To those of who who haven't been on this board very long: Some of you have been getting pm's from a registered member purporting to give advice about TSM and implying that he has some expertise or is some sort of counselor or practicioner. The sender is not an expert and had no affiliation with this board beyond that of registered member. Given his inaccurate portrayal of himself as a "practicioner" in pm's to newcomers, he has been banned from the board and, accordingly, is no longer a member. I apologize for the pm's; please ignore them and continue to make use of the wealth of sharing and information on the board.

I am a loud-mouth and am typically all for freedom of speech. And in the interests of full disclosure, I initially thought that the guy at issue here was receiving an overly harsh reaction by some of the members. But then I read more about what this guy was doing, including attempting to pass himself off as a "clinician" as if he had some sort of expertise he clearly lacks. He personally sent me a PM describing himself as a "practitioner" and offered advice as if he has the same authority as Dr. Eskapa or Dr. Sinclair. And then I found out he was giving other people advice on this board, falsely labeling himself a "clinician" or "practitioner." (Worse yet, as I understand it, the advice he gave was often not the correct information.) Banning someone from this site is an awfully harsh consequence, but in this case, IMO, it's fully justified.

Can I ask the name of the member, because I got PM by a few people.

My ire cannot register higher on the Reichter scale for the smarmy likes of Robert Rappelean. I hope I spelled his name wrong. Worm. Go back under the rock from which you came.

Oh sorry - that was so negative and I previously said I was taking a vacation. Sorry - vacation starts again now - until I can stand it no longer! Robert pissed me off 2 months ago being negative about the supposed progress at that point...

Irritating gnat coming back again -

I agree with houtx. Thank you Lena!

Hello Everyone. I'm going to chime in here briefly.

First, I have not been following the situation as I've got company in town and am also working a contract job on top of my normal 10-hour day. For the most part the board is self-running but Lena is moderating as needed. Lena is level-headed and perfectly capable. I think that some of RR's posts bother her more than they do me, but based on PMs I've gotten, they bother other people too. I am going to defer to Lena's judgment on this matter. I simply do not have time to do anything else and as I've said before, I trust her and that's why she is a moderator. There is something else as I'll describe below.

For the record, I'll say that I don't think RR is a bad guy (at all). I think he wants to help but I'm unsure why. I do wonder about his motives and I certainly question why he is PMing people instead of posting in the open where his statements can be viewed and vetted by people who actually follow TSM. Lastly, he has used some verbiage in private messages (shared by recipients w/ Lena) that implies that he is an expert and/or practitioner when in fact he is nothing of the sort. His comments would have been largely harmless if accompanied by a disclaimer but they were not - and RR is far too intelligent to make an omission like that by mistake.

Finally, on a personal note, I'd like to point out something that really underpins my thoughts on this. Early on I sent RR a personal e-mail from my personal e-mail address. It was in response to a flurry of protest over some of his posts. Keep in mind that this was VERY early in the life of the board (March). Things went well for a while but soon digressed into posts that violated the spirit of what I was asking for. See below for my final comment...

Hi Robert,

Let me introduce myself. My name is xxxxxxxx and I go by 'N101CS' on the boards.
I am the administrator but haven't been online much lately due to some
outside committments.

First, I'd like to thank you for your contributions. You seem to have a
lot of insight into alcoholism and its treatment.

I noticed some people on the board getting upset with some of what you
said. I've gone through most (but not all) of it and frankly, I don't see
any huge problems with anything you said - certainly not to the level that
I feel compelled to warn you or anything like that.

One thing I'd appreciate your keeping in mind, though, is that the board is
mostly inhabited by a bunch of drunks or recovering drunks, myself
included. I've got a thick skin but some of the others, particularly the
ladies, do not. Further, some are just starting The Sinclair Method and
are both desperate for help and terrified of failure. Please be mindful of
this when addressing them. Their situations seem quite fragile and at this
stage of the game they need encouragement and support - not anything that
might raise doubts in their minds.

There is another class of users that post drunk. It's probably obvious who
some of them are (you've encountered them personally). With them it's best
to engage before too late in the evening unless you're just looking for
amusement.

I've created a new area of the board where members can clash to their
heart's content. If you have anything remotely resembling dissent, I'd ask
that you post it there. It will be seen, I assure you.

That's it. Take care and welcome to the board.


Final comment: and this is really what set the tone for my interactions with RR. He didn't respond to my e-mail. At all. He was embroiled in a conflict on MY message board and people were publicly calling to ban him. We lost a very valued member of the board over his early posts. Instead of banning him I e-mailed him personally and got ZERO response. Like my input matters not at all. So... My input matters not at all.

Lena is making the call and I'm staying out of it. If my opinion mattered I'd have gotten a response in March.

I'd like to say something else...

We've got all types here, including drunk midnight posters who ramble on about nonsense. We've had crazy people, depressed people, drunk people, you name it. Even if you are drunk 24x7 and all you can do is post obscenities we'll just fix it so you can only post in the boxing ring. We will NEVER ban someone who is here genuinely looking for help or support, even if some posts cross lines. We can, have, and will accommodate all levels of craziness. But if you're not here for help our sympathy levels and expectations will be much different.

RV

"For the record, I'll say that I don't think RR is a bad guy (at all)."

RV -- you are a better person than me. If I had taken the time to write such a warm-hearted and well-intentioned email, seeking to accommodate everyone while so intelligently, sensitively and thoughtfully laying out the dynamics on the board -- AND GOT NOTHING, JUST CRICKETS -- I would not hesitate to declare RR an unqualified asshole.

Thanks again for all you do. IMO, you and Lena are handling RR -- and this board -- brilliantly.

Given what I have read here, combined with my experience from several months back, I find it disturbing that RR is the (self professed) main contributor to the Wikipedia "Sinclair Method" page. Please correct me if I am wrong, but is that not the case? I have just reviewed the page, and have found nothing objectionable there, but it seems like something we should keep an eye on.

I am also a freedom-of-speech-meister to the max, but spreading misinformation does not fall into that category IMHO.

PS, N101CS - your input obviously matters most of all!!

All,

I am on the fence either way. I have not had bad interactions with RR and I don't believe that you have to be an addict to want to help nor does it make his opinion or views wrong because he isn't one. Maybe he is a self proclaimed "expert" because he needs something to boost his ego and this his "project" of the month and we are just pawns in his quest to attach himself to something wonderful about to break.

I have read the book so much my pages are falling out and I have to buy a new one, it does not make me an expert. Neither Dr S or Sinclair were alcoholics. I do find myself uneasy sometimes that the only people giving advice here to new people are people who are those of us still going through the process and have not completed the program, but that will change as most of hit the 4-6 month mark like SR. I wish there were more experts like Dr E and Sinclair giving more guidance, but I know it won't happen. I am sure that once the bulk of us get to the 6 month point maybe they will take notice that it does work and they will start more programs for awareness because of this board.

RR claims he is working with Dr. E and Sinclair directly. Have we ever contacted them to see what they think of RR and what they think his motives are? They would be the ones to bless his intentions.

but on the other hand I don't engage in the discussion (I think I did once) when it goes too off topic or it becomes a battle.

There are people here and MWO that I take with a grain of salt because either

A the advice stinks
B they think they know it all and their post come off as snippy and unassuring and I wonder if they do this because they doubt their own path on the TSM so it makes them feel better and the don't know if the TSM is working so they try hard to convince people that it will work.
C I just don't have the time or energy.

My main purpose to posting is to support TSM by my progress. When I reach the 4-6 month mark I want to be able to post that I am where I should be and that it did (or didn't work). I believe it is working for me. Just like everyone in the beginning you are excited and relieved that there is hope so you want it and you want it now. I have come to understand that I am just the vessel for this program to work and that it will in time and I must wait for my time. I do notice slight changes and I feel my beast is calming with every passing week. I have hope.

The other reason I don't get to caught up is because I am a product of "BBDB" (Burned By Drunks Before) I have made friends with people in rehab and AA only to get screwed over in ways most people could never dream of and some of it as recent as last week. I've had my car stolen, credit cards taken and maxed out, payroll check cashed, checks stolen and cashed, jewerly taken and pawned, countless of hours wasted. So I now stay in the cyberworld for my treatment (Yes, I have a the_rapist) and am not over eager to engage anymore.

I do read all the post and I know everyone here that truly is making the journey and the struggles they have, I smile when they get witty - knowing that through humor they find a light, I stop and think about them when it's a bad time - and hope they hang in there - I rejoice for them when the change begins and they know it and I am concerned for them when they hit a bump.

Ok so I don't think I've ever written this much on either MB, so I will go back to being quite and posting my weekly and reading, please don't tear this post apart and take it personally - it's my opinion and I don't do that to others.

Signed - Providence an active lurking member