Agree with you blues man, if Japan slotted their kicks they could have won this, something they will have to work on.

Biltong's last post.

I think that's a John Arlottish way to go.

Great dignity. Great mod.

Um, this reads like an obituary

Have I missed something?

Has biltong left then?

Why's that?

I wonder if he liked his wine 'on air' as much as Arlott?

Old soldiers never die - they just fade away.

I got the news from KiwiPete.

I'm sorry has he left the boards, or is it more serious?

He still seems to be posting on theroar.com as of this morning.

Im in no way saying I know whats up with him, but I did notice that after the Scotland South Africa game, he posted a massive uncharacteristic rant on theroar and hasnt posted here since, and I cant remember if it was on the same thread, but he started talking about poaching and project players and referred to all of us on 606v2 in a rant about northern hemisphere fans attitudes to south african players playing abroad.

Thanks IBD, that makes me feel better.

Just been on the roar to see what it is like. They don't half despise James O'Connor on there, do they?! Never thought he came across as a massive douche but Aussies seem to hate him more than they do Deans

I hope he comes back, this place is a lot quieter without him. 

He left because Bluesman and some others p*ssed him off again. It is quite a shame as he came across as such a nice bloke. Happy fishing and red meat-eating Biltong!

what's the roar? tried going to www.theroar.com and ended up on some yank football forum

I think this is it mate:

http://www.theroar.com.au/tag/rugby-union/

got some good articles but the comments are BBC website esque

The Saint wrote:He left because Bluesman and some others p*ssed him off again. It is quite a shame as he came across as such a nice bloke. Happy fishing and red meat-eating Biltong!

What happened to bluesman? Is he just enjoying the Lions and gone incommunicado or did he get binned in the subsequent fall-out?

I'm sure biltong has left before. He'll be back I'm sure.

He's probably reading this thread and getting a big head with all the attention

doctor_grey wrote:I think this is it mate:

http://www.theroar.com.au/tag/rugby-union/

Ah. Thanks Boss

He got banned for slagging off Crudeness in the first France game. Haven't seen him since. Nor TJ who had a whinging fit over it.

Cyril on 606v2 wrote:

The Saint wrote:He left because Bluesman and some others p*ssed him off again. It is quite a shame as he came across as such a nice bloke. Happy fishing and red meat-eating Biltong!

What happened to bluesman? Is he just enjoying the Lions and gone incommunicado or did he get binned in the subsequent fall-out?

I'm sure biltong has left before. He'll be back I'm sure.

He's probably reading this thread and getting a big head with all the attention

There was an argument between him, LB and Biltong during the first match of the NZ/France series. I swayed towards the mods corner on this one because I was also tired of posters constantly slagging off players (regardless of who they played for). Him (and TJ) were overdue a ban for their attitude anyway, IMO. I'm sure the dismissal was only temp but neither has been seen since. Blues may be in Australia now if I remember correctly?
Yes, hopefully Biltong is just having another break... He's a sound poster as well as an efficient moderator.

HammerofThunor wrote:He got banned for slagging off Crudeness in the first France game. Haven't seen him since. Nor TJ who had a whinging fit over it.

The Saint wrote:There was an argument between him, LB and Biltong during the first match of the NZ/France series. I swayed towards the mods on this one because I was also tired of posters constantly slagging off players (regardless of who they played for). Him (and TJ) were overdue a ban for their attitude anyway, IMO. I'm sure the dismissal was only temp but neither has been seen since. Blues may be in Australia now if I remember correctly?
Yes, hopefully Biltong is just having another break... He's a sound poster as well as an efficient moderator.

Cheers both. I must have missed that one.

Cyril on 606v2 wrote:

HammerofThunor wrote:He got banned for slagging off Crudeness in the first France game. Haven't seen him since. Nor TJ who had a whinging fit over it.

The Saint wrote:There was an argument between him, LB and Biltong during the first match of the NZ/France series. I swayed towards the mods on this one because I was also tired of posters constantly slagging off players (regardless of who they played for). Him (and TJ) were overdue a ban for their attitude anyway, IMO. I'm sure the dismissal was only temp but neither has been seen since. Blues may be in Australia now if I remember correctly?
Yes, hopefully Biltong is just having another break... He's a sound poster as well as an efficient moderator.

Cheers both. I must have missed that one.

I imagine most of the offending posts were deleted

The red pen came out but I don't think any posts were removed. And Thunor is right about TJ; his constant whinging really gets on my chest.

Bluesman made some perfectly accurate observations about how terrible Crudden was during the first test against France. I think if we were able to see the posts it would show Linebreaker had a pretty staggering overreaction on this incident and it set a bad precedent as far as bans go.

It must be said that the boards are infinitely better without bluesman about. Doesn't make the ban right on this occasion.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:It must be said that the boards are infinitely better without bluesman about. Doesn't make the ban right on this occasion.

Sometimes there are number of infringements, the official issues a warning and then has to act. Perhaps bluesman took one for the team. Unfortunately he was in a team of one

Some of the comments were unnecessary though. He asked to be banned (literally) and got what he asked for... LB comes across as a good guy too, is he still with us?
The mods must be a bit short staffed at the moment, I'd better send my CV to Pete and hope he considers my application.

How much do Mods have to be on here to qualify?

Saint, you are right and I don't want to be a poster who slags off mods who do a great job on here. If the posts weren't deleted though it is absolutely clear that bluesman didn't do anything that hasn't been do in practically every other thread here. Indeed there is one poster whose posts about Owen Farrell are consistently worse than what bluesman said about Crudden yet no warning is given.

Anyway Saint, he did indeed literally ask to be banned. But LB could have dealt with it much better than he did and it wouldn't have got that far. But let's face facts, sometimes something magical happens from something bad. The boards are a much better place without him. I think we should hold hands and sing a song lads. I imagine it to be something like Oh Happy Day from Sister Act 2. Glorious

Hookisms, I think the mods do a really hard job and can cop a lot of abuse and i know that LB was considering leaving for good too, so whilst he might have overreacted in this case, I imagine it was a cumulative thing added in with a bit of stress. Don't underestimate how trying it must be to try and be both friend and authority figure with people as outspoken as many on this board

ChequeredJersey wrote:Hookisms, I think the mods do a really hard job and can cop a lot of abuse and i know that LB was considering leaving for good too, so whilst he might have overreacted in this case, I imagine it was a cumulative thing added in with a bit of stress. Don't underestimate how trying it must be to try and be both friend and authority figure with people as outspoken as many on this board

Of course you are right and I have been careful to say at the time and now they do a good job. Indeed I misread something LB said to me and felt like a right knobend for it
But stress or not, the wrong decision was reached, but with a glorious outcome for us all. We should be fit to stick our oar in when we see something that appears to be unfair and I did at the time. Doesn't mean I don't think LB and company do a great job 99% of the time

No matter what, less Bluesman is always welcome.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:Saint, you are right and I don't want to be a poster who slags off mods who do a great job on here. If the posts weren't deleted though it is absolutely clear that bluesman didn't do anything that hasn't been do in practically every other thread here. Indeed there is one poster whose posts about Owen Farrell are consistently worse than what bluesman said about Crudden yet no warning is given.

Anyway Saint, he did indeed literally ask to be banned. But LB could have dealt with it much better than he did and it wouldn't have got that far. But let's face facts, sometimes something magical happens from something bad. The boards are a much better place without him. I think we should hold hands and sing a song lads. I imagine it to be something like Oh Happy Day from Sister Act 2. Glorious

Yep 

All a bit of a man sausage up

The customer is always right.

If you ask to be banned...

With regards to the Welsh poster who is always outspoken about Farrell (yes I know which poster), there doesn't seem to be any venom in the postings compared with those ramblings about Cruden. The Farrell bashing is tedious, but it appears to have cease fired.

We need some new mods. Banned users like Grey Ghost and Hersh aren't good for business, making a mockery of the mod team and/or the site rules

The Saint wrote:With regards to the Welsh poster who is always outspoken about Farrell (yes I know which poster), there doesn't seem to be any venom in the postings compared with those ramblings about Cruden. The Farrell bashing is tedious, but it appears to have cease fired.

I believe said individual has moved onto another player from the same nation.

The Saint wrote:With regards to the Welsh poster who is always outspoken about Farrell (yes I know which poster), there doesn't seem to be any venom in the postings compared with those ramblings about Cruden. The Farrell bashing is tedious, but it appears to have cease fired.

Other than asking for him to be sent home, implying that his father 'fixed' his selection, claiming he has never seen him offer anything at flyhalf or have a good game (ever)?

Oh,well I must have missed those posts. And yep, poor Croft!

Risca Rev wrote:We need some new mods. Banned users like Grey Ghost and Hersh aren't good for business, making a mockery of the mod team and/or the site rules

Don't worry, The Saint will take care of all that. We're just waiting on my CRB check before I go blue.

The Saint wrote:Oh,well I must have missed those posts. And yep, poor Croft!

Well, they've got to spread the burden of dislike somehow

Risca Rev wrote:We need some new mods. Banned users like Grey Ghost and Hersh aren't good for business, making a mockery of the mod team and/or the site rules

Strange, though, with a few of the more edgy posters no longer around, things are fairly harmonious.  Perhaps because there are less contentious subjects at the moment?  Or maybe that people who post to annoy are gone. 

Shame this also had to take a gent like Biltong with them.  He seems in all ways a good guy and a keen Rugby observer and fan.  Good fun and good dialogue.  And a different perspective than most of us from the Rainy Isles.  Having a true global forum is a good thing.   Our loss.

ChequeredJersey wrote:got some good articles but the comments are BBC website esque

Surely the writing can't be as bad as the wet sneezes of sychophancy we constantly have to put up with from Tom Croft's girlfriend Brynn Palmer on the BBC website?

Don't you think 'sychophancy' is a rather erudite word for a Rugby web site?

You trying to impress Tom Croft?

Have the cuts in poor old Auntie's purse strings forced her to open a dating agency - or perhaps something a little seedier?

doctor_grey wrote:Don't you think 'sychophancy' is a rather erudite word for a Rugby web site?

You trying to impress Tom Croft?

How else am I going to get Tom to put out? I am happy to clarify my view about Palmer by saying that fundementally the difference between his writing and a bucket of warm ferret poop is the bucket.

Yes, it was all my fault. All I said at the time to bluesman (5 minutes into the match) was to tone his comments down. He was openly mocking Cruden and breaking the rules using upper case when he had been reminded to refrain from doing that on several previous ocassions.

He then chucked a fit, over-reacted and dared me to ban him - which I did. Some other members then over-reacted even more to this (namely TJ, H&H, wales606) and seemed determined to make it the big issue - in the middle of the match and for a few hours afterwards. The posts weren't deleted; they are in the Archive.

What some people may not realise is that we have to deal with 000s of Reports over a year. At certain times it's beyond belief.
A vast majority can be easily dealt with and require no further action; others do require some action... but they are all filed away regardless.

As a good mate of Biltong - we often communicate outside of this site. I shared his frustrations too and we did encourage each other to be as impartial as possible considering all of the different nationalities involved. Sometimes it's a juggling act... or more accurately -  we have to pass the actual moderating over to a particular moderator whose nationality would be deemed to be more impartial to both the member making the complaint and the member who is the subject of the complaint. (In a perfect world we wouldn't/shouldn't really have to worry about this) At any rate, it is an objective decision which has to be made.

For instance, imagine a scenario where (for example only) a Scotsman is arguing with a Welshman about the number of Scottish players represented in the Lions or whether Hogg should be in the starting 15. We all know how that can blow out of control, don't we?
Multiply this a few hundred times, day after day. I'm pretty much immune to that line of 'debate' now. It's everyone's right to have their say but there is also more to it than just that.

However, when a member slags off a particular player, i.e.

"X is shoite... complete rubbish player! Y is so much better than him (no explanation). X the best 10 in the world?
This is a f'ing joke! FFS!!!!!!"

Well this is pretty much what bluesman did in both the earlier Japan-Wales match (I had to make a objective judgement to let some of that go... lest I be accused of being anti Wales or pro-Japan. However, I was pretty close to doing so) and again in the NZ-France match. That's when I decided to step in and politely ask him to "refrain from such remarks". It had nothing to do whether the point he was making was right or wrong... it was the way (written words and tone) in which he said it. There are clear rules on here and he was well aware of them. He had been on thin ice before (with a few bans) and he had promised not to push the boundaries again when he returned.

So I hope that clears it up a little. I'm not against any nation or anybody. I prefer to go with the flow... and add a comment here and there (as a poster). I keep a fair bit in reserve and have recently decided to not get drawn in to some of the heated debates going on in certain threads.

This is what got to Biltong. He no longer found it enjoyable nor worthwhile. After a few years it can eventually force you to take more drastic action on ocassion. We talked about it often and I managed to coax him back to the site a few times when he'd privately told me he was leaving 'for good'. The final straw was that NZ-France thread. I can understand his decision 100%.

Up until that Saturday (night here) I had only temporarily banned 2 Members (for direct abuse via a PM) in a period of over 2 and a half years. Sorry Portnoy, but you'll have to excuse me for pulling the plug in that situation but I make no apologies after you made the "african massacre" comment. That was way out of line, mate. I don't bear any grudges and I'm glad to see you back.

Finally, I do appreciate the fact that some of you guys have noted that the site is more pleasant without certain posters... but maybe lacks some fire. Well, I dispute that last bit! There is definitely still sparks and the odd flare up. Thanks to the mod team - most hot spots are quickly mopped up. Others may linger for a little while but generally we do try to be fair and let everyone have their say.

p.s. Biltong has been on the Roar for 18 months or more.
He shot up the rankings there (got promoted to 'Guru') and 'the kids loved to pat him' and feed him strips of dried meat sometimes.
As someone said above - there was a a particular thread where he copped some flak... and he must have thought the same thing.

"You can never win on here, mate..."

If anyone wants to put up their hand for a rugby mod (or other sport?) position - then PM one of the Admin guys and sell your case.
It would be nice to have some more support.

I believe this isn't the 1st time Biltong has left.

He'll be back, his also on 'The Roar' for those of you who miss him.

I suspect Bluesman is in Australia right now so guess he will be back tormenting the "!" button of his keyboard soon.

LB wrote:Sorry Portnoy, but you'll have to excuse me for pulling the plug in that situation but I make no apologies after you made the "african massacre" comment.

There was me thinking I was banned for making a comment that Nevin Spence's dad should have secured the access to a slurry pit. And the subsequent Coroner's report did little/nothing to refute that idea.

Weirdly, I have no recollection of any 'african massacre' comment. But maybe you'd be good enough to remind me of the context. It could have been during one of my depressive cycles.

You somehow linked that sad event with the miner's massacre in SA... and then directed a couple of choice words at me.

Yeah, I think you did tell me about your personal situation after I had done the deed. I am sorry about that.

You got back on here quickly though and we (mods) all agreed to let it be.

Do you want me to see if I can get someone to change your name back to Portnoy... or are you happy with greytiger? I think it's one of the best names on here.

My old 606v1 moniker PortnoysComplaint might be my preference.
Greytiger is just so pitiful a chosen pseudonym...

[ed] but it doesn't really matter.

Did you not think of going for SabbathsTheater?

I think I prefer that book. Not quite as filthy though.

Reading PC is on my bucket list of things to do before I grow up Cyril.

OK, leave it as it is then.

How about you Cyril?