Kestas,
I would ask you to respond to this thread. You have warned Diplomat in the past and its obvious he didn't take you serious. If he wanted to accuse another member of this site of violating laws, the appropriate place to do that is via email, which you have made available to one and all.

For anyone who has spent any time in this forum, they are well aware that Edi has lamented the impersonality of the internet as a whole and this site in particular, and has encouraged other people to talk more, on the phone, through email and in person. While most of us may find his lamentations silly, they are valid for those of a certain age (no offense Edi, I have no idea how old you are. I am 40, older than most of the people on this site).

It is quite obvious in reading the transcript that there was nothing done improperly. This is also the type of thing that will scare away older, wiser users.

I realize that banning a user is a big deal and not something to be taken lightly. Censorship is also another issue that people rally behind. However, I think that it is called for in this instance. Publicly libeling another member, accusing them of crimes ("I'm sure this is illegal in a handful of countries." ) is just going to far.

Or failing that, can you make it so Diplomat can no longer post on this forum? If its a question of money, I would gladly done money to hire a programmer to make the necessary coding changes.

airborne I can't believe you tricked me into giving you my name. On the internet too of all places! Of all the low despicable acts.... Mods after you have finished banning Edi would you please ban airborne too.

Take care guys, its only fair to evaluate the complaint on its own merit. Edi shoud get no special treatment.

Too bad the complaint possess to merit, no backing, and is possibly the stupidest and most destructive thing I have seen on the forum.

Too bad.

(snort) well my name is John I live in Nowhere or Nebraska as some people call it.

"Or failing that, can you make it so Diplomat can no longer post on this forum?"

I agree. Censorship is disagreeable, but the threads are actually having a tangible negative effect on the site. Some (symbolically at least) action is definitely necessary and not out of hand.

Stop identity theft.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=BIw5HZaeM9w&feature=related

identity theft?!

It's a slippery slope. If you start telling people your name, next thing you'll be giving them your back account details and social security number. You can't be too careful these days.

You started it! besides there thousands of Johns...in the state I live in.

lol@ spyman- its happened on Facebook all over the world:)

I play phpdiplomacy on facebook too. You can find out every players real name and who they are friends with. Doesn't bother me though.

interesting thread!! i think this is a valid accusation. once upon a time we had general agreement not to communicate off the site.

and speaking about identities... i'm not sure why you need the names Edi. i have no way of validating that you're a real Edi Birsan, for example. you could be just another diplomat's account. it doesn't mean anything

Nice to see someone still cares about the topic. Facebook is overrated in my opinion.

I do think the rules should be clearer on offsite communication. It's not illegal, but perhaps it should be (or perhaps not)?

Well I don't think we could do anything about it. Other than saying thats a no no and hope for the best.

@alamothe- agree.
@ spyman- it should be illegal.

Why does it matter?
What does matter, is if Edi Birsan CONTINUES asking for these details when the person declines.
That's odd in the very least, possibly bordering on harassment no?

This is a legitimate thread. Kestas just warned me against "self-indulgent" threads. This thread was not intended to be as pubic as it has been. It was a request for moderator intervention.

Ok...

Does it make it okay if Edi always does this (asks for real-world information)?

Just because I'm the only person to stand up to this threat doesn't mean he can continue this.

I don't think he's a serial killer so calm down.

I would like to thank EdiBirsan to handle this situation very professionally. He deserves credit for that. Oh, and I did vote for a draw in that game.

He sounds freaky at the very least:)

Today a man was found shot death by his computer. Playing phpdiplomacy his account was diplomat1824. The only clues to his death are connected to his forum post about EdiBirsan. More details at 8.

airborne -1
You are making a mockery of this genuine plea fir moderator intervention.

Yeah I don't see that happening.

"Just because I'm the only person to stand up to this threat doesn't mean he can continue this."

Are you kidding me? I wouldn't consider it a threat at all. Just ignore him if you don't feel like talking to him. You have that choice

the +/- again...

WTF???
Where did this banning frenzy come from?

1. Yes, Diplomat starts a lot of absurd threads. Do you know what is keeping them up on top of the forum - other people (like me in the moment :) who flock to reply.

2. Do you have a sense of humor? :). Obviously noone will ban Edi (or anyone else for that matter) because he asked someone else what is his name. If you don't like to give some information then just don't.

3. Clearly Diplomat finds it fun to provoke others, make extreme statements, etc. - but so what - every castle has a joker, right :). Just think how boring this forum will be if there were no people like him, or Sicarius, etc. Appreciate them while you can - as they'll get bored and move to another forum to 'spread the word' :)

4. Edi, you do expect everyone in the game to have a rational approach and take the game seriously? Not in here :)

If you want good games you have to pick your opposition - otherwise you're in for a lot of surprises. Sometimes your game will be totally ruined because of other people acting like morons - and there'll be nothing you can do about it. Look at it this way:
- it is a good learning experince (losing and not being able to do anything but just having to sit and play it out)
- if these guys are the same in real life then the only thing you can feel for them is sympathy

Quite elitist and arrogant I guess :)

Oh no, Edi has gained access to my email address. He has "hooked" me up with a "local", near to me, Diplomacy organization. I may possibly run into him at Origins 09 (though I would prefer GenCon 09).

Once there, we shall change our handles to Pinky and the Brain. (May I be TheBrain, Edi?).

And then ...

we will "Try to take over the world".