RIP All Hallows & The Ghost Story Society
Zarok
Journal Of The Ghost Story Society") seized control from the Rodens
and actually published the next installment of a magazine that is at
least one year overdue?
The problem with Ceausescu's Romania - whoops, I mean, the Roden's
'Ghost Story Society' - is that it was never democratically managed.
As a consequence the "owners" - rather than the paying subscribers -
have no control over management issues.
A cynical observer such as myself might wonder whether the Rodens are
stringing hundreds of subscribers along just in case Barbara Roden's
writing career fails to take off. Having the GSS safely tucked away as
bolt-hole might be a shrewd move. After all, they've got 200+
potential Ashtree Press customers safely ring-fenced in their Yahoo
book-buying pen aka the All Hallows Discussion Group.
A cynic might also wonder whether they are stringing people along
because they need favourable puff for Barbara Roden's otherwise
pedestrian forays into writing. It certainly helps to have Michael
Dirda and Ellen Datlow tucked neatly into your top pocket. Then
there's the small issue of ego and power: how will the Rodens ever
adapt to not being petty dictators?
I risked alienating myself a few short years ago by warning of the
inherent dangers in allowing individuals with blatant vested interests
to manage societies which purported to be owned by its members or
subscribers. Alas my grim prediction has come true.
It is extremely unlikely that the Rodens will accede the management
and administration of the Ghost Story Society to a democratically
elected body of enthusiastic volunteers, but that is what should
happen. I strongly urge the members of the GSS to demand change in
order to salvage something of value from the ashes; and if that fails,
to rise up and seize control of an organisation that the Rodens are
slowly strangling. And although I want no part in the future
management of same, I would be happy to provide a website platform for
any new GSS organisation, on the sole proviso that the society is
governed by accountable, democratic processes.
At the risk of hamming it up bigtime, the Rodens are dead: long live
the Ghost Story Society.
RPN
> Isn't it about time the paying subscribers of All Hallows ("Official
> Journal Of The Ghost Story Society") seized control from the Rodens
> and actually published the next installment of a magazine that is at
> least one year overdue?
*Weirdly Supernatural*, "a new paper only periodical dedicated to
weird and ghostly
artworks"; "first issue is scheduled for late October launch,
thereafter twice
annually"
--Issue 1, October 2001
--Issue 2, Spring 2004
And the rest is silence.
RPN
Zarok
How predictable: a sycophant attack.
WS wasn't a Society but the GSS is a Society (hint: the clue is in the
name of the organisation).
The GSS is a Society which has always claimed to be "owned by its
members" and it is a Society which takes annual subscriptions in
return for thrice annual journals. Arguably the "owners" of the
Society have swindled the members (or at the least strung them along)
because they are now running an incredible five issues late. In
contrast WS was a stand-alone magazine which was owned by me. We
charged people for two issues and they received two issues.
Also, it's a small point, but WS1 appeared in 2002, not 2001. You're
wrong by one year.
Furthermore, the Rodens were extremely vociferous in their
condemnation of our issuing the second issue late. This can't have
escaped your memory: you were around at the time and took part in the
onslaught - whoops, I mean 'debate'. Since then, the Rodens have
consistently delayed and reneged upon projects themselves. By any
reasonable, objective yardstick this makes them hypocrites. Monstrous
hypocrites, in fact.
I shan't mention their equally hypocritical criticisms of minor typos
in the two books I published, even though their own books are littered
with same, except to say that I have an Ashtree Press book signed by
David Rowlands, in which he apologies for the huge number of editorial
blunders.
Moving on. It is transparently obvious that the Rodens should
relinquish control of the GSS. Yes, they could argue they "own" it,
and they could cling on to power, dragging the Society down with them,
but this wouldn't be fair to the 200+ members for two important
reasons. Firstly, they've been led to believe that they own the
Society, haven't they?
[Now it's RPN's turn to fall silent!]
And secondly, there are many eager and enthusiastic volunteers who
could not only fix the existing problems but could improve things,
aren't there?
[More silence from RPN.]
You, "RPN", are stabbing those 200 members in the back out of some
bullshit self-serving loyalty to your cronies. You have no principles
and no altrusitic concerns for others. You'd rather see your cronies
destroy the GSS than allow the paying Society members the right to not
only save the GSS but also manage it.
The GSS members could easily form an elected committee whose role
would be to appoint reviews and fiction editors in addition to
overseeing publication of All Hallows. It is insulting to think that
they couldn't. There is no excuse for allowing the Rodens to continue
holding all the power. If they aren't milking the GSS for their own
gain - if they truly do have the best interests of the GSS and its 200
members at heart - then they should resign (and not just offer to
resign like Ramsey Campbell did from the BFS) and pass the reins over
to others.
Of course this probably won't happen. The Rodens are control freaks
who are carefully manipualting things for selfish personal gain (just
as that old croaking dinosaur Campbell does). They don't a **** about
the genre or new writers or even playing fair. They're in it for
themselves and so are people like you, who suck up to them.
Do you know, in all the years that twits like you have harrassed and
pestered me, not one of you has ever come up with a compelling counter-
argument as to why it would be a bad thing for a society to be managed
by its members via a democratically elected committee. Instead you've
sidestepped this key issue and embarked upon an obfuscating and wholly
illegitimate campaign of malicious personal abuse.
I want to see a fair, democratically managed genre organisation, not
one owned by individuals (least of all myself). If you have a problem
with that, and would rather argue a ridiculous case in favour of
dictatorships and nepotism, then you can f--[the remainder of this
post has been censored for reasons of lucidity].
CB
jpe...@cnw.com
>
> - Show quoted text -
Indeed, and here we have the Tao of the Haunted Cesspool:
"Top Ten Barker Hits
2001-05-24 Chris Barker / Haunted River reveals:
"Before I slid into this genre I was starting up on a career of
comedy script-writing."
2004-01-22 Chris Barker / Haunted River taunts:
"It isn't xenophobic to be anti-American, it's just good manners."
2004-01-21 Chris Barker / Haunted River admits:
"I've never once been to America."
2003-06-19 Chris Barker / Haunted River confesses:
"I make no claim to be a publisher, writer, or editor."
2001-05-28 Chris Barker / Haunted River advises:
"'Think before you type' might be a wise idiom for you to adopt."
2003-11-12 Chris Barker / Haunted River further confesses:
"I'm not a great fan of concrete logic. I prefer to explore the
fringes of the unknown."
2004-01-25 Chris Barker / Haunted River criticises another poster:
"Your comments are illogical."
2004-02-19 Chris Barker / Haunted River sees mental illness all
around:
"Not only are you mentally deranged..."
2004-01-30 Chris Barker / Haunted River confesses his lack of
knowledge about mental illness:
"I wouldn't dare to presume knowing much about mental illness"
2004-02-17 Chris Barker / Haunted River melodramatically muses:
"Is it just me, or does your obsession with control-freakery,
enforced doctrine and history re-writing mirror the Stalinist
purges?"
2004-01-24 Chris Barker / Haunted River wonders:
"Why do you always have to be so bloody melodramatic?"
2003-02-26 Chris Barker / Haunted River approves of invective:
"I support the use of invective against oneself, or indeed a
combatant"
2004-01-25 Chris Barker / Haunted River disapproves of invective:
"These people manage to air their views without drenching all
comments in overheated invective & unpleasant profanity."
2004-01-30 Chris Barker / Haunted River practises invective:
""Posting handle" my foot. May I respectfully suggest you insert
posting handle into your rear passage"
2004-02-09 Chris Barker / Haunted River abuses:
"You sad, childless, ignorant pervert."
2004-01-29 Chris Barker / Haunted River claims:
"No one can seriously accuse me of being abusive."
2004-02-04 Chris Barker / Haunted River diagnoses psychotic
behaviour:
"I use different names on places like Ebay to escape the obsessive
and deranged attentions of a raving psychotic like you."
2004-02-04 Chris Barker / Haunted River claims he is normal:
"normal people like me..."
2004-03-02 Chris Barker / Haunted River claims higher knowledge:
"I say things because I *know* them to be true."
2004-02-02 Chris Barker / Haunted River divulges:
"I can confirm that I only reveal my real name to someone I know or
trust."
2004-01-29 Chris Barker / Haunted River warns:
"Seriously, do not believe in anyone who's existence cannot be
independently validated."
2001-05-24 Chris Barker / Haunted River on paranoia:
"Please be assured that I am not overly paranoid, despite what the
entire population of the UK say (though those bastards won't dare
say it to my face....!)."
2004-02-18 Chris Barker / Haunted River claims:
"If it wasn't for me, abgf, the M.R. James Newsletter, Horrabin Hall,
Haunted Bookshelf and All Hallows would be quieter and emptier
places."
2004-03-02 Chris Barker / Haunted River gives his opinion of
alt.books.ghost-fiction members:
"Most of you are vicious snakes. And I don't trust snakes."
2004-01-22 Chris Barker / Haunted River berates us all:
"Jesus, you people are sick, sick, sick. No wonder the internet's
going down the pan."
2004-26-03 Chris Barker / Haunted River displays his talents for
espionage:
"Infiltrating it was incredibly easy. All I had to do was create a
fake
American identity - a Stephen King fan who liked baseball..."
2004-26-03 Chris Barker / Haunted River looks into the abyss and sees
a tall, toad-faced creature leering back at him:
"I've always had a special loathing for hypocrites"
Not much new then, is there?
Cheers,
The Piper
Zarok
>
> - Show quoted text -
Ah, John Pelan, employee of MRI Sandias, the creator of two Yahoo
groups dedicated solely to pestering me. A tad obsessed, are you not?
I wonder how your employer Mr Don Ancona and the other MRI department
executives will view your online behaviour? It hardly reflects well
upon your professionality.
Of course, nothing you say has the sightest bearing on the status quo
re the Ghost Story Society. Nothing you say ever has any relevance.
No, you're just motivated by showing loyalty to friends who've been
stupid enough to publish your derivative and poorly researched guff,
presumably because you know like everyone else that nobody you didn't
know and suck up to would ever dream of publishing you.
Given the fact that your own ISP publicly branded you a liar; that
Ebay terminated your 'jpelan' account after you defrauded customers;
that you are much maligned by those who have worked with you including
Edward Lee; that you used sock puppets to post libellous comments
about your enemies on the internet; and that your publishing business
has folded because of poor management and unpaid printer bills; it's
quite amazing that you dare to show your face on usenet. After all,
you've been hiding from dozens of writers and customers whom you've
defrauded. They can't get hold of you, yet here you are, pursuing your
disturbing obsession with me. Indeed, one might almost conclude that
you have your priorities all wrong.
Well, given that you're here, perhaps you'd care to answer a few
questions. When do you propose to pay the writers and printers the
money you owe them? When do you propose to refund the customers you've
defrauded?
CB
jpe...@cnw.com
As usual, you are speaking nonsense. Out of your meds already? It's
only the 17th, can't you control yourself?
Zarok
[Evasive personal asides clipped.]
You can run, but you can't hide.
Zarok
NB. Pelan's email account jpelan at cnw.com is actually invalid. CNW -
aka Isomedia - terminated it three years ago because of his abusive
behaviour.