(Satire? I’m not really sure anymore)
Dear Mr Zuckerberg,
I hope you don’t mind me writing to you like this. I’m no-one very important – just one of the 1.06 billion little people who actively use your website every month.
Actually I’m one of those little people who happens to like writing satire – political satire to be precise – but I think perhaps I ought to explain to you exactly what that means because you seem to have got satirists like me mixed up with those horrible spammer people who like to spam.
So please allow me to help you out with some definitions:
SPAM
(noun) A canned meat product made mainly from ham.
(verb) To send the same electronic message indiscriminately to large numbers of recipients on the internet generally for financial gain.
SATIRE
(noun) The use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule or exaggeration to expose, denounce or deride vice, folly or wrongdoing – especially of those in positions of power.
You see – if you think about it – spam and satire are not the same thing at all. In fact, they’re not even all that similar.
Which is a bit strange really because you and your Facebook colleagues seem to think my satirical website – Pride’s Purge – is a spam site.
That’s why – if you just clicked on that link from your own website – you probably got scared off from visiting it because you were warned it might harm your computer.
But I can assure you it really is just a satirical website with no connection to spamming at all. Really.
I suppose though you’ll say that’s just a little mistake on your part. And actually, it probably is. In fact, I even think I know how it might have happened.
When you and your Facebook colleagues were sitting around your conference table discussing how best to protect against spam – you didn’t stop to think about what might happen if someone – a government official somewhere for example – tried to misuse your anti-spam systems to silence criticism, did you?
That’s also probably why you haven’t put into place a system for anyone to appeal against your decision to censor websites accused of spamming, isn’t it? Because you didn’t even think that might happen, did you?
You see in my case – someone somewhere tried to silence me by telling you I’m a spammer. And your decision to unquestioningly accept the accusation has made it all but impossible for me to share my silly use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or exaggeration to expose, denounce or deride vice, folly, or wrongdoing of those in positions of power with anyone else. At least on Facebook.
Of course, you might well ask if it’s really all that important that a little person like me has been stopped by you from sharing my satire. After all, satire is hardly a matter of life and death, is it?
But what if I wasn’t a British satirist? What if I was an activist in Bahrain, or a blogger in Iran or a dissident in China?
Perhaps then it could well be a matter of life or death, I’m sure you would agree.
And that’s the real reason I’m writing to you.
Because if you are the owner of a system that allows millions of people around the world to communicate with each other – with all the power and influence that entails – you have to realise that along with that power and influence come responsibilities too.
Responsibilities to make sure your system cannot be used to silence any of the millions of individual little people who are using it.
Responsibilities to ensure your system cannot be used to stop criticism of those who seek to rule and govern us.
Responsibilities to ensure you can never become a tool in the hands of repressive governments to silence their critics.
So my question to you is this.
What systems are you putting into place to safeguard the rights of people who use your website to expose, denounce or deride the vices, follies and wrongdoings of those people who are in positions of power?
What systems are you putting into place to protect your users’ inalienable rights of freedom of speech, freedom to criticise, freedom to voice their opinions?
What systems are you putting into place to ensure that your website will never be used by the strong and the powerful to silence the weak?
You really need to have those systems in place, because that’s your responsibility.
The ball is firmly in your court Mr Zuckerberg.
I await your reply with interest.
Best regards,
Tom Pride
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Please feel free to comment – you don’t need to register and I’m extremely minimal with the moderating – so please go ahead.
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By the way, if you click on any of these buttons below, you’ll be doing me a favour by sharing this article with other people. Thanks:
Pride's Purge 
Hang on – loads of people said this was a Facebook issue with WordPress links – not specifically your site, or any specific posts on it.
Wouldn’t it be better to ascertain the cause before spending time writing all that?
You seem to be off on a tangent about this, when there’s no evidence that it’s linked to any spam reports – as if you now want to make Facebook the villain of the piece. I’m no fan of Facebook, but it looks like you’re prematurely stirring up a riot where the most logical explanation is just that Facebook is acting up with regards to WordPress blogs.
Please stop misleading your readers into jumping on this anti-Facebook bandwagon. You have loyal readers/fans who trust you, and look to you for decent write-ups on various things. This isn’t the first time you’ve went about abusing that trust for your own ego (?) and, to be honest, I don’t think you deserve your fanbase – because they don’t deserve this kind of misdirection.
[A member of staff from JobCentre Plus admitted reporting the site as spam to FB – indeed boasted to me about it. However – the point of this letter is not actually about me at all – which if you had taken the time to read it properly you would understand. And no – it’s not a WordPress issue. Other bloggers – from Blogger for example – have also had their sites flagged a spam after someone reported their site to Facebook] – Tom
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I think this has just started happening to WordPress sites – particularly ones with links in them – regardless of content. My blog yesterday had 5 links to the BBC, and whatever you can accuse them of, they’re rarely purveyors of spam. And yet it was labelled by Facebook as spam. Ironically, on the same day, Facebook thought it would be appropriate to suggest a page entitled “Infidels of Britain” to me as something I might like. Trying to sell awful nonsense to someone who their own algorithms should be able to detect will hate it – now that, to me, comes pretty close to spam.
Hopefully Facebook will sort out this problem soon.
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Well said, Tom!
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You are correct. It’s nothing to do with DWP, ATOS etc. – it’s been happening to loads of people, regardless of content – and ‘Tom Pride’ knows this, as he’s been told by more than one person.
A simple look at the Facebook community help section will see plenty people suffering this problem, even on blogs about ‘flowers’ (apparently) – all over the past 48 hours.
[no – I am involved with another WordPress site which has not had the same problems] – Tom
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i’m not going there tom, i’m just not ok?
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Tom, that was beautifully written.
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I had this problem about a year ago; it was probably caused by an organized campaign of reporting the material as spam rather than a single complaint (I write a science blog, which is should not be offensive to anyone, but which upsets a certain type of loon). I had to join something called ‘networked blogs’ (which required references) so that FB would stop blocking me.
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I’ll reply to myself as you added your reply as an edit…
I’m aware of your back story. However, one person reporting your page is irrelevant. There’s absolutely no correlation. Did her single report also cause these many other wordpress link to malfunction on Facebook? Please explain to me how that would work, exactly?
I have read your article in full – and the one that preceded it. It IS about you. It refers to yourself – e.g. “satirists like me” etc. Just because you broaden it to include others does not detract from the core of this being an issue where you believe, or claim to believe, that there’s a conspiracy against you – and are riling people up about this matter, when it’s completely contrary to the facts.
You’ve been told by others that it is an issue with Facebook, and not politically motivated, or about censorship – yet you ignored this, and continued to promote your own misguided nonsense.
You’re driving traffic to your site using sensationalist drivel, without bothering to even consider the logical alternatives – and facts – which people have tried to explain elsewhere.
You’re behaving like a charlatan. You are obviously not a daft bloke, so it is clear that it’s all self-serving and you care nothing for delivering actual facts to your readers. You are a hack.
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FB filters leave much to be desired, and they really should get their act together.
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Irrelevant point. Nobody said every single site has been affected. Perfectly reasonable for one of your pages to work and another not. There’s news posts on twitter right now explaining exactly what happened. I suggest you read them, then issue an apology to your readers – along with the actual facts.
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Ollie – I’m genuinely interested in seeing your evidence of all these other wordpress websites who have had the same problem (apart from the couple of political ones like mine – not all of which are wordpress – I mentioned in my original post).
I can’t find any evidence myself.
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Still awaiting your evidence Ollie. Links to these other sites with the same problems please.
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Sorry for keeping you waiting all of 5 minutes. I did explain earlier where to find evidence, but here:
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=4722265659405
and
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=4722270019514
I’m sure there’ll be other forums out there with people complaining of similar, so wouldn’t limit it purely to Facebook’s own help section.
As I’ve said, others have informed you too. You should make your own efforts to find out the facts – especially if you’re being told contrary information. But you just ignore it instead, and choose to continue with your own version of events.
Personally, I’m ashamed that I even care this much – but it is fairly annoying to see how many people are just taking your word for things, as if it’s all 100% fact. You have a power here, which is being abused.
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I enjoyed and valued this piece in particular because it makes a very important argument – you can argue about the detail but the question remains valid – what are the people who own social networking sites doing to protect the people’s voice?
It is an important question. We have lost the MSM completely – and I fear social sites too are becoming policed by corrupt government involvement
Also beautifully written which I always appreciate x
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Erm – the flowers website isn’t WordPress Ollie. It’s from Blogger.
However, I don’t think you’ve read the letter properly. I actually say I think this has all probably happened by mistake.
The real question is what is Facebook doing to ensure the freedoms of speech of the ‘little people’ are safeguarded from intent to restrict them – malicious or otherwise.
Read the letter from the paragraph which starts with “But what if I wasn’t a British satirist?”
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Again, irrelevant. You keep responding with completely meaningless rebuttals.
1) This shows that it is happening to blogger users ALSO
2) There are still numerous comments on that page which specify WordPress.
You have no argument. I have provided evidence. However little, it is substantial enough for this case – and a lot more than your “well some woman from PCS boasted she’d reported me”. Others have attempted to explain how Facebook’s filtering works, and what has caused this.
More fool me for arguing with you though, because I know that you’re fully aware of the facts – and are deliberately choosing to twist the story.
[Well done Ollie – you’ve got it at last. Yes it’s happening to blogger and wordpress and other bloggers too. Exactly the point I’m making in the letter. It’s happening to everyone – because Facebook doesn’t have enough safeguards to prevent it happening.} – Tom
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Yes, their system isn’t perfect. But it’s not their fault that spam exists and a system was needed. And it’s not a government conspiracy. It’s not worth the attention you’ve created over it.
And with regards to freedom of speech etc. – you’re not really the best person to defend this right, as you abuse it in the name of popularity, and mislead people. I think your satirical posts are best, because they’re actually funny and intended to be false.
When it comes to reporting actual facts, you’re very hit and miss.
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“Well done Ollie – you’ve got it at last. Yes it’s happening to blogger and wordpress and other bloggers too. Exactly the point I’m making in the letter. It’s happening to everyone – because Facebook doesn’t have enough safeguards to prevent it happening.} – Tom”
Actually unreal. Your argument was that it WASN’T happening to those people. Now you’re backtracking. Pathetic.
I won’t say you’ve been ‘wrong’ – because you KNOW it’s bull. But you can’t very well admit that, can you? My suggestion still stands. Explain to your readers what the actual truth is, about how this works – and that it has absolutely zero to do with censorship, facebook being political, or government officials flagging it as spam.
If you do not, then fine – they’ll go on believing you’re a reputable source of information. But you and I… (and others too, I’m well aware) will know the truth. You’re only in this game for the view counts, and not because you care about the issues.
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I know I’m in danger of feeding the troll but this is getting surreal now Ollie.
It’s my point exactly that it’s happening to other people. I even mention Bahrain, Iran and China!
Read the sodding letter FFS.
As for admitting I’m wrong. Remember Ollie – I could very easily moderate your arguments – most blogs in fact do that. I have nothing against open discussion – or criticism – with you or anybody.
But it’s hard not to think you’re starting from a standpoint of looking to criticise me in whatever way you can and working your way back from there.
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I have read it. I am not a troll. The definition of “troll” is not “somebody who argues their own point”. I am also not the only one who can see how you operate.
It is not your point exactly at all. The letter clearly indicates that you believe your links are marked as spam as a result of censorship. You even have the post tagged with ‘censorship’. All anybody need do is read your previous article to see how you have presented this “story”.
You have been told this was incorrect, and I have now helped to prove this to you.
The only thing that is surreal here is your bizarre back-tracking and possible face-saving behaviour.
Rest safe in the knowledge that your following will not be affected by what I’ve said though, as you have a considerable fan base who will never even see this discussion.
Enjoy your view counts.
[Ignoring your insults – I’ll try one last time to get through to you Ollie.
You obviously haven’t read the letter properly. I clearly state I think Facebook did this by mistake: “I suppose though you’ll say that’s just a little mistake on your part. And actually, it probably is.”
However – my point is that this lack of thought on the part of Facebook could result in censorship because it can be abused by other Facebook users – as happened in my specific case.] – Tom
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But – spam and satire both start with S. So they must be the same.
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You obviously haven’t read my comments properly.
I said: “The letter clearly indicates that you believe your links are marked as spam as a result of censorship.”
YOUR letter says:
“You see in my case – someone somewhere tried to silence me by telling you I’m a spammer.”
Your point: Somebody tried to censor you and succeeded due to Facebook’s flawed system. This is completely wrong. The issue was unrelated to anybody reporting your link, and unrelated to Facebook’s “flawed” system which handles these reports.
You might be good at manipulating certain people into believing your distorted version of reality. Not me though, I’m afraid.
You can argue and try to twist it all you want – you were, and still are, in the wrong on this matter. People are wrong sometimes. You’re not infallible. It’s fine.
My point though, is that you’re not too fussed over whether you were wrong or not – only that you got a sensational, reactionary story out of it.
Had your headline been “Slight Facebook issue causes variety of WordPress blogs to be marked as spam – will be fixed soon” – it wouldn’t be that interesting now, would it?
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Anyway, I’ve made my case. Yes, I am critical of you. I’ve explained why. I also said your satirical stuff is good, however.
You’ve made it clear you’re not going to concede on the matter. Fair enough.
I said what I wanted. There’s the end to it.
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Ollie – a member of staff from JCP openly boasted to me about reporting my site as spam.
Check out my timeline on FB. You can even see a direct quote from her after I asked her why she did it:
“It is satire…..a twist of the truth…..should be marked as spam and quite right too”
Now have you anything interesting to say apart from constantly accusing me of lying? Because you’ve really done that to death now. If we’re to continue this conversation you’re really going to have to think of some other more interesting insults.
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Tom, as I said earlier – her boast is irrelevant. I have proved the issue is not related to her report. Cite it all you like – you know you are wrong here. Humorously, and pathetically so.
I’ll let you get on with what you do though… it’s not like I can actually stop you misleading your many readers the way you do. If you have no shame, then more power to you. But you are not a reputable journalist, and I’ve seen this a number of times in your work – it’s just this particular instance was so infuriatingly obvious, I decided to say something.
You really need to find better ways of defending yourself when called out, by the way. You lie like a politician.
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Misleading, abusing trust, ego-driven, sensationalist drivel, charlatan, hack — and all this in the first two posts — followed by many more derogatory references in the (apparently endless) following posts.
Tom has not suggested that Facebook is censoring his blog, he is pointing out that the nett effect of their blocking his blog as spam has effectively censored his blog — all at the behest of a government employee.
You are super-critical of his lack of response (from your perspective) to your accusations, but he has addressed your points, he just doesn’t agree with you. I have taken issue with Tom a couple of times, but I haven’t resorted to abuse at any time — remember, when you throw mud, you lose ground, and you’ve lost, comprehensively. The point is that Tom generally makes very salient points about a range of issues, looking to make people think about issues from whatever viewpoint they choose.
You have, obviously, read Tom’s replies, but, equally obviously, have not absorbed any of the content. I just can’t work out whether you’re government apologist, a Facebook apologist, or just a sad conservative.
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John, none of the above. I actually dislike Facebook, hate the tories, and probably government in general.
And I admit that I have been overly passionate in my language on this occasion – though I do not make any apology for it – because I have reasons for the things I’ve said. I will say, however, that it need not be construed as an attempt to offend directly – and I do not believe I have abused him.
Though it sounds insulting, it is merely critical language intended to represent how I view Tom’s output. “Charlatan”, for example, is a reflection of my belief that Tom deliberately constructs articles in a manner which favours attention, rather than fact. It is not akin to calling him a prick, for instance. This, I do not believe. “Hack” itself, is used among journalists humorously – my reasons for using the word, though, are the same as “Charlatan”.
You, however, are missing the points I’ve made too. It is not a matter of disagreement. I did not mean that he implied Facebook was censoring it, but rather turning attention to it being Facebook’s fault that some PCS woman was able to censor it.
Either way, it is not the fault of Facebook ‘s system, or the PCS member – but a more general problem which has affected many other blogs. This was my point. All you are doing is repeating Tom’s *incorrect* point back at me, in his defence.
I do not really want another long, drawn out argument about this though. Your input is noted, and I thank you for it. But further discussion between me and you won’t yield anything new over what I’ve already debated with Tom personally. I know there are others who share my views, as I’ve seen those views expressed elsewhere.
I am fully prepared to accept that not everybody will see Tom in the damning light which I’ve described though. That is fine. That is my opinion.
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I think the point being lost in the debate above is that this appears to be a software/filtering problem with no connection to complaints. And therefore (regardless of the fact that some idiot is claiming credit she doesn’t deserve for shutting you down), no connection with government employees or anyone linked to “The Man”.
It’s very annoying but the optimist in me assumes it’ll be resolved shortly. If it isn’t – then I’ll have to revisit my opinion.
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Banning a blog when you havnt determined its content is both stupid and dangerous… As is preventing FB members from sharing information… Banning people from sharing on a social network seems to go against the very principals of social networking… I love Toms blog satire or not i want to have the freedom to share it…Dxxx
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I agree joel. Whether we agree with this guy’s critique/opinion of Tom’s style of reporting, underneath the accusations he is making a good point about the problem. I saw Johnny Void making the same point yesterday, but I understand that’s a touchy subject as the two dont get along or something. There’s no proof that the outage was caused by a report to Facebook but a lot of accounts from other facebook users having exactly the same issue. I think it might be fixed because JV’s links on my facebook started working again yesterday evening.
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I like how 100 people have clicked to share this on Facebook.
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Hi john – Sorry but I have to disagree. I hate insults in a debate as much as you (discussed this with bobchewie in the last post) but ‘Ollie’ hasn’t lost ground, because he explained his point very clearly many times. I agree he has been offensive maybe. I think its a matter of opinion, but it was constructive to begin with (please stop misleading people etc) but it is a bit strange that so many people commented to explain the real problem and Tom still believes its this woman’s doing. It’s not and I think this should be corrected because now there’s loads of people believing a staff member successfully blocked this site, which isn’t true. Facebook just sucks (but for a different technical reason than the report function)
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Facebook will be doing a survey next on whether it is democratically correct for bloggs to exist – all for them existing raise your hands!
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Facebook censored one of my daughters life drawing pictures because someone reported it. My daughhter puts all her artwork on facebook. It seems facebook and the person who reported her, cannot tell the difference between art and porn.
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson Second Line View of the News.
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@LIZZIE the net cant tell the difference between art and porn.as there are thousands of illustrations of children being subjected to torture sex bondage..yet they censor access to blogs
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here’s the second post from the Jobcentre worker that you chose to ignore and who has suffered a torrent of abuse after you decided to name her on twitter:
“This is a message for Tom Pride. I did not mark your satirical link (as spam) about the handheld machine used by a certain disability assessment company to classify disabled persons conditions nor did I admit to such action. I agreed with it being labelled as spam and quite rightly in my opinion. The very suggestion that a hand held device to detect disabilities is Being used at medical assessments is totally ludicrous and only adds to the mass of hysterical misinformation contained on this medium. Furthermore the threatening abuse from your followers only adds to the disinformation debarcle and highlights the panic and fear that vulnerable disabled people in the UK are experiencing on a daily basis. I hope that the proposed vindictive and malicious witch hunt to locate me is soon put to bed along with the scaremongering of vulnerable people.”
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Don’t feed the Trolls Tom. Keep up the good work
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Dear Tom I am an avid recipient of your Daily emails and enjoy Sharing many them on my Facebook profile. When yesterday I was cautioned when trying to link to your site and then went on to read about the ‘Spam’ status you have been afforded I felt almost as frustrated a you must do. I do hope that Mark Zuckerburg does the right thing in response to your letter and reinstates you status as before. If not I along with many others will have a very different view of Facebook. Lets hope he sees the injustice his organisation has afforded you and puts it right. Sincerely John Bacon
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@JOHN AND TOM..am in the middle here..am not sure you can prove the ‘boast thing after reading the ladies message now. but she needs to not being harassed that fer sure..
the company ? who DWP/ATOS? which?
this is where i am confused..JV has posted back to you..again i am in the middle.true the lady should NOT be harassed..thats afact..
however your allusion to the atos tests using the ‘disability detector’ of which she complained..i think was fair that you made that allusion since their own process is equally ludicrous and has been criticised even by its own author..not sure why JV appeared to take issue there , thats if he did..all the same she shouldnt be harassed..if its company policy to ‘spam’ stuff that they dont approve of,,then thats a different matter..i didnt know stuff that gets spammed become tainted when you re post it.
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Well said, bob. As I said yesterday, I’m sure Tom is a good journalist and will issue a public retraction/apology now that all of this has come out. I didn’t realise this woman was being harrassed but I’ve checked the facebook page where Tom has linked to her profile (???) – not very professional at all, but can easily be sorted with a simple follow up article.
[Martin – I’m not a journalist. I’m a blogger and a satirist. And that doesn’t mean I’m a wannabe Guardian journalist either like some other left-wing bloggers such as JV. It means I write things I want to write about – on my personal blog – and I do it entirely for free. No pay – no cost to the readers. A blog is just a kind of public diary – which anyone can read if they want to. I regard myself as a left-wing libertarian – which means I’ll say what the f**k I want to say until someone drags me kicking into a prison cell. As for apologising – what for? A stupid woman from JCP criticised me and reported me as spam because she can’t fathom what the f**k satire means? Erm …no.] – Tom
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“that
vulnerable disabled people in the UK are
experiencing on a daily basis.”
Isn’t that a bit rich considering her colleagues and ATOS/Government are the main persecutors of the disabled.
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Johnny Void – you should stick to attacking thr real enemies – not other lefty bloggers who you feel you are in competition with. A word of advice – green doesn’t suit you – stick to red.
As for the JCP worker – her comment -“the very suggestion that a hand held device to detect disabilities is Being used at medical assessments is totally ludicrous” simply shows she doesn’t understand satire.
Presumably neither do you.
Mind you – “Johnny Void defends JobCentre Plus” might make an interesting blogpost, don’t you think?
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That is the whole point. Atos are a joke and you are just as bad in that you and the organisation DWP put the fear of God into to so many disabled /injured people. So do not blame Tom Pride as the fault is closer to home.
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Tom Pride is bloody good at what he does and Freedom is every ones right. Just because some think they can block freedom that does not in any way mean that is right. Facebook have to back down and stop trying to censure to stop Freedom of expression. Not On. As for Ollie and the very few that knock Tom Pride or do it sneakily. You have your view but it is a small ill informed view with no real facts. No I am sorry but TOM PRIDE does something that upsets the powerful and I think that is great because the powerful ignore us small people or do you stick your heads in the sand all day every day?
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I rarely comment on FB or even WP… My blog, or what’s left of it by AOL ceasing to host blogs, resulted in me having to ‘dump’ loads of posts to blogger… I’m a professional journalist but still often get questioned on my use of social media. Your posts are refreshing, funny and informative giving the reader a ‘taste’ to look closer if they wish… I often ‘wish’ and thank you for that 🙂
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Whether she understands satire or not is hardly relevant to the point.
She possibly did not even report you. Additional to that is the fact that one report wouldn’t block you anyway so, even if she did report you, it would be unrelated. Numerous other blogs (including personal blogs, not political) were also blocked.
This is all more than enough evidence to show that your issue was a result of a problem in the facebook code recently, and not related to spam reports and attempts to censor you by this woman, or anybody else.
I will avoid “insulting” you this time, as I’ve made my feelings clear there. This comment is purely about the facts – the facts are that this issue was not related to her reporting you. Therefore (even if it’s a mistake on your part) the above letter, and the previous post re: censorship are both invalidated – and the resulting “storm” was all for nought.
Now the question lies with whether or not you will make this information clear to your readers. Doing that would be the right thing to do.
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Hi Dean, I’m actually very open to the way things are misrepresented to us – so no, I do not stick my head in the sand. But misrepresentation and questioning details does not stop with the government etc.
I agree that Tom does some good articles, especially his satire pieces. But just as a band doesn’t always do a great album, Tom does not always do a great post.
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Thanks Joel & Martin.
Perhaps I discredited my point somewhat by including my personal opinion too, but it was just annoying to see somebody rolling with a story even after their own commenters had corrected it in a previous post.
I am pleased that others can see where I’m coming from though, thank you.
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@Tom we had a case on the void. a guy got arrested for being stroppy ot questioned atos methods .locked up no visits from relatives all a bit strange.then court info said he threatened to kill someone whilst in public..er so not on atos premises then..it said ”in the city” loose definition..agreed. family claimed it was dwp premises..so round and round it went. was he an activist i asked since that area had had problem with activist protesting about atos which is their right plus previously an aged couple had been arrested for anti atos protests..so i just wondered logically if he had been of activism there.. no seems not according to family and JV so….round and round it went..result now is this..he pleaded guilty and been ordered to do community service..theres a bit of a non-story then..bte JW has been hiy by what he considers professional trolls..they disagree , all the same its wound him up..next is JJ aka outlaw who has had to blog as hes has bent sent hate mail and a few deranged ppl adopting alternative personas in order to attack him..and he is at odds with another blogger whom he sees as an opportunist in regard to the serious CSA stuff..i am very sorry to see this ‘my blog is better than your blog’ bollocks..its jolly hard for us humble posters..ie those that dig around on behalf of blogs.
makes me think that MSM must love all this..driving us god forgive back to propaganda city,,i would like to add that your allusion to the ludicrous atos wca test was quite well founded …my advice to atos/dwp sorry i wasnt sure who the lady worked for all the same they meet in the same cess pool of ignorance..is this madam…get a better job missus as this one is making you a miserable ………
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@martin i think you missed part of the point, true the lady shouldnt be harassed BUT..tom was right to satirize the ludicrous atos wca ”tests’..
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Dr Tig – “what are the people who own social networking sites doing to protect the people’s voice?” Thank you for getting the exact point of the letter.
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Anette – true. So easy to mix them up.
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SPATIRE…
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Thanks for the support Bob. I have no idea why JV insists on attacking me so often. I have never criticised his blog. I find it all a bit pathetic TBH.
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Yeah, journalism never lets silly things like facts or details get in the way, does it Tom?
You had no point, and you still don’t. It was all based on what has now been shown to be fiction, and even if you had presented this “point” of yours properly (the one you’ve now twisted to avoid admitting you were wrong), it’s still not a worthwhile point.
Facebook does not owe anybody a voice – nor are they tasked with protecting our voice. Nor should they be.
If they wanted, they could block all WordPress links permanently. It is their site, and they can do what they want. We are all still free to take our “voice” elsewhere.
The problem here is that the issue was never even about Facebook being set up wrong – your entire basis for the argument that was wrong.
I will commend you on your skills in what you do though. You have that ability to “lead”, but you, like many leaders, know full well that your leadership relies on the majority being easily led. I originally said your readers do not deserve to be misled. Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps they do deserve it.
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@ollie you have NO IDEA wtf you are talking about you useless troll,,tom had every right to satirize the stupid useless atos wca tests..which have been responsible for the loss of some many lives now..TWAT..
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Tom, apologise for misrepresenting the truth, perhaps?
Sure, you can say what you want. Do what you want. Mislead all you want, and if proven wrong, you can refuse to apologise all you want. You have that freedom.
I’ve seen you refer to yourself as a journalist in previous discussions, by the way. So there’s another contradiction.
Again, her report has zero to do with the issue. Fair enough if you just complained about her attitude in itself – but you didn’t. You acted like she succeeded and that Facebook has “let her succeed”. None of that was true.
But you’re right – why apologise? Why correct anything? You can do/say what the fuck you want. And I’m not being sarcastic there. I agree that you can.
[Ollie – I have never described myself as a journalist] – Tom
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@OLLIE can you apologize for being just a knob then?
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@bob – hi. I have every idea what I’m talking about, and I’m not a troll. Twat, perhaps.
Let me clear something up for you, bob. I do not have an issue with Tom’s satirical article about Atos, and I never said I did. I actually liked the article. And I despise Atos, so thought it was a good little jab at them.
My issue is with pretending that this woman succeeded in getting this blog blocked from Facebook. She did not. The issue lay elsewhere. You already know this though, as you’re actually one of the first people who tipped me off about it in the previous post (you commented it was a glitch a number of times)
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Hi again bob. I am sorry for being a knob.
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Tom, I have seen you use that word to describe yourself, but ok – I’ll accept that you are now telling me you’re not a journalist.
Still, whatever you call yourself, you do have influence over a lot of people. I doubt I’d have spent so much time arguing with you if you did not.
Suppose it is somewhat ironic that the title of your piece is about power and responsibility too.
[No Ollie you are very much mistaken. I have never ever described myself as a journalist. Repeating yourself doesn’t make it any more true] – Tom
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Out of deference to you, Tom, for not censoring me – I will stop going on about this now.
Thank you for letting me post my comments, and not deleting them. While we obviously differ in opinion, I feel like I’ve said more than enough.
Good luck with your future endeavours.
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Hi Bob, sorry – I didn’t miss that point, no. I agree he was right to make fun of Atos too. I was just also agreeing with you that it’s a shame people are harrassing this woman.
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@martin yeah agree except that her reply was full of nonsense,,,why didnt she name ATOS in her response?
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@OLLIE LOL !!!
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@ollie in fact it was JV who said it was a glitch so i was just running with what he said ..at the time i really didnt know….something odd had been going on thats fer sure
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@TOM me too mate its PITA for me too he can get quite bolshie at times..but thats yer anarchists for yer..we had some anarchist here the other day someone told them they were devil worshippers then she saw she had misread their leaflets she thought is said antichrists….
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@TOM btw this was the gubbins of the VOID story..
we only found out later on in the graun..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2013/apr/26/atos-zoe-williams
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Tom, it is understandable that you would not remember every word you say, but please rest assured that repeating yourself does not make your claim any more true either.
It is a trivial point, however, and not worth me uploading a screenshot over. As I said, I believe that you do not class yourself as this now – because it is what you are telling me now.
[Ollie – I don’t have to remember not saying I’m a journalist – because I’m not. I also don’t have to remember not saying I’m a space astronaut – because I’m not that either. Now either please show where I said I was a journalist – which you obviously can’t do – or apologise and shut the f**k up.] – Tom
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I’ve said before that I have no idea what you think I’m jealous of. I have criticised your blog because you make shit up. That is really unhelpful at a time a lot of people are scared and suffering due to welfare reforms.
And yes blog away. I do support the Jobcentre worker, who is a PCS member, supporter of the fight against welfare reform and is training to be a WCA Appeals Officer – and has had people trying to find out where she lives and put her job at risk because you lied about her.
You used to be just an annoyance to be honest, but now you are doing things which affect real people’s lives – all in the name of massaging your ego and getting a few hits for your blog. It is contemptible behaviour.
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Johnny Void – your sudden unexplained attacks on me started just about the same time my blog started to be popular than yours. Coincidence I’m sure.
You didn’t seem to think I made up the Homebase poster story when you stole it from me either, did you?
You’re just a wannabe journalist who’s wetting his pants in the hope of being given a Guardian column or whatever.
And you’re confirming the stereotype of a humourless left-wing activist – which doesn’t help either.
Do you even understand the concept of satire?
Of course bloody ATOS don’t use bloody hand held devices to detect disability. It’s satire. I once wrote that NATO was planning to attack IKEA too. Guess what – that wasn’t true either.
Now stop your petty jealousy and go back to supporting your JobCentre Plus and DWP mates who are treating unemployed and disabled people so appallingly.
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Calm down kiddies if she is on ‘our side’ why couldnt she just say yeah the WCA tests are ludicrous and they’ve cost peoples lives and also name bloody ATOS instead of referring to ‘a disability assessor’ which could be..well where do you wanna go with that? ..
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@TOM i’m not sure of the situation but from what i gather some JCP bods arent all PCS ppl from what i see maybe the nasty bunch are non unioners i dont know either that or the bosses are training the JCP ppl to get nasty..setting claimants againt unioners is a win win for tories…whatever the score i am reading on a daily basis on the void posters who are getting it in the neck from pretty unpleasant ”advisors” so what are these poor sods meant to do then? complain and then risk sanctioning? JV did have a pop at the PCS bosses..come on something has to straighten out here..
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Ok Tom, I apologise that I’ve made you resort to demanding I shut the “f**k” up, and that you’ve been angered into using an expletive. I really am sorry.
I could show you where you said it, just as I showed you evidence re: the facebook matter – but you just ignored that, so what’s the point? I actually feel embarrassed for you, and proving you wrong AGAIN will make me feel even more embarrassed for you. It’s quite funny that you can’t even evidence things you’ve actually said yourself, without asking me to do the job for you.
I told you I was dropping this, thanked you for your time, and wished you good luck. I attempted a nice ending to it, no?
But just when I think I’m out – YOU PULL ME BACK IN!
It really is hard to stop when you won’t just let it lie, and prefer to argue trivialities with me, because you’ve nothing else left.
Let’s put it this way – I don’t CARE whether you said you’re a journalist or not, ok? It’s irrelevant to any part of this whole argument. I’ve even explained twice that I accept you are not a journalist. I have no need to prove you ever said it, and you have no need to prove the opposite, because it’s a completely irrelevant, arbitrary, tiny point that you’ve used to avoid addressing anything else – a tactic you have used throughout this discussion.
Get a grip, man. Go and get to work on your next sham of a blog post. I promise I won’t call you out on your future bullshit publications. Just get back to it, but please understand – you are no better than the people you oppose – because all you do is bend the truth for the left, rather than for the right.
You’re a joke. Good at what you do, I still maintain, but a joke nonetheless.
[I’m still waiting for you to show the evidence that I said I was a journalist Ollie. But you can’t show it can you? Because it doesn’t exist, does it? Now just admit you got it wrong in a poor attempt to troll me and apologise. Or like I said – shut the f**k up] – Tom
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@OLLIE i thought you had left…do you always break your promises?
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Explained above, bob me old chum – but I didn’t promise anything 😉
Keep an eye on Tom for me. (but to answer your question, yes I often break my promises. Such is life.)
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I didn’t run the Homebase story, precisely because I saw it on your blog and therefore couldn’t be sure it was true until it was confirmed by Homebase themselves.
I don’t give a shit about your satire, I give a shit about you causing problems by telling lies about people, particularly at a time when when relationships are tense between claimants and the PCS. This shit is real for lots of us Tom, not just some big joke.
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Ok Tom, whatever you say 🙂
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@TOMMO the only time i have a pop at you is when i see serious shit going on and you are having a laugh at govt..ok thats your schtick.fine but being in the middle aint funny…i guess in a fucked up way we are on same side banging our heads against a intranscient bunch of nasty fuckits..and supported by same in public..
IF…and i mean IF PCS could grow some and down tools and say we’re not doing this shit anymore then the machine grinds to a halt..no stupid welfare policies can be carried on..we’ve had boneheads show up on the void with there ‘welfare bums’ tripe..hoping to wind ppl up..love to know who these fukwits are..
muppets dont realise DWP actually fuck up sometimes in fact more than sometimes in fact..us poor sods get the receiving end all the same..theres a way through this..the IDS system has been proved to not work . IDS is a ego tistical wankpot..and you can see the DWP model is the epitome of the man himself…when ppl see ie the ‘strivers’ see its a pile of crap..and they’ve been sold a lie in that fuckheads dept is costing them more..maybe they will wake up..
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Johnny Void – so who wrote this on your blog then: “.. a Homebase poster was leaked: it showed managers boasting about how they have been able to cut the wages bill with workfare”
You couldn’t bring yourself to link to the source of the story – me – so you linked to the Guardian’s coverage of my story instead.
Petty.
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I’ll just leave this here. No doubt you’ll have another lame rebuttal to it, but I’ve grown used to that. Bear in mind, I do not believe I am proving anything worthwhile here because the point is trivial, as I said – but one who implies quite clearly that they practice journalism, is implying that he is a journalist:
You WILL have a silly excuse and attempt to twist this into not being proof, as you did with the earlier Facebook thing. But that’s all part of what makes you, you 🙂
This aside, the rest of my previous post still stands. You’re a joke. Goodnight.
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Erm – where did I say I’m a journalist Ollie? Nowhere. Now please stop lying about me.
BTW, the comment about the ‘first rule of journalism’, was sarcasm. Which is precisely what you, Johnny and your JCP mate who thought my satire is ‘ludicrous’ can’t understand.
Satire is supposed to be ludicrous and sarcastic FFS.
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@ollie and shut the fucking door behind you, knob
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Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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@tom i did notice that i must say..but you write on other stuff like the equally important CSA stuff and sad to say.there are even spats between bloggers going on at each other over that..like we need that shit right now..
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Boycott Workfare wrote that, I just reposted it to support the online action. I put the link in to the Guardian piece because you simply aren’t a credible source, the fact occasionally a post on your site doesn’t turn out to be complete bollocks doesn’t really change that.
I’ll ignore the jealously comments because this isn’t about comparing blogs, except to say that if your hit counter is accurate then you might want to drop this line of attack.
[Johnny – your comparing hit counters somewhat undermines your previous comment about it not being jealousy. Doesn’t it?] – Tom
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“’ll ignore the jealously comments because this isn’t about my blog is better than your blog, except to say that if your hit counter is accurate then you might want to drop this line of attack” — handbags at dawn..hey now i’m really getting bored…
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i fancy a bit of ludicrosity every now and again..
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and in one corner we have the ‘alternative media’ bloggers and in the other corner we have the good old reliable lying through their teeth to please the govt/business /advertisers MSM ROUND ONE. ding ding..oh wait MSM have won because the A/M have beaten themselves up…audience leaves…and watches X factor and thinks everything is alright..
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Don’t worry Bob – nobody reads comments on old blog posts. We’re just entertaining ourselves here.
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@ollie you still here?
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i still like the EYE in a way it doesnt take prisoners..COME BACK PAUL FOOT ALL IS FORGIVEN oh wait you’re dead ..bollocks..
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TOM not my place and all that but..can you close off crazy claire thread you keep given her a platform for her to spout her attention seeking gobtripe.and its tedious..sorry…
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@guy fawkes yeah i really want to read blogs about the best dishcloth ever made complete with splattered adverts…
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@martin mebbe but she could have said that the atos wca test suck balls big time..but she didnt…IDK why..
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@TOM PRIDE i want to try something..its simple find something you guys can agree on..yeah there are meant to be agencies that deal with this stuff but to be honest i dont trust them, fact is mate theres shitloads of that vile stuff..its never ending.the graphic images of child torture..just horrible..now if you are in agreement on this then mebbe all the bloggers can do something about it by co operating instead of cat fighting..what do you think?
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this woman should be sacked in my opinion.
have you made a compliant to the dwp.
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as she admits she did it tom has nothing to apoligise for.
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@tom pride and all the way i would perceive a successful blog is that instead of being the purveyor of wisdom and have minions look up to you as truth seekers, i’d sooner have 20-30 regulars where the information was shared and discussed in trying to address issues..so instead of it being like telly and watching itd be more like ppl sitting around table problem solving..each putting something forward piece by piece in order to contruct and come to a conclusion about a topic..forget the ‘hits’ and traffic that just gets in the way…
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Tom the way that Ollie went on you would think ‘real’ journalists were never guilty of making errors, propoganda etc.but in this instance you didn’t.
As far as I’m concerned you are a social media journalist that is good enough for us and if we think you err, you give us the right to say so – so good on yeah long may you reign.
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Thanks Guy. The right to be able to say what you think – no matter how critical – is really important IMO.
I was being attacked for not responding to the JCP woman’s defence of herself on my blog – when everyone seems to have forgotten it was me who allowed her to freely comment in the first place. Many other bloggers – and MSM – would just have moderated it and no-one would have been the wiser.
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Dude, he said she caused his blog to be blocked and she didn’t. Isn’t that an error? He has 2 whole posts on that premise, and it simply wasn’t true. A lot of people here make the error of just blindly believing anything even if the evidence shows otherwise.
Also Tom told me he isn’t a journalist elsewhere (had a few emails to sort through this morning lol!) so I don’t think you’ve actually read the massive discussion above, as I have. While I didn’t really agree with Ollie, I think (no offence intended) that you have sort of proven his point.
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This is what I meant when I said you have a lot to contribute, bob. This point you made is excellent.
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What is MSM? and weren’t you being attacked for saying she got you banned, when she didn’t? I didn’t even see her comment herself – only JV’s repost above. I think its odd to say you “allowed” somebody a freedom though. It should just be your default stance not to censor. The world “allow” is a bit…. big-headed? Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want to be attacking you too. Just my opinion.
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Apparently she claims she didn’t (see JV post at the top), but either way – it was a glitch in facebook, not the woman’s doing. Maybe not apologise but a retraction is apt – but Tom has told me he isn’t prepared to do that which (to be honest) seems unfair, but he can do as he pleases i suppose.
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she admitted to doing it.
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nuggy
Thankyou!
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Nuggy & guy, but she didn’t cause it. Look at it this way – i could now say “i’m going to report this page to facebook for spam” – then I could go and actually do it. But the page will not get blocked, because the facebook block system requires a mass-posting or mass-reporting before it kicks in. It also includes other algorithmic parameters (facebook are very vague on how their algoritms work as, flaws aside, they are extremely clever pieces of code)
Just because 2 things happen in a close space of time, does not mean they were related. Think about it. Read the explanations above, and visit the links Ollie posted.
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The time lapse issue from when Tom posted spamming, which he attributed to a self confessed culprit and others informing him it was just a glitch in the system(if it was?), does not give him the need to apologize to anyone, because at the time of writing his article the only facts he had were to do with the dwp spoilsport.
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Anyway, I don’t have the patience/will to argue about it like Ollie did. I am wondering though, still… what is MSM? Do either of you know?
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Thats a fair comment, guy. But retractions are usually based on new evidence coming to light. Anyway, as I said, lets drop it. Its over now.
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@martin MSM = main stream media
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Nevermind, found it. *facepalm*
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Cheers bob!
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@martin bloggers talk in acronyms sometimes.,.TPTB =the powers that be..
IMHO=in my humble opinion, AFAIK=as far as i know and so on..
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Thanks. I know the main ones, but TPTB was another one I was confused about too! 😀
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@MARTIN i think you can run them together once you have the gist IDK=i dont know WTF=what the f*ck IATA=i am talking about (actually i just added that) my new one thats been puzzling me i just found out is: NSFW…its ‘not safe for work’..its usually applied to erm..naughty stuff..piccie of young lassies..
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@martin atos pay ppl to look out for negative stuff on them
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Social media and citizen journalism have always been criticised by mainstream media… They do not like being ‘out done’ by someone with a smartphone, internet access and the ‘bloomin’ cheek having the right to post real news as it’s happening… I suggest, as a serious journalist, that they feck orf and leave us alone unless they have something newsworthy to post/print…xxx
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@lyndaphillips2 like i totally agree with you totally..yes feck orf MSM..it just shows how much they are hand in hand with establishment its so cozy its stifling..
i’m not a journo, just a stumbler and even i came up with stuff that showed govt was lying its head off..and the rw media just spun the shit that gov fed them..thats why i hate seeing bloggers who are really on same side at each others throats sometimes..its like totally utterly tragic..(apologies for ott americanisms -note to self stop watching US youtube crap)
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@martin her ‘ludicrous’ bit was stupid too..also for me not naming ATOS suggested her loyalties was still with the company…despite what JV said..
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Don’t worry bob, I know the common net slang acronyms 🙂 but thank you.
Re: atos; I can well believe it. Remember though, the government and places like Atos are fairly dim, so I wouldn’t be too afraid of their influence on the web. E.g. they wouldn’t ever be able to silence us. And if one medium gets silenced, we move on (TOR and the ‘deep web’ are a good example of this)
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@martin oh did i? bloody hell..i said something that made sense..damn..maybe it will catch on..
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@martin atos shut down after atos site..also issued cease and desist orders to sites..be afraid …
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Annette White: Do you really believe that all words/things beginning with S are the same…. or are you just being idiotically satirical??
Can you — for example — differentiate strawberries from sh*t?? They both begin with S!
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@tunefultony no she was being Sarcastic..another word beginning with S
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@ bobchewie: Accepted this once as long as you repent for reading RW lol…xxx Personally, I prescribe four weeks reading ‘other sources’… ‘Tis ok, you’ll find them, they are out there… Somewhere…
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@lyndaphillips the BEANO is an anarchist rag..eg bash street kids -overthrowing the establishment order ie teacher…
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OLLIE (whoever you are) : Don’t bother writing any more, OK? ~I’ve been reading Tom’s pieces long enough to tell that he is humorous, astute, honest, meticulous in regard to facts and detail, and a fair and good sport. As for you, as I am sure others on here would agree, you reveal yourself as a tedious, quarrelsome, pedantic scumbag, and that is being too nice to you.~ Don’t bother to reply, I have seen far too much from you already.
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Hi Tony, unfortunately this discussion ended 2 days ago and you’re a bit late to the party. In fact, I was long gone – and it is only you who has caused me to resurface – so you’ve kind of shot yourself in the foot.
The “don’t bother replying” thing might have worked when we were 13, but unfortunately it’s not a valid method to win an argument as an adult.
I’d like to take you home and keep you as a pet. I’ve always wanted a pet sheep.
Sincerely yours,
Ollie
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Hi, please look at this screenshot of the conversation. http://imgur.com/IB2JTZj
The lady did not boast about reporting the link, nor did she ever admit to it. She pointed out it was marked as spam, and agreed that it should be.
She says “should be marked as spam and quite right too” in a bid to insult the piece – it is not an admission to marking it as such.
Nowhere in this conversation has this lady admitted she marked it – Tom stated that, and she immediately corrected him.
Even if she HAD done this, the issue lay entirely with Facebook as I’ve said earlier, and affected many blogs. But she didn’t even do it.
Tom is a liar, and he has known from the start that he was making all of this up. If you reply to me with yet another defence after seeing this deplorable behaviour, then you really need to reassess who you trust online.
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Hi, please look at this screenshot of the conversation. http://imgur.com/IB2JTZj
The lady did not boast about reporting the link, nor did she ever admit to it. She pointed out it was marked as spam, and agreed that it should be.
She says “should be marked as spam and quite right too” in a bid to insult the piece – it is not an admission to marking it as such.
Nowhere in this conversation has this lady admitted she marked it – Tom stated that, and she immediately corrected him.
Even if she HAD done this, the issue lay entirely with Facebook as I’ve said earlier, and affected many blogs. But she didn’t even do it.
Tom is a liar, and he has known from the start that he was making all of this up. If you reply to me with yet another defence after seeing this deplorable behaviour, then you really need to reassess who you trust online.
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Hi, please look at this screenshot of the conversation. http://imgur.com/IB2JTZj
The lady did not boast about reporting the link, nor did she ever admit to it. She pointed out it was marked as spam, and agreed that it should be.
She says “should be marked as spam and quite right too” in a bid to insult the piece – it is not an admission to marking it as such.
Nowhere in this conversation has this lady admitted she marked it – Tom stated that, and she immediately corrected him.
Even if she HAD done this, the issue lay entirely with Facebook as I’ve said earlier, and affected many blogs. But she didn’t even do it.
Tom is a liar, and he has known from the start that he was making all of this up. If you reply to me with yet another defence after seeing this deplorable behaviour, then you really need to reassess who you trust online.
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Hi lynda, please look at this screenshot of the conversation. http://imgur.com/IB2JTZj
The lady did not boast about reporting the link, nor did she ever admit to it. She pointed out it was marked as spam, and agreed that it should be.
She says “should be marked as spam and quite right too” in a bid to insult the piece – it is not an admission to marking it as such.
Nowhere in this conversation has this lady admitted she marked it – Tom stated that, and she immediately corrected him.
Even if she HAD done this, the issue lay entirely with Facebook as I’ve said earlier, and affected many blogs. But she didn’t even do it.
Tom is a liar, and he has known from the start that he was making all of this up. If you reply to me with yet another defence after seeing this deplorable behaviour, then you really need to reassess who you trust online.
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Hi Dead, please look at this screenshot of the conversation. http://imgur.com/IB2JTZj
The lady did not boast about reporting the link, nor did she ever admit to it. She pointed out it was marked as spam, and agreed that it should be.
She says “should be marked as spam and quite right too” in a bid to insult the piece – it is not an admission to marking it as such.
Nowhere in this conversation has this lady admitted she marked it – Tom stated that, and she immediately corrected him.
Even if she HAD done this, the issue lay entirely with Facebook as I’ve said earlier, and affected many blogs. But she didn’t even do it.
Tom is a liar, and he has known from the start that he was making all of this up. If you reply to me with yet another defence after seeing this deplorable behaviour, then you really need to reassess who you trust online.
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Please look at this screenshot of the conversation, everybody. http://imgur.com/IB2JTZj
The lady did not boast about reporting the link, nor did she ever admit to it. She pointed out it was marked as spam, and agreed that it should be.
She says “should be marked as spam and quite right too” in a bid to insult the piece – it is not an admission to marking it as such.
Nowhere in this conversation has this lady admitted she marked it – Tom stated that, and she immediately corrected him.
Even if she HAD done this, the issue lay entirely with Facebook as I’ve said earlier, and affected many blogs. But she didn’t even do it.
Tom is a liar, and he has known from the start that he was making all of this up. If you reply to me with yet another defence after seeing this deplorable behaviour, then you really need to reassess who you trust online.
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@OLLIE WHY ARE YOU SPAMMING EVERYONE WITH THIS BOLLOCKS?
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@OLLIE ARE YOU PATHOLOGICAL OR SOMETHING OR OBSESSED? YOU ARE SPAMMING NOW
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Hi bob, just some of the people that replied to me, not everyone. I thought spamming might give it an ironic twist too 🙂
I want as many people to know how much of a liar Tom is, as I can possibly achieve. That’s all. Let’s not fight about it.
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You should report me to Facebook.
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@ollie ironic? satire? no you are obsessed…and a loon..or out to cause grief..just fuck off..
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Only out to expose liars. The only person I want to “grief” is the one who lied. Tom. If you have further discussion with me, keep it over on the Void – where you are less feisty.
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report you to the mental health board…
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why? why are you fixated on Tom?
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Please don’t. I’d hate to have to face Atos and the WCA one day.
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OLLIE the paid for internet troll
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guy is capable of not falling for your cack handed bollocks, stooge..
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@OLLIE… I’m not arguing about a screenshot supposed conversation at all. That died a death some time ago. My point is very clear in that too many are jumping on the social media bashing bandwagon, many of whom claim to be serious journalists, whatever they may be… There is a hardcore of serious journalists who, quite rightly, recognised, embraced and promoted citizen journalism in it’s infancy to the derogatory sniggers of our peers… Who’s laughing now?
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@lyndaphillips oh jeez dont encourage him back on here..he spent ages spamming all you guys on here and the void then getting into a spat with me trying to browbeat me into his point of view that tom pride is a lliar and always has been…he eb suggested that JV should ban me from the void..how nice of him..theres other stuff i noticed about ”ollie’ which i wont go into atm.but just to say he’s a nosy parker ..
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I’m sorry… Just couldn’t help it… NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS 🙂
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@lyndaphillips EXACTLY
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Hi Lynda, that’s fair enough – but I wouldn’t say my issue “died a death”. A real person was affected by this lie, as well as others jumping on the false conspiracy which came with it.
The reason I replied to you, Lynda, was that you mentioned being professional etc. and I figured you, in that capacity, would see my point about playing with the facts to pad a story. That is all. If I was mistaken, then fair enough. I sought only to share some evidence with you. I am not a troll. Simply because I disagree with lying and want to help others see it, does not make me a troll. People who don’t 100% agree with the room are not trolls. It is silly to claim otherwise.
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no it isnt…quit the bs…
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Dear Ollie, my point is that making accusatory comments about Tom being a liar is extremely damaging to him and the whole of genuine citizen journalism, blogging, clictivism, social media etc. You have stated your view so that should be the end of the matter unless Tom feels that you have defamed him, or for that matter, any of us also feel tainted by your remarks… A little tip for you dear Ollie, get a copy of McNae’s essential law for journalists 😉
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Lynda, I have provided evidence. I have evidence. You mentioning the law is irrelevent as 1) this is not slander or libel, 2) I have evidence and 3) defamation is extremely difficult to prove in UK courts, especially when the person has evidence – as I do.
See MY point is that I don’t care if it damages him, because it’s true, and he deserves to be damaged. Not “citizen reporting” at all. That will survive, and be all the more better when it remains truthful. It is Tom who gives blogging a bad name – not me. I like blogging, when it is truthful.
I have spoken to you with resect, Lynda, as you have with me. However, it is clear to me that you are as steadfast in your defence as Bob is. I find this a shame – especially if you are really a professional, as you say.
We’ll just leave it there, as I’ve already argued enough. You are correct – my “view” (aka the facts) has been stated.
Johnny Void has directed me to this, by the way – http://pridespants.tumblr.com – JV agrees with me, and so does this other guy. I know that means nothing to you – but I figured I’d share it with you all the same, so at least you know I’m not a lone crusader.
[Ollie – I can’t tell you how flattered I am that Johnny Void has bothered to make a website attacking me. It’s just a pity it’s getting virtually zero views. Can you help publicise it more widely for me?] – Tom
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@ollie i have evidence too mate,, since you are playing silly buggers..
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Please do not diss us anymore… I cannot be bothered with your immature rantings and slurs against our profession… What’s your’s?
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@lyndaphillips2 ”oh thanks i’ll have a pint, oh sorry thought you were getting a round in :)..”
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Lynda, I hardly think I’m immature, as I’ve spoken to you respectfully.
Perhaps look at how Bob replies to some people, then reassess your definition of “immature”. Anyway, you’re welcome to live in your bubble. I’m fine accepting that some people (e.g. you and bob) don’t have the capacity to understand what is laid out clearly in front of them. Ignorance, it seems, often triumphs in this world – and you two are no exception.
Lynda, I actually doubt you are a professional journalist, or a journalist of any kind, from the things you have said to me. You don’t come across as intelligent enough for that line of work.
I actually have a greater respect for Tom, because he’s not ignorant in the slightest, has better language skills than you two, and is a lot more tolerant of criticism, despite it being in his own domain.
Tom, your little response there actually made me smile. It was funny.
I don’t think JV is behind the page as it is a lot more polite than he and I have been about you – and even gives you the benefit of the doubt which I haven’t afforded you.
Regarding it’s view count – It’s interesting that you always focus on view counts, given that you claim not to care about them. However, I’m unaware of any publicly available stats on Tumblr views (?) so not sure how you know of it’s visit count.
But yes, I will try to help publicise it, as requested 🙂 I’m guessing you are of the opinion that any publicity is good publicity…
This has all been quite an interesting use of my time, but I must admit that spamming and attacking you on your own soil is probably a dirty tactic, so I’ll refrain from doing so on future posts.
Cheers, and take care.
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before you sign off ollie you can apologise to me…
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Ok bob, I am sorry for whatever it is I’m apologising for.
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posting stuff about me that was private and depicting me as an immature sad git loner…but hey we’re done..
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I apologise, Bob. I wasn’t aware it was private info as it was on your profiles(s) – I assure you I would not willingly reveal private info about you.
For this, I am sorry. I’m sure Tom will remove your name from my post, if he hasn’t already. I’m sure you are not a “sad git loner”. We all follow our own path.
I would advise, if you need to keep that anonymity more secure, edit some of your profile info and settings to keep it away from prying eyes like mine.
Good luck, and take care.
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Ollie – admit it, you love me really. That’s why you just can’t keep away. Don’t blame yourself though. You’re only human.. 🙂
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