Moderator hhmoore: biased, intimidating, and goading

The accusation has been leveled once again, and I promised a response today...but I don't want to further disrupt the BOI thread by dissecting the various issues, so I'm bringing it to the appropriate forum.
Here are just a few of the comments made by John Cuoco (jacuoco88):
#1

I think this infraction is just a result of Todd Gearheart using his influence and manipulative skills to get my post taken down. I think he also spends $ with this site to scam people.

#2

More alarming, however, is how the Moderator, Harold Moore, is biased and attempting to intimidate me from filing complaints against Gearheart by issuing me 2 separate infractions and now goading me into uploading documents.

#3

Mr. Moore, your bias is evident in the fact that your accepting and acting upon advice from the individual that's being complained about. He complained about my posts exposing his fraudulent business practices and you removed one of the posts and issued me two infractions for trivial posting errors. Then, you became directly involved in the dispute by goading me into posting physical evidence.

#4

but his posting was clearly lacking in good taste and common sense, yet, you did nothing about it and instead had a back and forth dialogue with him on whether I should be "deleted" from the site. Stay out of it next time. You're a moderater not an advocate.

Now - Quote #1 was in a PM response to the first infraction I gave him. Below is the excerpt from his classified ad which earned the infraction + the infraction notice (in blue)

I tried buying one from Todd Gearheart at tarantulaspiders.com and got sold a dream. I waited three months for his "exporter" in Peru, price increases, and excuse after excuse. I had to do a chargeback on my credit card to get a refund.

You have received an infraction at FaunaClassifieds.

Reason: BOI relevant post made outside of the BOI
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If you want to post about your experience with Todd Gearhart, feel free to use the BOI - that is, after all, why it is there. It is not acceptable to make posts like this in the classifieds.
Your ad will be removed...you may repost without the above mentioned commentary.
In response to his PM, I replied: You think wrong...
Mr Gearheart has no influence here; the problem is that your post was in violation of the rules. (Think about it for a second, if I was trying to protect or cover for him, would I have steered you toward the BOI...the place where posts aren't edited)
Of course, you still received an infraction because you stuck your posts in a thread about another seller.

Quote #2 refers to his second infraction which was for a post in a thread about Underground Reptiles - here is the relevant passage

If you want to know two retailers to steer clear from, they're Todd Gearheart of tarantula spiders.com and Kelly Swift of swiftsinverts.com. I sent Gearheart $280 for a Goliath Centipede (S. gigantea). He wanted $65 more at time of shipping. I waited 3 months listening to one excuse after another. Finally, I asked my credit card to do a charge back because he refused to refund me. A complete con-artist. STAY AWAY!!!!! Kelly Swift sent me a dead Tanzanian Black and Olive Baboon (E. olivacea) for $125. It was microscopic, malnourished, and dehydrated. He refused to refund me and instead said he would give me a $62.50 credit (50%) toward my next order. There won't be a next order. Please STAY AWAY. These people and their scams are destroying this hobby.

He made an identical post half an hour later, in the same thread. Here's the infraction message he received: You have received an infraction at FaunaClassifieds.

Reason: Disruptive off topic posting
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I would have let the first post go with the posted warning, even after I had PM'd you about your previous thread...but making the same post again a half hour later changed my mind
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The warning I posted was after the two posts, and stated John - This thread is about Underground Reptiles...your experiences with other sellers have no relevance in this thread. Admittedly, at that time, I didn't notice that those posts had been made prior to the first infraction I had given him...while that may have impacted my perspective a bit, it didn't make the post any less inappropriate. The only reason he had gotten away with it initially is that it was posted in the Insects and Arachnids BOI - it is a fairly low traffic area; and, unless I note something in the New Posts section that catches my eye, I rarely wander into that section.
He also references me goading him into posting "documents"...this occurred in the BOI thread about Todd Gearheart which ultimately became the venue for Jacuoco's complaint - another member asked for proof of his claims, and Jacuoco responded:

Hey ReptileGeek181, send me an email address to send it to.

My "goading" came 2 posts later when I responded: IF you can back up your claim - why not do it here, in the open, alongside your accusation??

Quote#3 essentially claims that I was guided by Mr Gearheart & doing his bidding. In reality, yes, Mr Gearheart did report the posts...but he reports most posts that reflect negatively on him

The top 6 reports were all about Mr Jacuoco - only 2 resulted in infractions...because only two of the posts violated the rules of this site. If I was being guided by Mr Gearheart, I would have already banned Jacuoco, and/or removed the posts as he requested. Of course, the reported posts are only part of the story, a I have also received PMs from Mr Gearheart:

Harold,

Can you give me a call?

xxx.xxx.xxxx

Thanks.

Todd

Harold,

I implore you to stop this guy's crap. Nobody should be able to just ramble on and load up pages of crap on a site.

He did NOT get "ripped off". He got his refund and that's the jist of it. Me and other major, long-time in the trade dealer both refuse to do business with this nut. He is obviously trying to bait me into a back and forth with him to serve his agenda of a smear attack. He knows fauna allows anything and everything to be posted and not taken down. I ask you to call Kelly Swift and hear his take on this nut. He is NOT 49 yrs. old. Just hearing his voice on the phone will tell you he is in his 20s. He is a lying about so much stuff. Also, I'm sending you a private message. I'm trying my best to not get baited into Cuoco's drama and agenda and allow a moderator to keep things plain, simple and legit and most of all factual. All John can say is that he put in a paypal claim and refunded it. Is that ripping somebody off? In most people's eyes, not getting stock or not getting a refund or similar compensation is a rip off. He is back and forth now with over four dealers championing them and them trashes them to the point of two of them blacklisted this nut.

John Cuoco's calling out a moderator
Is John Cuoco's statement, "More alarming, however, is how the Moderator, Harold Moore, is biased and attempting to intimidate me from filing complaints against Gearheart by issuing me 2 separate infractions and now goading me into uploading documents." enough to get him a suspension for calling out or showing up a moderator?

(by the way, Mr Gearheart - please don't bother to report this post, I already know about it.)

Quote#4
I did not have a "back and forth dialogue" with Mr Gearheart - I pointed out errors in his post.
I will grant you, Mr Jacuoco, that I am not an advocate...I don't know Mr Gearheart, I have never done business with Mr Gearheart, and I certainly don't act on his behalf. In your fervor to get the word out, you violated the rules of this site - and the infractions you received were merited. In case you didn't know, a reported post sends an email message to every member of the moderation team; so, I just happened to be the first to view the ones that were a problem. Further, not every reported post is acted upon - the viewing moderator(s) must feel that the report is merited...hence the other 4 reports that did not result in infractions, deletions, or bans.

In one of our PMs, you complained about not being made aware of this site's stringent protocols - I responded Did you review the rules for posting? Or were you expecting a personal notification of the site's policies? If, as you indicated in one of your posts, you are 49 and college educated, you should be old enough, mature enough, and smart enough to take responsibility for your actions. You made mistakes, it happens...but don't point the finger of blame and cry about being mistreated when you are expected to abide by the same rules as every other member on this site.

I'm guessing that the second reported post in that list is the one I made? Mr. Cuoco clearly only sees what he wants to see and ignores anything that doesn't seem to support his skewed view of things. I wouldn't sweat this one, Harald. Pretty much anyone with the slightest amount of reading comprehension skills would be able to see that you, yourself, are the one that's been antagonized while faithfully carrying out your duties here.

Harald you do not owe any explanations. If someone is giving you a hard time, you can pm them or bring it up in the moderator forum. Otherwise, realize that complaints from time to time are just part of the job.

Here, have a hug ((((Harald))))

This is an interesting situation in that BOTH Mr. Cuoco and Mr. Gearheart believe that one or more of the moderators are being biased AGAINST them in favor of the other party........

I guess what this means is that unless you are FOR one or both of them you must be AGAINST both of them.

Just in case this has missed anyone's attention before, no, we don't take sides in issues between parties. At least not officially as moderators. We might have our own PERSONAL opinions, but we do not act as judges and try to influence such disputes by moderating the opposing party out of existence on this site. We also take a rather dim view of any person who will constantly utilize the "Report A Post" function in their own thread by or about them to try to convince us to ban the other party, perhaps thinking this is an automated process that acts upon the number of reported posts such a person gets. In such cases, there is a rather high likelihood that "Report A Post" junkie might actually be the one to get the boot out of here.

So, if you find yourself involved in a BOI conflict, don't think you can call on us as your mommy so you can hide behind our skirt and whine "Johnny is being MEAN to me!" and we are going to do something about it. Be a big boy and deal with it yourself, either publicly in that BOI thread, or privately with the other party. I don't know about the other moderators, but quite frankly I just do NOT want someone else trying to drag me into their problems and trying to make THEIR problem MY problem. Sorry, but I simply decline that involvement.

Ack - I went looking for something & lost my reply.

Dan, those reports are only from Todd Gearheart...posted to show that this isn't exactly new behavior from him.

Lucille, I know complaints are part of the job...sometimes, like this one, I find them pretty amusing. (I seem to recall a comment you made once about your full rap sheet, me hiding behind the billboard, and recognizing your car....that's what I was looking for, but I came back to this as soon as I realized I'd closed the wrong tab)

I'm not even a little concerned by his contentions; but I did promise a response, and I didn't want to further muddy that BOI thread when I posted it.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I seem to recall a comment you made once about your full rap sheet, me hiding behind the billboard, and recognizing your car....

But officer!!!!

Originally Posted by hhmoore

Dan, those reports are only from Todd Gearheart...posted to show that this isn't exactly new behavior from him.

Ugh. I saw this:

The top 6 reports were all about Mr Jacuoco

. But somehow it registered as this:

The top 6 reports were all from Mr Jacuoco

As Rich pointed out, the antics being pulled by both of these guys aren't exactly reflecting very well on themselves. It's noteworthy that neither one of them seems to want to publicly refute each other's claims in very much verifiable detail, and would rather make your their focus.

Originally Posted by Webslave

...there is a rather high likelihood that "Report A Post" junkie might actually be the one to get the boot out of here.

As far as the smooth running of the site is concerned, either one of these parties finding their way out the door might be considered a case of addition by subtraction.

You and I don't always see eye to eye, Harald, but you've been nothing but fair to the users of this site. (Myself included.) You're not one to hand out infractions unless someone truly deserves them. He can't see where he pressed his luck?

Admit it Harald, you treated him badly because he kept spelling your name wrong!


Noelle

Originally Posted by rcarichter

Admit it Harald, you treated him badly because he kept spelling your name wrong!


Noelle

That, in itself, is a form of antagonism, isn't it??