Censorship and Exclusions on this forum

The Internet is a unique vehicle in that it allows freedom of speech cutting across the vagaries of the media barons control over what we read, see or think.

In many ways Lonely Planet is a unique platform on the Internet allowing people to discuss a wide range of travel related issues.

I have just been advised by S cott B alson who was wanting to respond to a recent post about his businesses involvement with the S peight family that he has been excluded from participating, He has only posted one post as "fiji bure" some weeks ago when responding to the debate over that television debacle.

Now that post about S peight has also been removed from this forum.

If this board wants credibility it better be careful about who it excludes and its censorship and removal of posts which are not defamatory by nature.

Agree totally Travelzip.

But the person you wrote of DOES post on this forum by using a false name - basically acting as a traveller and writing as one rather than the owner of a business (think of someone who's always pumped up by their village experience).
I think if you are going to use a travel forum to advertise your business then you need to take whatever comes at you - the good, the bad and the ugly. Seems someone only wants to use this board for his own moey making scheme.

It's a pity the Speight post was pulled but I'll follow it up with Fijian friends who are journalists and see what they can dig up.

Yes, Scott should have had the chance to respond and give a statement.

Hi Blue

I don't think so. He has only made one post and that was with regards to the TV program.

His username was fijibure - could not be clearer.

www.fijibure.com/agents.htm<BR><BR>It's on the website, so it's in the public domain.

fijibure have used this site exclusively to promote their business in the past.

fyi:

travelzip, the op of this thread, shares his IP address with two other users currently using the TT. Their usernames are Blog01 and sarahmac. Search on either of these users and you'll soon see by looking at their posting that they are both promoting fijibure.

Three users, same IP, all with a very keen interest in fijibure.

btw, blog01

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Who do we complain to about this censorship?<hr></blockquote>

that would be me.

RomanB
Thorn Tree Manager

YIP YIP YIPPPEEEEEEEE. Scott Balson has had his cover blown.

RomanB, you are my hero!!!!

Reason for my jubilation - I booked a Fijibure holiday after reading all the positive posts on this board (buyer beware hadn't been drilled into my somewhat naive head - I'm an advocate now).

It took me till then to figure that Scott Balson was using fake names to drum up business - and so much for the idea of travelers posting.

not jumping to any conclusion here, making observations. Also, I forgot to mention that saramac's email address is @fijibure.com

about the question raised. It's not about censorship or exclusion, it's about an organization who's services are spammed both on the forum and via the private message system and it's patently obvious that this is not being done by travellers.

Roman

blog01 -

What organization are you referring to that you work for?

RomanB states that travelzip, blog01, and sarahmac share the same IP address. Their user profiles are as follows:

travelzip - Austria
blog01 - Australia
sarahmac - Thorn Tree World

No expert here, but seems odd that two countries, thousands of miles apart, share the same IP address.

Another oddity -

travelzip is listed in his user profile as Mark Wilson.
blog01 is listed in his user profile as Mike Wilson.

Coincidence?

Now that their pants are down perhaps workman63 would like to have his way with them in retort to the dog "having it's way with his leg" (see post #9 on 25 Sept titled "Food Poisoning in Fiji.")

2dawn I selected the wrong country - easy to do - innocent mistake. I live and work in Australia.

We do have thousand's of employees here and no I am not going to divulge where I work.

Scott Balson most certainly does NOT work here.

I do not know Mike but he obviously shares my positive views on the FijiBure.com experience.

Could not find any posts by sarahmac but then I have a life and better things to do.

That's why this is my last post on this thread.

Cheers

The following says it all:

http://www.thepocket.com/wavs/moneypit3.wav<BR><BR>Please, please stop, before I wet myself.........

THANK YOU "ROMANB" FOR YOUR TIMELY INTERVENTION. there is WIDESPREAD,FRAUDULENT , BOGUS POSTS HERE, as i have surmised, all trying to "sway" tourists to there little abodes. i have gotten alot of heat trying to EXPOSE these guys as it is really not rocket science to figure out. i always encourage these fijians or whoever or whereever there from(even this "raro" character) that if your promoting your biz , no mattter how subtle or discreet, your breaking the rules. bottom line; tourists want to hear from OTHER TOURISTS AND TRAVLERS, NOT FROM TRAVEL AGENTS,CHRONIES AND SOLICITERS,ETC. its like listening to american political campaign spins. whats hillarious and stupendous is that they "just traveled" or stayed at a certain place, but then you read their past posts only to conclude they must travel every week, and then return. NOT!!! As a travler, if i want info about places to stay etc I GO A WEBSITE OFFERING OBVIOUSLY BIASED INFO. And.....if i want PERSONAL OPINIONS AND INSIGHT CONCERNING PLACES TO VISIT,STAY,AVOID ETC, i go to website like thorntree forum, which i hope would give me ANOTHER SIDE OR HONEST OPINION, MINUS THE "SPIN" AND HYPED UP TOURSTY CRAP.

No, do not group Raro in with the others.

He has been straightforward about being the owner of a business. And his posts have always been helpful. When people ask about budget accomodations on the Cooks he recommends places - not his which is not a budget place.

I think Raro has been nothing but helpful. He gives his opinions about the good and the bad. He is an invaluable resource because he is there.

It would be a great loss for anyone going to the Cooks if he were no longer posting.

Raro is missed - and if he has gone into self-exile I think we should all complain. This forum is not the same without him. #19's screaming accusations aimed at posters who are not linked to any travel industry, but who just want to recommend a particular place, are tiresome and, IMO, abusive. As well as inarticulate.

I agree entirely with the above 2 posters that Raro is a fine (and long standing) contributor to the TT forum. There are a few examples of similar posters on other branches - Anil on the Thailand branch for example, who in all his time posting on the TT has offered nothing but good travel advice regardless of the fact that he runs a business that is often recommended on TT. I have no problem with posters like Raro and Anil contributing to the TT forum

Raro is probably the single best source of info on the Cooks that post on this board. He is ALWAYS fair and has many, many times suggeted alternate places (not his own) for folks to stay.

Ken

Thanks for the nice comments Silvano, Watsoff, Roman, and Ken (#18, 19, 20 and 21).

I think that RomanB has probably one of the toughest jobs in all this---though it can also be a fun job at times, I would guess! He has sorted out numerous problems in the past few yrs, as have Nif and previous PI board moderators. No system is perfect, but he and the other mods are doing a very good job, in my opinion.

I have spent some days in a village through fijibure.com. It was a great experience but I made some realistic observations. The deposit required does not go to the village but to the administration of fijibure.com and not to the village itself.Therefore, the village does not receive the entire sum of money as I expected. Some activities listed as available are unrealistic and unavailable. The visit was fun, unexpected experiences were very interesting. The villagers are poor and tips are expected for extra help. It is a great experience which can be obtained often by showing up at a village with some kava powder, money to pay for your room and board, and a VERY accepting attitude toward your livng arrangement. The Fijians are lovely people who do accept people into their villages without going through a broker. Mosquito spray will be your friend for yourself and the family. I was able to visit one of the other villages advertised through fijibure.com and I believe the same as above applies.