How many Publish America banned from the PA Message Board

[Bo Sullivan]

I was banned from the PA message board about 15 months ago. No great loss but I missed my friends. I spoke out on a BIG issue. Michael Jackson's trial. I was threatened with legal action because I was sticking up for Michael Jackson. I did what I thought was right and I got banned from the Board, but I sent the copy to a lawyer in London, and all the people who were involved on the Board threatened to sue me. I can't be sued because I am impecunious. But I told the lawyer that just to cover my tracks.

Lo and behold Michael Jackson was cleared to my absolute Joy and I was banned from the board; the one has nothing to do with the other of course but even so, I felt relieved.

Duped

[pasoroblan2003]

I was banned for asking about royalties due to me.

[Saundra Julian]

I was self-banned after a big fight with PA.

[Raindrops]

I was banned after they gave me my rights back.

[Larry]

I don't know why I was banned; one day about a month ago, I just wasn't welcome anymore. All my requests to why have gone unanswered. No big deal though, I already know how to make bookmarks.
Maybe I pissed off the fence hens, again.
I shall survive.

[James D. Macdonald]

Yes, but do you know how to make a Colorful Booksigning Tablecloth? With some of those tee-shirt transfer sheets (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006HV2ZE/madhousemanor) you can buy at Staples, an inkjet printer, an iron, and a white tablecloth, you can make a booksigning tablecloth with pictures of your book's cover on it!

Hundreds of useless suggestions for marketing unsaleable goods are available for free on the PAMB!

[Bo Sullivan]

How about a big red white and blue Publish America Tablecloth telling people how not to publish their first novel?

Any Designs available?

[SeanDSchaffer]

I was banned around a year ago for suggesting ways to make PublishAmerica legitimate. My last post over there had to do with PA bashers not bashing the authors, just the company.

I think the fact I had mentioned AW could have had an impact on their decision, as well.

:D

[Arkie]

I was banned today. I'm not sure why. Probably been on the boards too long.

[SC Harrison]

I was banned for posting here and/or trying to caution authors about spending too much money buying their own books.

[janetbellinger]

I wasn't officially banned but after I spoke out about various areas of concern I could no longer log in and since that time get a message saying my ID is invalid. I can still view the messages though, I just can't reply to them. Of course, now I am no longer a PA author, so I'd have no right to be responding to the authors' messages anyway.

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

I was banned last year - May or June, I believe - right after my book was printed... I dared stand up to He Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned (aka: Shemp).

[James D. Macdonald]

You generally don't get "banned" -- it's just that one day your password stops working.

[Arkie]

It is true that having your pass word stop working does not always mean you're banned; however, it may precede banning, as in my case.

Last week my password failed and I could not access the private board, but I could the public board; however, today when I tried to access the public board, I got a Critical Information screen that stated:

"You have been banned from this forum. Please contact the webmaster or board administrator for more information."

Since I have been on the PAMB for a couple of years, I decided not to pursue the situation further. I'm not sure why I was banned unless they thought my two "Betty Baker" posts were not up to their standards. I thought the poem was pretty darned good.

[TwentyFour]

I had to make this for you guys!

http://s2.excoboard.com/forums/21842/user/225135/330746.jpg

[TwentyFour]

Well, it would appear the PA boards have lost a few more, one a WWII vet who I personally liked. http://bb.publishamerica.com/viewtopic.php?t=16542

[icerose]

My password was "lost" by the staff about two years ago when I inquired as to what the changes of Ingrams meant to us authors and how would it impact our books.

Then they reassigned me "rainbow". Subliminal messages, gotta love it. Then they "lost" that one again one week later when one author asked why mainstream publishers and avenues didn't consider PA authors to be commercial authors, so I broke down PA's own figures. It showed an average of 6 sales per author.

My post was deleted but the thread remained so the authors could attack me at free will having never seen what I posted. Did PA sensor that thread? Nope, only my post leaving them to shred my reputation without a chance to even say anything. I couldn't see the board after they switched to the new one, I am banned from posting and seeing. *Shucks* And now I'm released, woohoo!

Oh and to the bigger question, it seems Carl is the longest runner at two years, most everyone else have been banned from the previous 7, so I would say pretty much everybody except the real newbies, and the two faithful longstanding supporters.

[TwentyFour]

They assign you a password? How odd? Most places let you chose.

[TwentyFour]

Check this out:
Lots of posts disappear. Some I can see why, others I don't. It is a shame though when it discourages good people from returning.

I get fed up at times myself, but have to come back every now and then to see all my friends like youall
http://bb.publishamerica.com/viewtopic.php?t=16727

[TwentyFour]

Another gem:
Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:52 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess I may be naive; but I won't go near any other message boards on the internet for fear of internet stalking or being exposed to posts that I find offensive. I find everything I'm interested in related to writing and the author support here, and don't mind losing a post or two if the monitors determine it uninteresting or not fitting the area. I prefer to be over censored than under censored. I'm glad big brother is watching. This internet world is open to a lot of people, and I'd rather no one be harmed. Some of the threads overlap; so, if the monitors move posts around to fit better in a thread, it could use a little organization help, hah. Anyway, thanks for being here to chat with on a quiet night when my pen is just sitting still.

[Arkie]

As noted in an above post, I discovered I was banned on Sep 18th. I know now it was because I wrote PA and suggested that it would be in their best interests to return my rights because I felt that PA's administrative costs of maintaining my book on internet sites, administrative costs of royalty record keeping, mail-outs of royalty statements, etc., outweighed income from future royalties, since the book had run its productive period and I had moved on to other projects.

Today I received a registered letter, dated 9-11-06, stating: "I am informing you that, as per your request (Note: I did not make a request, only a suggestion) for termination of your contract, that we are discontinuing the publication of your book............, as of this day.

All rights under the copyright are herewith returned to you.

Sincerely,

xxxxxxxx

I expect that hundreds, if not thousands, of PA authors have been released in the same manner.

[Saundra Julian]

We were, Arkie. Congratulations on your release!

[SeanDSchaffer]

Today I received a registered letter, dated 9-11-06, stating: "I am informing you that, as per your request (Note: I did not make a request, only a suggestion) for termination of your contract, that we are discontinuing the publication of your book............, as of this day.

All rights under the copyright are herewith returned to you.

Sincerely,

xxxxxxxx

I expect that hundreds, if not thousands, of PA authors have been released in the same manner.


Did you say Registered Letter?

The reason I ask is, a number of us received Certified Letters. The local postman told me that Registered and Certified are the same, with the exception that one can be insured and the other cannot. But still, I wonder if this is how PA gets away with continuing to sell books whose authors they have let go?

[mdin]

I bet the number is in the several hundreds. I suspect a day doesn't go by where someone is banned for something.

I can't be sued because I am impecunious.

I had to look that word up. It means poor.

Poor people get sued much more often than rich people.

[Arkie]

Did you say Registered Letter?

The reason I ask is, a number of us received Certified Letters. The local postman told me that Registered and Certified are the same, with the exception that one can be insured and the other cannot. But still, I wonder if this is how PA gets away with continuing to sell books whose authors they have let go?

Sean:

My mistake. It is a Certified letter. Cost to mail: $1.59. I was called to the door by the postman and had to sign for it.

[SeanDSchaffer]

Sean:

My mistake. It is a Certified letter. Cost to mail: $1.59. I was called to the door by the postman and had to sign for it.


I was just curious, Arkie. There was an argument about a year ago concerning Certified versus Registered letters when it came to contract terminations by PublishAmerica. If I remember correctly, it was mentioned on this and another board--Mindsight, I think.

I have a tendency of worrying too much about little bitty things. Such worry could eventually kill me, because I blow things way out of proportion so much. It is a habit I am trying heavily to break.

Thanks.

[Bo Sullivan]

Oh dear, so many people banned from PA's boards and these boards are the richer for that!

[Bo Sullivan]

I bet the number is in the several hundreds. I suspect a day doesn't go by where someone is banned for something.



I had to look that word up. It means poor.

Poor people get sued much more often than rich people.

How can poor people get sued more than rich people when poor people cannot pay? I worked for a Bankruptcy lawyer for years and he said it is pointless pursuing the impecunious. Obviously if a person has no money to pay then a court cannot make him pay, and do not forget that DEBTORS PRISONS no longer exist as they once did in the United Kingdom and Charles Dickens own father resided in a Debtor's Prison for many months.

Regards

[Ken Schneider]

They banned me when I made a public apology to Jenna.

[SeanDSchaffer]

How can poor people get sued more than rich people when poor people cannot pay? I worked for a Bankruptcy lawyer for years and he said it is pointless pursuing the impecunious. Obviously if a person has no money to pay then a court cannot make him pay, and do not forget that DEBTORS PRISONS no longer exist as they once did in the United Kingdom and Charles Dickens own father resided in a Debtor's Prison for many months.

Regards


I think that's the point of suing someone who is poor. The fact that they will have to slave and work to get the bill paid can be, I susspect, as satisfying to some people as getting the money itself.

[icacat]

I've been banned from the PA boards twice. The first time, my password just stopped working, and then I received the "You have been banned" message when I inquired about it.

Still don't know what I did that time.

The second time I was banned (they let me set up a new account), I posted information that I'd found on this site. Go figure. They don't like those of us who can actually leave their boards and read other ones.

[Ilovepensandpaper]

Tee hee hee! I got banned after I saw PA for what they were, set up a webpage about how deceiptful it was, and posted the link on the messageboard. Somebody snitched on me!