William Stephen (Dare?) Griffin

[Adam White]

I once got a long, scolding MySpace message* from him because I commented on someone else's MySpace post about him. Apparently, everyone who commented on the original post got one, too

My own personal interactions with Dare have never extended beyond being in the same room as him on a number of occasions, but I was certainly aware of his reputation.

*Yes, MySpace. This was some time in the mid-aughts.

Did you ever had a Friendster account?

[funwithteeth]

Of course!

[Adam White]

Of course!

Me too. I had totally forgotten about Friendster until the other day. It's almost hard to imagine a time when social media was a new concept.

[funwithteeth]

I went looking for that Folio article a couple years back—I remember reading it when it was published—but their online archives do not go back that far.

Thinking back on my MySpace story, I'm glad MySpace wasn't particular about displaying real names—my screen name was taken from a Brian Eno song; my account could not be found if you tried looking up my real name—as he might have tried to call where I worked at the time and tell who knows what to my boss.

[civil42806]

Can't we just blame everything on Aldermanparklover (remember him?) and be done with it?

Whatever happened to Aldermanparklover, did anyone ever check the IP for that account to see if it was a sockpuppet?  I mean the posts came in such a crazy number and were really out there.  Then they stopped suddenly.

[SuzySpringfield]

I have no idea what's going on with Stephen and it's really not my business.  What I'd like to know is whether all forum posts he made have been deleted.  There's a TON of info on here that he either started or commented on that has a lot of great info.  Just wondering.  Thanks.

I concur. Everyone knows Dare is a creeper and I'm not surprised by ANY of the tales of his misbehavior, but it really is a huge loss for the sections that I followed.

[thelakelander]

Can't we just blame everything on Aldermanparklover (remember him?) and be done with it?

Whatever happened to Aldermanparklover, did anyone ever check the IP for that account to see if it was a sockpuppet?  I mean the posts came in such a crazy number and were really out there.  Then they stopped suddenly.

Aldermanparklover wasn't a sock puppet. He just had radically different views from most forum members here. He was quietly banned by Stephendare, with along with a host of other forum members he didn't prefer like Diane Melendez and I-10. Site administrators were alerted when a number of deletions and bans were logged via the account of another moderator who did not have a history of taking such actions. Research indicated the account had been compromised. As a result, his access was restored with a few others, given the questionable circumstances surrounding their bans.  He probably just hasn't realized he can post.

[coredumped]

So does the wikipedia page on metrojacksonville need to be updated?

Owner:    Stephen Dare and Arash Kamiar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Jacksonville

[civil42806]

Can't we just blame everything on Aldermanparklover (remember him?) and be done with it?

Whatever happened to Aldermanparklover, did anyone ever check the IP for that account to see if it was a sockpuppet?  I mean the posts came in such a crazy number and were really out there.  Then they stopped suddenly.

Aldermanparklover wasn't a sock puppet. He just had radically different views from most forum members here. He was quietly banned by Stephendare, with along with a host of other forum members he didn't prefer like Diane Melendez and I-10. Site administrators were alerted when a number of deletions and bans were logged via the account of another moderator who did not have a history of taking such actions. Research indicated the account had been compromised. As a result, his access was restored with a few others, given the questionable circumstances surrounding their bans.  He probably just hasn't realized he can post.

Thanks for the response, I appreciate it.  I was also banned for a short period of time, never was quite sure why, reason when I tried to log in was profanity.  I don't post often anymore, not like back in 2008-2010 era so it took me by surprise.

[thelakelander]

So does the wikipedia page on metrojacksonville need to be updated?

Owner:    Stephen Dare and Arash Kamiar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Jacksonville

LOL, that was never true.

[Adam White]

Can't we just blame everything on Aldermanparklover (remember him?) and be done with it?

Whatever happened to Aldermanparklover, did anyone ever check the IP for that account to see if it was a sockpuppet?  I mean the posts came in such a crazy number and were really out there.  Then they stopped suddenly.

Aldermanparklover wasn't a sock puppet. He just had radically different views from most forum members here. He was quietly banned by Stephendare, with along with a host of other forum members he didn't prefer like Diane Melendez and I-10. Site administrators were alerted when a number of deletions and bans were logged via the account of another moderator who did not have a history of taking such actions. Research indicated the account had been compromised. As a result, his access was restored with a few others, given the questionable circumstances surrounding their bans.  He probably just hasn't realized he can post.

Thanks for the response, I appreciate it.  I was also banned for a short period of time, never was quite sure why, reason when I tried to log in was profanity.  I don't post often anymore, not like back in 2008-2010 era so it took me by surprise.

I got hounded out. Constantly harassed on every post - apparently because I slightly disagreed with a few things. Anyway, I requested to have my account cancelled. I ended up coming back because I got over it.

[funwithteeth]

Stephen Dare used to have his own Wikipedia article; it was clearly written by him, too. It was deleted at some point.

[Jim]

From that early cities forum (forget the name but they were heavily Charlotte leaning) to MetJax to Metro Jacksonville to Modern Cities.  The unfortunate behind the scenes drama rolls on.

Sad to see the internal division of a powerful and potent voice in Jacksonville underground media.  I am hopeful that the spirit and intent of our early ideas and goals will continue.

[thelakelander]

^Yes, many now don't realize the forums predate the establishment of Metro Jacksonville by a few years.  It all started with Urbanplanet.org back in 2003.  That grew into MetJax (which was short for Metro Jacksonville) and eventually Metro Jacksonville. When the front page of MJ was started, it was originally intended to serve as a blog to work in conjunction with the MetJax forum. At the end of the day though, as long as people want to see Jacksonville become a best place it can be, they'll continue in some form, regardless of takes place with Stephen or any of us individually.   

[thelakelander]

Btw, there's a story about Metro Jacksonville's future on the front page of First Coast News:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/community/future-of-metro-jacksonville-uncertain-after-feud-among-owners/422844420