It's come to my attention that there have been a series of threats made at NPGMC.com against certain club members. These threats have apparently all come from the same source.

I mention this because I was one of the people who was threatened.

I also mention this because the "source" that made the threats is still allowed to post freely at the Club.

I'm not going to mention any names, because that's not the point of my posting this.

The point is, I thought the incident in which I was threatened was an isolated incident, and after I reported it to the PPs, it was water under the bridge as far as I was concerned. As much as I take seriously someone promising to "knife" me if they ever see me in person, I can't dwell on fear based on things people write on the Internet.

Then I discovered I wasn't the only one.

And that's why I'm posting this here and now.

Threatening to physically harm someone is inarguably unacceptable under any circumstances. It's not cute, it's not funny, it's not "badass" and on THIS site, it will get you banned permanently and details about your behavior will be recorded for future reference.

Apparently, the Club is significantly more lax in their policy. Whereas in the past we've seen club members banned from the site for criticizing and ranting about the business practices of Prince and the NPGMC web site, in the meantime other members who make threats against the lives of their peers are allowed to stay. It is my hope that this is not indicative of the Club's priorities.

Why the big stink? Let me tell you.

For five years, I worked in a community center in New York, doing pretty much the same job as I do on the Org, only in "real time", face to face, with people who used the rooms of the building for meetings, events, rehearsals, etc. Sometimes we had to warn people who behaved inappropriately. Sometimes we had to ban people from the building. Sometimes we got word about threats made by one center user to another. We took every threat seriously, and when we were convinced that the person had actually issued the threat, they were not welcome in the building until sufficient closure had been reached on the situation (which rarely happened).

We had an Anti-Violence program that did a lot of work in our building. I heard a lot of really horrible stories - stalking, hate crime, domestic violence, you name it. I heard too many stories of things that happened to people when threats weren't taken seriously. Too many "if I'd only done something in the beginning..." stories.

And so now I'm hearing about these repeated threats on the club, and for a number of different reasons I feel like it's appropriate to discuss it here on the Org. I think it's important to be aware of what's going on, especially with so many people travelling to other cities for concerts and fan get-togethers. I think it's important to discuss this situation openly so we can respectfully but LOUDLY request that the PPs take some responsibility for the actions going on over there.

PLEASE NOTE: I do *NOT* want to discuss specific members by name in this thread. I know this is a slippery slope, but this thread is not about personally attacking any individual, guilty or innocent as s/he may be. It's about discussing actions and behavior, it's about people who have been in similar situations telling their stories, it's about hopefully making the folks who run NPGMC aware that this is serious and will NOT be tolerated by paying members, and more than anything, it's about making sure nobody gets hurt.

To the best of our abilities, we here at the Org do our best to make this site a safe space for everyone. It's my hope that we can honestly say the same of the "official" site dedicated to the artist we're all here to celebrate.

Thanks
Anx

Wow Anx! That is something! Physically threatening someone is completely out of line.

Your response is excellent.

Thank you.

I am so sorry to hear you have been threatened Anxiety, just ignore those who do these things use the authorities if you believe things to be that bad and out of control, protect yourself 24/7 that’s what i do.

I have also voiced my views on certain going on and been shot down for doing so but i will voice them again. As i have stated before on this site and the club that there are certain ones who have taking upon themselves to contact people through pm or email for them to retract what they have written i have also been sent threatening emails and i have contacted the relevant authorities, how sad when things like this has to be done just cause someone takes offence to what one has written, this is why i do no post much and refuse to post in any religion forums. No doubt i will be harassed silly again for voicing my views and no doubt receive more threatening emails, well that’s a reflection on them.

People need to grow up, we are not children is a school yard, treat people the way you wish to be treated.

All members should be treated as equal, if someone is a moderator they have to sit on the fence and look at all sides and not just with a blinkered view in my humble opinion.

Peace & Love 2 U

P.S I was very surprised to see so much hate pushed towards the org by certain ones, they have accounts here and no doubt have multiple accounts, and those who do not have a account visit this site frequently to read what’s going on. Prince.Org has done a great service to the fans in the Prince community by giving information about prince when there wasn’t none to be had, This site help keep prince in the media and his life times work alive. oh how short peoples memories are..
[This message was edited Tue Jun 1 10:49:05 2004 by katt]

Much props to Anxiety and Katt - your intelligence and tact shine through and keeps me tuning in in hopes of something more than just dinner theater and re-runs

Sick! I assume this took place in the Chat room?

The saddest thing about all this is that it's not in the least bit surprising that the Club is happy to allow it.

the saddest thing about this to me is that in the couple of hours since i posted this, several people have contacted me to tell me that they've had something similar happen to them at the club.

if anyone is aware of any internet resources regarding online safety and/or anti-harrassment resources on the web, please contact me and i'll be happy to share it with you all. i'll do a bit of research myself when i get some spare time.

thanks
anx

i cant belive they would let them stay

I don't know what to say.

Some people are just low class.

I love ya Anxiety.

If anyone is experiencing harassment or threats online, the best first step is to alert the moderators and/or the sitemaster. Make sure you get some kind of confirmation that the mods/sitemaster have read your alert.

If you're still experiencing threats and harassment online and you don't feel you're getting appropriate support from those who run or moderate the site, there is an online resource at which you can get help:

http://www.haltabuse.org/...eats.shtml

PLEASE READ THEIR INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY.

And most importantly, please - always remember that it's never "okay" to let somebody threaten you.

people at the NPGMC like to snipe at the org, but this thread has impressed me immensely. If only there could be this level of open responsibility at the NPGMC.

Good stuff Anxiety! If the NPGMC mods won't do anything about these threats, its great that you are addressing it correctly here!

wow Anx! stay away from freaks on the psycho side hey

Haystack said:

Yeah, sadly not too surprising at all, huh? I never got any threatening (albeit HILARIOUS) physical threats via email until I bumped horns with some farmer's wife kook over there at NPGMC.

I agree that stuff like this (threatening to "knife" someone, etc. without the slightest bit of irony or attempted wit) should not be tolerated, period.

Donning my sarcasm cap...

Then again....I mean, what does that mean, really, when you threaten to kill someone. Aren't you bringing them closer to the glorious afterlife? Maybe this person was just showing you LOVE, Anxiety. Cold, steely love.....and you're too concerned about your so-called safety to realize it. Jeesh.

It's not like they made fun of Tina Graham's crazy ass or some shit.

Just to make myself clear, I don't want the airing of these concerns to be misconstrued as a condemnation of the club overall. I don't want this to be a warning against people visiting the club or taking advantage of all it has to offer. My intention in starting this thread is more to empower those who encounter situations similar to what I (and apparently several others) have encountered, and to hopefully send a message that the behavior of certain club members should be revisited and taken into serious consideration for the safety and well-being of the site's "community" in general. Nobody should have to feel afraid to visit a fan site, and if they're threatened in any way, they should know that they have resources with which to do something about it. That said, everybody should keep on enjoyin' doing their thang and don't let the meanie-kabobs get them down. Mmmkay?

[This message was edited Tue Jun 1 23:32:54 2004 by JoyousRapture]

DAMN

Anxiety said:

Anxiety i was thinking about writing something similar this morning, i would not like to put people off from joining or enjoying what the club has to offer by what i have written.

The club has some amazing kind, funny people and it’s been a great pleasure knowing them. Just don’t let a few people spoil your enjoyment.

Ok back to the for me

This is totally inacceptable but here I saw many people promising a good kick in the teeth to some people not havong the same opinion!!!!

Again This is unacceptable. I'd like to kow the person and the thread ion question (private maybe) and write to the pps like i already on some other occasions.

I appreciate the concerns...and yes indeed it is very unpleasant to attend a concert knowing that someone has been abusive to you in different ways....
And next they threaten you physically?????
I am not into violence..I am about peace and helping others...
Decorum is what I live my life by....and it seems at times nonexistant. In the exception for issues related to Manuella Testolini...which seems to be Taboo.in the npg chat...the rest of us I guess is NOT that important...

this reeks of that BBB thing ya wrote

SENSHY said:

I guess I'm not the ONLY one it happened to with the same memba right??
So??? U xpect it to stay quiet forever???

If they're making physical threats, contact the authorities (I'm not sure if it would be MPLS or your local ones), who in turn can contact NPGMC, and demand personal information on that user be handed over.

If you complain directly to NPGMC, they'll likely keep giving you the runaround.

People that make threats like that need a serious dose of reality.

Tom said:

The anti-harassment site I linked to on this thread did indeed advise people to call 911 immediately after receiving any messages that make threats of physical harm.

I think it's always a good idea to also contact a site moderator, whether it's the club or the org or wherever, if you're threatened on their site. Even if they don't actively do anything about it, they have a record of it, and you have a record that you informed them of the incident.

...alright.

i've been keepin an eye on this thread for a day or two, and i am absolutely appalled that this kinda shit is goin on over on the club, and it seems as if the pee-pees are just turnin a blind eye to this and paying no heed. threats are threats, and they should be taken seriously. VERY seriously. we don't let that shit go on here and there are other forums that i'm on that take online threats/harassments seriously. i don't see why they don't do the same. i ain't sure of how things are run over on the forums n'such at the club cuz i ain't a member, but from the testimonials that i read here from some club members it seems like that the mods there run their ship ass-backwards sometimes. i wonder if prince reads the site or asks the mods on what's goin on there on a daily basis (hell, even often would work out if anything), cuz i'm quite sure he wouldn't like that shit. not at all.

anx...keep your chin up and don't let nobody give you shit (as always). same goes for anyone else on the npgmc who has been threatened. keep on buggin the mods and tell 'em about any and all threats that you get--they'll get the message sooner or later, lest they want another npgmc "riot", ala the one from last summer around the time of "THE e-mail".

Why do people go there anyway?

If its free to talk (both spiritually and financially) on sites like the org and housequake, why do people still want to interact on a cultist site. where freedom is banned?

Just curious.

SquirrelMeat said:

People go there because they've have paid money. They don't mind not being allowed to speak their minds because they don't have any to speak of.