BackTalk Creator Weighs In:

[Jrny1]

TOWANDA....No that was one scary bitch!!!!

E

[strangegrey]

This is one of the most informative threads I've read in awhile. Since there seem to be some in the know, any comments about what happened to Journey Cat? Did it have to do with the yet unknown Augeri fiasco? Are there gag orders?

There's probably more gag orders with Journey than there are with the CIA...LOL.

As for JourneyCat, the most I've seen regarding what happened, is what she posted on the board. It's not fair to expect her to spill any more, unless she forwards it...and the fact that she didn't forward more is not indicative of a gag order, just that she hasn't forwarded more! I'm just glad she has come back and posted...I'm glad to be back...it's nice to see old (and new) friends here. It's been a while and It's nice to know that some folks you can just pickup where you left off. After starting the boards, I heard from Carol (dpgrv) about signing up for the forum. It's great to know everyone's still around. Pretty soon Michelle and Missie will show up and it'll be Caligula all over again in IRC! HAHAHAHA


getting back to the meat:

It's sad that this band has been blanketed with a handful of gag-orders, under-the-table-dealings, firings of employees/band members, etc. I know a certain amount of this happens in other bands....but it really seems like Journey has more horseshit happen at the core level than the other groups...and I think that has fueled the collective online fire, BIGTIME. Had there been a little more honesty spewed forth on the BTM, it might have quelled some of this fighting....but it has only made things worse. Had the TRUTH about Perry's hip 'injury' been laid forth...Hell, if he just came out and said "I never intended to tour, this is going to be just an album, that's it"....people wouldn't have fought. But the fact that a great deal of people deceived/were deceived from band members right on down to unsuspecting FAITHFUL fans shelling out hard earned dollars for albums, tickets, t-shirts and incense (sorry Allen, couldn't resist!)....is a damn shame...because it has taken a role in the completely FUCKED UP aura surrounding Journey fans online and off.

[strangegrey]

TOWANDA....No that was one scary bitch!!!!

Was? Was!?!?!

I'm sure she's totally freaking out her cell-mate as we speak!!!!

[Wheels Of Fyre]

Fyre - my sincere and open apology to you and anyone else for suggesting that any opinions are not valid. Not my intention, but I can see how my words were inappropriate.

I have been under an intense spotlight for something I thought would bring a lot of enjoyment to the fan base. It is not my desire to have the Augeri fans feeling as if they have been left out or abandoned.

I guess they can now feel that they've paid us back. The truth about their idol that was in the interviews broke their hearts and the way they're beating down our friend with venomous, warped allegations is breaking ours.

At least we were working with truth rather than fantasy.

It's comments like this that do more damage than good. Nothing like driving that wedge in deeper and deeper.

Your efforts are wasted on me. To clarify: just as I'm NOT a BTer or MR.com-er I'm also NOT a Wiggler, Loon, or whatever other term you want to use in a debasing manner. I'm a JOURNEY fan. Period.

If anyone is living in a fantasy it would be you. Clearly, you expected to receive 110% approval for your work. THAT is a REAL fantasy.

So a few people have disapproved. Look at how you've handled it! Good grief. So someone comments to the contrary and you're compelled to drive a wedge.

Get a grip and come back to reality, please.

[Wheels Of Fyre]

I'm a JOURNEY fan. I'm not a BTer nor am I a MR.com-er. I've voiced my opinion on the matter and have recognized here openly that I'm one of the SMALL that you've alluded to. We "small" may not share the popular view but ours is no less significant. The fact that you find the views of "the small" as discouraging you from any future work speaks volumes. Either we really are insignificant or perhaps we do indeed have value worth considering.

Fyre - my sincere and open apology to you and anyone else for suggesting that any opinions are not valid. Not my intention, but I can see how my words were inappropriate.

I have been under an intense spotlight for something I thought would bring a lot of enjoyment to the fan base. It is not my desire to have the Augeri fans feeling as if they have been left out or abandoned.

Thanks, Andrew. That means a lot.

I know my views are typically unpopular and I do my best to express them without being offensive. Not everyone is always going to agree but I don't think that's what life's about. I think we're all here to contribute something. I'm compelled by Buddha, "Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it."

Thanks for allowing me to give what I can here.

[AlienC]

Just a few comments

Skylord's message board was co-opted by Journey (as it was the most active forum around) in a cost saving move. Why re-invent the wheel when a perfectly good version is sitting just over there for the taking? IMO, they ripped him off big time.

I disagree here completely. Rindell Ivers was very, very reluctant to green light the message board. If you remember correctly, the site we inherited had a "guest book" people used as a message board and Rindell was somewhat freaked out by the guestbook! The general fear was people could post disparaging remarks on the official site.

From my perspective, the organization begrudgingly went along with a full blown forum because I was relentless about the topic. In fact, if memory serves, I went (in a round-about way) over Rindell's head straight to Azoff's office and got approval for the funds for the board (we didn't use open source). Once I had the approval for the funds, that was all I needed for my approval to install the software and turn the key. I somewhat remember telling Rindell "Oh by the way, we uhhh, opened the forum "

Was I ripped off? Oh I don't think so. Had I left my forums intact and opened up competing forums on the official site, people would have found out about it by word of mouth anyway and I would have had TWO forums to look after.

Just goes to show you how little I really knew. Keeping people away from each other is typical.

Looking from the outside in, I met great people and had some great times. However, looking from the inside out is a completely different perspective and you realize just how fucked up some people really are. Granted, those fucked up people are a very small minority of Journey fans however they tend to be the ones who are the most relentless and draw the most energy. Just as leftist activists, although a small minority, always seem to get the most press coverage because they have the biggest fucking mouths.

This ties into the whole IDOL worship thing to this day will make me scratch my head and think WTF? I was basically the buffer between the internet fans and the band and dealt with a fair amount of emotionally unstable people and believe me, that gets old. Now wonder why Rindell didn't want to deal with them LOL.

I recently had a conversation with someone who was vilified and threatened for something they did/said about Perry. I won't discuss details because I'm not certain this person wants this information publicly disclosed. But again, to those people, what the fuck is wrong with you? I get it, from a psychological perspective but I don't understand it because I'm not nor have I ever been a idol worshiper. Journey to me is a handful of ORDINARY PEOPLE who did something extraordinary with their talents. Why anyone sees anything beyond that is just a mystery.

Yep, It made it easy to walk away from all of it, I'll tell ya.
It was refreshing to be with people who had absolutely no idea who JOURNEY is or any of the musicians in it.

No...... really, they do exist.

[AlienC]

TOWANDA....No that was one scary bitch!!!!

Was? Was!?!?!

I'm sure she's totally freaking out her cell-mate as we speak!!!!

Let's hope the room is padded sufficiently well enough to muffle the noise.

Referring to "The Borg".....That you remember a comment made in a context that would in times past not have been a point of discussion 10 minutes, let alone 10 years later, is an indication of what Mike refers to in the other post. The InTArWEb and it's damn ability to give breath to ideas and the nitwits that propagate such mental fungus is one side of the dilemma. We have extended the shelf life of what was once the province of "idle banter" from days, maybe weeks to years and decades.
Of course, without it, I would not have been able to connect Wavid with Ross and George Tickner.....( Even when Tickner was all pissed off at me (he's VERY MOODY , he went on and on about the artwork)..... I would not have been introduced to Ginger (by the one of the best women on this planet),...... I would not have been able to get all the Fans together to donate and help Juenesse and her family out over there in Holland, (that was really cool , BTW, they are such nice people ,I met them in '03 )
I have no illusion as to my shortcomings as it related to my last position with the corporation. All good things do indeed , end.

I have a friend who is a writer in Hollywood and she wanted to do a story on it. She seems to think it might make a good movie, has all the ingredients sex :shocK:,:roll: drugs , rock and roll, the internet....

You add Towanda and it reads like spinal tap mixed with fatal attraction meets sybill and they do lunch at the diner in Groundhog Day and then it ll blows up, or goes Rambo, I dunno, we're good either way. Just so long as the car chase is towards the end , but before the big final love scene...... ( I'm still writing that chapter.... )..........
Let's us do a
































sequel !!!! YAYYYYYYYYY MO MONEY !!!

We'll let FROY do the directing for the "Making of" documentary DVD ( we'll do it ALL iin MONO, just to test all the 5.1 systems. ), and Monker will do all the liner notes.




FOR THE RECORD I have never caused any harm to be done to anyones computer system ever. I will admit to installing and maintaining WINDOWS (tm) computer operating systems, but I think calling that "harm" is really really harsh. If any Borg DO show up for you, remember, "Resistance is Futile." I say, remeber to take a waffle iron. I haven't seen any waffle irons and it's really nice to have waffles. Apparently , the Borg, is a lot like AOL. They seem to know what someone is doing, even if it seems like they are all by themselves......or is that the CIA, NSA ? is it the BBW? the BBC ??

[NoMoreTails]

Anyone who thinks that the PRINCIPLE OWNERS of JOURNEY are less responsible for the lip synching than the one tasked with providing "cover" for such "enhancment" is as big a JOURNEY apologist as any Perry-Head.

Aren't any of the Augeri crucifiers here going to debate Alien C on this? Did the band really know what was going on and to what extent afterall??

Additionally there are several layers of participation in the Gravy Train known as "Journey". First, you have the Principal players,.... SP, JC, NS, & The remaining members of the Corporate Board of Directors and since the reformation, RV and the current Manglement. The others are all CONTRACTED or , in the case of some of the staff, AT WILL employees.

Allen did you leave SA and DC out intentionally as you mentioned RV? We have had at least two sources confirm that SA and DC were equal partners, are you able to confirm this? Surely they must have been since SA had so much power of NS and the others, forcing them to go along with his "idea"--oh yeah, forgot--for a moment--NS didn't know about it .
Always good to see your input here, hope you post more often.

[Liz22562]

I am enjoying AlienC's posts also. Somewhat debunking a few of the statements made the last few months. Interesting information Alien - thanks!

[strangegrey]

Anyone who thinks that the PRINCIPLE OWNERS of JOURNEY are less responsible for the lip synching than the one tasked with providing "cover" for such "enhancment" is as big a JOURNEY apologist as any Perry-Head.

Aren't any of the Augeri crucifiers here going to debate Alien C on this? Did the band really know what was going on and to what extent afterall??

Why, What Allen is saying, and I've been saying to some extent (on the subject of tape-gate), is that everyone is culpable in this problem. Someone may have actually lipped, but someone in the sound tent had to push the damn play button. Someone else had to play drums to some form of a click track (so that the singing was in sync). I suspect the rest of the band had to follow some form of time keeping as well.

The blame of this falls squarely on the shoulders of the band in general. When Milli Vanilli were cast to the pits of hell in the shame of deception...was it just the one dredlocked fag that actually was caught lipping...or was it the two tarts in the band that were blamed?

What Allen is saying is that nothing like tape-gate could have happened without the by or leave of Sir-Neal and Prince Jonathan and the various Yes-Men they surrounds themselves with. Not a chance....So by blaming Augeri for the entirety of this fiasco is truly rediculous.

The entire band needs to be cast in a light of shame. It's too fucking bad they were able to side-step this whole thing with the cooperation of some media and a ready made replacement to march in and allow the singer to be cast aside in shame. Someday, someone will hold this band's feet to the fire...someday....

Additionally there are several layers of participation in the Gravy Train known as "Journey". First, you have the Principal players,.... SP, JC, NS, & The remaining members of the Corporate Board of Directors and since the reformation, RV and the current Manglement. The others are all CONTRACTED or , in the case of some of the staff, AT WILL employees.

Allen did you leave SA and DC out intentionally as you mentioned RV? We have had at least two sources confirm that SA and DC were equal partners, are you able to confirm this? Surely they must have been since SA had so much power of NS and the others, forcing them to go along with his "idea"--oh yeah, forgot--for a moment--NS didn't know about it .
Always good to see your input here, hope you post more often.

I don't think anyone really knows exactly what level of power each band member has been extended...But it would be crazy to assume that Sir Neal and Prince Jonathan did not retain some level of veto and/or executive power over anyone else in the group. If you notice, whenever the band members names are displayed, it's never alphabetical....or in the traditional order (of Singer, Guitarist, Keyboardist, Bassist, Drummer).....It is in order of seniority. Sir Neal's first, followed by Ross, followed by Prince Jon, followed by Deen and Steve or now JSS. To me this seems a little juvenile. "I was in the band FIRST!!!! WAAAA, WAAAA, WAAAA" Take this as yoiu may, but to me, this is just another reminder to all those that enter Space-Mountain (Nomota's corporate stronghold) that there's a guy with a Fro that calls ALL the fucking shots....and that you should never forget it.

[Marabelle]

Gosh reading these post takes me back quite a few years. I remember Towanda's inplosion and I felt sorry for the chick. We get what we ask for and she was totally out of control and everyone seemed to be waiting for the crash. I don't remember too many folks offering her an "out" instead we all anticipated the fall and watched as she spiraled out of control.

Several folks seemed to make their exit with a bang instead of a splash; even Neal had his turn. I can look back and think WTF and truly miss some of the days back then but then again it's become rock legend. Glad to see some of the folks returning; others are better left where they fell.

Personally I enjoy the read and watch; not sure if I'm ready to revisit if things continue as they are; but hope is sometimes all there is and what shall be will be.

[fred_journeyman]

Anyone who thinks that the PRINCIPLE OWNERS of JOURNEY are less responsible for the lip synching than the one tasked with providing "cover" for such "enhancement" is as big a JOURNEY apologist as any Perry-Head.

Aren't any of the Augeri crucifiers here going to debate Alien C on this? Did the band really know what was going on and to what extent afterall??

Does anyone here REALLY believe that no one BUT Augeri knew and/or approved? What, the rest of the band just stood around with their hands in their pockets, whistling in the wind? (snicker)

[Rosebud]

Anyone who thinks that the PRINCIPLE OWNERS of JOURNEY are less responsible for the lip synching than the one tasked with providing "cover" for such "enhancement" is as big a JOURNEY apologist as any Perry-Head.

Aren't any of the Augeri crucifiers here going to debate Alien C on this? Did the band really know what was going on and to what extent afterall??

Does anyone here REALLY believe that no one BUT Augeri knew and/or approved? What, the rest of the band just stood around with their hands in their pockets, whistling in the wind? (snicker)

No, but if you have ever been in battle or if you were ever a Boy Scout, you are taught to never leave a man behind,carry him on your back if you have to. The boys in the band did that for as long as they could and then they had to go on.....

[Monker]

After starting the boards, I heard from Carol (dpgrv) about signing up for the forum. It's great to know everyone's still around. Pretty soon Michelle and Missie will show up and it'll be Caligula all over again in IRC! HAHAHAHA

Oh, I missed this. Don't read this forum much any more.

But, I have to reply to the above....

Carol has always been around...she's in and out of BT and has always been on the mailing list.

Bumped into Missie a few years ago on one of the old Perry forums. I think she is one who sorta fell through the cracks on these forums. Being such a big Perry fan I don't think she felt she fit in on the Journey forums any longer....and I think the sillyness of the Perry forums at that time just bored her. It was funny though because at that time I was being accused of all kinds of crazy things: that I hated all Perry fans, I couldn't get along with them if I tried, and blah, blah, blah...Then Missie shows up and we start chatting like the best of friends It was great...I'd love to see her in chat again and slap her with a trout.

Don't know what happened to Mich...Haven't seen her around in a VERY long time.

Some of the people on the mailing list have been around since before the Journey internet had forums. It's almost comical to see some newbie go on the mailing list and try to stir the shit...it's just a VERY different place then the web forums. Too many have been there, done that, and can recognize a shti-stirrer after one post.

[AlienC]

Anyone who thinks that the PRINCIPLE OWNERS of JOURNEY are less responsible for the lip synching than the one tasked with providing "cover" for such "enhancment" is as big a JOURNEY apologist as any Perry-Head.

Aren't any of the Augeri crucifiers here going to debate Alien C on this? Did the band really know what was going on and to what extent afterall??

Additionally there are several layers of participation in the Gravy Train known as "Journey". First, you have the Principal players,.... SP, JC, NS, & The remaining members of the Corporate Board of Directors and since the reformation, RV and the current Manglement. The others are all CONTRACTED or , in the case of some of the staff, AT WILL employees.

Allen did you leave SA and DC out intentionally as you mentioned RV? We have had at least two sources confirm that SA and DC were equal partners, are you able to confirm this? Surely they must have been since SA had so much power of NS and the others, forcing them to go along with his "idea"--oh yeah, forgot--for a moment--NS didn't know about it .
Always good to see your input here, hope you post more often.

I stand by my explanation. I believe Jon and Neal may have re-instated Ross at some point.
There are several "Journey"s. There is the original leftover corporate entity, then there is the reformed LLC, which consists of a merchandise mill and a performing entity, of which there are now two incarnations.
As far as SA having "power" over Neal, I want some of whatever you're smoking. I know some people who pay good money for that stuff..... So far as I know, no one has "power" over NS with the slight exception (maybe) of SP's attorney.

[strangegrey]

.... So far as I know, no one has "power" over NS with the slight exception (maybe) of SP's attorney.

Bwahahahaha....good one ... and so true!

[Saint John]

Anyone who thinks that the PRINCIPLE OWNERS of JOURNEY are less responsible for the lip synching than the one tasked with providing "cover" for such "enhancment" is as big a JOURNEY apologist as any Perry-Head.

Aren't any of the Augeri crucifiers here going to debate Alien C on this? Did the band really know what was going on and to what extent afterall??

Additionally there are several layers of participation in the Gravy Train known as "Journey". First, you have the Principal players,.... SP, JC, NS, & The remaining members of the Corporate Board of Directors and since the reformation, RV and the current Manglement. The others are all CONTRACTED or , in the case of some of the staff, AT WILL employees.

Allen did you leave SA and DC out intentionally as you mentioned RV? We have had at least two sources confirm that SA and DC were equal partners, are you able to confirm this? Surely they must have been since SA had so much power of NS and the others, forcing them to go along with his "idea"--oh yeah, forgot--for a moment--NS didn't know about it .
Always good to see your input here, hope you post more often.

I stand by my explanation. I believe Jon and Neal may have re-instated Ross at some point.
There are several "Journey"s. There is the original leftover corporate entity, then there is the reformed LLC, which consists of a merchandise mill and a performing entity, of which there are now two incarnations.
As far as SA having "power" over Neal, I want some of whatever you're smoking. I know some people who pay good money for that stuff..... So far as I know, no one has "power" over NS with the slight exception (maybe) of SP's attorney.

The "two entities" makes perfect sense. The "new" Journey Corp. probably does include SA/JSS and Deen C. However, Augeri and Castronovo were NEVER, EVER "full" partners of the original corp.. That would entitle them to money off of back catalog sales. Perry, Schon , Cain and others would have to be brain dead to agree to share royalties the aforementioned members had nothing to do with. And as far as "keeping the music alive" bullshit goes, that's what karaoke and juke boxes are for.

[donnaplease]

So far as I know, no one has "power" over NS with the slight exception (maybe) of SP's attorney.

That is the Quote of the Month!!! And funny as shit!

[strangegrey]

Perry, Schon , Cain and others would have to be brain dead to agree to share royalties the aforementioned members had nothing to do with. And as far as "keeping the music alive" bullshit goes, that's what karaoke and juke boxes are for.

Depends on what you term keeping the music alive. If it could be proven that the act of a 'member of the band' performing the music in the band, has directly resulted in an increase of sales of the back catalog...a (really fucking good) entertainment lawyer could make a case for a cut into future performance royalties of back catalog....if such a thing actually exists....It's been years since I actually remember reading about this shit...

Songwriting royalties...not a chance....

I DOUBT it applies to Journey, as Journey's back catalog was surging long before Deen and SA joined the group.....

plus, Steve Perry probably has every *really fucking good* entertainment lawyer in the world on retainer....

[brianh28]

It's good to see AlienC back on the net! Thanks for the insight Allen you were always a straight shooter. I 'll always remember that you were once the direct line from the bnad to fans at BT. Thanks for all the info you gave us.(whether you were suppose to or not.) And the comment about Neal and Perry's lawyers... Priceless my friend.

[NoMoreTails]

.
As far as SA having "power" over Neal, I want some of whatever you're smoking. I know some people who pay good money for that stuff..... So far as I know, no one has "power" over NS with the slight exception (maybe) of SP's attorney.

Why, What Allen is saying, and I've been saying to some extent (on the subject of tape-gate), is that everyone is culpable in this problem.

The majority of this forum has been smoking from the pipe of pro-Journey/anti-SA propaganda for months now...
There's been too much blaming Steve and too little blaming the others. To be fair, there's been some unreasonable over the top pro-SA people too. I'd like to see both sides let it go but many in this forum continue to bash Steve at every opportunity while "giving the band a free pass".

[Rockindeano]

The majority of this forum has been smoking from the pipe of pro-Journey/anti-SA propaganda for months now...
There's been too much blaming Steve and too little blaming the others. To be fair, there's been some unreasonable over the top pro-SA people too. I'd like to see both sides let it go but many in this forum continue to bash Steve at every opportunity while "giving the band a free pass".

Point takemn, and you are right. I have to be stand up and say you are 100% right. I for one am guilty of this. However, it is a selfish guilt in which I need to live with.

[AlienC]

It's good to see AlienC back on the net! Thanks for the insight Allen you were always a straight shooter. I 'll always remember that you were once the direct line from the bnad to fans at BT. Thanks for all the info you gave us.(whether you were suppose to or not.) And the comment about Neal and Perry's lawyers... Priceless my friend.

Thank you for those thoughts.
With respect to Mr. Goehring's thoughts regarding what the public will believe, I strive to insure no lie goes unchallenged. I cannot allow a falsehood to continue o draw breath.
It's a weakness I continue to learn to live with.

[Red13JoePa]

The majority of this forum has been smoking from the pipe of pro-Journey/anti-SA propaganda for months now...
There's been too much blaming Steve and too little blaming the others. To be fair, there's been some unreasonable over the top pro-SA people too. I'd like to see both sides let it go but many in this forum continue to bash Steve at every opportunity while "giving the band a free pass".

Point takemn, and you are right. I have to be stand up and say you are 100% right. I for one am guilty of this. However, it is a selfish guilt in which I need to live with.

Terrific posts by BOTH guys.

NMT I wish you had more time to be here, Deano I wish you would post more again too, but understand your reasons and respect that you made no tragic victim sililoquys when you opted for the less posts route.
You just did it.

[Arkansas]

It's good to see AlienC back on the net! Thanks for the insight Allen you were always a straight shooter. I 'll always remember that you were once the direct line from the bnad to fans at BT. Thanks for all the info you gave us.(whether you were suppose to or not.) And the comment about Neal and Perry's lawyers... Priceless my friend.

Thank you for those thoughts.
With respect to Mr. Goehring's thoughts regarding what the public will believe, I strive to insure no lie goes unchallenged. I cannot allow a falsehood to continue o draw breath.
It's a weakness I continue to learn to live with.

Recently watched the original 'Wizard of Oz' in one sitting...something I can't recall ever doing before. Anyha, the scene of "the man behind the curtain" made me think of your old sig. I've been following ALL the Journey boards for about 10 yrs now. It's refreshing to see you, Strangegrey, and Skylorde out here again. And although I've spent way too much time this morning reading this particular thread, it was a nice little hang. Thanks.


later~

[Augerifan]

Red: Was this posted on BT? I just did a quick look for it, and couldn't find it. I am just wondering what the responses are to it on BT.

And John, being horny isn't always a bad thing.... just ask my husband.

To all you men out there: Not all of us women who frequent BT are as generally described. I'm under 40, in pretty good physical shape (I'm working on it), happily married and a mom, and I run my own business and make a good living. I have a great life. I still reserve the right to say that Steve A. and JSS are both pretty darn HOT. Sorry Perryheads, but I never thought SP is attractive. There are many of us women who can appreciate a good-looking man without worshipping him.

Nope...wasn't posted on Back Talk. I originally wrote this over at the noticeboard on MR.com...and it was reposted here in full...

Trust me, if this ever got onto back talk, I'm sure I'd have upside down crosses burned in my front lawn and bricks wrapped with tailed-jackets thrown through my front window!


The female generalization that I've made....will be interpreted as 'unfair' to some. And I am sure that there will be quite a handful of very level headed, beautiful, healthy, horny (or not) women that will take exception to what I've said...and to those, I appologize. Unfortunately, there is a significant number of those at BT that are exactly as I described...and they are truly beyond help...It's been that way over at back talk for a VERY long time....and nothing is going to change that atmosphere over there.

That, in part, is the reason why I posted 2 reasons for Back Talk's demise. An un-moderated or lesser moderated forum...a certain voice would have been allowed to 'fight back' and the general atmosphere, although initially it might have been brutal, would have sorted itself out. See, most online forums evolve very similarly to real life society. Eventually, you would have seen some folks take on a leadership role (without the 'whacking' power that a moderator has)...and those people would help maintain a civil atmosphere...and spirited discussion would happen without serious incident.

A moderator's role in a healthy forum is to step in when a poster or a fight goes way beyond that of civil or socially acceptable. There are tools to allow language to be curbed, but sometimes people just get downright nasty. The moderator steps in and takes control, resets the norm and steps out...and gets out of the way of people interacting. What happened at BT, is that moderation became a normal part of the process. Spirited discussion is NEVER given an opportunity to self-correct....which is sorta like living day and night with verbal-police ready to swat you as soon as you stray from acceptable topics...and a list of acceptable topics have been established. Those that would upset the balance have learned to manipulate the system within this established set of parameters and a mob of perry-jihadists, augeri-machinegunners, jss-assasins, etc have developed...

What has happened, is that as long as you fall within the accepted view-points of the 'mob'...you are allowed to get away with almost anything. And those that aren't in agreement with the 'mob' are sumarily dealt with....


The place is truly an enigma. It's the type of online society that a psychology doctoral candidate could write a thesis on.....

OH MY GOSH! TELL IT BROTHER, MAN! BT is nothing like it used to be!

[Augerifan]

Well, since it looks like some of my early brothers of BT are here, I thought I would chime in my 2 cents worth! This message board is the only one regarding Journey that I read about once a month or so, and I have just caught up on this thread.

I was one of the original Mods on BT and was hired by Michael early in 2001. IMO, those were the great days at BT. Fans seemed normal enough, and the only moderation really had to do mostly with the whole SA vs. SP controversy. Yes, I was one of the "original" Augerifans (thus my name) and I met him early in his career with Journey. I have always been impressed with Steve A. and will miss him. However, I DID detest the red pant threads and the like.

As far as moderation duties, they changed dramatically after Michael left and especially when Allen (AlienC) left. He was the voice of reason and many times I felt lost without him. After that, we would receive e-mails from (nameless moderator) telling us to BUMP certain positive threads about Augeri or a new song or whatever. Sometimes we would get an e-mail saying that Neal may be visiting the boards so we needed to be on TOP of any negative threads. So, although many of you have an opinion regarding how we moderated, many times we were told exactly what threads to move and not move. I got my hand slapped many times for not closing something soon enough. Unfortunately, I disagreed too many times for a certain current moderators taste. Thus, over my last year or so there, I mostly focused on the Street Team and visited BT less and less.

I will not speak for the other moderator asked about in this thread; however, I will comment that I was with her when she walked off the tour. She was not forced and chose to leave of her own accord. Rightly so.

I resigned just as soon as my Street Team duties were over for 2005. Fans had become mean, ruthless and hateful and with the tour managers hatred of fans, there was no longer a reason to stay. All I ever wanted to do was to give back to the band and the fans. The fun was gone and it was time to move on and let a new breed of fans have at it!

I wish nothing but the best for Journey and will always enjoy their music.


Michelle

[Jeremey]

Well, since it looks like some of my early brothers of BT are here, I thought I would chime in my 2 cents worth! This message board is the only one regarding Journey that I read about once a month or so, and I have just caught up on this thread.

Michelle

Hey Michelle! Hope you are doing well - It was great meeting you in Raleigh a couple years ago...Hope to see you again on the road sometime!

Jeremey