directed the staff to deal with trolls as per the the expert advice. This thread will remain open for questions for the next 2 days to be asked to all the board members, but any flying accusations and insults will be deleted.
The board are aware that mistrust remains in some quarters and has therefore requested that impartial mediators be appointed to talk through any residual outstanding issues which may remain, away from the forum, so that Susan Boyle remains the focus of the forum and not the rumours perpetrated by trolls and gossips.
Thank You.
The Board of SBFII
Pickled Tink, John V, Leonine. Cicichi, Waforgas, Lonnirose, Truusbuist.
This report was written and signed by people who
knew that much of the contents were not true. Pickled Tink knew it was not true because she helped cover for JudyOkla and Danileo. The rest of the Board members had already been told that the unbanning of a member could not have been done by Citroenlady. They also knew that there were questions about the activities of JudyOkla and Danileo.
Did any Board member object when the investigation, which was supposed to be independent, was done by a friend of Tink’s son and in her home? Did they consider that to be independent?
Are Board members aware of the very real responsibility holding office brings with it? It was the duty of Board members to insist upon a truly independent investigator, who was given access to all of the relevant data. If they did not, they are guilty by neglect. It is their responsibility to direct the staff of SBFII, not to be mere rubber stamps for every action of the staff. They bear legal responsibility for any action the staff takes in their name.
Information which should have been included in the original investigation has been made available to the Board through this blog. Should they choose to ignore it, the conclusion must be that they are not interested in the truth. If they do not trust my interpretation of the data, they may request the data independently from Hostgator and check it for themselves. They will see that I have not altered the data in any way. The logs are as I have reported.
The fact that Board members of SBFII knowingly signed a false statement is serious. I would like to believe that at least some of the Board were unaware of the level of deception, but it is becoming harder and harder to give them any benefit of the doubt. If they do not want to perpetuate the deception, it is time for a declaration of the truth from the Board of SBFII.
