Metro Jacksonville

Please read thread for more info  8)

I'd like an update too.

Deleting threads is not a good solution.

LOL, I like how I'm being called out here with unfounded accusations.  In reality, those who know me, know I'm not that petty.

If you must know, he's has been suspended by the majority of the board that makes up Metro Jacksonville, Inc. for multiple offenses. 

Until everything works itself out you can follow him here:

http://metrojaxnews.com/

https://twitter.com/stephendare

Btw, I also haven't been deleting posts.

From what Ive heard, that is a lie. You own moderncities and suspended both of your partners (Arash Kamiar and Stephen Dare) then just kind of appointed other people to sit on a new board.

Aren't you being sued for that?

Interesting first post Stephendare Vvamp ;-)

Nope. Stephen is the only one suspended.

search for moderncities llc on sunbiz.org

This is your corporation isn't it lunican?

Quote from: thelakelander on March 14, 2017, 04:55:35 PM
LOL, I like how I'm being called out here with unfounded accusations.  In reality, those who know me, know I'm not that petty.

If you must know, he's has been suspended by the majority of the board that makes up Metro Jacksonville, Inc. for multiple offenses. 

Until everything works itself out you can follow him here:

http://metrojaxnews.com/

https://twitter.com/stephendare

Btw, I also haven't been deleting posts.

Suspended? Life is sweet.

I am a neutral third party who has only heard one side of the story and it was 10 months ago.

Rather than air any potential dirty laundry I will just simply say that it was my understanding that Stephen Dare was to purchase sole ownership of the site from the rest of the members, who were in the process of creating and launching modern cities. There were concerns about whether funding would be available to close on the sale, and I'm guessing those complications have resulted in no transfer of ownership to date.

Another violation....  :-\

Quote from: thelakelander on March 14, 2017, 04:59:50 PM
Interesting first post Stephendare Vvamp ;-)

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous/i-zZTxQPS/0/XL/Stephendare-JPEG-XL.jpg)

Point being, the launch of modern cities was simply a new focus for the old ownership and it was always intended to aid all parties in a smooth transition, but it maybe gives a bad look for those without the benefit of the whole story.

Quote from: ProjectMaximus on March 14, 2017, 05:16:25 PM
I am a neutral third party who has only heard one side of the story and it was 10 months ago.

Rather than air any potential dirty laundry I will just simply say that it was my understanding that Stephen Dare was to purchase sole ownership of the site from the rest of the members, who were in the process of creating and launching modern cities. There were concerns about whether funding would be available to close on the sale, and I'm guessing those complications have resulted in no transfer of ownership to date.

I am a neutral third party as well, and I don't think you are correct. Two of the owners of moderncities are owners of Metrojacksonville. According to non compete agreements they weren't allowed to open a competing website but did so anyways.

Stephen Dare offered to buy out the competing owners, (Ennis Davis and Dan Herbin) put the cash in a trust account for them and then they breached the agreement. Then colonized this site with their competing websites's content. then cut out their equal partners, Arash Kamiar and Stephen Dare and deleted all of Stephen's content.

Quote from: ProjectMaximus on March 14, 2017, 05:20:00 PM
Point being, the launch of modern cities was simply a new focus for the old ownership and it was always intended to aid all parties in a smooth transition, but it maybe gives a bad look for those without the benefit of the whole story.

Probably we have different parts of the story, ProjectMaximus.

You already mentioned that you only had one viewpoint.

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

Quote from: ProjectMaximus on March 14, 2017, 05:20:00 PM
Point being, the launch of modern cities was simply a new focus for the old ownership and it was always intended to aid all parties in a smooth transition, but it maybe gives a bad look for those without the benefit of the whole story.

There really is no story to be told between Modern Cities and Metro Jacksonville.  The truth will come out in due time.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 14, 2017, 05:32:11 PM

Quote from: ProjectMaximus on March 14, 2017, 05:20:00 PM
Point being, the launch of modern cities was simply a new focus for the old ownership and it was always intended to aid all parties in a smooth transition, but it maybe gives a bad look for those without the benefit of the whole story.

There really is no story to be told between Modern Cities and Metro Jacksonville.  The truth will come out in due time.

We just have to take your word for it, since you deleted the main founder of the site.

Quote from: Vvamp on March 14, 2017, 05:34:58 PM

Quote from: thelakelander on March 14, 2017, 05:32:11 PM

Quote from: ProjectMaximus on March 14, 2017, 05:20:00 PM
Point being, the launch of modern cities was simply a new focus for the old ownership and it was always intended to aid all parties in a smooth transition, but it maybe gives a bad look for those without the benefit of the whole story.

There really is no story to be told between Modern Cities and Metro Jacksonville.  The truth will come out in due time.

We just have to take your word for it, since you deleted the main founder of the site.

No horse in the race, not privy to any inside info, and not interested in private details of someone else's business, but come on now, if there's one person who has earned MORE than the benefit of the doubt over the last decade, it's Ennis. Certainly doesn't need my defending, but guy has never been anything less than a class act. And the foundation of the site, as far as I'm concerned.

Quote from: Vvamp on March 14, 2017, 05:22:15 PM

Quote from: ProjectMaximus on March 14, 2017, 05:16:25 PM
I am a neutral third party who has only heard one side of the story and it was 10 months ago.

Rather than air any potential dirty laundry I will just simply say that it was my understanding that Stephen Dare was to purchase sole ownership of the site from the rest of the members, who were in the process of creating and launching modern cities. There were concerns about whether funding would be available to close on the sale, and I'm guessing those complications have resulted in no transfer of ownership to date.

I am a neutral third party as well, and I don't think you are correct. Two of the owners of moderncities are owners of Metrojacksonville. According to non compete agreements they weren't allowed to open a competing website but did so anyways.

Stephen Dare offered to buy out the competing owners, (Ennis Davis and Dan Herbin) put the cash in a trust account for them and then they breached the agreement. Then colonized this site with their competing websites's content. then cut out their equal partners, Arash Kamiar and Stephen Dare and deleted all of Stephen's content.

Not trying to be your lawyer but if there is litigation underway, you don't look good posting on here about it. There are definitely ways to cut out partnerships, especially with multiple member boards and majority votes, depending on how your bylaws are written. Sounds like some fun going on behind the scenes here.

I don't need a lawyer actually. I just happen to be posting at the same office that Stephen uses. Which it kind of sucks that one of the owners of the site decided to post my IP address on the forums.  Thats pretty lame.

You guessed correctly that there are shenanigans behind the scenes with these guys. And Im not going to be a target for these guys to pick on because they decided to screw over their partners.

Sorry if this has already been addressed, but with the shakeup who is going to write the creepy articles about the conductor of the JSO?

That's enough of an update for me.

Since most of us don't know what really happened or is happening, I'd suggest that it's best for all of us not to make enemies of each other unnecessarily by accusing people of things on the forum.

I hope the owners are able to resolve their issues amicably.

Wow I had no idea, I thought it was quieter around here lately!
Lake, can you give us anything official here? What happened to issue a permanent ban?

Quote from: coredumped on March 14, 2017, 06:14:54 PMLake, can you give us anything official here?

^I'm just here so I won't get fined.

(http://images.performgroup.com/di/library/sporting_news/cf/74/marshawn-lynch-012815-getty-ftrjpg_16cz6cibyuhg91kniinqnk0vxb.jpg?t=829134211)

So, Y'all hiring?

Well I have to say the site has been much more pleasant since his departure.  Hopefully he and that Fineho can just go ahead and start their own site and go on and on about all the fine social and political crap they desire.  I actually have enjoyed coming to Metro Jacksonville recently and seeing much more of what is actually going on in Jacksonville instead of the social and political agendas that were being pushed. Seems like more recently what it's origins were all about.

As I sit here in Boston, trapped in my Hotel, watching the PBS special of the highwaymen, (cause Hyatt's cable selection sucks)...I cant help but lament the demise of...well...this site.

Why was Stephen's recount of when he went to the equestrian center deleted? That was fucking gold.

Not to mention the Hemming Plaza commentary in August.

Christ, I am a passive observer at best. I understand money/profit drives this site. Fair enough. But WHY THE FUCK delete what was posted during better times?

Me for one...I Don't give a flying fuck who owns the site or who profits from it.

But I...well...nevermind.

fuck it.

Quote from: edjax on March 14, 2017, 07:20:19 PM
Well I have to say the site has been much more pleasant since his departure.  Hopefully he and that Fineho can just go ahead and start their own site and go on and on about all the fine social and political crap they desire.  I actually have enjoyed coming to Metro Jacksonville recently and seeing much more of what is actually going on in Jacksonville instead of the social and political agendas that were being pushed. Seems like more recently what it's origins were all about.

This right here.

Can someone point me to where I can review the operating agreements  between the members ownership group?  I would like to use my internet law degree to draw conclusions and comment on this situation.  Thanks!

I wondered where the lad went.

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.

But seriously, I feel like I lost my best sparring partner.  Who else can convincingly argue against the facts .... but I digress and look forward to non-political commentary on developments in Jacksonville ... either way

Ok, since I commented once already I'll comment one more time. I've heard part of the story from the other side now and I empathize with both "groups." I understand the difficulty all are dealing with in this messy situation. I have respect and affinity to folks on both sides and I will shut the hell up now until this issue gets resolved in court/arbitration/whatever.

Also I will add, it is an enormous shame if Stephen's content is gone forever. Legalities and copyrights aside, the internet is less rich without many of his stories and contributions. I do hope he at least has the ability to recover his content and republish in some format.

Quote from: ProjectMaximus on March 14, 2017, 11:23:33 PM
Also I will add, it is an enormous shame if Stephen's content is gone forever. Legalities and copyrights aside, the internet is less rich without many of his stories and contributions. I do hope he at least has the ability to recover his content and republish in some format.

I completely agree with this. I'd think it would be in both "parties'" best interest to get his content back up on the site as soon as possible and figure out how to work out the profit sharing later.

Quote from: remc86007 on March 14, 2017, 04:52:05 PM
I'd like an update too.

Deleting threads is not a good solution.

LMFAO Dare was the king of deleting. If you did not mimic his goosestepping style then he would often delete posts. Many had to apologize for his actions. A blind ideologue does not make for an open forum. None of the other "hosts" have ever come close to the censoring that Dare was known for.

Quote from: edjax on March 14, 2017, 07:20:19 PM
Well I have to say the site has been much more pleasant since his departure.  Hopefully he and that Fineho can just go ahead and start their own site and go on and on about all the fine social and political crap they desire.  I actually have enjoyed coming to Metro Jacksonville recently and seeing much more of what is actually going on in Jacksonville instead of the social and political agendas that were being pushed. Seems like more recently what it's origins were all about.

Bingo

Quote from: bill on March 15, 2017, 12:03:01 AM
LMFAO Dare was the king of deleting. If you did not mimic his goosestepping style then he would often delete posts. Many had to apologize for his actions. A blind ideologue does not make for an open forum. None of the other "hosts" have ever come close to the censoring that Dare was known for.

I'm relatively new around here and I wasn't aware that he did that. Regardless, I don't think deleting threads is ever a good solution unless they violate a forum rule.

Quote from: remc86007 on March 15, 2017, 12:12:44 AM

Quote from: bill on March 15, 2017, 12:03:01 AM
LMFAO Dare was the king of deleting. If you did not mimic his goosestepping style then he would often delete posts. Many had to apologize for his actions. A blind ideologue does not make for an open forum. None of the other "hosts" have ever come close to the censoring that Dare was known for.

I'm relatively new around here and I wasn't aware that he did that. Regardless, I don't think deleting threads is ever a good solution unless they violate a forum rule.

Agreed. Even an ideologue with circular logic deserves the right to have his "opinion". He did often violate forum rules but as arbiter he flaunted them.

Best to all involved, all I'll say is this:

Anyone who hasn't bookmarked Modern Cities really is missing out.

Take out the forums, and MetroJax really is just a time-delayed version of what has long been the superior site. 

It's how you remember MetroJacksonville being when you first discovered it :)

I completely understand the decision to spin-off, particularly with the editorial direction that things have been going at MetroJax in the last couple of years, along with an escalating level of toxicity that frankly, I wouldn't want to be associated with either. It's just a shame that it's resulted in a bit of a disconnect between Modern Cities content and the long-time, civil MetroJax community. Some great, timely discussion could take place at Modern Cities, but then you've got 10+ years of archived forum content here. Almost wish there was a way to transport the traditional sections of the forum to the new site, and keep all the lifestyle/politics/commentary stuff over here.

I don't even have a problem with political topics from either political side. My problem is when one side is free to express their opinions, and the other is silenced (like when you know who was active). I get why many aren't wild about the political stuff, given the controversy that it often cause. Many times the topic wasn't even political (like a Jaguar bashing opinion piece for instance) but just because he disagreed with what I said, I was silenced.

Censorship doesn't belong on the internet. Unless the post is illegal or off topic I wouldn't​see a reason to delete it.

With that said, as one of the site administrators here who tries not to delete anything outside of spam posts, this is a good time to remind everyone of the forum registration rules they agreed to when they signed up.

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Quote from: KenFSU on March 14, 2017, 05:40:23 PM
No horse in the race, not privy to any inside info, and not interested in private details of someone else's business, but come on now, if there's one person who has earned MORE than the benefit of the doubt over the last decade, it's Ennis. Certainly doesn't need my defending, but guy has never been anything less than a class act. And the foundation of the site, as far as I'm concerned.

Concur 100%

This is so much more dramatic than the Moon River Pizza post ever was, and that was a pretty damn dramatic.

Quote from: bill on March 15, 2017, 12:03:01 AM
LMFAO Dare was the king of deleting. If you did not mimic his goosestepping style then he would often delete posts. Many had to apologize for his actions. A blind ideologue does not make for an open forum. None of the other "hosts" have ever come close to the censoring that Dare was known for.

Concur 100%

Quote from: thelakelander on March 15, 2017, 08:46:44 AM
With that said, as one of the site administrators here who tries not to delete anything outside of spam posts, this is a good time to remind everyone of the forum registration rules they agreed to when they signed up.

QuoteYou agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening...

Love me some good early morning irony.

He may have deleted his own posts, who knows what really happened.

I will say that I have never come across a forum where the known site owner used mod powers to delete others posts and twist them around to make the other poster look foolish.  All while claiming to follow the "utmost rules of civility."  It was rather comical.

jlmann, there's a lot of things taking place behind-the-scenes that make third party public speculation and accusations a waste of time at this point.  They'll eventually sort themselves out.

Also, MC is like beer....it's an acquired taste. It isn't meant to be for everybody. If you don't like craft beer, there's a Bud for you out there instead of a local IPA. If beer in general isn't for you, there's wine, kool aid and other beverages out there that may cater to your liking.

Niche content is actually the focus and these blogs were established for the love of seeing communities improved, not profitability. MC is niche planning/city issue focused on things applicable to any community in the country.  MJ's front page was originally created for niche Jax oriented content. The TJ page on MC is basically a holding place for intellectual property created there.

Anyway, if profitability was main focus these blogs, we'd be better off running them as porn sites. So no one here is twisting anyone's arm to visit this site, MC or any other of the billions of blogs out there.  To each his own. :)

Quote from: JaxUnicorn on March 14, 2017, 10:42:34 PM
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 agree. Stephen had created many threads of interest to me in the realm of Jacksonville history. Banning a user is one thing. Erasing him from the annals is another. I frequent another forum and users are banned all the time, many arbitrarily for annoying the mods. Never have I seen all posts removed though.

Quote from: JPalmer on March 15, 2017, 09:00:12 AM
This is so much more dramatic than the Moon River Pizza post ever was, and that was a pretty damn dramatic.

I was the originator of the Moon River post. I am glad it has gone down as one if the all time posts..lol. I still haven't been back since then.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 15, 2017, 10:30:26 AM
The TJ page on MC is basically a holding place for intellectual property created there.

I understand why this is being done, but is there a need to have the delay in posting this content on the front page of Metro Jacksonville? It'd be nice to be able to talk about these pieces on the forum here as soon as they are published without the need for users to create unofficial threads.

On a different note, maybe I'm the only one, but I'd be willing to pay a subscription fee (or just contribute to a Patreon) for this site if it would allow you (and the other owners) to produce more original content and it would remove ads for those who subscribe.

Quote from: remc86007 on March 15, 2017, 11:12:09 AM

Quote from: thelakelander on March 15, 2017, 10:30:26 AM
The TJ page on MC is basically a holding place for intellectual property created there.

I understand why this is being done, but is there a need to have the delay in posting this content on the front page of Metro Jacksonville? It'd be nice to be able to talk about these pieces on the forum here as soon as they are published without the need for users to create unofficial threads.

^Yes. The primary reason for this and most of MC's content not being shared on MJ, despite content sharing partnerships with other blogs around the country, revolves around the accusations in this thread.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 15, 2017, 10:30:26 AM
jlmann, there's a lot of things taking place behind-the-scenes that make third party public speculation and accusations a waste of time at this point.  They'll eventually sort themselves out.

Also, MC is like beer....it's an acquired taste. It isn't meant to be for everybody. If you don't like craft beer, there's a Bud for you out there instead of a local IPA. If beer in general isn't for you, there's wine, kool aid and other beverages out there that may cater to your liking.

Niche content is actually the focus and these blogs were established for the love of seeing communities improved, not profitability. MC is niche planning/city issue focused on things applicable to any community in the country.  MJ's front page was originally created for niche Jax oriented content. The TJ page on MC is basically a holding place for intellectual property created there.

Anyway, if profitability was main focus these blogs, we'd be better off running them as porn sites. So no one here is twisting anyone's arm to visit this site, MC or any other of the billions of blogs out there.  To each his own. :)

Second that. We live in a niche marketplace nowadays. Thanks for all you do Lake.

Just spitballin' here, but I would kinda assume that when there's a dispute over money and intellectual property (of sorts), you don't leave the latter to just sit around and continue to generate money for others.

Terabytes of drivel lost to the ages!!

But, if you are looking for something to keep you busy in the meantime, this book has 2,100,000 words, over 13,000 pages!!

(http://cdn.shortlist.com/resource/binary/dff191e61734166c8d41ed79baf345ac/artamene.jpg)

Outdone 400 years ago.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2017-mar-stephen-dare-removed-from-metro-jacksonville-board

Financial?  ???

Anybody recall that fairly unflattering story the Times Union ran about Mr Dare many years ago?  This kind of seems be following down the same road as I recall.

Quote from: edjax on March 15, 2017, 07:42:47 PM
Anybody recall that fairly unflattering story the Times Union ran about Mr Dare many years ago?  This kind of seems be following down the same road as I recall.

I believe it was a Folio Weekly cover story.

It was titled "Truth or Dare?"

This is straight up libel. You guys probably shouldn't be printing this stuff just because you are panicking about the lawsuit he's filed against you.

Quote from: Vvamp on March 15, 2017, 08:25:34 PM
This is straight up libel. You guys probably shouldn't be printing this stuff just because you are panicking about the lawsuit he's filed against you.

You are wrong. Libel must be untrue.

Quote from: Vvamp on March 15, 2017, 08:25:34 PM
This is straight up libel. You guys probably shouldn't be printing this stuff just because you are panicking about the lawsuit he's filed against you.

Curiosity got the better of me and I checked the Clerk of the Court and no suit open yet .... but should make for some interesting side reading

Quote from: Bill Hoff on March 15, 2017, 07:52:00 PM

Quote from: edjax on March 15, 2017, 07:42:47 PM
Anybody recall that fairly unflattering story the Times Union ran about Mr Dare many years ago?  This kind of seems be following down the same road as I recall.

I believe it was a Folio Weekly cover story.

It was titled "Truth or Dare?"

Really thought it was the T-U.  Quite some time ago. At least 15 years ago.  But possibly you are right on he Folio

That "Truth or Dare" article was published in Folio Weekly in 2007.  I know because we have a copy of it.

I was told there would be cake

Quote from: Bill Hoff on March 15, 2017, 07:52:00 PM

Quote from: edjax on March 15, 2017, 07:42:47 PM
Anybody recall that fairly unflattering story the Times Union ran about Mr Dare many years ago?  This kind of seems be following down the same road as I recall.

I believe it was a Folio Weekly cover story.

It was titled "Truth or Dare?"

(https://s11.postimg.org/4ie8st1oj/FWSD.jpg)

QuoteFor the past 20 years, Stephen Dare's projects have followed a reliable pattern: grandiose expectations, scaled-back reality, eventual debt. Gifted with an original turn of mind and a storyteller's ability to memorize. Dare has inspired others to believe him in his ability to breathe life into Jacksonville's urban neighborhoods. But his critics paint him as a con artist and a cheat. And many who've worked closely with him contend Stephen Dare's main project is to promote Stephen Dare.

Does Putnam county know about any of this?
SOUTHWEST welcome to the SOUTHEAST

The benefit of this forum was and is to share tactical and organic posts that evolve into a positive outcome for everyone.
Does anyone now feel sorry for the you know who guys?

I love MJ.
It is frustrating and hard enough to participate in our legislative process in Jacksonville over the years and the MJ team at the time was cutting edge with posting solid info and blogging. I miss that. It is frustrating to attempt to offer something on this forum and then to have it just pulled. Then to hope that you quote someone else's post and just add a +1

For what it's worth 2017-160 is new active legislation that in my opinion WILL restrict Joe Q. Public in our Duval county legislative process. I was at the 3/13/17 Ethics Commission meeting where this was discussed. No one was there. Nobody from TU, FOLIO, BUSINESS JOURNAL, MJ,  DAILEY RECORD, RADIO or TV. etc. etc . Etc.  WHY?

When we have a total collapse of Ethics where then do you turn to restore the Public Trust?

MJ was a forum where you believed it happened.

Congrats guys. All of this rumor mill bullshit is straight out of the Dare playbook, including the lawsuit threats, the character assasination, and the rumors that, while having flakes of truth, are mostly bullshit.

As an original MJ poster, I believe Dan and Ennis are above board, and telling the truth, and wish MJ, UC, and any other project they do nothing but success.

Onward and upward MJ!

Quote from: Noone on March 16, 2017, 12:34:01 AM
Does anyone now feel sorry for the you know who guys?

My sympathy tends to go out the window when the "you know who guy" reaches out to my place of employment at 1:30 in the morning to try to personally bash me based on a rather innocuous mEsSaGe bOaRd CoMmEnT.

But then again, what do I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Quote from: KenFSU on March 16, 2017, 07:47:17 AM

Quote from: Noone on March 16, 2017, 12:34:01 AM
Does anyone now feel sorry for the you know who guys?

My sympathy tends to go out the window when the "you know who guy" reaches out to my place of employment at 1:30 in the morning to try to personally bash me based on a rather innocuous mEsSaGe bOaRd CoMmEnT.

But then again, what do I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Say what? :o

Please send any harassing messages from Stephen to metrojacksonville@metrojacksonville.com.

Quote from: KenFSU on March 16, 2017, 07:47:17 AM

Quote from: Noone on March 16, 2017, 12:34:01 AM
Does anyone now feel sorry for the you know who guys?

My sympathy tends to go out the window when the "you know who guy" reaches out to my place of employment at 1:30 in the morning to try to personally bash me based on a rather innocuous mEsSaGe bOaRd CoMmEnT.

But then again, what do I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Dang, this is so juicy.

(http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/fire-intro-pic.jpg)

Quote from: KenFSU on March 16, 2017, 07:47:17 AM

Quote from: Noone on March 16, 2017, 12:34:01 AM
Does anyone now feel sorry for the you know who guys?

My sympathy tends to go out the window when the "you know who guy" reaches out to my place of employment at 1:30 in the morning to try to personally bash me based on a rather innocuous mEsSaGe bOaRd CoMmEnT.

But then again, what do I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have a similar story.

Around 2008/09, I had just moved moved back to Jacksonville and taken a position at a large oncology medical center. My supervisor at that time was active in the community and turned me on to MetroJacksonville. He participated in the forum discussions on occasioon.

One afternoon, the Director of the medical center was contacted by Mr. "Dare" by phone, where he complained about my supervisor due to a disagreement on the forum, and tried to get him fired. It was pretty shocking, but thankfully unsuccessful.

My impression in recent years was that Mr. "Dare" had toned down his shtick, at least enough to get credible institutions to trust him. Ie, appearing on a local news show, part of a Alvin Brown steering committee, spending time with reputable community leaders, etc.

Then late last year, a friend informed me he was going around telling people that I was somehow key in starting ModernCities.com, and was doing so as an attack on him personally. Of course, that was ridiculous and I was never involved.

If it wasn't sad, it'd be funny.

We've had many reports of this kind of behavior and removed his ability to see any private member info years ago. Thankfully, this hampered his ability to contact people. Unfortunately, sometimes people reveal their identities to him voluntarily.

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.

Quote from: funwithteeth on March 16, 2017, 10:02:52 AM
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?

Of course!

Quote from: funwithteeth on March 16, 2017, 10:22:29 AM
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.

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.

Quote from: Adam White on March 14, 2017, 05:23:36 PM
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.

Quote from: JaxUnicorn on March 14, 2017, 10:42:34 PM
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.

Quote from: civil42806 on March 16, 2017, 11:56:15 AM

Quote from: Adam White on March 14, 2017, 05:23:36 PM
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.

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

QuoteOwner:    Stephen Dare and Arash Kamiar

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

Quote from: thelakelander on March 16, 2017, 12:18:07 PM

Quote from: civil42806 on March 16, 2017, 11:56:15 AM

Quote from: Adam White on March 14, 2017, 05:23:36 PM
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.

Quote from: coredumped on March 16, 2017, 12:27:20 PM
So does the wikipedia page on metrojacksonville need to be updated?

QuoteOwner:    Stephen Dare and Arash Kamiar

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

LOL, that was never true.

Quote from: civil42806 on March 16, 2017, 12:30:24 PM

Quote from: thelakelander on March 16, 2017, 12:18:07 PM

Quote from: civil42806 on March 16, 2017, 11:56:15 AM

Quote from: Adam White on March 14, 2017, 05:23:36 PM
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.

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

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.

^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.   

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

Urbanplanet, that was it. 


We've always had to deal with drama but I wish it didn't have to come down to actual legal proceedings.

Why are parts of the article written in past tense? The site is still here.

^He got the names of 2 people he's suing wrong.

Quote from: civil42806 on March 16, 2017, 11:56:15 AM

Quote from: Adam White on March 14, 2017, 05:23:36 PM
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.

I was thinking the exact same thing - he just happened to appear at an overly convenient moment. Did a good job of silencing the criticism on how dissenting opinion were treated on the forums.

Quote from: Murder_me_Rachel on March 16, 2017, 02:41:00 PM

Quote from: Captain Zissou on March 16, 2017, 02:39:58 PM
^He got the names of 2 people he's suing wrong.

Not at all surprising.  That midget couldn't lawyer his way out of a parking ticket.

I don't know the guy, so I'm not going to say anything negative about him and would encourage everyone to remember our forum rules. As for Mr. Griffin, we'll take the false accusations made seriously when the threats stop and an actual suit is filed with the Clerk of Court.  Until then, this is all hot time wasting air.

Just checked out Mr. Dare's new website. It was a bit.....sparse.

Quote from: RattlerGator on March 15, 2017, 08:57:14 AM

Quote from: KenFSU on March 14, 2017, 05:40:23 PM
No horse in the race, not privy to any inside info, and not interested in private details of someone else's business, but come on now, if there's one person who has earned MORE than the benefit of the doubt over the last decade, it's Ennis. Certainly doesn't need my defending, but guy has never been anything less than a class act. And the foundation of the site, as far as I'm concerned.

Concur 100%

Absolutely!

The only person I couldn't stand more than MMR was StephenDare... He messaged me a few times threatening to ban me so I'm not to sad to see him go. LOL

Quote from: funwithteeth on March 16, 2017, 11:43:57 AM
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.

There is a hard copy of the Folio article in their physical archives.

I just have to weigh in here for a moment about this entire issue.  First I think all that needed to be said has been said with the statement from the News page on this site.  It is short, succinct and to the point.  It reads and I quote

QuoteMetro Jacksonville, Inc. regrets the recent actions by Mr. William "Stephen Dare" Griffin that caused his removal as an officer/director of the corporation. There is an active investigation into associated financial discrepancies so we cannot comment any further at this time.

It speaks to financial discrepancies which is something most here would have no idea about.  The only ones who know the actual facts are those intimately involved.  It's best to leave it like that.  It will be worked out to their own satisfaction or through lawful process and none of that is any of our dadgum business.

I know Ennis Davis for along time now, long before this site started all the way back when Jim Webb had the MetJax site.  When that shut down it spun off into two sites, one I started called JaxOutLoud which focused on politics and the other was this site and forum.  The politics on this forum begun shortly after JOL was closed.

Ennis and I met due to a shared interest in historical buildings, historic restoration, urban core development, something I had been involved as a city official in south Florida long ago, transportation and yes even politics because the politics of transportation and development turn on local politics in Jacksonville like it does elsewhere.

Ennis is one of the most upstanding, forthright, no nonsense, educated and talented individuals that I have ever known.  I know him to be a man of his word, a person of integrity that I have great trust in.  He has said he has not deleted threads from this forum and knowing him that is absolutely the truth. It is worth mentioning that any one of us who posts can delete "their own posts" at any time, new or old.

Beyond that from the point of having started a forum years back it's worth remembering that other than those who are interests in the origination of the site, we are all visitors here and should be thankful that so much time and energy has been taken to make this forum available to folks like ourselves.  It is no easy thing. Right now the future of this site may be undecided but it is my hope it continues.  It is a valuable asset for Jacksonville and beyond. I will continue to post on politics because the truth is politics is intimately intertwined with all that happens in development one way or another from council meetings to State and Federal laws.

As for the individual suspended, this was a long time coming and truly not a surprise.  Again dynamics unknown to most were always at play.  In any event, to my view the forum is far more pleasant minus the constant contrarian dialog and moderation/comment deletions that made reading and interacting on the forum very unpleasant. The drama was intentional and part of an effort to create more readership in the eyes of one person.  Whether or not that is the truth, to my view the best forums are the ones of open honest discussion and "respect" for others opinions and until recently that was not always the case here as many can testify too. 

Ennis, Dan and Mike I hope you are able to keep this site and forum alive and best wishes for the complete success of Modern Cities.  I know it will be great. 

For my first post here in a few years, I'll just say..I hope that the site continues and that real discussions can take place in an amicable and unhindered manner. 

Yes. Despite the accusations against me, I wish him well and good luck with his MetroJaxNews.com (http://metrojaxnews.com) endeavor. We can never have too many people dedicating their time to the improvement of their communities.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 17, 2017, 11:14:56 AM
Yes. Despite the accusations against me, I wish him well and good luck with his MetroJaxNews.com (http://metrojaxnews.com) endeavor. We can never have too many people dedicating their time to the improvement of their communities.

And for the record, I'm not taking sides here. But I think we all should appreciate the effort Stephen put into the website over the years. Sometimes it's easy to concentrate a lot on the forum and its various personalities - I know I do - but the site has had a lot of great stuff over the years and Stephen was a part of that, love him or hate him. And he clearly cares a lot of Jax, as do so many involved with this site (whether owners, contributors or visitors).

I appreciate the site and have found it very interesting and helpful over the years. Let's hope it continues!

Hey everyone  :)  I am back  ;D..... i too took a hiatus from the site since 2007.  It is good to come back and not worry about being harrassed and all the other things that have been mentioned here.  I missed the discussions but not the drama, harrasment and lies...   There are great members on here with good discussions, looking forward to getting back into it.

Welcome back! We missed you!

The recent return of old members and seeming influx of new members is great to see.

Quote from: Adam White on March 17, 2017, 11:43:16 AM

Quote from: thelakelander on March 17, 2017, 11:14:56 AM
Yes. Despite the accusations against me, I wish him well and good luck with his MetroJaxNews.com (http://metrojaxnews.com) endeavor. We can never have too many people dedicating their time to the improvement of their communities.

And for the record, I'm not taking sides here. But I think we all should appreciate the effort Stephen put into the website over the years. Sometimes it's easy to concentrate a lot on the forum and its various personalities - I know I do - but the site has had a lot of great stuff over the years and Stephen was a part of that, love him or hate him. And he clearly cares a lot of Jax, as do so many involved with this site (whether owners, contributors or visitors).

I appreciate the site and have found it very interesting and helpful over the years. Let's hope it continues!

It's important to understand that what happened here had nothing to do with loving or hating him.  It had to do with choices he made and issues behind the scenes and there were many.  The site majority owners did what they had to do and did so without malice.  Let's keep that in mind going forward.  We all decide our own path through our own actions.  Remember that. 

Quote from: remc86007 on March 17, 2017, 12:20:43 PM
The recent return of old members and seeming influx of new members is great to see.

For the record, both overall site and forum traffic are actually up over the last two weeks, despite no real effort to provide a daily front page blog post and zero promotion through social media.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 17, 2017, 12:27:11 PM

Quote from: remc86007 on March 17, 2017, 12:20:43 PM
The recent return of old members and seeming influx of new members is great to see.

For the record, both overall site and forum traffic are actually up over the last two weeks, despite no real effort to provide a daily front page blog post and zero promotion through social media.

This is all very good news Ennis.  I think you will see a growth in following going forward. 

OMG! That's the best thing I've seen all day! You win the Internet today!

TODAY, we are ALL Yawn, Idiot, & Dumb (and a little meh..)

Reactions to his contributions were varied but what was important was that he certainly contributed and for that I am thankful.

stephendare is dead - Long Live stephendare!

Nice to see some great original members coming back onto the forums.

Suzanne, Diane, Jimmy all in the same thread...is it 2006 again?

I miss it.

Quote from: Jim on March 17, 2017, 02:45:53 PM
Suzanne, Diane, Jimmy all in the same thread...is it 2006 again?

I miss it.

Good times, perhaps they now return?  :)

glad to be back, i missed it too.... but the price was too high until recent events :) 

What an eye-opening thread. I appreciate the sunshine; some things that never made sense now most definitely *do* make sense. And Ennis, I apologize. I had concluded you and he were best friends, that you signed off on some of the craziness, and that you were subservient to him.

do i really have to be a "newbie"???   can't i have my old status back... i forget what it was but i know it was much more than "newbie"  ;)

Mt $.02- I understand disputes happen and all, but I am sill incensed that all of his prior postings were removed- I can only hope there is a legal/logical explanation. I am a latecomer to this site, I found it purely by accident looking up articles about downtown. But there were some truly epic articles that were written by him that contributed to the public discussion of this city. His comments not so much perhaps, but still.

^Legally, it's his intellectual property and not Metro Jacksonville, Inc's.  Hopefully, he'll upload it to his website, MetroJaxNews.com (http://metrojaxnews.com).

Quote from: thelakelander on March 18, 2017, 03:39:54 PM
^Legally, it's his intellectual property and not Metro Jacksonville, Inc's.  Hopefully, he'll upload it to his website, MetroJaxNews.com (http://metrojaxnews.com).

I always said that Stephen had enough material after some 35,000 posts to write a book or two. Now is his chance.

For what it's worth, I signed up for these forums around the time that the mayor was out promoting his terrible pension reform plan (hence the choice of username). I work in municipal finance and have for years and noticed something factually inaccurate about an argument this gentleman was making. I very politely typed up a post and disagreed and linked to a couple of sources to check out to clear the confusion as part of the larger conversation. I submitted the post and came back a while later to see if there were any responses. It wasn't there. Maybe because I was a new member and it had to be approved I thought. After a day or so, I didn't see it and wrote it again and submitted. I refreshed and it showed up immediately. Came back 20 minutes later and it was gone. I submitted it a third time and started browsing the forum. I came across a long and un-ironic post from this gentleman congratulating himself about making something like his 500,000th post on this forum, referring to himself as "the most prolific and influential" message board user, and waxing nostalgic about all the people who think he should turn his posts into a book. It remains to this day one of the strangest things I have ever read online.

I then went back to my original topic and my post had been deleted. At that point I just assumed everyone here was a lunatic and stopped posting.

Glad to see that's not the case.  :)

Kind of wonder why this didn't come to a head sooner. Then again, stephendare served a purpose. He drove page hits. No denying it. he was the king of the gadfly's. I could not have dealt with him as a partner as long as you have, but he did drive the site to an extent. An aside, sounds like he has possibly gone off kilter seriously. The allegations are pretty serious. Sounds like he may be off the rails. Long term relationship, litigation aside, I guess I hope you all have at least made an attempt to reach out to the little guy to make sure he is actually ok.

Anyone know where his last name came from? Or why he changed it?

Quote from: coredumped on March 19, 2017, 12:21:07 AM
Anyone know where his last name came from? Or why he changed it?

He used to do a zine called Dare Tabloid (I think). So, as is common with zine writers, he took the last name of his zine. I assume that's the reason, though I could be wrong.

Quote from: Houseboat Mike on March 18, 2017, 02:56:10 PM
But there were some truly epic articles that were written by him that contributed to the public discussion of this city. His comments not so much perhaps, but still.

For every nugget and amazing factoid, he peppered in stuff that simply wasn't accurate, and maybe even wholly made up. He operates in the gray area between truth and, well, you know.

He brings/brought tremendous energy, a cheeky sarcasm, a love of history, and drive that I always admired, but not a single scruple to match.

In conversations, It wasnt enough to have more proof, or simply accept a difference of opinion, he would occasionally go on these wildly unnecessary scorched earth campaigns against anyone he felt slighted him.

Yes, he brought clicks, but he also pushed away a lot of great community contributors, a few board members and more than a few admins.

Whew... I survived... :D

I'd argue bringing in clicks was highly exaggerated.  If you run off half the people in the city that's not the recipe for traffic growth.  Case in point, traffic is up.

Far as I'm concerned, MJ is headed in the right direction. It's ironic that suddenly everyone for the most part is getting along pretty well, coincidence? Liberals and conservatives on MJ are all gonna turn into centrists. :)   

Quote from: Houseboat Mike on March 18, 2017, 02:56:10 PM
Mt $.02- I understand disputes happen and all, but I am sill incensed that all of his prior postings were removed- I can only hope there is a legal/logical explanation. I am a latecomer to this site, I found it purely by accident looking up articles about downtown. But there were some truly epic articles that were written by him that contributed to the public discussion of this city. His comments not so much perhaps, but still.

Broken clock is still right twice a day

I would be willing to bet he is the one that removed it all.  Or at least requested it removed.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 19, 2017, 06:38:53 PM
I'd argue bringing in clicks was highly exaggerated.  If you run off half the people in the city that's not the recipe for traffic growth.  Case in point, traffic is up.

You've addressed this before, but it's still amusing to me how some people here are under the impression that this message board generates revenue.

So, what does this all mean for a potential aquarium in downtown Jax?

Well, I hope to see others return to the forum as well....some of us go way back to 2007.

Quote from: funwithteeth on March 20, 2017, 11:03:27 AM
You've addressed this before, but it's still amusing to me how some people here are under the impression that this message board generates revenue.

I'm sure it is very little, but there has to be some revenue because there are ads on the site. As I said earlier, I'd be willing to pay a subscription fee or contribute to a Patreon if it got rid of the ads and allowed the owners to produce more original content.

I miss the lively debates between stephen and PeeStandingUp. Hopefully he wasn't banned.

PSU can post as often as he likes... 8)

Quote from: Downtownparks2 on March 19, 2017, 06:27:35 PM

Quote from: Houseboat Mike on March 18, 2017, 02:56:10 PM
But there were some truly epic articles that were written by him that contributed to the public discussion of this city. His comments not so much perhaps, but still.

For every nugget and amazing factoid, he peppered in stuff that simply wasn't accurate, and maybe even wholly made up. He operates in the gray area between truth and, well, you know.

He brings/brought tremendous energy, a cheeky sarcasm, a love of history, and drive that I always admired, but not a single scruple to match.

In conversations, It wasnt enough to have more proof, or simply accept a difference of opinion, he would occasionally go on these wildly unnecessary scorched earth campaigns against anyone he felt slighted him.

Yes, he brought clicks, but he also pushed away a lot of great community contributors, a few board members and more than a few admins.

Exactly.  Well put and on the mark.

Quote from: I-10east on March 19, 2017, 11:02:36 PM
Far as I'm concerned, MJ is headed in the right direction. It's ironic that suddenly everyone for the most part is getting along pretty well, coincidence? Liberals and conservatives on MJ are all gonna turn into centrists. :)   

I-10, IT'S SAFE TO COME OUT :D :D :D

I admire the fact that you never left, even after years of name-calling and abuse.

Quote from: remc86007 on March 20, 2017, 12:13:17 PM

Quote from: funwithteeth on March 20, 2017, 11:03:27 AM
You've addressed this before, but it's still amusing to me how some people here are under the impression that this message board generates revenue.

I'm sure it is very little, but there has to be some revenue because there are ads on the site. As I said earlier, I'd be willing to pay a subscription fee or contribute to a Patreon if it got rid of the ads and allowed the owners to produce more original content.

The google ads (which are a pain in the ass) basically pay for the O&M of the site (ex. server, photo host site, etc.) without us having to pay those expenses out of our own pockets.  I, and others, basically write as a hobby and for the love of the city. To pay our bills most of us have real jobs outside of the blogs.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 20, 2017, 12:49:58 PM

Quote from: remc86007 on March 20, 2017, 12:13:17 PM

Quote from: funwithteeth on March 20, 2017, 11:03:27 AM
You've addressed this before, but it's still amusing to me how some people here are under the impression that this message board generates revenue.

I'm sure it is very little, but there has to be some revenue because there are ads on the site. As I said earlier, I'd be willing to pay a subscription fee or contribute to a Patreon if it got rid of the ads and allowed the owners to produce more original content.

The google ads (which are a pain in the ass) basically pay for the O&M of the site (ex. server, photo host site, etc.) without us having to pay those expenses out of our own pockets.  I, and others, basically write as a hobby and for the love of the city. To pay our bills most of us have real jobs outside of the blogs.

I've already spoken with Dan about it but I can drop your server costs to $0.

Yes, yesterday he told us about how you can help.

Thanks Ken. I appreciate the kind remarks. :)

Quote from: thelakelander on March 20, 2017, 12:49:58 PM

Quote from: remc86007 on March 20, 2017, 12:13:17 PM

Quote from: funwithteeth on March 20, 2017, 11:03:27 AM
You've addressed this before, but it's still amusing to me how some people here are under the impression that this message board generates revenue.

I'm sure it is very little, but there has to be some revenue because there are ads on the site. As I said earlier, I'd be willing to pay a subscription fee or contribute to a Patreon if it got rid of the ads and allowed the owners to produce more original content.

The google ads (which are a pain in the ass) basically pay for the O&M of the site (ex. server, photo host site, etc.) without us having to pay those expenses out of our own pockets.  I, and others, basically write as a hobby and for the love of the city. To pay our bills most of us have real jobs outside of the blogs.

I have (at times) almost started a thread called "The Very Best of MJ Ad's" with clip outs of of the most ludicrous ads to show how laughable they are. "The Hidden secret of Don Knotts", not once,, hey but twice! Ad's of Trump looking at his daughter, either from the front or the back, very weird.  Click bait that reaches for the lowest order of interest.

I know, I know, it pays the bills.  But you have to admit, they do provoke a laugh or two at the strange factor.

Lol, I think that's your viewing habits. I've never seen any of those.

Quote from: spuwho on March 20, 2017, 09:37:41 PM
I have (at times) almost started a thread called "The Very Best of MJ Ad's" with clip outs of of the most ludicrous ads to show how laughable they are. "The Hidden secret of Don Knotts", not once,, hey but twice!

A rare glimpse into the sordid private world of spuwho.

*shudders*

Quote from: BridgeTroll on March 20, 2017, 12:32:00 PM
PSU can post as often as he likes... 8)

*Steps to mic* Hel....hello?? :)

Oh hi! So yeah, I haven't posted since Stephen pulled his thread shenanigans on me months ago (made a thread in my name to discredit me because he didn't like my criticism with how he was steering the conversations or the site in general). Not out of anger or anything, but I honestly just didn't wanna add anymore fuel, revenue, page views, whatever to that type of behavior. It was a "why even bother?" type of thing.

I personally did think Stephen contributed a lot, and he's a friend of mine as well, but I also can see why the decision was made to perma ban him. I think for every good solid discussion or "man on the ground" thread, there were 10 that were completely off the rails with shitty (and obviously bias) sources that were created as a means to push some hardlined agenda, silence any real debate & keep a narrative going. Any pushback (or even just acknowledgment) of this was met with harsh pile ons (from a select few, which may or may not have been the same person). If you look back in my history, I literally warned him for probably the last two years that this would drive users away & ultimately be the end of the site. Round & round we went, and you know how it goes. I was crazy, I was a conspiracy nut, I was this or that, and it'd just continue on, rinse & repeat. Even though he knew personally none of this was true. So now, here we are.

It was always my feeling that the co-owner of the site should take a more relaxed view to certain topics, to set an example & encourage open discussions. Obviously he didn't do that. So much so that he went to great lengths to defend this behavior with name calling, bans, mud slinging & discrediting campaigns. As him being the co captain of the ship, and the most active poster by far, he never quite got that (or never cared to). Because after all, he was right & you were wrong. Always. I sincerely hope he learns from all this & tries to at least acknowledge this & better himself in this regard. He is a talented & smart guy, just needs to work on a bit of online decorum & not taking things so personal.

Just because you're a crazy conspiracy nut doesn't mean you can't be right every once in awhile  :D

Quote from: peestandingup on March 21, 2017, 05:58:09 AM

Quote from: BridgeTroll on March 20, 2017, 12:32:00 PM
PSU can post as often as he likes... 8)

*Steps to mic* Hel....hello?? :)

Oh hi! So yeah, I haven't posted since Stephen pulled his thread shenanigans on me months ago (made a thread in my name to discredit me because he didn't like my criticism with how he was steering the conversations or the site in general). Not out of anger or anything, but I honestly just didn't wanna add anymore fuel, revenue, page views, whatever to that type of behavior. It was a "why even bother?" type of thing.

I personally did think Stephen contributed a lot, and he's a friend of mine as well, but I also can see why the decision was made to perma ban him. I think for every good solid discussion or "man on the ground" thread, there were 10 that were completely off the rails with shitty (and obviously bias) sources that were created as a means to push some hardlined agenda, silence any real debate & keep a narrative going. Any pushback (or even just acknowledgment) of this was met with harsh pile ons (from a select few, which may or may not have been the same person). If you look back in my history, I literally warned him for probably the last two years that this would drive users away & ultimately be the end of the site. Round & round we went, and you know how it goes. I was crazy, I was a conspiracy nut, I was this or that, and it'd just continue on, rinse & repeat. Even though he knew personally none of this was true. So now, here we are.

It was always my feeling that the co-owner of the site should take a more relaxed view to certain topics, to set an example & encourage open discussions. Obviously he didn't do that. So much so that he went to great lengths to defend this behavior with name calling, bans, mud slinging & discrediting campaigns. As him being the co captain of the ship, and the most active poster by far, he never quite got that (or never cared to). Because after all, he was right & you were wrong. Always. I sincerely hope he learns from all this & tries to at least acknowledge this & better himself in this regard. He is a talented & smart guy, just needs to work on a bit of online decorum & not taking things so personal.

Welcome back... your clearly out of practice because you forgot to... drop the mic...  :)

Quote from: Adam White on March 21, 2017, 06:25:26 AM
Just because you're a crazy conspiracy nut doesn't mean you can't be right every once in awhile  :D

Bill Clinton is a rapist & they're making the damn frogs gay. En foe wers dot com! :D

Quote from: BridgeTroll on March 21, 2017, 06:36:42 AM
Welcome back... your clearly out of practice because you forgot to... drop the mic...  :)

I never drop my own mic sir. Classy that way. ;)

Quote from: Adam White on March 21, 2017, 04:00:12 AM

Quote from: spuwho on March 20, 2017, 09:37:41 PM
I have (at times) almost started a thread called "The Very Best of MJ Ad's" with clip outs of of the most ludicrous ads to show how laughable they are. "The Hidden secret of Don Knotts", not once,, hey but twice!

A rare glimpse into the sordid private world of spuwho.

*shudders*

Too funny. I do know how ads work and I havent been to any of these sites.

Right now I use Firefox Android to look at MJ and it doesnt have an ad blocker like I do at home. So its the only place I see MJ ads.

Honestly it crashes alot on MJ, mostly due to your front page refresh script and was about to give it up for Chrome Android.

But you would get a laugh at these ads, they are really off the wall.

My life has enough excitement as it is, dont need the sordid to add any drama!

Quote from: peestandingup on March 21, 2017, 05:58:09 AM
. . . and he's a friend of mine as well . . .

Wut !?!

Quote from: RattlerGator on March 22, 2017, 11:01:19 AM

Quote from: peestandingup on March 21, 2017, 05:58:09 AM
. . . and he's a friend of mine as well . . .

Wut !?!

Exactly.

(http://i.imgur.com/vH1tksu.gif)

From Folio today.

QuoteOne of those old friends who made a habit of shredding me: Stephen Dare, in his previous position at Metro Jacksonville. During the mayoral race, Dare often questioned my credibility in posts and whatever on the site, even issuing a moratorium on links to my posts. I never registered for the forum but, like most writers, if someone is writing about me, I'm reading it.

I respect others' opinions, in that I wholly subscribe to their rights to have them, just as I have mine. I'd see Dare around, and the conversations were always cordial, and I expect that if I saw him again, the conversation would still be cordial.

How to reconcile those cordial conversations with the one-sided cyber-antipathy? I don't know. Dynamics are complex and people have multiple narratives. Which leads me, by way of extended preamble, to whatever's going on with Metro Jacksonville.[/quote[ 

For full commentary click link below.
http://folioweekly.com/slings-arrows,17179

Quote from: Cheshire Cat on March 22, 2017, 09:57:17 PM
From Folio today.

QuoteOne of those old friends who made a habit of shredding me: Stephen Dare, in his previous position at Metro Jacksonville. During the mayoral race, Dare often questioned my credibility in posts and whatever on the site, even issuing a moratorium on links to my posts. I never registered for the forum but, like most writers, if someone is writing about me, I'm reading it.

I respect others' opinions, in that I wholly subscribe to their rights to have them, just as I have mine. I'd see Dare around, and the conversations were always cordial, and I expect that if I saw him again, the conversation would still be cordial.

How to reconcile those cordial conversations with the one-sided cyber-antipathy? I don't know. Dynamics are complex and people have multiple narratives. Which leads me, by way of extended preamble, to whatever's going on with Metro Jacksonville.[/quote[ 

For full commentary click link below.
http://folioweekly.com/slings-arrows,17179

Stephen disliked Tony Gancarski? Looks like Stephen just went up in my estimation of him.

Since this thread is generally about the direction of MJ; are articles that would ussually be featured here now only be posted to MC? I check this site all the time but saw the new Urban Construction Update on reddit and it isn't posted here at all.

The majority of the front page articles on MJ were written by me over the last 10 years. Due to the behind-the-scenes situation, I will no longer be doing that. In the short term, I will continue to ocassionally share content I produce. In fact, the construction update will be shared here tomorrow. 

For your sakeI'm hoping you had a written agreement with the changes in Fl LLC laws

We're not a LLC

Can you unblock me from the Metro Jacksonville Facebook page?

Stephen blocked me a couple of years ago. He had started a thread about how the "pizzapocalypse" never happened in Avondale, despite people apparently saying it was a sure thing. I had the audacity to point out the he was the person who invented that term and that no one else used it.

curious me; if he was so bad for so long, why was he not banned earlier?

There has been at least one suspension in the past that I'm aware of.  Things weren't made public.  This time around, someone signed up as Vvamp and ended up lighting a public flame on the issue that they probably regret at this point.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 23, 2017, 05:18:05 PM
The majority of the front page articles on MJ were written by me over the last 10 years. Due to the behind-the-scenes situation, I will no longer be doing that. In the short term, I will continue to ocassionally share content I produce. In fact, the construction update will be shared here tomorrow.

So this site will essentially just be the forum and the occasional article from MC? No more original content here?

It remains to be seen at this point.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 23, 2017, 05:18:05 PM
The majority of the front page articles on MJ were written by me over the last 10 years. Due to the behind-the-scenes situation, I will no longer be doing that. In the short term, I will continue to ocassionally share content I produce. In fact, the construction update will be shared here tomorrow.

All of that will be on ModernCities?

All of the daily content I write will be hosted on MC.  Basically, the same thing I've been doing since May 2016.  In the short term, about two or three of those stories will be shared on MJ each week.

You can also follow Modern Cities on Facebook and Twitter.  And TransForm Jax also shares much of the Modern Cities content on its Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/ModernCitiesOnline/

https://twitter.com/modern_cities

https://www.facebook.com/transformjax/

It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Can't we all just get along??????????

I don't know, sounds like a stretch to me.

Gonna be hard to prove anything in the absence of stock certificates or formal records of any kind, and you'd think these issues would have been addressed years ago if factual as stated, not after the falling out.

"the DARE" 

;D

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 01, 2017, 12:40:22 PM
It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

I wouldn't take trumped up allegations in a Complaint as true...ever.

^ "Exceeding."  That's just a jurisdictional requirement to get into circuit court.

Yeah, that went over my head. ::)

That was an interesting write-up from Gancarski.

I can't read that case, Chris, but I presume I can go to the clerk's website, register and do so.

Quote from: KenFSU on June 01, 2017, 01:25:42 PM
I don't know, sounds like a stretch to me.

Gonna be hard to prove anything in the absence of stock certificates or formal records of any kind, and you'd think these issues would have been addressed years ago if factual as stated, not after the falling out.

He has no legal standing in this.  There were no signed agreements with him and the other site members.  Nothing at all.  He is just trying to come away with some easy money.  I doubt the court will hear it and if it does, he walks with nothing. What a damn shame but this is his style through and through. 

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 01, 2017, 02:30:40 PM
Only 15k to get Dare to go away?!? I wish I had known that years ago......

We should have started a Gofundme for that endeavor.  I could just see the money roll in.

Just finished reading the Complaint. Definitely a big, fat nothing-burger.

He clearly, by his own pleading, assented to a course of conduct over the years that he now wants to complain about with -- unfortunately for him -- no bylaws filed to constrain or shape corporate activity.

I'll say this, though: that pleading sounded like Stephen. Another unfortunate fact for "the" Dare.

Quote from: edjax on June 01, 2017, 06:03:49 PM

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 01, 2017, 02:30:40 PM
Only 15k to get Dare to go away?!? I wish I had known that years ago......

We should have started a Gofundme for that endeavor.  I could just see the money roll in.

I don't think it would matter. They could give SD complete control/ownership of the site, but it seems doomed to me regardless if I'm being honest. I hope I'm wrong. :( The recent drama probably only compounded the issues with lack of content & spotty forum posts.

I wonder why he didn't hire Chris as his lawyer?

The complaint sounds over Dare-matic.

I am another poster who disappeared after Mr. Dare's relentless inability to objectively debate, rather than uncivilly demonize and denounce, both my frequent posts highlighting the fallacies of continuing to operate and/or expand the Skyway and my person (whom he had never met or talked to other than through postings on this site).  He never effectively refuted my facts or position, just emotionally threw outrageous temper tantrums because I didn't justify or align with his position that the Skyway was the be-all of Downtown.  I did enjoy needling him with my nickname for his favorite boondoggle, calling it the $ky-high-way  8)   I take comfort in time having told, and continuing to tell, that my position will be on the right side of history :).

Stephen and I did have many fruitful  and enlightening discussions about Jacksonville's history and odd facts, often working together to uncover ever more of the same.  Unfortunately, the above behavior led me to leave all that behind.

I guess I will wait and see what the counterclaims are.

If it in fact makes it to a jury, I would like to sit and watch.

Quote from: stjr on June 01, 2017, 11:08:46 PM
I am another poster who disappeared

Wow, another valuable contributor who was run away! I remember you well, stjr. Hope you will stick around.

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 01, 2017, 12:40:22 PM
It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Thanks for identifying yourself.

I just got to wondering why you felt it necessary to deny any involvement in this matter.

http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?   (http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?)


I guess this is why.

Also got to wondering why Stephen identifies himself by a "pen name"? Started browsing through the Duval County Core system https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess (https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess) and his repeated interactions with law enforcement may offer some insight into his reluctance to identify himself by his true name.

I also noticed that Mike Yokan represented you as counsel in your writ of Replevin wherein you attempted to regain possession of the Wickersham family heirloom Rolex that you lost.

Furthermore, it would appear that you share an office with Mike Yokan.

It appears that your denial of personal involvement could be construed as "less than truthful".

It seems that Stephen is constructing a house of cards and you have moved in as a tenant. Cant wait to see the finale when the evictions start.

Quote from: Midway ® on June 02, 2017, 08:42:21 AM

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 01, 2017, 12:40:22 PM
It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Thanks for identifying yourself.

I just got to wondering why you felt it necessary to deny any involvement in this matter.

http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?   (http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?)


I guess this is why.

Also got to wondering why Stephen identifies himself by a "pen name"? Started browsing through the Duval County Core system https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess (https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess) and his repeated interactions with law enforcement may offer some insight into his reluctance to identify himself by his true name.

I also noticed that Mike Yokan represented you as counsel in your writ of Replevin wherein you attempted to regain possession of the Wickersham family heirloom Rolex that you lost.

Furthermore, it would appear that you share an office with Mike Yokan.

It appears that your denial of personal involvement could be construed as "less than truthful".

It seems that Stephen is constructing a house of cards and you have moved in as a tenant. Cant wait to see the finale when the evictions start.

This is some pro level snooping. damn. Bravo!

According to this article, Stephen is quoted as saying, it was about the "general direction of the site", not about finances. Also the courts have upheld that a blog post is not owned by its "poster", it becomes the intellectual property of blog itself (unless the blog poster has a prior copyright on the posted material) .

Issue here is that Stephen was a board member during all of those posts.  If he is in fact a former 23% shareholder, he would be in line to be compensated in some form for his "contribution" to the collective IP of the company.  But if he violated a board mandate or a bylaw of the corporation and was in turn removed for cause due to violation of those bylaws, then he might not be entitled to anything at all.

I am armchair QB'ing here and have no info beyond what has been reported.  I am looking at it purely from a legal perspective.

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

QuoteThe future of a longtime website and community discussion forum is up in the air after a feud among the founders of Metro Jacksonville prompted a corporate split and threats of legal action.

For the past 11 years, Metro Jacksonville has been a locally influential website with a focus on urban planning. It's known for its lively discussion threads on everything from food truck trends to politics to code enforcement complaints.

But last year, co-founder Stephen Dare was removed from Metro Jacksonville's articles of incorporation. Dare, a fixture on Jacksonville's cultural scene and driver of considerable content on MetroJacksonville.com, also has been scraped from the site, his articles removed, along with what he estimates to be some 46,000 discussion posts. His account was suspended in December. He attributed the split to a difference of opinion about the direction of the site. He called the situation "sad," and told First Coast News he plans to sue his former partners (though no litigation has been filed).

"It's turned nasty and mean," Dare told First Coast News.

Ennis Davis, co-owner, declined to get into the weeds of the dispute, but acknowledged the future of the site and its forums is up in the air. In a statement from the remaining corporate officers of Metro Jacksonville, he says it's the organization versus Dare. "We are working to create some type of resolution to separate the rest of us from him."

For fans of Metro Jacksonville, news of the split was an unwelcome surprise. Tony Allegretti, director of downtown engagement for the Jacksonville Chamber and co-founder of Burrito Gallery, says,  "it's disappointing news to hear. Over the years Metro Jacksonville provided history -- things that the mainstream media may not pick up, but were important to neighborhoods."

He adds that Dare and Davis will continue to be part of the larger city conversation, even if they aren't working together. "I know they want the same things for the city. So I would say I wish them both well. I hate that it's going down bitterly."

Abel Harding, a former political columnist for the Florida Times-Union and board member of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, says the site was especially important before the age of social media.

"Metro provided a forum for people to talk about what's going on in the city," he says. "There were some great conversations about transportation and downtown development and city priorities."

He adds that Davis and the site's staff did great work on the history of Jacksonville.

The internal dispute recently spawned a thread on one of the site's discussion forums. Some users expressed suspicions that it is connected to a new, competing website Modern Cities, which Davis helped create. Others say they are happy to see Dare gone. Quite a few said commenters should reserve judgment and see what happens.

Some content from Metro Jacksonville now links directly to Modern Cities, a site started in 2016 by Davis and a few others from Metro Jacksonville. Davis says Modern Cities is about urban development on a national level.

He also points out while he's been instrumental in the founding of Modern Cities, Dare has also started a website of his own - MetroJaxNews. Neither have a direct relationship to Metro Jacksonville, he says.

Metro Jacksonville, Inc. released a statement in response to a request for comment, which references Dare by his given name, William Stephen Griffin. It reads:

"Metro Jacksonville, Inc. regrets the recent actions by Mr. Griffin that caused his removal as an officer/director of the corporation. There is an active investigation into associated financial discrepancies so we cannot comment any further on the situation with Mr. Griffin."

The statement has since been posted to the Metro Jacksonville website.

Dare denies any wrongdoing. A letter from his attorney Mike Yokan says, "a suit will be filed within days to address the wrongdoings of Mr. Ennis, Mr. Herbin, Mr. Fields and Modern Cities, LLC."

I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

In full disclosure, AOL Online was sued by a large entertainment conglomerate due to a posting I made about a movie.

I was advised by AOL General Counsel that I would not be liable since they would simply remove the blog post as they were the "owner" of the post. But per AOL rules, my true identity was never revealed to the conglomerate, only my avatar.

AOL and the conglomerate settled out of court and my post was eventually removed as part of the settlement.

So that is where I get the "owner of the blog post" perspective, personal experience in case anyone asks.

I know what Project Maximus is going to say already!

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 02, 2017, 10:24:28 AM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 10:17:42 AM
I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

I just thought it sounded dirty.

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 02, 2017, 10:36:50 AM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 10:28:55 AM

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 02, 2017, 10:24:28 AM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 10:17:42 AM
I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

Thanks. I didn't follow the link. Interesting phrase.
I think if SD wins the suit he should stand in front of the MJ defendants and declare " I drink your milk shake!" and now I am 'Plump with Pleasure!"

:)  :)  That made me laugh.

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 10:38:44 AM

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 02, 2017, 10:36:50 AM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 10:28:55 AM

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 02, 2017, 10:24:28 AM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 10:17:42 AM
I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

Thanks. I didn't follow the link. Interesting phrase.
I think if SD wins the suit he should stand in front of the MJ defendants and declare " I drink your milk shake!" and now I am 'Plump with Pleasure!"

:)  :)  That made me laugh.

We need a Plump with Pleasure emoticon...  :)

Quote from: BridgeTroll on June 02, 2017, 10:41:49 AM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 10:38:44 AM

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 02, 2017, 10:36:50 AM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 10:28:55 AM

Quote from: sanmarcomatt on June 02, 2017, 10:24:28 AM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 10:17:42 AM
I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

Thanks. I didn't follow the link. Interesting phrase.
I think if SD wins the suit he should stand in front of the MJ defendants and declare " I drink your milk shake!" and now I am 'Plump with Pleasure!"

:)  :)  That made me laugh.

We need a Plump with Pleasure emoticon...  :)

Have someone code it in...

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/03/10/267DE80400000578-2987584-The_feeling_fat_emoji_that_Facebook_users_were_able_to-m-3_1425975606558.jpg)

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 10:19:23 AM
I know what Project Maximus is going to say already!

What? That you should teach a course on...everything? Sign me up for the class!

Quote from: Midway ® on June 02, 2017, 08:42:21 AM

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 01, 2017, 12:40:22 PM
It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Thanks for identifying yourself.

I just got to wondering why you felt it necessary to deny any involvement in this matter.

http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?   (http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?)


I guess this is why.

Also got to wondering why Stephen identifies himself by a "pen name"? Started browsing through the Duval County Core system https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess (https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess) and his repeated interactions with law enforcement may offer some insight into his reluctance to identify himself by his true name.

I also noticed that Mike Yokan represented you as counsel in your writ of Replevin wherein you attempted to regain possession of the Wickersham family heirloom Rolex that you lost.

Furthermore, it would appear that you share an office with Mike Yokan.

It appears that your denial of personal involvement could be construed as "less than truthful".

It seems that Stephen is constructing a house of cards and you have moved in as a tenant. Cant wait to see the finale when the evictions start.

I know Stephen and most of the other board members of MJ socially, which is why I didn't get involved. I never denied this, so I don't know what you think you're accomplishing this tinfoil-hat stuff. I said I'm not involved in the case, because I'm not involved in the case.

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 01, 2017, 12:40:22 PM
It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Hmmm. The looks, Chris, seem to suggest you *do* have some personal involvement. Further, a serious argument can be made that accepting every allegation by Stephen as true, there's nothing to firmly base a recovery upon *and* he didn't protect himself *nor* was he obviously taken advantage of. Hell, he may very well have been *the* most experienced individual in the corporation. The clear implication? He shoulders an expectation that he knew or should have known the depth of his exposure given the admitted business practices he clearly signed off on.

That thing reads like a he said - he said in an entirely informal business arrangement. He gets nuttin.

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 02, 2017, 12:44:47 PM

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 01, 2017, 12:40:22 PM
It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Hmmm. The looks, Chris, seem to suggest you *do* have some personal involvement. Further, a serious argument can be made that accepting every allegation by Stephen as true, there's nothing to firmly base a recovery upon *and* he didn't protect himself *nor* was he obviously taken advantage of. Hell, he may very well have been *the* most experienced individual in the corporation. The clear implication? He shoulders an expectation that he knew or should have known the depth of his exposure given the admitted business practices he clearly signed off on.

That thing reads like a he said - he said in an entirely informal business arrangement. He gets nuttin.

I know Stephen socially, ditto with some of the other board members, I think they're all nice guys. That doesn't mean I'm representing anybody in the case, and I'm not.

The things you mentioned didn't strike me as determinative, in the real world most small businesses don't have share certificates or a formal operating agreement, that's sort of par for the course. But if you really want to know the part that worried me, it's not just pure opinion, it's the part about one group of board members starting up a competing business without the consent of the other board members. That's going to be legally problematic if it's true. I don't know if it is or isn't. I hope it's not. But that part stuck out at me.

I don't know about anybody else but I don't personally view them as competing.  Modern Cities is obviously focused on general development and urban issues nationally with a bias towards Jax and there is no forum that I'm aware of.  Before Stephen was gone most of the content here was his random articles about drag queens, Tyler Shields, Trump, and whatever else he was fixated on at the time and spamming the forums with.  I'm sure it was this stuff that he claims was driving up the readership, LOL.  Maybe now they are more competing since no one is actively posting many articles and the conversations have returned to urban issues around town now that the drama queen is no more.

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 02, 2017, 01:09:35 PM

The things you mentioned didn't strike me as determinative, in the real world most small businesses don't have .... a formal operating agreement, that's sort of par for the course

(http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mj-laughing.gif)

Quote from: acme54321 on June 02, 2017, 01:26:41 PM
I don't know about anybody else but I don't personally view them as competing.  Modern Cities is obviously focused on general development and urban issues nationally with a bias towards Jax and there is no forum that I'm aware of.  Before Stephen was gone most of the content here was his random articles about drag queens, Tyler Shields, Trump, and whatever else he was fixated on at the time and spamming the forums with.  I'm sure it was this stuff that he claims was driving up the readership, LOL.  Maybe now they are more competing since no one is actively posting many articles and the conversations have returned to urban issues around town now that the drama queen is no more.

You forgot Lee Harvey.

I think Stephen made a lot of great contributions, but I'd agree that in more recent times, the quality of content was kind of taking a nosedive. I think the Modern Cities stuff was pretty cool and it would appear that Ennis was the one keeping the site afloat, content-wise. At least in terms of worthwhile content.

All that aside, I think the site is a bit less entertaining without Stephen's input. But the forum is also a far less scary place, so there's that.

Quote from: MEGATRON on June 02, 2017, 01:55:03 PM

Quote from: ChriswUfGator on June 02, 2017, 01:09:35 PM

The things you mentioned didn't strike me as determinative, in the real world most small businesses don't have .... a formal operating agreement, that's sort of par for the course

(http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mj-laughing.gif)

Say what you will, I'm just talking from personal experience. Done several corporate dissolution suits over the years, and I've yet to see one of them where a small business actually issued all the stock certificates and whatnot properly. People file the articles of incorporation and do the annual renewals, then seem to forget about the rest of it.

That said, I don't know what these guys do or don't have with MJ. Your guess is as good as mine.

Think of the Eagles (band) when they performed a dissolution and removed Don Felder.  Don was listed on the incorporation papers as the CFO but he hadn't checked the finances ever. Then when he sobered up, he began to take on the fiduciary duties and found out Henley and Frey were kinda milking the cheese. When Henley and Frey wouldn't answer his phone calls, his attorney got involved. That is where the corporate attorney came in and notified Felder his duties were voted out. They settled out of court.

The GoGo's girl band pulled a nasty on bassist Kathy Valentine.  When Charlotte Caffey got ticked Valentine dropped a Twitter on her drug habit to promote a book, they moved to "eliminate" her.  The remaining GoGo's simply set up a new corporate entity, took all the touring money and paid a small licensing and rights fee to the former entity, of which Valentine had a irrevocable share of 20%. So she went from 20% of $2 million annually to only 20% of $100k. They also settled out of court.

Usually in these settlements are financial considerations for their past creative work and a press gag to keep the voted out members from talking to reporters about the dirt. That usually requires some kind of valuation of the former functional entity.  Felder isn't allowed to disclose his settlement, but he was able to write a book. Henley challenged it (and lost) but changes were made. (mostly material on Henley's drug habits)

Kathy Valentine also can't disclose anything, but she had already written a book on her GoGo's life, so the gag was limited to mostly the press.

Those were 2 examples where there was a formal agreement in place, but it was loosely enforced until one person spoke up.

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 04:55:05 PM
Think of the Eagles (band) when they performed a dissolution and removed Don Felder.  Don was listed on the incorporation papers as the CFO but he hadn't checked the finances ever. Then when he sobered up, he began to take on the fiduciary duties and found out Henley and Frey were kinda milking the cheese. When Henley and Frey wouldn't answer his phone calls, his attorney got involved. That is where the corporate attorney came in and notified Felder his duties were voted out. They settled out of court.

The GoGo's girl band pulled a nasty on bassist Kathy Valentine.  When Charlotte Caffey got ticked Valentine dropped a Twitter on her drug habit to promote a book, they moved to "eliminate" her.  The remaining GoGo's simply set up a new corporate entity, took all the touring money and paid a small licensing and rights fee to the former entity, of which Valentine had a irrevocable share of 20%. So she went from 20% of $2 million annually to only 20% of $100k. They also settled out of court.

Usually in these settlements are financial considerations for their past creative work and a press gag to keep the voted out members from talking to reporters about the dirt. That usually requires some kind of valuation of the former functional entity.  Felder isn't allowed to disclose his settlement, but he was able to write a book. Henley challenged it (and lost) but changes were made. (mostly material on Henley's drug habits)

Kathy Valentine also can't disclose anything, but she had already written a book on her GoGo's life, so the gag was limited to mostly the press.

Those were 2 examples where there was a formal agreement in place, but it was loosely enforced until one person spoke up.

Dude, the GoGos were a band. No need to use the word "girl" as a modifier. They were a shit ton better than the fucking "boy" band The Eagles, that's for damn sure.

ChrisW Gator's best quotes:

1. The disavowal:

QuoteI know Stephen and most of the other board members of MJ socially, which is why I didn't get involved. I never denied this, so I don't know what you think you're accomplishing this tinfoil-hat stuff. I said I'm not involved in the case, because I'm not involved in the case.

2. First legal opinion:

QuoteThe things you mentioned didn't strike me as determinative, in the real world most small businesses don't have share certificates or a formal operating agreement, that's sort of par for the course. But if you really want to know the part that worried me, it's not just pure opinion, it's the part about one group of board members starting up a competing business without the consent of the other board members. That's going to be legally problematic if it's true. I don't know if it is or isn't. I hope it's not. But that part stuck out at me.

3. Second legal opinion:

QuoteSay what you will, I'm just talking from personal experience. Done several corporate dissolution suits over the years, and I've yet to see one of them where a small business actually issued all the stock certificates and whatnot properly. People file the articles of incorporation and do the annual renewals, then seem to forget about the rest of it.

Really? All I see are tenant evictions. Can you cite those cases for me? I would like to review them for relevance and outcome, since you are representing yourself as a legal expert in this area of practice.


Care to proffer further legal opinions, Counselor?

Or, how about another disclaimer / disavowal?

The lady doth protest too much, methinks

Beware of the Law of Holes and may you be plump with pleasure.

Why don't we get all the Metro Jax lawyers (and wannabe lawyers), maroon them on Exchange Club Island with a bit of food and not much else (save, maybe, a copy of Black's Law Dictionary) and let them go all "Lord of the Flies" on each other.

The one who makes it out alive will be the one whose opinion we will defer to on the matter of The Dare v a bunch of other guys whose names I don't know.

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 06:36:05 PM
Why don't we get all the Metro Jax lawyers (and wannabe lawyers), maroon them on Exchange Club Island with a bit of food and not much else (save, maybe, a copy of Black's Law Dictionary) and let them go all "Lord of the Flies" on each other.

The one who makes it out alive will be the one whose opinion we will defer to on the matter of The Dare v a bunch of other guys whose names I don't know.

Keep in mind it is because of the generosity of those guys whose "names you don't know" that you have been able to post your thoughts and opinions on this forum 2428 times. :)  This is something they do literally to offer a format for those who love Jacksonville to converse about our city and other topics of interest and it is there time and money that makes it happen.  Thanks guys!

Quote from: Midway ® on June 02, 2017, 06:12:00 PM
ChrisW Gator's best quotes:

1. The disavowal:

QuoteI know Stephen and most of the other board members of MJ socially, which is why I didn't get involved. I never denied this, so I don't know what you think you're accomplishing this tinfoil-hat stuff. I said I'm not involved in the case, because I'm not involved in the case.

2. First legal opinion:

QuoteThe things you mentioned didn't strike me as determinative, in the real world most small businesses don't have share certificates or a formal operating agreement, that's sort of par for the course. But if you really want to know the part that worried me, it's not just pure opinion, it's the part about one group of board members starting up a competing business without the consent of the other board members. That's going to be legally problematic if it's true. I don't know if it is or isn't. I hope it's not. But that part stuck out at me.

3. Second legal opinion:

QuoteSay what you will, I'm just talking from personal experience. Done several corporate dissolution suits over the years, and I've yet to see one of them where a small business actually issued all the stock certificates and whatnot properly. People file the articles of incorporation and do the annual renewals, then seem to forget about the rest of it.

Really? All I see are tenant evictions. Can you cite those cases for me? I would like to review them for relevance and outcome, since you are representing yourself as a legal expert in this area of practice.


Care to proffer further legal opinions, Counselor?

Or, how about another disclaimer / disavowal?

The lady doth protest too much, methinks

Beware of the Law of Holes and may you be plump with pleasure.

The clerk's site doesn't show results by the name of the lawyer, only by name of the party. Meaning the cases you're finding are those in which I was actually a party, not attorney. That you don't know how the CORE search function works is hardly my fault.

Quote from: Cheshire Cat on June 02, 2017, 06:51:41 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 06:36:05 PM
Why don't we get all the Metro Jax lawyers (and wannabe lawyers), maroon them on Exchange Club Island with a bit of food and not much else (save, maybe, a copy of Black's Law Dictionary) and let them go all "Lord of the Flies" on each other.

The one who makes it out alive will be the one whose opinion we will defer to on the matter of The Dare v a bunch of other guys whose names I don't know.

Keep in mind it is because of the generosity of those guys whose "names you don't know" that you have been able to post your thoughts and opinions on this forum 2428 times. :)  This is something they do literally to offer a format for those who love Jacksonville to converse about our city and other topics of interest and it is there time and money that makes it happen.  Thanks guys!

Thanks Mom  ::)

You have to be one of the most humor-challenged people I have ever had the opportunity to (not actually) meet. At least you didn't call my comments an "atrocity," so that's a start...

Edit: for the record, I wasn't disparaging any of the other Metro Jax people. But they all have user names that are not their actual names, to my knowledge. Stephen used his name.

I don't have an opinion on the case - my post was about the massive legal pissing contest that is unfolding in this thread. I figured that would be pretty clear. But maybe it requires a bit of imagination.

Don't use CORE.

Where's the citations?

Perhaps you confused yourself with your father?

I can understand how that could happen.

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 05:06:07 PM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 04:55:05 PM
Think of the Eagles (band) when they performed a dissolution and removed Don Felder.  Don was listed on the incorporation papers as the CFO but he hadn't checked the finances ever. Then when he sobered up, he began to take on the fiduciary duties and found out Henley and Frey were kinda milking the cheese. When Henley and Frey wouldn't answer his phone calls, his attorney got involved. That is where the corporate attorney came in and notified Felder his duties were voted out. They settled out of court.

The GoGo's girl band pulled a nasty on bassist Kathy Valentine.  When Charlotte Caffey got ticked Valentine dropped a Twitter on her drug habit to promote a book, they moved to "eliminate" her.  The remaining GoGo's simply set up a new corporate entity, took all the touring money and paid a small licensing and rights fee to the former entity, of which Valentine had a irrevocable share of 20%. So she went from 20% of $2 million annually to only 20% of $100k. They also settled out of court.

Usually in these settlements are financial considerations for their past creative work and a press gag to keep the voted out members from talking to reporters about the dirt. That usually requires some kind of valuation of the former functional entity.  Felder isn't allowed to disclose his settlement, but he was able to write a book. Henley challenged it (and lost) but changes were made. (mostly material on Henley's drug habits)

Kathy Valentine also can't disclose anything, but she had already written a book on her GoGo's life, so the gag was limited to mostly the press.

Those were 2 examples where there was a formal agreement in place, but it was loosely enforced until one person spoke up.

Dude, the GoGos were a band. No need to use the word "girl" as a modifier. They were a shit ton better than the fucking "boy" band The Eagles, that's for damn sure.

All it does is date me "dude". I own their albums and when they started, all girl bands were still unique. Forgive me?

At least the info I shared passed your filter.

As Casey Kasem would say, "Now, back to the countdown"

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 06:56:26 PM

Quote from: Cheshire Cat on June 02, 2017, 06:51:41 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 06:36:05 PM
Why don't we get all the Metro Jax lawyers (and wannabe lawyers), maroon them on Exchange Club Island with a bit of food and not much else (save, maybe, a copy of Black's Law Dictionary) and let them go all "Lord of the Flies" on each other.

The one who makes it out alive will be the one whose opinion we will defer to on the matter of The Dare v a bunch of other guys whose names I don't know.

Keep in mind it is because of the generosity of those guys whose "names you don't know" that you have been able to post your thoughts and opinions on this forum 2428 times. :)  This is something they do literally to offer a format for those who love Jacksonville to converse about our city and other topics of interest and it is there time and money that makes it happen.  Thanks guys!

Thanks Mom  ::)

You have to be one of the most humor-challenged people I have ever had the opportunity to (not actually) meet. At least you didn't call my comments an "atrocity," so that's a start...

Edit: for the record, I wasn't disparaging any of the other Metro Jax people. But they all have user names that are not their actual names, to my knowledge. Stephen used his name.

I don't have an opinion on the case - my post was about the massive legal pissing contest that is unfolding in this thread. I figured that would be pretty clear. But maybe it requires a bit of imagination.

You are welcome son.  Actually I have a great sense of humor, I just have not figured you out yet.  I am getting there.  lol

Quote from: Midway ® on June 02, 2017, 07:36:56 PM
Don't use CORE.

Where's the citations?

Perhaps you confused yourself with your father?

I can understand how that could happen.

Says the genius whose info was self-describedly from the public records, but now suddenly doesn't use it.

*yawn*

I fully believe Chris when he says he is not involved.  This lawsuit is pretty laughable, and very poorly written.  Chris is a better lawyer than that!

Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised the thread is taking a weirdly interesting and clubbish turn. So, without further adieu, allow me to add to the mix.

Stephen wrote me yesterday afternoon. I just saw the eMail this morning. I respect his privacy and won't share his comments but they were somewhat respectful (we're talking about Stephen, okay?) but -- as is his won't -- contained multiple strong opinions about my take on things in this thread. My summary: he was extremely disappointed in what I wrote, opining about things I couldn't possibly know, and offered a way for further communication if I so desired.

Well, I feel his pain. It can't be easy reading some of the comments, especially when one so opinionated is also so thin-skinned.

That said, ladies and gentlemen of the shire, I'll now share my response that I just sent to him in full (yes, I'm hoping there's a "period" coming soon to the final sentence of this episodic back-and-forth):

* * *

Stephen, this is the problem with you and I guess it's just a significant part of your nature and truly an indication of where you are right now in your life.

I offered an opinion, my man. A strong opinion. Because that's how I learn. I use adversarial conversation judiciously; others may think I do so not quite judiciously. Cool.

But that which I offered? It's an honest opinion.

This lawsuit is a bad idea. Someone close to you should have convinced you of that. The comments on the board after your departure have been illuminating; I certainly was clueless about all of that. I'm certain they've been hurtful. But if you've paid attention, you know that as a proud sunshine pumper I've needled Ennis rather strongly on more than one issue. And I've been needled in turn. All in good fun. Grown-ass people have different opinions about things and don't need to ask permission to do so, or risk irrational judgment when doing so.

One would think that would color your view of things but apparently not.

In July of 2006 a very good writer online posted a long piece that he has recently posted once again. I hope you'll read it and meditate upon it. Whether or not you know how to appreciate a conservative approach to politics shouldn't matter on this essay. It's a good, neutral essay:

          A Change of Heart; first posted on July 6, 2006

          http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/grace_notes/a_change_of_hea.php (http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/grace_notes/a_change_of_hea.php)

Our city and our country are in remarkably good hands; world events could always take a turn for the worse but it's an exciting time to be alive. Take a step back, bruh. Turn loose the hate and the hurt. I'd offer the same opinion to the MetroJacksonville partners you once collaborated with.

All the best,

JBW

* * *

I honestly do think all parties involved would benefit from reading the linked essay (after all, this business was something of a marriage) and taking a step back. Prior mediation should have been able to resolve all of this and I'm virtually certain Stephen has been intransigent as hell.

First, a disclaimer: All parties named in the post below have identified themselves on multiple occasions both on this forum and in other public venues. I respect the privacy of others, but once they self identify in this and other public venues any expectation of privacy ceases because they self Doxxed.

Quote from: tufsu1 on June 02, 2017, 11:13:26 PM
I fully believe Chris when he says he is not involved.  This lawsuit is pretty laughable, and very poorly written.  Chris is a better lawyer than that!

OK, I will take you at your word here, apparently you know him.

So basically what you are saying is that he is not that dumb...that's a pretty low bar, but whatever works.

Although, by William Stephen Griffin's own statement in his Facebook post, he was directly planning this event with Chris and [Redacted Person 3].

Here is the link to a copy of that post:  http://imgur.com/a/1gakI? (http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?)

Then a copy of the complaint shows up on Chris' private server and is hot linked through his post under the guise of being helpful.

While Chris may not have signed the complaint and is not the attorney of record, his fingerprints are certainly all over this thing, mainly through the direct admission of William Stephen Griffin in his Facebook post (above) and Chris' subsequent cheer-leading actions.

While Chris stating that he has nothing to do with the case is technically correct, he most certainly encouraged, aided and abetted William Stephen Griffin in this foolish endeavor.

The main point being, that without any reason whatsoever, Chris felt it necessary to disavow involvement in this matter while concurrently hosting and Hot Linking  the documents describing the particulars of the case on his own private document server. He assumed (and correctly so) that the average MetJax user would not have the patience or expertise to navigate through the Duval county Clerk of Courts CORE system to dig up the case documents, so he made it easy with a simple Hot Link to his private document server.

Now, I don't care what Chris does and I don't care if he is or is not involved with this case, but there has to some reason for him to be less than truthful about this matter, that's what piques my interest. As many people have said, its not the crime, but the coverup that gets you.

I suppose, what seemed like a great idea during an evening of drinking with your two buddies did not look quite so terrific in the cold hard light of day.

Then the backpedalling began.

Quote from: Midway ® on June 03, 2017, 09:04:38 AM
First, a disclaimer: All parties named in the post below have identified themselves on multiple occasions both on this forum and in other public venues. I respect the privacy of others, but once they self identify in this and other public venues any expectation of privacy ceases because they self Doxxed.

Quote from: tufsu1 on June 02, 2017, 11:13:26 PM
I fully believe Chris when he says he is not involved.  This lawsuit is pretty laughable, and very poorly written.  Chris is a better lawyer than that!

OK, I will take you at your word here, apparently you know him.

So basically what you are saying is that he is not that dumb...that's a pretty low bar, but whatever works.

Although, by William Stephen Griffin's own statement in his Facebook post, he was directly planning this event with Chris and [Redacted Person 3].

Here is the link to a copy of that post:  http://imgur.com/a/1gakI? (http://imgur.com/a/1gakI?)

Then a copy of the complaint shows up on Chris' private server and is hot linked through his post under the guise of being helpful.

While Chris may not have signed the complaint and is not the attorney of record, his fingerprints are certainly all over this thing, mainly through the direct admission of William Stephen Griffin in his Facebook post (above) and Chris' subsequent cheer-leading actions.

While Chris stating that he has nothing to do with the case is technically correct, he most certainly encouraged, aided and abetted William Stephen Griffin in this foolish endeavor.

The main point being, that without any reason whatsoever, Chris felt it necessary to disavow involvement in this matter while concurrently hosting and Hot Linking  the documents describing the particulars of the case on his own private document server. He assumed (and correctly so) that the average MetJax user would not have the patience or expertise to navigate through the Duval county Clerk of Courts CORE system to dig up the case documents, so he made it easy with a simple Hot Link to his private document server.

Now, I don't care what Chris does and I don't care if he is or is not involved with this case, but there has to some reason for him to be less than truthful about this matter, that's what piques my interest. As many people have said, its not the crime, but the coverup that gets you.

I suppose, what seemed like a great idea during an evening of drinking with your two buddies did not look quite so terrific in the cold hard light of day.

Then the backpedalling began.

You tried calling me out for never having any cases besides for tenant evictions, because you didn't understand how the case search worked (can't search by attorney name), then denied using it after you did, now somehow that's me backpedalling?

That's rich.

Fucking Gators  ;)

In all seriousness, everything will work out the way that it should.

Internal politics aside, I'm grateful for everything that MetroJax - Stephen included - has done for the city and has done in providing a place for constructive discourse on local interests to take place.

Didn't work out - such is life - and hoping for a peaceful resolution.

Still don't see the argument that Modern Cities is a "competing website" though. If you've followed it since it's inception, it's very different than MetroJacksonville (and very, very different than modern MetroJacksonville), with a much more specific focus, no forum, national scope, etc.

Chriswufgator:

Since your rhetorical strategy appears to be fixated on the CORE red herring while you refuse to answer any of the real questions that I have raised, I will clarify my prior statement for your benefit:

I do not use CORE when the search parameters are not appropriate to the function of the system.

When they are, I do.

Your silence on the balance of the issues, speaks to the veracity of your prior statements.

This fixation on the CORE system is a FAILED strategy! SAD!

So, the question remains, what exactly were/are you planning/doing with William Stephen Griffin AKA Stephen Dare and Redacted person 3 during your dinner date?

Quote from: Midway ® on June 03, 2017, 12:02:22 PM
Chriswufgator:

Since your rhetorical strategy appears to be fixated on the CORE red herring while you refuse to answer any of the real questions that I have raised, I will clarify my prior statement for your benefit:

I do not use CORE when the search parameters are not appropriate to the function of the system.

When they are, I do.

Your silence on the balance of the issues, speaks to the veracity of your prior statements.

This fixation on the CORE system is a FAILED strategy! SAD!

So, the question remains, what exactly were/are you planning/doing with William Stephen Griffin AKA Stephen Dare and Redacted person 3 during your dinner date?

LOL

Quote from: Midway ® on June 03, 2017, 12:02:22 PM


This fixation on the CORE system is a FAILED strategy! SAD!

Is Midway actually Donald Trump?

RG...thoughts?

Sounds like Midway and ChrisufGator had an issue prior to Stephen's departure.

Quote from: spuwho on June 03, 2017, 02:37:22 PM
Sounds like Midway and ChrisufGator had an issue prior to Stephen's departure.

I actually don't think I've ever spoken to him before his meltdown in this thread.

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 08:05:55 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 05:06:07 PM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 04:55:05 PM
Think of the Eagles (band) when they performed a dissolution and removed Don Felder.  Don was listed on the incorporation papers as the CFO but he hadn't checked the finances ever. Then when he sobered up, he began to take on the fiduciary duties and found out Henley and Frey were kinda milking the cheese. When Henley and Frey wouldn't answer his phone calls, his attorney got involved. That is where the corporate attorney came in and notified Felder his duties were voted out. They settled out of court.

The GoGo's girl band pulled a nasty on bassist Kathy Valentine.  When Charlotte Caffey got ticked Valentine dropped a Twitter on her drug habit to promote a book, they moved to "eliminate" her.  The remaining GoGo's simply set up a new corporate entity, took all the touring money and paid a small licensing and rights fee to the former entity, of which Valentine had a irrevocable share of 20%. So she went from 20% of $2 million annually to only 20% of $100k. They also settled out of court.

Usually in these settlements are financial considerations for their past creative work and a press gag to keep the voted out members from talking to reporters about the dirt. That usually requires some kind of valuation of the former functional entity.  Felder isn't allowed to disclose his settlement, but he was able to write a book. Henley challenged it (and lost) but changes were made. (mostly material on Henley's drug habits)

Kathy Valentine also can't disclose anything, but she had already written a book on her GoGo's life, so the gag was limited to mostly the press.

Those were 2 examples where there was a formal agreement in place, but it was loosely enforced until one person spoke up.

Dude, the GoGos were a band. No need to use the word "girl" as a modifier. They were a shit ton better than the fucking "boy" band The Eagles, that's for damn sure.

All it does is date me "dude". I own their albums and when they started, all girl bands were still unique. Forgive me?

At least the info I shared passed your filter.

As Casey Kasem would say, "Now, back to the countdown"

When I first heard the Go-Go's, I referred to them as a "girl band". That was in 1982 or so. It's not 2017 - no need to still call them that. I guess it dates you in the same way it dates an old man who refers to black people as "colored". It's never to late to change.

Quote from: Adam White on June 03, 2017, 04:26:27 PM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 08:05:55 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 05:06:07 PM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 04:55:05 PM
Think of the Eagles (band) when they performed a dissolution and removed Don Felder.  Don was listed on the incorporation papers as the CFO but he hadn't checked the finances ever. Then when he sobered up, he began to take on the fiduciary duties and found out Henley and Frey were kinda milking the cheese. When Henley and Frey wouldn't answer his phone calls, his attorney got involved. That is where the corporate attorney came in and notified Felder his duties were voted out. They settled out of court.

The GoGo's girl band pulled a nasty on bassist Kathy Valentine.  When Charlotte Caffey got ticked Valentine dropped a Twitter on her drug habit to promote a book, they moved to "eliminate" her.  The remaining GoGo's simply set up a new corporate entity, took all the touring money and paid a small licensing and rights fee to the former entity, of which Valentine had a irrevocable share of 20%. So she went from 20% of $2 million annually to only 20% of $100k. They also settled out of court.

Usually in these settlements are financial considerations for their past creative work and a press gag to keep the voted out members from talking to reporters about the dirt. That usually requires some kind of valuation of the former functional entity.  Felder isn't allowed to disclose his settlement, but he was able to write a book. Henley challenged it (and lost) but changes were made. (mostly material on Henley's drug habits)

Kathy Valentine also can't disclose anything, but she had already written a book on her GoGo's life, so the gag was limited to mostly the press.

Those were 2 examples where there was a formal agreement in place, but it was loosely enforced until one person spoke up.

Dude, the GoGos were a band. No need to use the word "girl" as a modifier. They were a shit ton better than the fucking "boy" band The Eagles, that's for damn sure.

All it does is date me "dude". I own their albums and when they started, all girl bands were still unique. Forgive me?

At least the info I shared passed your filter.

As Casey Kasem would say, "Now, back to the countdown"

When I first heard the Go-Go's, I referred to them as a "girl band". That was in 1982 or so. It's not 2017 - no need to still call them that. I guess it dates you in the same way it dates an old man who refers to black people as "colored". It's never to late to change.

Sorry, but putting a "girl band " title in with " colored" is a big stretch.  Next you will tell me the Rolling Stones arent a rock band as that would be an insult to 《insert current band here》.

Are you always this easily offended? What do you think of when you look in the mirror?

Quote from: spuwho on June 03, 2017, 04:43:01 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 03, 2017, 04:26:27 PM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 08:05:55 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 02, 2017, 05:06:07 PM

Quote from: spuwho on June 02, 2017, 04:55:05 PM
Think of the Eagles (band) when they performed a dissolution and removed Don Felder.  Don was listed on the incorporation papers as the CFO but he hadn't checked the finances ever. Then when he sobered up, he began to take on the fiduciary duties and found out Henley and Frey were kinda milking the cheese. When Henley and Frey wouldn't answer his phone calls, his attorney got involved. That is where the corporate attorney came in and notified Felder his duties were voted out. They settled out of court.

The GoGo's girl band pulled a nasty on bassist Kathy Valentine.  When Charlotte Caffey got ticked Valentine dropped a Twitter on her drug habit to promote a book, they moved to "eliminate" her.  The remaining GoGo's simply set up a new corporate entity, took all the touring money and paid a small licensing and rights fee to the former entity, of which Valentine had a irrevocable share of 20%. So she went from 20% of $2 million annually to only 20% of $100k. They also settled out of court.

Usually in these settlements are financial considerations for their past creative work and a press gag to keep the voted out members from talking to reporters about the dirt. That usually requires some kind of valuation of the former functional entity.  Felder isn't allowed to disclose his settlement, but he was able to write a book. Henley challenged it (and lost) but changes were made. (mostly material on Henley's drug habits)

Kathy Valentine also can't disclose anything, but she had already written a book on her GoGo's life, so the gag was limited to mostly the press.

Those were 2 examples where there was a formal agreement in place, but it was loosely enforced until one person spoke up.

Dude, the GoGos were a band. No need to use the word "girl" as a modifier. They were a shit ton better than the fucking "boy" band The Eagles, that's for damn sure.

All it does is date me "dude". I own their albums and when they started, all girl bands were still unique. Forgive me?

At least the info I shared passed your filter.

As Casey Kasem would say, "Now, back to the countdown"

When I first heard the Go-Go's, I referred to them as a "girl band". That was in 1982 or so. It's not 2017 - no need to still call them that. I guess it dates you in the same way it dates an old man who refers to black people as "colored". It's never to late to change.

Sorry, but putting a "girl band " title in with " colored" is a big stretch.  Next you will tell me the Rolling Stones arent a rock band as that would be an insult to 《insert current band here》.

Are you always this easily offended? What do you think of when you look in the mirror?

I'm saying the argument that using "girl band" when describing the Go-Go's is simply an issue of your age is pathetic. You can decide for yourself whether you think it's as offensive as "colored". I never said it was and it's clear you missed my point entirely.

Quote from: Adam White on June 03, 2017, 04:50:09 PM
I'm saying the argument that using "girl band" when describing the Go-Go's is simply an issue of your age is pathetic. You can decide for yourself whether you think it's as offensive as "colored". I never said it was and it's clear you missed my point entirely.

Seriously, Adam, NOBODY is going to get your points until you REFINE your use of typical forum argument discussion typesets.

We're here; why you aren't? 

Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on June 03, 2017, 07:56:45 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 03, 2017, 04:50:09 PM
I'm saying the argument that using "girl band" when describing the Go-Go's is simply an issue of your age is pathetic. You can decide for yourself whether you think it's as offensive as "colored". I never said it was and it's clear you missed my point entirely.

Seriously, Adam, NOBODY is going to get your points until you REFINE your use of typical forum argument discussion typesets.

We're here; why you aren't?

I'm not trying to get all worked up over this - I know these things come across badly in type sometimes. But seriously - it's 2017. No need to refer to a band as a "girl" band now, even if that was the terminology in use in the 80s.

Of course, this logic doesn't hold for all-female vocal groups (like the Spice Girls, All Saints, Girls Aloud, etc - sorry, can't think of any American examples). I think those are still commonly called "girl groups" to distinguish them from "boy bands" (also called that) such as One Direction, etc.

[1]
KenFSU, watch yourself my mustard-and-ketchup colored friend! Emphasis definitely on friend, okay?

[2]

Quote from: Adam White on June 03, 2017, 12:29:45 PM

Is Midway actually Donald Trump?

RG...thoughts?

Well, I for one loved Midway's stylistic approach. BIGLY !!!

Know what I mean, Adam? Today I am thinking about you over in London. I know you like it, and I understand why, but . . . bring your ass home, bwah.

[3]
Chris: your meeting with Stephen *and* an investigator who brags on Linked-In of "over twenty years of Investigative and security experience, much of which while in pursuit of Criminal and Civil cases for local attorneys" screams . . . wouldn't you say . . . more than mere coincidence -- doesn't it ? ? ?

In the light of hindsight, Chris, admit it -- isn't that rather braggadocious Facebook post yet another Stephen-being-Stephen moment ? ? ?

Finally,
[4]
I guess the "Change of Heart" blog post I linked had little to no effect, huh. ((( sigh ))) Well, at least the Gators won their baseball & softball games so far this weekend *and* our Track team heads to Eugene with a decent chance to win yet another national championship.

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 04, 2017, 12:20:26 PM
[1]
KenFSU, watch yourself my mustard-and-ketchup colored friend! Emphasis definitely on friend, okay?

[2]

Quote from: Adam White on June 03, 2017, 12:29:45 PM

Is Midway actually Donald Trump?

RG...thoughts?

Well, I for one loved Midway's stylistic approach. BIGLY !!!

Know what I mean, Adam? Today I am thinking about you over in London. I know you like it, and I understand why, but . . . bring your ass home, bwah.

[3]
Chris: your meeting with Stephen *and* an investigator who brags on Linked-In of "over twenty years of Investigative and security experience, much of which while in pursuit of Criminal and Civil cases for local attorneys" screams . . . wouldn't you say . . . more than mere coincidence -- doesn't it ? ? ?

In the light of hindsight, Chris, admit it -- isn't that rather braggadocious Facebook post yet another Stephen-being-Stephen moment ? ? ?

Finally,
[4]
I guess the "Change of Heart" blog post I linked had little to no effect, huh. ((( sigh ))) Well, at least the Gators won their baseball & softball games so far this weekend *and* our Track team heads to Eugene with a decent chance to win yet another national championship.

Thanks RG.

I'm actually safer in the UK than I am in the USA!

Quote from: Adam White on June 04, 2017, 12:26:58 PM

Thanks RG.

I'm actually safer in the UK than I am in the USA!

#%&*&%# !!!

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 04, 2017, 06:03:59 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 04, 2017, 12:26:58 PM

Thanks RG.

I'm actually safer in the UK than I am in the USA!

#%&*&%# !!!

It's true! I can't find the 2016 or 2017 numbers (to be fair, it's only June now), but in 2015, there were 118 homicides in London. There were 113 in Jacksonville. London's population is about 10 times that of Jacksonville...

Quote from: Adam White on June 05, 2017, 06:13:19 AM

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 04, 2017, 06:03:59 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 04, 2017, 12:26:58 PM

Thanks RG.

I'm actually safer in the UK than I am in the USA!

#%&*&%# !!!

It's true! I can't find the 2016 or 2017 numbers (to be fair, it's only June now), but in 2015, there were 118 homicides in London. There were 113 in Jacksonville. London's population is about 10 times that of Jacksonville...

Yeah, but Jacksonville is CONSOLIDATED, so you can't compare the two.

Quote from: vicupstate on June 05, 2017, 08:49:34 AM

Quote from: Adam White on June 05, 2017, 06:13:19 AM

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 04, 2017, 06:03:59 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 04, 2017, 12:26:58 PM

Thanks RG.

I'm actually safer in the UK than I am in the USA!

#%&*&%# !!!

It's true! I can't find the 2016 or 2017 numbers (to be fair, it's only June now), but in 2015, there were 118 homicides in London. There were 113 in Jacksonville. London's population is about 10 times that of Jacksonville...

Yeah, but Jacksonville is CONSOLIDATED, so you can't compare the two.

So is London.

I won't argue the point, Adam, beyond this post but . . . that strikes me as an incredibly narrow method for assessing danger. A not insignificant percentage of killings in the United States, I seem to recall, are committed by individuals who personally know their victims and have prior interactions with them. I'm not sure about Britain. So, unless you're mixing in some rather untoward activities -- your risk of death from homicide in the U.S. is quite low.

But what I do know about the U.K. is they have been ridiculously naive about their Muslim population. So, too, France and Germany. And they are dangerously close to collectively needing our assistance once again in saving them from their stupidity. This, mind you, after decades of sanctimoniously lecturing *us* while completely reliant upon our military defense.

Much like the lectures coming from London recently with a seriously dumb ass Mayor saying "refugees welcome."

IMHO you're not nearly as safe as you apparently think you are, Adam. YMMV, and I'm sure it does. So be it.

Wow, a thread on Stephen has produced;

- Midway challenging Chris on his law work
- Adam challenging spuwho on bands
- MMR challenging RG on London and ISIS

Where is Finehoe? We need one more counter to make Stephen's thread complete! No yawns, no mehs, just in your face stuff like Stephen would do.

^ LOL.

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 05, 2017, 12:37:23 PM
I won't argue the point, Adam, beyond this post but . . . that strikes me as an incredibly narrow method for assessing danger. A not insignificant percentage of killings in the United States, I seem to recall, are committed by individuals who personally know their victims and have prior interactions with them. I'm not sure about Britain. So, unless you're mixing in some rather untoward activities -- your risk of death from homicide in the U.S. is quite low.

But what I do know about the U.K. is they have been ridiculously naive about their Muslim population. So, too, France and Germany. And they are dangerously close to collectively needing our assistance once again in saving them from their stupidity. This, mind you, after decades of sanctimoniously lecturing *us* while completely reliant upon our military defense.

Much like the lectures coming from London recently with a seriously dumb ass Mayor saying "refugees welcome."

IMHO you're not nearly as safe as you apparently think you are, Adam. YMMV, and I'm sure it does. So be it.

I like you JB, so I won't really respond as I'd like to. On the upside, you did introduce me to YMMV - so we'll always have that.

Quote from: spuwho on June 05, 2017, 01:50:06 PM
Wow, a thread on Stephen has produced;

- Midway challenging Chris on his law work
- Adam challenging spuwho on bands
- MMR challenging RG on London and ISIS

Where is Finehoe? We need one more counter to make Stephen's thread complete! No yawns, no mehs, just in your face stuff like Stephen would do.

That's funny - when I read RG's last comment to me, I wondered what happened to Finehoe. I've not seen him (?) around in a while.

Quote from: Adam White on June 05, 2017, 02:16:25 PM

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 05, 2017, 12:37:23 PM
I won't argue the point, Adam, beyond this post but . . . that strikes me as an incredibly narrow method for assessing danger. A not insignificant percentage of killings in the United States, I seem to recall, are committed by individuals who personally know their victims and have prior interactions with them. I'm not sure about Britain. So, unless you're mixing in some rather untoward activities -- your risk of death from homicide in the U.S. is quite low.

But what I do know about the U.K. is they have been ridiculously naive about their Muslim population. So, too, France and Germany. And they are dangerously close to collectively needing our assistance once again in saving them from their stupidity. This, mind you, after decades of sanctimoniously lecturing *us* while completely reliant upon our military defense.

Much like the lectures coming from London recently with a seriously dumb ass Mayor saying "refugees welcome."

IMHO you're not nearly as safe as you apparently think you are, Adam. YMMV, and I'm sure it does. So be it.

I like you JB, so I won't really respond as I'd like to. On the upside, you did introduce me to YMMV - so we'll always have that.

I think the PM said it best... "There is, to be frank, far too much tolerance of extremism in our country."

Quote from: BridgeTroll on June 05, 2017, 03:21:51 PM

Quote from: Adam White on June 05, 2017, 02:16:25 PM

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 05, 2017, 12:37:23 PM
I won't argue the point, Adam, beyond this post but . . . that strikes me as an incredibly narrow method for assessing danger. A not insignificant percentage of killings in the United States, I seem to recall, are committed by individuals who personally know their victims and have prior interactions with them. I'm not sure about Britain. So, unless you're mixing in some rather untoward activities -- your risk of death from homicide in the U.S. is quite low.

But what I do know about the U.K. is they have been ridiculously naive about their Muslim population. So, too, France and Germany. And they are dangerously close to collectively needing our assistance once again in saving them from their stupidity. This, mind you, after decades of sanctimoniously lecturing *us* while completely reliant upon our military defense.

Much like the lectures coming from London recently with a seriously dumb ass Mayor saying "refugees welcome."

IMHO you're not nearly as safe as you apparently think you are, Adam. YMMV, and I'm sure it does. So be it.

I like you JB, so I won't really respond as I'd like to. On the upside, you did introduce me to YMMV - so we'll always have that.

I think the PM said it best... "There is, to be frank, far too much tolerance of extremism in our country."

I think she's full of it. No one other than extremists tolerates extremism. I guess it's an easy way to distract from the fact that she's gutted the police services. We've 20k fewer police officers in 2017 than we had in 2010.

With any luck (a not insignificant amount), she'll be out of a job soon.

Adam, I know you wanted to open up on me with both barrels firing. Thank you for not taking that bait. In my haste, I didn't think of my comments that way (bait) but I know you are a man of the left and fully immersed in London and the UK.

Quote from: Adam White on June 05, 2017, 03:28:37 PM

I think she's full of it. No one other than extremists tolerates extremism. I guess it's an easy way to distract from the fact that she's gutted the police services. We've 20k fewer police officers in 2017 than we had in 2010.

With any luck (a not insignificant amount), she'll be out of a job soon.

To bring this discussion somewhat back on topic, I don't believe the text bolded above is accurate and Stephen's activity here is illustrative of the point -- isn't it?

The unnecessary commingling and over-emphasis of certain components here wasn't rather extreme in its own right? And tolerated for quite some time? Until enough of the principals said this shiznit has gotten out of hand?

Though I know you don't see it this way, Adam, I suspect the same thing is happening in Europe right now (winking at the clearly incompatible mixing of overtly religious affairs - sharia - with the administrative state).

* * *

Well, I had hoped to get some tree limbs carved up in my mother's Orange Park yard today before all the rain hits -- but the radar does not look promising. Later, Gators.

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 06, 2017, 06:44:53 AM
Adam, I know you wanted to open up on me with both barrels firing. Thank you for not taking that bait. In my haste, I didn't think of my comments that way (bait) but I know you are a man of the left and fully immersed in London and the UK.

Quote from: Adam White on June 05, 2017, 03:28:37 PM

I think she's full of it. No one other than extremists tolerates extremism. I guess it's an easy way to distract from the fact that she's gutted the police services. We've 20k fewer police officers in 2017 than we had in 2010.

With any luck (a not insignificant amount), she'll be out of a job soon.

To bring this discussion somewhat back on topic, I don't believe the text bolded above is accurate and Stephen's activity here is illustrative of the point -- isn't it?

The unnecessary commingling and over-emphasis of certain components here wasn't rather extreme in its own right? And tolerated for quite some time? Until enough of the principals said this shiznit has gotten out of hand?

Though I know you don't see it this way, Adam, I suspect the same thing is happening in Europe right now (winking at the clearly incompatible mixing of overtly religious affairs - sharia - with the administrative state).

* * *

Well, I had hoped to get some tree limbs carved up in my mother's Orange Park yard today before all the rain hits -- but the radar does not look promising. Later, Gators.

I don't know what you mean re: Stephen. Honestly. And I don't see how that relates to the UK.

Also - there is no intermingling of sharia and the UK state. I can't say anything about other European countries, as I have no real knowledge of them (aside from spending some time on holiday in some of them).

Quote from: Cheshire Cat on March 16, 2017, 09:47:53 PM
I just have to weigh in here for a moment about this entire issue.  First I think all that needed to be said has been said with the statement from the News page on this site.  It is short, succinct and to the point.  It reads and I quote

QuoteMetro Jacksonville, Inc. regrets the recent actions by Mr. William "Stephen Dare" Griffin that caused his removal as an officer/director of the corporation. There is an active investigation into associated financial discrepancies so we cannot comment any further at this time.

It speaks to financial discrepancies which is something most here would have no idea about.  The only ones who know the actual facts are those intimately involved.  It's best to leave it like that.  It will be worked out to their own satisfaction or through lawful process and none of that is any of our dadgum business.

I know Ennis Davis for along time now, long before this site started all the way back when Jim Webb had the MetJax site.  When that shut down it spun off into two sites, one I started called JaxOutLoud which focused on politics and the other was this site and forum.  The politics on this forum begun shortly after JOL was closed.

Ennis and I met due to a shared interest in historical buildings, historic restoration, urban core development, something I had been involved as a city official in south Florida long ago, transportation and yes even politics because the politics of transportation and development turn on local politics in Jacksonville like it does elsewhere.

Ennis is one of the most upstanding, forthright, no nonsense, educated and talented individuals that I have ever known.  I know him to be a man of his word, a person of integrity that I have great trust in.  He has said he has not deleted threads from this forum and knowing him that is absolutely the truth. It is worth mentioning that any one of us who posts can delete "their own posts" at any time, new or old.

Beyond that from the point of having started a forum years back it's worth remembering that other than those who are interests in the origination of the site, we are all visitors here and should be thankful that so much time and energy has been taken to make this forum available to folks like ourselves.  It is no easy thing. Right now the future of this site may be undecided but it is my hope it continues.  It is a valuable asset for Jacksonville and beyond. I will continue to post on politics because the truth is politics is intimately intertwined with all that happens in development one way or another from council meetings to State and Federal laws.

As for the individual suspended, this was a long time coming and truly not a surprise.  Again dynamics unknown to most were always at play.  In any event, to my view the forum is far more pleasant minus the constant contrarian dialog and moderation/comment deletions that made reading and interacting on the forum very unpleasant. The drama was intentional and part of an effort to create more readership in the eyes of one person.  Whether or not that is the truth, to my view the best forums are the ones of open honest discussion and "respect" for others opinions and until recently that was not always the case here as many can testify too. 

Ennis, Dan and Mike I hope you are able to keep this site and forum alive and best wishes for the complete success of Modern Cities.  I know it will be great. 

In all of the years that I have been on Metrojacksonville, I have never, not even once read anything posted by anyone regarding William Stephen Griffin, AKA "Stephen Dare" that was a full throated endorsement of his character.  Any even slightly positive comments about him always had a "but then again" statement enumerating his many flaws and transgressions.

How about someone writing a full fledged endorsement of him for the record? You could start by offering examples of his his selflessness, morality and honesty. Some stories that are illustrative of his finer personality traits would be great.

.....Come on, someone....anyone....?

Chirp......Chirp.....Chirp....

All day and nothing?  SAD!

I guess that everyone has writer's block on this subject.

I do know one person who could wax elequent on this subject, though.  Unfortunately, he is not presently available. 

Where are all the Dare fanboys?

Perhaps a sonnet?

Maybe a haiku?

Quote from: Midway ® on June 06, 2017, 06:56:13 PM
All day and nothing?  SAD!

I guess that everyone has writer's block on this subject.

I do know one person who could wax elequent on this subject, though.  Unfortunately, he is not presently available. 

Where are all the Dare fanboys?

Perhaps a sonnet?

Maybe a haiku?

I don't know Stephen
Nor any of the others
So I'll say nothing

I've been watching this thread from afar and trying to figure out who is who.  It's quite enlightening, from a neutral perspective.

Gracias.

Quote from: Midway ® on June 06, 2017, 07:51:27 PM
Gracias.

I only know Stephen from the few times I have met him publicly and what I have gleaned from MJ.

- Very intelligent
- Very interested in history, especially American
- Passionate about politics
- Can be argumentative, sometimes to his own detriment
- Has been known to make excellent points and provide a unique perspective
- But has been known to come off as very unfriendly and occasionally offensive to those he disagrees with
- Has a habit of letting his passion for argument carry over into real life (doesnt leave it at the blog)
- Not afraid to put himself "out there", but doing that for years may have worn him down a little
- Has a streak of creativity that may not be fully utilized
- Has a diverse interest in music, in areas that even surprised me.

We all have our faults and failings and Stephen is no different. But he does know how to put energy into his latest passion.

Personally, I think he should be an author and write books. His skills are wasted by writing small paragraphs at a time on blogs like MJ. (All 30,000 plus)

He has a lot to say, but it comes out in the wrong forum.

I have encouraged him in the past to run for a public office so he can put his passion for politics into action but he has demurred. He prefers to be in a support role.

I suggest he should write books about politics and their role in American history. And then go out and speak at various college campuses about his work.  That seems to suit him better IMHO.

I also think he should start a You Tube Channel and video blog with different opposing views with a different subject every episode.

It wouldnt be "Siskel & Ebert Go to the Elections", but more of a blogpost on perspectives.

The first episode would be Stephen and RattlerGator, and hope it would be more Donahue and less Maury Povich.

There you go Midway, you can find the good in everyone.  Got no bone in his lawsuit whatsoever, but he does have qualities.

Ted Kaczynski is very intelligent, Vlad the Impaler was very intelligent.

This is just another "he's great, but" equivocation.

Next, please.

Quote from: Midway ® on June 06, 2017, 09:44:33 PM
Ted Kaczynski is very intelligent, Vlad the Impaler was very intelligent.

This is just another "he's great, but" equivocation.

Next, please.

LOL, sorry it didn't pass your test. You asked, you got it. Comparing him to a psycho bomber? The only impaling he did was with his words.

Were you looking for some mud along with the sound of crickets perhaps?

Quote from: spuwho on June 06, 2017, 10:00:43 PM

Quote from: Midway ® on June 06, 2017, 09:44:33 PM
Ted Kaczynski is very intelligent, Vlad the Impaler was very intelligent.

This is just another "he's great, but" equivocation.

Next, please.

LOL, sorry it didn't pass your test. You asked, you got it. Comparing him to a psycho bomber? The only impaling he did was with his words.

Were you looking for some mud along with the sound of crickets perhaps?

Admittidley, you don't know him.

Therefore, what you stated is just anecdotal and not based upon close personal knowledge. It's all just suppositions.

While what you wrote was very well composed, it is just your impressions from afar. 

You don't even really know the guy and you are talking about his imperfections. That always comes up because those imperfections always poison every relationship he is ever involved in and they are his main constant defining feature.

It's like one of those infomercials for the best pot ever, based on nothing.

Quote from: Midway ® on June 06, 2017, 10:25:11 PM

Quote from: spuwho on June 06, 2017, 10:00:43 PM

Quote from: Midway ® on June 06, 2017, 09:44:33 PM
Ted Kaczynski is very intelligent, Vlad the Impaler was very intelligent.

This is just another "he's great, but" equivocation.

Next, please.

LOL, sorry it didn't pass your test. You asked, you got it. Comparing him to a psycho bomber? The only impaling he did was with his words.

Were you looking for some mud along with the sound of crickets perhaps?

Admittidley, you don't know him.

Therefore, what you stated is just anecdotal and not based upon close personal knowledge. It's all just suppositions.

While what you wrote was very well composed, it is just your impressions from afar. 

You don't even really know the guy and you are talking about his imperfections. That always comes up because those imperfections always poison every relationship he is ever involved in and they are his main constant defining feature.

It's like one of those infomercials for the best pot ever, based on nothing.

I think I adequately qualified my interactions at the beginning.

So Midway, whats your beef with him?  You seem to have all knowledge what type of person he is, please do share since you are asking all to imbibe in your activity.  Maybe its your turn?

Just looking for someone to write a full throated endorsement of him based on intimate personal knowledge.

You know, like from a fanboy.

That's all. 

Quote from: Midway ® on June 06, 2017, 10:50:39 PM
Just looking for someone to write a full throated endorsement of him based on intimate personal knowledge.

You know, like from a fanboy.

That's all.

In my 45+ years on this planet, I don't think I've ever met a perfect person. I don't believe it's possible to describe anyone in only positive terms, unless you intentionally leave out information.

For example - you might be a perfectly nice person, but you're coming across as a bit of a dick.

I'd be happy to provide a list of Stephen's better qualities if you like, though it seems like you care about this subject a *bit* too much.

You need to upgrade the people that you associate with..



I have met people that are perfect. Many of them. And that has nothing to do with their intelligence, their creativity, their ability to sing or paint.

It relates to their strength of character and the way they conduct themselves when dealing with others.

For Stephen Dare, the public record is abundantly clear on this subject and consistently tells a very negative story.

Cool story, bro.

Quote from: Midway ® on June 07, 2017, 05:48:22 AM

You need to upgrade the people that you associate with..



I have met people that are perfect. Many of them. And that has nothing to do with their intelligence, their creativity, their ability to sing or paint.

It relates to their strength of character and the way they conduct themselves when dealing with others.

For Stephen Dare, the public record is abundantly clear on this subject and consistently tells a very negative story.

You have referred to a "public record" a couple of times.  If it is public as you say, anyone should be able to see it, yes?

What record are you referring to and how does one see it?

If you can find it... there is a very comprehensive Folio weekly article titled Truth or Dare dated 07/17/2007.

Quote from: Murder_me_Rachel on June 05, 2017, 01:23:47 PM

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 05, 2017, 12:37:23 PM


Much like the lectures coming from London recently with a seriously dumb ass Mayor saying "refugees welcome."

Yeah, fuck all those dirty shitty men, women and children fleeing the absolute catastrophe the US, Britain, et al have wrought on their countries.  Let 'em die.  That's definitely Christian and totally won't drive any of them into the recruitment of ISIS.  Brilliant comment, bro.

It's easy for London's mayor to do the talking full well knowing the national government won't lt many non-moneyed refugees in (if at all). How many refugees has the UK taken in compared to the European countries ( who did not create the borders leading to perpetual conflicts or fan the flames of the recent ones) ?

Quote from: Midway ® on June 07, 2017, 05:48:22 AM

You need to upgrade the people that you associate with..



I have met people that are perfect. Many of them. And that has nothing to do with their intelligence, their creativity, their ability to sing or paint.

It relates to their strength of character and the way they conduct themselves when dealing with others.

For Stephen Dare, the public record is abundantly clear on this subject and consistently tells a very negative story.

IMHO, there is no such thing as a perfect person. And really, our weaknesses are what add to our character.

So for me, if someone is a decent human being and a person with a good heart is all that matters.
That said, there are many who believe they have perfect values and morals (which is highly subjective in itself) but once they are truly challenged little of that facade remains.

Quote from: Gunnar on June 07, 2017, 09:49:35 AM

Quote from: Murder_me_Rachel on June 05, 2017, 01:23:47 PM

Quote from: RattlerGator on June 05, 2017, 12:37:23 PM


Much like the lectures coming from London recently with a seriously dumb ass Mayor saying "refugees welcome."

Yeah, fuck all those dirty shitty men, women and children fleeing the absolute catastrophe the US, Britain, et al have wrought on their countries.  Let 'em die.  That's definitely Christian and totally won't drive any of them into the recruitment of ISIS.  Brilliant comment, bro.

It's easy for London's mayor to do the talking full well knowing the national government won't lt many non-moneyed refugees in (if at all). How many refugees has the UK taken in compared to the European countries ( who did not create the borders leading to perpetual conflicts or fan the flames of the recent ones) ?

He'd say it anyway. Labour, for all their faults, have been very open about pressing the government to accept more refugees. I think the numbers are very poor so far - the government has stated they would resettled "up to 20k" Syrian refugees by 2020 and had accepted fewer than 5,500 between October 2015 and December 2016. So poor showing overall.

Midway, stop antagonizing people.  Your disdain for Stephen is starting to leak into your posts towards others.   You're not acting all that perfect yourself right now.

The "powers that be" have removed pretty much all traces of SD from this website. Can't we leave it at that and MOVE ON?

Quote from: MusicMan on June 07, 2017, 01:31:10 PM
The "powers that be" have removed pretty much all traces of SD from this website. Can't we leave it at that and MOVE ON?

Seriously.  19 pages of this thread isn't doing anything but making that fool's ego bigger than it already is.

Update on this situation:

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous/i-hTZgV7V/0/cf8343ed/X2/Order_Page_1-X2.jpg)

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous/i-N5pbXMB/0/5c130bc8/X2/Order_Page_2-X2.jpg)

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous/i-XPqV97t/0/2cbcd12a/X2/Order_Page_3-X2.jpg)

Common sense prevails.

Hope it wasn't too costly for you guys.

Let me again reiterate what a better, more constructive site this is without the toxicity, bullying, closed-mindedness, and ad hominem attacks that were a staple of his discourse.

Night and day.

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 08:04:13 AM
Common sense prevails.

Hope it wasn't too costly for you guys.

Let me again reiterate what a better, more constructive site this is without the toxicity, bullying, closed-mindedness, and ad hominem attacks that were a staple of his discourse.

Night and day.

Dumb.

Hope you can recoup legal fees...

What's Stephen up to these days?

Quote from: Adam White on February 27, 2018, 10:05:30 AM

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 08:04:13 AM
Common sense prevails.

Hope it wasn't too costly for you guys.

Let me again reiterate what a better, more constructive site this is without the toxicity, bullying, closed-mindedness, and ad hominem attacks that were a staple of his discourse.

Night and day.

Dumb.

I've never even met the guy in person.

And he called my office, at 2:00 in the morning, trying to get me fired.

Because I said Ennis was an upstanding guy.

On the internet.

On a message board.

Who does that?

But you keep telling yourself he's just misunderstood.

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 01:47:52 PM

Quote from: Adam White on February 27, 2018, 10:05:30 AM

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 08:04:13 AM
Common sense prevails.

Hope it wasn't too costly for you guys.

Let me again reiterate what a better, more constructive site this is without the toxicity, bullying, closed-mindedness, and ad hominem attacks that were a staple of his discourse.

Night and day.

Dumb.

I've never even met the guy in person.

And he called my office, at 2:00 in the morning, trying to get me fired.

Because I said Ennis was an upstanding guy.

On the internet.

On a message board.

Who does that?

But you keep telling yourself he's just misunderstood.

What?  You've never done that?  Sounds like the work of a nut job on a late night bender.

Congratulations Ennis.

Its a shame that you did not take immediate action through the State Attorney.  Had you done so, maybe the thief, utterer, liar and fraud would now be where he can not harm others.

The filings from the ole Bill Griffter camp are just terrific.  Can't you just see this expert legal counsel nodding and feverishly typing while ole Bill paces around the room, spewing 

"and ANOTHER THING!"

"Yes, how could we have left that out of this airtight legal strategy!" agrees Mike

I was honestly disappointed the motions/complaints from the plaintiff didn't end with a 8) on the final page. 

Opportunity missed, Bill Griffter, opportunity missed.   8)

So what are the odds he goes through on an appeal?

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 01:47:52 PM

Quote from: Adam White on February 27, 2018, 10:05:30 AM

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 08:04:13 AM
Common sense prevails.

Hope it wasn't too costly for you guys.

Let me again reiterate what a better, more constructive site this is without the toxicity, bullying, closed-mindedness, and ad hominem attacks that were a staple of his discourse.

Night and day.

Dumb.

I've never even met the guy in person.

And he called my office, at 2:00 in the morning, trying to get me fired.

Because I said Ennis was an upstanding guy.

On the internet.

On a message board.

Who does that?

But you keep telling yourself he's just misunderstood.

Sorry - my joke landed flat.

"Dumb" was a stock Stephen response.

Defensiveness formally withdrawn, Adam :D

Haha.

Quote from: CityLife on February 27, 2018, 10:49:45 AM
Hope you can recoup legal fees...

What's Stephen up to these days?

Someone texted me that Stephen is editor of this site

http://thecelebritycafe.com/about-us/

100k Facebook likes, 15k twitter followers, yet virtually no likes and sharing of content. ???

Quote from: Adam White on February 27, 2018, 05:16:45 PM

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 01:47:52 PM

Quote from: Adam White on February 27, 2018, 10:05:30 AM

Quote from: KenFSU on February 27, 2018, 08:04:13 AM
Common sense prevails.

Hope it wasn't too costly for you guys.

Let me again reiterate what a better, more constructive site this is without the toxicity, bullying, closed-mindedness, and ad hominem attacks that were a staple of his discourse.

Night and day.

Dumb.

I've never even met the guy in person.

And he called my office, at 2:00 in the morning, trying to get me fired.

Because I said Ennis was an upstanding guy.

On the internet.

On a message board.

Who does that?

But you keep telling yourself he's just misunderstood.

Sorry - my joke landed flat.

"Dumb" was a stock Stephen response.

I'm glad you said this, Adam.  In all my dealings with you, this one caught me WAY off guard and was so out of character for you!  Now, we can all press the rewind button for a few hours today and laugh at the joke we missed.  :)   ;D

Quote from: thelakelander on February 27, 2018, 05:59:27 AM
Update on this situation:

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous/i-hTZgV7V/0/cf8343ed/X2/Order_Page_1-X2.jpg)

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous/i-N5pbXMB/0/5c130bc8/X2/Order_Page_2-X2.jpg)

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous/i-XPqV97t/0/2cbcd12a/X2/Order_Page_3-X2.jpg)

What is really interesting is to compare the loquacious blarney in the original complaint with the direct language contained within the dismissal.

There was not one properly formulated thought in the 10 plus pages of the original complaint. Stephen was so intoxicated by his own B. S. that he had the hubris to actually have that thing filed with the court. I am embarrassed for his legal counsel.  SAD!

Billy was / is a fool for ever going near this.  Had MetroJacksonville taken swift action, Billy would have been charged with multiple felonies.  Nothing is stopping him from filing again...the definition of insanity.

This was obviously way before my time here, but I'm a curious individual. Can some peoples with history here please explain all this to me like what the front door happened and how and why it got to lawsuit territory in regular joe English? Thanks

Quote from: CityLife on February 27, 2018, 05:52:45 PM

Quote from: CityLife on February 27, 2018, 10:49:45 AM
Hope you can recoup legal fees...

What's Stephen up to these days?

Someone texted me that Stephen is editor of this site

http://thecelebritycafe.com/about-us/

100k Facebook likes, 15k twitter followers, yet virtually no likes and sharing of content. ???

We all need a paycheck, but frankly shallow gossip seems more like a passion for him.

Quite the career development for him, if you ask me.

Quote from: jaxrox on February 28, 2018, 12:26:05 AM
This was obviously way before my time here, but I'm a curious individual. Can some peoples with history here please explain all this to me like what the front door happened and how and why it got to lawsuit territory in regular joe English? Thanks

Once upon a time, MetroJacksonville (and its precursor) was a wonderful website, perhaps the best in the country in its niche, dedicated to forwarding the advancement of Jacksonville's urban core. In addition to posting awesome, original content, the site also hosted an amazing forum for like-minded individuals to engage in civil discourse about their city. Somewhere along the line, a stakeholder in the site, Stephen Dare, got confused and decided that MetroJacksonville's true purpose was to serve as a platform for himself and his friends. The epic, original content that made the site so great became overshadowed by lifestyle and political pieces, listicles, with the occasional illegible and contextless Xerox of random 1990s fan zines thrown in for good measure. Stephen became a massive dick on the forums, abusing his moderator powers to remove posts critical of him, embarrass people with different opinions, attack local businesses over things like coffee refills, and clutter the home page with dozens of wild political rants. This created a toxic environment that drove many long-time users away from the site. The type of original content that made MetroJacksonville so great in the first place moved to a new site, ModernCities, which broadened its scope to include development in other cities around the country as well. Eventually, Stephen's behavior, both on the site and behind the scenes, came home to roost. He's been ousted, his (grossly inflated) 600,000 posts have been expunged from existence, his goofy lawsuit was dismissed, and MetroJacksonville is back to being a fun, constructive, informative, non-stressful website to visit. All the while, still no Fuddruckers at the Landing.

Ahhh yes I had forgotten about the high drama over free coffee refills and mooching off free Wi-Fi all day.

Aiight! :) good history lesson. Thank you for the rundown. I personally like both sites (mj&mc)and that also explains their close proximity. So how bout that fuddruckers then? Or maybe a five guys? They're pretty good too. Let's continue to MMJGA! (Make MetroJacksonville Great Again) sorry couldn't resist making a cheese laden joke. And a good day to all of ya!

Quote from: DTJAXEYE on February 27, 2018, 09:20:10 PM
Billy was / is a fool for ever going near this.  Had MetroJacksonville taken swift action, Billy would have been charged with multiple felonies.  Nothing is stopping him from filing again...the definition of insanity.

Actually, his counsel of record is otherwise occupied defending the criminal traffic case that he is presently embroiled in, so there is no excess capacity to persue this matter.

Personally, I really hate it when I am rear ended by an unlicensed and uninsured motorist. It really sucks because there is no way to recover your damages and it raises everyone's insurance rates. It also speaks to a general disregard for the law and is very irresponsible and contributes to the general sense of lawlesness in Jax.

Quote from: Midway ® on February 28, 2018, 01:51:38 PM

Quote from: DTJAXEYE on February 27, 2018, 09:20:10 PM
Billy was / is a fool for ever going near this.  Had MetroJacksonville taken swift action, Billy would have been charged with multiple felonies.  Nothing is stopping him from filing again...the definition of insanity.

Actually, his counsel of record is otherwise occupied defending the criminal traffic case that he is presently embroiled in, so there is no excess capacity to persue this matter.

Personally, I really hate it when I am rear ended by an unlicensed and uninsured motorist. It really sucks because there is no way to recover your damages and it raises everyone's insurance rates. It also speaks to a general disregard for the law and is very irresponsible and contributes to the general sense of lawlesness in Jax.

Dumb.

(Did I do it right, Adam???)

QuotePersonally, I really hate it when I am rear ended by an unlicensed and uninsured motorist. It really sucks because there is no way to recover your damages and it raises everyone's insurance rates. It also speaks to a general disregard for the law and is very irresponsible and contributes to the general sense of lawlesness in Jax

And which one of you guys lent him the Honda he slapped his tag on?  Guess the tracker gave out and he had to use it until all that celebritycafe coin starts flowing in.

Haha, I did.

Although I still come here on a semi-regular basis, for me Metro has lost some of its appeal since Stephen was ousted. I noticed early on in this forum that some called out Fineho too. I know that Stephen was crass at times and I don't have any idea what behind the scenes were like so I can't speak with any authority as to why he is gone. I know that I come to this site to keep up with Jax and it's progress and Stephen's posts were always the spice that kept me coming back every day.  There are a handful of people who post here who were pretty unkind to me on several occasions and I can see why tempers flared. There are still people who post here I dismiss because of their treatment of me and my opinions in the past. On most things, I agreed with Stephen and Fineho so if she is gone also I find that very disappointing. I'm only posting here now because I saw there are current posts.

Quote from: avonjax on February 28, 2018, 04:45:01 PM
Although I still come here on a semi-regular basis, for me Metro has lost some of its appeal since Stephen was ousted. I noticed early on in this forum that some called out Fineho too. I know that Stephen was crass at times and I don't have any idea what behind the scenes were like so I can't speak with any authority as to why he is gone. I know that I come to this site to keep up with Jax and it's progress and Stephen's posts were always the spice that kept me coming back every day.  There are a handful of people who post here who were pretty unkind to me on several occasions and I can see why tempers flared. There are still people who post here I dismiss because of their treatment of me and my opinions in the past. On most things, I agreed with Stephen and Fineho so if she is gone also I find that very disappointing. I'm only posting here now because I saw there are current posts.

I'd agree that the site and forum are less interesting without Stephen. I just wish he would've maybe dialled it down a bit and didn't bully people the way he did. And towards the end, it did start to feel like the site was changing and focussing more on his friends - like, who really gives a toss what Karissa Wade thinks about anything?

It wasn't all bad, though - I certainly enjoyed sparring with him and I appreciated his passion for the site.

(I have no idea what went on as far as the business side of things is concerned and I really don't want to get involved in all that - I can only speak as a reader/poster).

Finehoe was a bit of a dick, though.

I followed MetroJacksonville for years before ever logging in.  I must admit Stephen kept me interested enough to finally log in.  I miss the guy.

Mr. Dare was a nice guy as long as you agreed with him.  Once you posted an opinion contrary to his he'd take parts of your post and quote them in a reply completely misrepresenting what you said because he only quoted part of what you posted. Then he was pretty much a complete jerk to deal with.

Dare's presence on MJ was similar to many things in life, wherein conditions or entities exhibit both good and bad.  One tolerates a situation or entity until the bad outweighs the good to such a degree that it's absurd or unsafe to continue.  One tolerates the bad to enjoy the good.  It appears that too many finally began to question whether Dare's bad characteristics excessively outweighed the good.   

Dare had a tendency to excite the mysterious ... to engage the limits of knowledge on a subject ... to drift to the absurd ... his way of stretching the mind.  His excessive sense of self-importance allowed him to on occasion be an oppressive and unfair moderator whenever anyone carelessly exposed any deficiencies or error in his thinking.  The rule was to tread lightly upon his ego, as he would do almost anything to protect it, including the removal of your post, or your banning from the forum.   

His habit was to occasionally lie to suit his purpose, to exaggerate any scenario to impress, to control a conversation to maintain dominance ... to maneuver to hide his ignorance. 

However, his contributions to the analysis of Jax's history ... his gathering of information about Jax's past was impressive; assuming he actually did the work and created the articles.

The rumour is that the end came when he overstepped the boundaries of proper handling of the money movements surrounding advertising revenues with MJ.  Although it is the case with anyone, one learned to be cautious when dealing with money, contracts, or deals around Dare.  It seemed that with Dare, the potential for problems or loss was a little higher as compared to most people.

But yes ... I agree with some recent comments that the emotional level ... the excitement ... on the forum is a little less with Dare's absence.  I feel less inclined to engage my interests in philosophy, the sciences, or religions on the forum.  I enjoyed the "exercise" in thinking and writing about "stuff" that I thought was kinna interesting.  I still read with interest the material on both MJ and Modern Cities however, as both are great sources of info about our project to achieve reasonable recovery from the destruction of downtowns following the sixties.

At one point, Cujo was a lovely family dog. A house is built inviting everyone from the community to come over a play in the front yard. Every now and then, Cujo irks a few people and barks at the mailman but the family understands, that's their Cujo. As time goes on, Cujo starts to foam at the mouth. At first you believe he's just hungry but you noticed he's now biting the mailman and guests in the front yard. The family installs a fence hoping to alleviate the situation. Time goes on and the family realizes that Cujo, outside of the view of the community front yard, has dung a hole under the fence and has progressed to actually been eating neighborhood kids and pets and is tying to eat the family in and behind the house as well.  Unfortunately, the situation becomes too much to deal with and the family decides Cujo must move on.

I was one of those who was abused by SD, felt he was a total dick, and truly believed he brought down the overall quality of the forum.

That said, I can't help but to feel bad for him. Nobody wakes up and decides to act like Dare. Frankly, I think there was some serious mental issues behind the madness. Not excusing the behavior but....let's not forget this is a human being we're talking about and his whole world has been rocked by this.

No matter what he did (and I know what he did and agree with the judge's order), I find it hard to get behind what is essentially legitimized bullying. And yeah, I get the irony. SD was the king of bullying. But at what point is enough enough with this thread? What happened to leading by example..

Lake sums it up well.


He could be an arrogant ass all he wanted, and if you don't think he was that you're lying to yourself.  What really did it for me was his extreme abuse of power as a moderator to bully, abuse, and harass anyone that did not share his views.  For the most part I learned to ignore the guy but watching him treat other posters like that was pretty disgusting.  He has some deep rooted emotional issues.  I've never come across a forum with any moderator even close to as bad as him and I've been on a whole lot of forums.

I'm still not convinced that Finehoe wasn't just another account of his ;D

EDIT:  Wow Ben, apparently we were thinking on the same wavelength!

Yeah, no need to bully. I only posted the results of the case mentioned in this thread to bring resolution after months of false accusations and allegations against Metro Jacksonville, Inc. made in the community, certain circles and social media pages.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 01, 2018, 08:08:22 AM
Yeah, no need to bully. I only posted the results of the case mentioned in this thread to bring resolution after months of false accusations and allegations against Metro Jacksonville, Inc. made in the community, certain circles and social media pages.

100% get it/understand from your angle, that's for sure!

Never read Cujo.  But yes ... Dare was at one time okay .... fair .... non-toxic.  But  over several years he became so poisonous that you guys had to do something  somewhat radical to get rid of the poison.  Actually, there was no other choice for you guys in my opinion.  You did right.  You did good.   

Quote from: ronchamblin on March 01, 2018, 01:13:51 PM
Never read Cujo.

If only you could find a copy!

(Hope all is well Ron! Please do come visit me across the pond.)

Quote from: ben says on March 02, 2018, 07:21:13 AM

Quote from: ronchamblin on March 01, 2018, 01:13:51 PM
Never read Cujo.

If only you could find a copy!

(https://snag.gy/tMVHga.jpg)

Quote from: ben says on March 02, 2018, 07:21:13 AM

Quote from: ronchamblin on March 01, 2018, 01:13:51 PM
Never read Cujo.

If only you could find a copy!

(Hope all is well Ron! Please do come visit me across the pond.)

That would be fun.  Of course I've never traveled ... but in the Pacific during military tour -- Hawaii & Midway.

I would like to visit Spain and France.  So ... don't be surprised if seek advice and arrangements via you for a two or three week trip.

Quote from: Adam White on February 27, 2018, 05:16:45 PM

Sorry - my joke landed flat.

"Dumb" was a stock Stephen response.

Not with me it didn't. I laughed out loud at the immediate recognition of an all-too-typical (and regrettable) response.

Well played, Adam.

And, no, I don't see any of this as bullying. But it may be time to lock the thread and only unlock it if there are further court filings.

^I see your point RG, but disagree on closing the thread. For better or worse, Stephen was a huge part of this site's history. Only thing weirder than talking about him from time to time would be not talking about him from time to time.

For the most part, this thread is just people (many of them who were personally harassed by the man) stating the honest facts of their experiences with the guy. If simply recapping the specifics of Stephen's actions comes across as bullying, that falls squarely on the bully, not the witness.

If there's one thing the #MeToo movement has taught us, it's that staying silent and playing apologist for the aggressor is never the proper response to harassment, particular when it's coming from someone in a position of power. We're certainly talking much different scales, but the guy was an absolute monster. People have legitimately killed themselves over cyber bullying not much different than what Stephen carried out on someone like I-10. He would literally spend what seemed to he his entire day trying to make people look stupid or feel badly about themselves.

There's no room in society for that anymore, and the guy has in no way earned the right to be treated with kids gloves. People treated him that way for years here, and how did that turn out? I'm glad Ennis is posting updates, because Ennis has always been a good dude, and Stephen personally called his character into question. When the courts agreed that Stephen is full of shit, I'd be screaming it from the rooftops.

Pay careful attention to what's happening in society over the last few years. Standing up to bullies and rejoicing in their defeat is the new fad. And it's the best way to deter similar behavior in the future.

Actions have consequences. Don't want to be talked about negatively? Don't aggressively harass people, online and off. Seems simple enough.

Quote from: RattlerGator on March 02, 2018, 09:06:47 PM

Quote from: Adam White on February 27, 2018, 05:16:45 PM

Sorry - my joke landed flat.

"Dumb" was a stock Stephen response.

Not with me it didn't. I laughed out loud at the immediate recognition of an all-too-typical (and regrettable) response.

Well played, Adam.

I should've figured you'd get it  :D

Quote from: KenFSU on March 02, 2018, 11:08:14 PM
^I see your point RG, but disagree on closing the thread. For better or worse, Stephen was a huge part of this site's history. Only thing weirder than talking about him from time to time would be not talking about him from time to time.

For the most part, this thread is just people (many of them who were personally harassed by the man) stating the honest facts of their experiences with the guy. If simply recapping the specifics of Stephen's actions comes across as bullying, that falls squarely on the bully, not the witness.

If there's one thing the #MeToo movement has taught us, it's that staying silent and playing apologist for the aggressor is never the proper response to harassment, particular when it's coming from someone in a position of power. We're certainly talking much different scales, but the guy was an absolute monster. People have legitimately killed themselves over cyber bullying not much different than what Stephen carried out on someone like I-10. He would literally spend what seemed to he his entire day trying to make people look stupid or feel badly about themselves.

There's no room in society for that anymore, and the guy has in no way earned the right to be treated with kids gloves. People treated him that way for years here, and how did that turn out? I'm glad Ennis is posting updates, because Ennis has always been a good dude, and Stephen personally called his character into question. When the courts agreed that Stephen is full of shit, I'd be screaming it from the rooftops.

Pay careful attention to what's happening in society over the last few years. Standing up to bullies and rejoicing in their defeat is the new fad. And it's the best way to deter similar behavior in the future.

Actions have consequences. Don't want to be talked about negatively? Don't aggressively harass people, online and off. Seems simple enough.

Well put Ken... moderation of this site has been a breeze since his ouster...

Dare was a bully and really prevented back and forth conversations. He deleted multiple posts of mine because he didn't agree with what I was saying. I personally think y'all made the right decision.

Is anyone home???  :)

Hi Timkin, Stephen was removed from the site over two years ago. This thread was started a little after his removal. You can begin on page one for a full recap.