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Further messages by Dyebat & Lchris

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Further messages by Dyebat & Lchris Empty Further messages by Dyebat & Lchris

Post by Tonnie_rocca Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:50 am



Quick update on Financial matters (link)

Posted by dyebat at Monday, December 13, 2010

I have been informed today that the member who was my financial assistant has not been given the passwords yet and may not be given them. She has been informed that she won't know if "they" want her to continue until after the next Board meeting, but doesn't know when that will be. Questions to be asked: Who made the decision to not give her the passwords, as she is next in line to manage finances? Was that decision authorized by the Board or even the Treasurer? Or have the administrators and staff acted on their own without authority? Who is now overseeing the finances of the site? Are the foxes now guarding the henhouse?

I have more to write on what has transpired to destroy financial accountability on that site from the beginning to the present, but I have to consult quite a few meeting transcripts and emails.
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Post by Tonnie_rocca Wed Dec 15, 2010 6:41 pm

From http://sbfandomourstory.blogspot.com/ :

Posted by dyebat at Wednesday, December 15, 2010

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you some good news about Dyebat's bus.

Last night staff closed the Dyebat's Bus thread at SBFII. However, I have found a new site (not this one) to park the bus. The site will be open in a day or 2, and we'll go on a new little trip. I'll keep you posted as soon as I gas up (hmmm . . .that might have some interpretations along the lines of Susan's transAtlantic fart, but that's NOT what I mean) and get the engine running. Pack your suitcases!

chesire chesire chesire
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Post by Tonnie_rocca Fri Dec 17, 2010 4:02 pm



Posted by lchris at Thursday, December 16, 2010 (link).

About that Paypal Money...
I removed a comment earlier today. The poster of that comment received an email from Kalua that she would be banned for giving false and libelous information. The poster had asked a question about possible use of the funds, given the timing of the Paypal password change. It was posed as a question, and was a reasonable question given the circumstances. The poster even used her own blog ID which linked to her username in use at the forum. No subterfuge at all.

Kalua also mentioned that she would look like a fool when he posts the receipt to the charity.

So, if I am understanding this situation correctly...

* The Paypal password was changed (Tuesday evening) and the Board member that is Treasurer was not informed.
* The 2 members of the Financial Team responsible for financial transparency were not informed.
* Based on what the OFFICIAL password holder (Board Member) posted in the resignation thread, she was not informed.
* Dyebat was reconciling the PayPal funds at the time of the lockout.
* There was a KNOWN legal issue about the designation of donated funds and the process that several Board members and Staff REFUSED to address.
* I won't bore you with all the details, but I had made a valiant effort to prevent the Donate Button sagas. All documented. Over a period of several months.


So, rather than letting the monies get properly reconciled to be legally usable...I am locked out, the Treasurer and Financial team are locked out and kept out of the way while monies are pulled out of PayPal and distributed???

The purpose of the withdrawal may be noble, though I doubt a court of law would have too much trouble determining intent to defraud and probably stuff like commingling of funds, etc..


Kalua, I know that most members don't care about such things at all.

The rest of us think you (not the poster of that comment) look like a fool.
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Post by Tonnie_rocca Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:26 pm

5 January 2011, new blog by Dyebat (link)

The Clueless and the Culpable or What Happens when Financial Transparency Goes Out the Window

Recent threads at the forum-susan-boyle.com have been so full of errors as to make this old bookkeeper gnash her teeth. I’m going to correct some of them here, in the hope that the poor souls who are trying to make some sense out of the financial situation have some idea of what’s going on.

I resigned because the staff broke the agreement they made prior to the auction, which was for me to provide financial accountability, while they got the majority of seats and the director’s position on the Board. When the staff—one or more administrators and one or more technical people—locked ALL of the financial team out of the financial accounts while I was in the midst of doing the Paypal entries, I could no longer guarantee that accountability. This was a critical issue because staff has since provided false information regarding the Paypal accounts and their use.

The most blatant false statement was made by a techie who is a nurse by profession, not a bookkeeper.
Just as it would not be appropriate for me to give a patient an injection, it is inappropriate for her to make a statement concerning bookkeeping, particularly when it is untrue. She stated that the Paypal account was not to be used for donations for operating expenses or loan repayment, and the donations were only small amounts of $7 or $8. The records from Paypal show that the very first donation made was for $50, and was specifically designated for operating expenses by the donor. From the beginning this was a concern for both lchris and myself, but the staff refused to allow lchris to modify the software to distinguish between the two types of donations, thereby commingling funds. The lockout, and subsequent denial of what actually happened, appears to be a cover-up for this error by people who don’t know (or perhaps don’t care) squat about accountability.

Major pronouncements have been made by staff who are not even citizens of the United States, let alone knowledgeable about accounting, concerning US tax law regarding non-profits. Donations can be made to any corporation, whether it is for profit or not. If the corporation is not tax-exempt, and the income is more than the expenses, then taxes will need to be paid. If there is $1000 left after expenses at the end of the year, then 15% of that, or $150, would be due in taxes. It doesn’t make any difference whether it comes from ads or donations. Ad money isn’t refused because you have to pay taxes on it. Then why should donation money be refused for that reason? In fact it was not refused. That is a fiction. It was accepted, and if it was used as a donation to a charity to impress Susan Boyle, then it was misappropriated. If it is still sitting there, then it is up to the members who made the donations, NOT THE STAFF OR THE BOARD, to decide where they want their money to go.

Much of the confusion could have been avoided by inviting me to all meetings in which finances were discussed, as none of the Board members or staff, including the Treasurer, are bookkeepers. This is normal for the NPO’s I have been associated with. (Assuming finances were ever discussed. The content of my reports shows up in the minutes just recently released, but since the Board never gave any feedback on them to me or the members, I don’t know if they were discussed or not.)

The site IS generating income. At the beginning of November and again at the beginning of December I recommended to the Board that we began repaying our loans because we had sufficient funds to do so after expenses—about $345 at the end of November, and at least twice that by now. In addition there was a surplus of over $700 in the Paypal account, and more than $450 of unused loan funds. The staff loans are very small (some less than $100) and several could have been paid off by now, or partial payments could have been made to the larger lenders. The Secretary, unfortunately is as inaccurate in her statements about finances as she is in her Board minutes. There is absolutely no documentation that the staff has “paid off” the members who donated on their behalf. All they have done is add their little portion to the larger amount their anonymous donor has contributed. Again, staff had absolutely no right to donate the excess Paypal funds to Susan’s charity since some of those funds were intended for another purpose. Clulessness or culpability on the part of the staff? That is for the forum members to decide.

God help the new bookkeeper.
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Post by Tonnie_rocca Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:49 pm

The comments (until 8 January 2011)


Abby said...

Is there a way to have an independent audit made? Can we, as members, ask the State of Delaware to intervene?
January 5, 2011 12:38 PM

Anonymous said...

I've looked up how long it takes a company to file for the tax number to make the company a NPO and it can take anywhere from 8-10 weeks.

It should have been done months ago. Why is it taking so long?

And for the charity money, it doesn't take over a month to make the donation that mirror was bought already it should have been done. Most sites have a pay pal option to make donations. It takes nanoseconds to do.
January 5, 2011 4:14 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

Abby, I don't know why, but 'they' keep making a relatively simple and common situation as complex as possible. Personally, I think an audit would be more work/expense than necessary. The IRS (and British Equivalent) will likely have no trouble getting the information has been refused/hidden from Dyebat. She does have to report what she can on her taxes - the pass-through should have been very quick. The intentional NP and transfer delays will just ricochet back on the individuals that lent monies.

I continue to be amazed that simple questions are not answered. Why aren't any of the lenders being repaid when there has been money and multiple requests for almost 2 months now?

Continuing to try and rewrite everything as Dyebat/my fault is getting old. Just how hard is it to pay a few of the smaller lenders?

Last I checked, there were 13 total lenders. Paying $24 to airemom, $40 to LR, $124 to ME could easily be done (all in USA), along with anon2 - what's the delay about? There is money to repay more and leave a nice cushion. The sites do generate income. Could be more, but they were following "advice from internet marketers" as PT wrote yesterday. I'd like to know whose advice as it surely was not my advice they were taking. LOL
January 5, 2011 4:30 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

Abby, Incorporating is about 24 hours, a Tax Ein number the same. Dyebat and I were only able to get that done when some Staff created that July 18 confusion. A few hours before that confusion Kalua resigned. After 2.5 months of intentional delays, I was tired of his games. He was never going to give his name/address to be the Director of the Board so I confronted him in a chat. He did not resign because I was mean to him. He resigned rather than give any identifying information to Dyebat so she could file with the State of Delaware.

The tax-exempt status is what's missing and there is good reason for that. It's a bit more tedious and we do need to redo the mission statement - basically from ...We are a community of Susan Boyle Fans rather than a Community Supporting Susan Boyle's Career. Susan is not a charity! LOL Getting accepted typically takes a few months.
January 5, 2011 4:44 PM

dyebat said...

SBFII received its tax ID (FEIN) when we incorporated last summer. The Secretary should have begun filing for tax-exempt status then. Both lchris & I agreed to assist with the filing, but it is the Secretary's responsibility. I have no idea what, if anything she has done to begin the process. She never contacted me for help, nor was I ever asked to participate in Board meetings while the application process was being discussed.
January 5, 2011 4:52 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

One last thought..the financial shenanigans are yet another indication that some Staff never had any intention of honoring the original agreement with Dyebat.

Focus on the following...

1. kalua should not be in an admin position. He (by his own words and those of staff that I do have in writing) must stay hidden or he could be murdered. If true, he needs to stay hidden and the best way to do that is as a member, not an admin. If true, it is also possible that he is placing others in danger. If true, it is why there is no liability insurance attempt. If not true, it is a very big lie and one would naturally wonder why the need for so much subterfuge?

2. PT needs to choose which site she wants to work for. The corporate site or the fan site. it is an obvious conflict of interest.

3. The Board needs to answer why they have allowed the situation in number 1 and 2 to continue. One only need look at the fact that the Board were somehow convinced it was okay for PT to move the promised neutral investigation to her home!

There is no conspiracy or mystery here at all. Just a lot of deflection, manipulation and confusion to prevent people from seeing the obvious.
January 5, 2011 5:01 PM

Lovin' Every Minute said...

It all REALLY strains credulity. I wouldn't believe this level of BS from anyone else, I have no idea why they think they can get away with it. Kalua - International Man Of Mystery, indeed. Mega Eye Roll.
January 5, 2011 6:10 PM

Anonymous said...

So, let me get this straight. A guy who believes he is in danger of being murdered, has the brilliant idea of becoming the administrator of an international fan site for the most popular singer on the planet! If this is true, then why are not the membership up in arms calling for his resignation! If it is false, then why are not the membership up in arms calling for his resignation! It took me a half hour AFTER reading about kalua's fear of some murderous "Sylvester" out there to write this! For that entire time I was convulsing with laughter! fudgemeister
January 5, 2011 6:44 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

Fudge, Thank you. Your reaction is a typical reaction, unlike the Board and some Staff - they went after our (my/dyebat) credibility instead. I was uncomfortable from early on that both Kalua and PT were 'in danger' and neither could 'speak' with me via telephone. they were to be Dir. and Vice director of the board. Shaking my head. And if I told you the rest, you would really wonder about the gullibility and vulnerability of some in this rabbit hole.
January 5, 2011 7:02 PM

Evergreen/mdillow31 said...

Unbelievable. !!! Kalua needs to resign immediately or the membership needs to put pressure on him to resign. I hope they are not so gullibile that they keep him. This sounds like something out of a James Bond movie only it isn't. He has no credibility whatsoever. If he is in danger he is putting others at risk also and if not there is no truth to his claim of being murdered. That would say one could never believe anything he has to say.
January 5, 2011 7:36 PM

Anonymous said...

By now it should be obvious to most that the inmates are running the asylum. How much more malarky will it take before the general masses come to their senses.
January 5, 2011 7:57 PM

Anonymous said...

The person who made the $50 donation that you're referring to did not understand what the button was to be used for.
It was discussed, out in the open, on the forum.
He was told that the donation button was for a gift, not to be used for the forum.
Nothing underhanded about it at all.
January 5, 2011 8:00 PM

Bohemian Spirit said...

Fudge hit the nail on the head. People who are in danger of being murdered, targeted for whatever reason, generally tend to lie low, not draw attention to themselves. Even participating on an active discussion board online might be risky, I would think, if one is in hiding. To take prominent positions in a prominent fandom...?

And not only Kalua, but also PT, are targets of murderous stalkers??? Amazing coincidence, that. Maybe they met in a chat room for People In Hiding.

Let's cut away the crap with Occam's Razor: The simplest explanation is most likely that both PT and Kalua are in the employ of Punktilio, Sony, SyCo, or something otherwise related to Susan's management and career, and they were instructed to lie low as they took the reins of the fan site to steer it in the corporate direction without making it obvious that they were doing anything other than being Shiny Happy SusaFans.

I believe the modern expression here would be: EPIC FAIL.
January 5, 2011 8:52 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

Bohemian Spirit, AFAIK, They are not 'targets of murderous stalkers'. To be fair - PT later reduced danger to caution due to the nature of her day job...that and her reason for not speaking via telephone were/are plausible. She did give her name/address and was thus placed on the Board. Kalua's details are not so plausible.
January 5, 2011 9:08 PM

Bohemian Spirit said...

O.K. I was going by your comment, "I was uncomfortable from early on that both Kalua and PT were 'in danger' and neither could 'speak' with me via telephone," as well as by the original mention that Kalua said he was in danger of being murdered. I took that to mean that someone was "out to get him," whether literally or figuratively "stalking" him.

It just seemed a bit improbable that the two people who ended up being in top positions on the fan site were both in danger (life-threatening or otherwise) and had to keep extreme secrecy about themselves. A number of us have long speculated about PT's connection to the corporate end; I would not be surprised, especially given the number of improbabilities in the stories he's reported to have told, if Kalua is in the corporate employ in some way, shape, or form, and all of his stories are a "cover" for that.
January 5, 2011 9:17 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

anonymous, The first 3 paypal donations were likely made with the intent to pay off the lenders. The donate button was turned on before any explanation in the forum that the purpose was for the gift. I know because I was protesting behind the scenes. For a long time. The donate button should have had some text added to it to denote the purpose. Those donating did nothing wrong. And they may change the purpose of their donation if they wish. But at the time that the first donor donated - it is a matter of record (on the live forum and behind the scenes) that the first donation of $50 was intended to help repay the loans. If the thread has not been 'cleaned' you can check it out yourself.

Anonymously claiming 'nothing underhanded' about an incident you have only partial info for is kind of funny. As I have stated before - IP's are available here. Dyebat and I are not censoring any comments or criticisms - we would ask you to be up-front and stand behind what you say though, ok?
January 5, 2011 9:25 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

Bohemian Spirit, My first comment was vague and I reacted as you and Fudge at first. "What are the chances that the No. 1 and No. 2 both have to hide their identities/images and cannot speak to me?" I said many times to other Staff and was met with dismissal. I gave the Board some information and they disregarded it after some of them attacked me for bringing it to their attention. A few days later, they readmitted him with "100% support".

Your theories have some merit. Susan is a 100 million dollar brand. Controlling that brand message is what companies do. That site is at the top of Google for susan boyle" along with Wiki and the OS.

The issue is that Dyebat agreed to represent members in a bid (all members - staff are members as well) and no corporate involvement was ever part of that deal. If there was any, it was/is illegal.

What matters now is to ensure that decisions are made with members as the first priority. Safety of members was disregarded as the cyber-stalker-bully was dismissed as a troll for over a year! Seeking and taking advice from Sony lawyers is just one example.
January 5, 2011 9:53 PM
Forever Pearls said...

I agree with what Bohemian Spirit said, that they are employees of Punktilio.
January 5, 2011 10:15 PM

Clix Pix said...

Unfortunately, I don't think members' welfare was ever a consideration....and that is really a shame. IMHO it seems that many members have been participating on that website forum under false pretenses, not realizing that they have been pawns in a game. That's a real shame, too.
January 5, 2011 10:44 PM

Anonymous said...

Employee of Punktilio - could well be, considering how reluctant PT is to be open and transparent and does not like being questioned, and how the OS has been equally very very unresponsive to complaints about how it functions.
January 5, 2011 11:36 PM

Haak said...

I seem to have a vague memory that one of the questions on a tax exempt application asks about where the assets are to be dispersed if the organization ceases operation. If my memory is correct, wouldn't that be a rather troublesome question for them to answer? What would happen if they ceased to operate and had no assets, only liabilities?
January 6, 2011 12:24 AM

Anonymous said...

Here's a really good question, if Sony isn't involved with the OF then why was Susan's PR/PA involved in a skype conference call with some of the staff during the bid on the site?
January 6, 2011 3:12 AM

Xeno said...

@ anonymous 11:36 PM:

It has always seemed to me that Susan's official site is allowed to remain an unattractive afterthought precisely because Pickled Tink runs both of them. Why would Sony/Syco/Punktilio bother to put much effort into making Susan's official website interesting and user-friendly when they already control a large, well-trafficked fan site by proxy? They don't even bother to pretend to care about the fans who go to the official site. It isn't kept updated with the latest news, incorrect information is provided regularly, posts are full of grammatical errors (PT's fault), etc. Even the constant visits by PT and others to Susan's personal home(s) are not publicized on the singer's own site.


Why is there such neglect of the official site? Because the SBFI site has become the de facto official website for Susan Boyle, by dint of Pickled Tink's position as administrator at both sites.
January 6, 2011 5:25 PM

Forever Pearls said...

Bingo Xeno

(\(\
(='.') =
((,,)(,,)
January 6, 2011 8:49 PM

andyp said...

Why is there such neglect of the official site? Because the SBFI site has become the de facto official website for Susan Boyle, by dint of Pickled Tink's position as administrator at both sites.
_________________

Xeno, I have thought for a long time that Tink has taken over our forum rather than get the Official Site up to par. It galls me that the minute someone questions anything, all mods are there in full force shutting us down. Their last attempt to intimidate us by suggesting we should try to comprehend the meaning of Make Me a Channel of Your Peace and we would know how Susan would feel about our contentious behavour really made me angry. It told me more than I want to know about them. They just do not know how small it made them look.
January 7, 2011 1:11 AM

Anonymous said...

I've been familiar with Kaluas and PTs inside stories since last Summer, shortly after the shenanigans. I keep following along the 'behind the scenes' with interest simply because some things still don't make sense.

For example, the no donations to pay off lenders policy should not be a problem at all. Simply pay the taxes on donations until the IRS recognizes the non-profit. Maybe I'm naive.

I'm only anonymous here because I don't want to spend a lot of time figuring out how to get an ID at the moment. :>)
January 7, 2011 1:53 AM

MysticIsle said...

Just now getting back here after quite an absence, and am appalled! There were THIRTEEN people who loaned money to purchase SBFII? That is news to me. I was only told that money was accepted for that loan from Treedeen, who was representing the non-staff side, and from two other people who are, or were, staff members, but those two names have never been disclosed.

Recently, it was put out on SBFII that those 'other two lenders' had been repaid. The problem is, Treedeen never was, and is still owed $4500. And of course, no one over there will answer any questions about it, either. So now I'm to understand that there were TWELVE people besides Treedeen, ALL of whom are unknown by name or ID, who gave loans for the site purchase? Talk about 'lack of transparency'!

Hope this isn't 'mixing apples with oranges' too much, as I realize that Dyebat's post is really about that infamous 'donate' button/Paypal account. But I am very interested in seeing people paid back those loans! I am aware of who is was that put in the $50, thinking it would go to help repay loans--it was a donation, all but $7.50 of it intended to go towards loan repayment. I put in the $7.50 shown at the time to be the 'top amount' which could be donated, and although we got told it was for the gift mirror for Susan, any excess going to a charity of her choice, I stopped worrying about that small sum a long while back.

Bottom line--I WAS purchasing everything I buy through Amazon.com via SBFII's SuboStore, trying to help out in some small way, but due to the site's obvious 'lack of transparency' and apparent 'false stories' we 'sheeple' there get fed, I don't do it any more, and I've recently purchased a LOT--and I mean a whole lot--on Amazon.com. I'll go back to doing it just as soon as we find out what is REALLY being done with any monies collected there, because something tells me that without plenty of SuboStore money coming in, nobody is going to get paid back anything.

If SBFII IS being essentially turned into the de facto 'unofficial-official' site for Susan Boyle, then why would Pickled Tink or Kalua not simply come right out and say so? And if something 'went wrong' with the making of this site which was set up by Paul Wood into an NPO, why would it be so terrible for those still running SBFII to just let us all know what happened?

I DO find it very odd that neither admin is allowed to have name, address, phone number, photo, etc 'known', or speak to members on the phone, and IF there were any 'danger' involved in holding either of those admin positions, why would the one or ones under threat simply not resign as admins?

You know--there ARE some other nice Susan Boyle fan sites up, and I have joined but grossly neglected several of them. I think I need to get busy and make my presence known more, in them. Myself, I really just use SBFII to read and get info, because right now, that is where it seems to be found first. Who knows--that may change.

aka Allikat
January 7, 2011 12:02 PM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

Allikat,

Let me try and clarify things. The "member" and "staff member" groups agreed to place a joint bid at auction. Upon winning, each side was to collect $4500 in lender monies - $8000 to pay for the site and the other $1000 to retain and use for operating/fees or other expenses as necessary.

The "member" group had one lender, Tree. She is owed $4500. The "staff member" group had one temporary lender that was in the UK and offered to facilitate their $4000 payment to the seller.

The temporary lender asked to remain anonymous publicly but is known to Staff/Finance Team.

There is absolutely no paperwork that I ((nor Dyebat) have seen for the "staff member" lender transactions other than the final $450 from TB, so I am restating what Dyebat/I have been told. 10 individual people (staff and non-staff) repaid amounts from $24 to $402 to this lender. The temporary lender is owed $2081 and the 10 individuals are also owed amounts. Those 10 plus Tree plus TB plus the "temporary lender" equals 13 loans to be repaid.

This should be simple, right? Start by repaying the smaller ones asap and get them off the books, then focus on the 2 to 5 that would be left.

There is no indication that anyone is taking any money for themselves - they are just complicating the financial areas, likely to drive Dyebat out of there. And maybe if they complicate the NP and the monies enough - there will be a 'need' for the lenders to rescue the site by taking ownership and control from the members. Who knows?

Hope this helps.
January 7, 2011 2:30 PM

Evie (AireMom) said...

Could you tell me who TB is, or at least in some way jog my memory there? LOL I got lost with that one. Thanks.

Regarding my donation to the "staff" fundraising to buy the forum at auction, I sent $24 via PayPal to Judy on May 26. I resigned as moderator on May 30. I do not recall the date of the emergency staff meeting to which all lenders were invited, but I believe it was not long after the incident in July. During or around the time of that meeting, I said that I did not wish repayment of my $24; I believed that a new forum was going to be set up by staff (note: staff not including me, as I'd resigned in May) and the money would be consumed by that effort, anyhow. So there you go, that's the story on my $24 staff donation that never has to be repaid. :-) By the way, I also committed the same amount to the "membership" fundraising for purchase of the forum at auction; my actual payment to the membership fund was never made because with Treedeen's generous donation, my money wasn't needed.

Evie
January 7, 2011 3:22 PM

Treedeen said...

Hi Evie,

Thanks for your post. However, I never was invited to any emergency meeting for lenders. Is there something I need to be aware of?

Many thanks,

TREEDEEN
January 7, 2011 4:03 PM

dyebat said...

In the interest of not putting up personal names, I'll give you a hint about TB; she's a staff member whose handle is her actual name; it starts with Tr_________. The staff agreed to put up $4500, of which $500 was for initial operating expenses. However they did not contribute their portion until after the non-profit was formed and had its own bank account.

Until you just now mentioned it, I was unaware of the lender meeting called by staff around the time of the July 18 disruption. Yet another example of the staff's refusal to honor their agreement regarding my responsibility for financial accountability. I would like to know as much as possible about that meeting, as I personally was the one legally owing money to the lenders at that point. If this is not something you want to discuss on an open forum, please contact me at dyebat@gmail.com.
January 7, 2011 4:03 PM

lchris said...

Evie, Wow. Your comments are news to me as well.

FYI, Lenders must be repaid. That was an agreed to condition. Loans, not donations.
January 7, 2011 4:13 PM

Evie (AireMom) said...

Well, OK, I checked my files. The meeting I mentioned in talking about my $24 donation was held on MSN on July 18. PM invitations from PT (entitled, "To all Investors in staff contribution to bid for forum," and signed Kalua and Pickled Tink Administrators) were sent to 17 recipients the evening before. Just FYI, the transparency thread and other forum discussions "which have not been instigated by the staff" were mentioned, and the stated idea of the meeting was that we would be updated on what was going on. I apologize for casually (mindlessly) mentioning the meeting in my comment on this blog about my $24 donation, but anyhow after nearly six months surely it doesn't matter anymore.

Evie
January 7, 2011 7:57 PM

Evie (AireMom) said...

One more thing. I see I used the word "emergency" to describe the meeting, but that was my word. I should clarify that nowhere in my files do I see it described that way.

Evie
January 7, 2011 8:14 PM

Marie Jean said...

FYI. I posted Dyebat's financial report on this after I had announced on another thread that I would be doing this. Her report was buried somewhere on the forum and as I had downloaded it, I felt the forum members had a right to view it. The thread was immediately closed. An administrator posted that is was not a financial report but were pages from records kept by Dyebat. It sure looked like a financial report to me. It was also stated that the report which Dyebat published was done without authorization from the treasurer or the board, as there were some unanswered questions. We were told the new financial officer would be providing a detailed and full account of our financial situation as soon as she is able to.
I look forward to seeing it in a timely fashion along with the board minutes.

I also posted Dyebat's report in one of my albums. In even discussing this, some of us members were made to feel like we were stirring up trouble. It was a polite discussion about trying to pay back the lenders, but evidently, some do not even want this to be discussed. I would think this would be a top priority for the board.
January 7, 2011 10:03 PM

dyebat said...

What I posted WERE financial reports. Some notes were included, but the basic reports (Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet were generated in the Quickbooks Online report function. Then screen grabs of the reports were taken and posted in my profile album. I prepared reports for 2 months. The October report was posted on November 15, and the November reports was posted on December 10, immediately before my resignation. Both were sent to the Board before being posted but the Board ignored them.

My commitment for financial transparency was made to the members, not to the Board or the staff. If the latter was not concerned with timely financial reporting, that did not excuse me from providing it. Even earlier, around the end of September, I had prepared & posted a screen shot of the personal bank account I used for all the transactions that occurred while I was the legal owner of the site. These have all been removed from my profile, while my profile still apparently shows me as member against my stated wishes. VERY selective editing, but typical--present false information and conceal what is factual.

It has taken the Board 2 months to pay any attention to the October financial reports. If I had not blown the whistle on the unauthorized December lockout, who knows whether they would ever have bothered?
January 8, 2011 1:39 AM

SB Fandom Our Story said...

So, perhaps all the drama is aimed at hiding just who lent what amount on the Staff side of the transaction? The financial reports would make 'them' uncomfortable. Dyebat's request for transparency would need to be derailed? As a distraction? Sheesh. Dyebat requested a name/address - it's not like she was doing a credit check or any background checks. No DNA or fingerprint requests, no pictures.

13 people were invited to that meeting on July 18th - wonder who attended and what was discussed? A few mods resigned on the 18th BEFORE Kalua and the discussion at that meeting seems very relevant to me. I don't care how long ago it was - Dyebat and I want to know the truth.

Staff were somehow convinced that we were taking over the site with CL and DJG. I know the cyber-bully was spreading that. But there is more. Perhaps someone at that meeting would care to share what happened?
January 8, 2011 6:39 AM

Anonymous said...

I am reading this and all that comes to mind is some third world power play and the free world is naive.
The members how can they trust people like that? One thing I have is street smarts and what I see smacks so typical of dictator tactics. If this truly is from a behind the scene sony operation I am in shock. How low has the greed for exploiting all aspects of Susan Boyle sunken. One day Susan will find out what her and who her so called new friends are and God help her. The disappointment she will feel will be worse then what she has gone through. Hiding this truth from her is a disservice and I hope her management wakes up to the reality.
I feel for the members that are so naive and put so much of themselves into the forum.
Dyebat and lchris I feel for you too what you have gone through at the hands of those people. I cannot express the injustice you suffered. Those people must feel smock but their day will come when they too will look reality in the face for what they have done.
Protecting Susan from this truths is a disservice to her.
Thank you
whisper
January 8, 2011 12:47 PM

Marie Jean said...

Dyebat,

I never questioned whether this was a financial report. PT made that statement which seemed ludicrous to me. You have always been very up front with providing the members with exactly what you were doing on behalf of the site. You were even criticized as have others been for even using the word transparency. How very strange that anyone would find something objectionable about your use of the word TRANSPARENCY. Who and why would anyone object to this definition of transparency? "Lack of hidden agendas and conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making."
January 8, 2011 2:00 PM

andyp said...

I agree. I don't know what these people are hiding, but the word "transparency" seems to scare them quite a bit.
January 8, 2011 11:51 PM
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Post by Tonnie_rocca Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:43 am

More comments (until 11th of January 2011)

Anonymous said...

Dyebat, do you know what positions or names would be necessary to secure debt, additional debt, at least as of the time of your resignation?

In the by-laws, is there mention of prohibition of board members having agreements with any entity doing business as a result of Susan Boyle?

Doggie
January 10, 2011 4:19 AM

Anonymous said...

I keep wondering if Pickled Tink and Kalua are, in fact, the same person? The constant deception and non-transparency cause one to wonder if anything one sees on this fansite is, in fact, true.

How can such dishonest people be allowed to continue to run the Susan Boyle fansite ... to the ground!?!?!

Janaki
January 10, 2011 3:47 PM

dyebat said...

My experience with loans to non-profits has been primarily with loans for purchase and rehab of low-income housing. If those loans were made by banks, they required the organization to have the same credit worthiness as individuals or for-profit entities, & the loan agreements were signed by the President & Secretary of the NPO.

Loans from individuals and other non-profits were made less formally, and usually based on trust and the personal credibility of the officers &/or executive director of the NPO asking for money. The latter was the case in raising funds for the purchase of the susan-boyle.com website at auction, and the sale to SBFII. At this point, the likelihood of SBFII getting a commercial loan to refinance the existing loans is questionable. First, to my knowledge there has been no repayment of the existing loans, which would make a commercial lender wonder if they were going to get repaid, and second, why would anyone want to refinance no-interest loans with interest-bearing ones?

There's nothing to my knowledge in the by-laws that mentions "prohibition of board members having agreements with any entity doing business as a result of Susan Boyle". However the by-laws are being rewritten, so I don't know their current state. Initial NPO by-laws are usually written to be somewhat flexible to allow for changes later on as needs & circumstances change. This is particularly true before the 501(c)(3) status is obtained. Attempts to "tighten up" the by-laws to control the organization may backfire if the restrictive by-laws threaten the NPO status.
January 11, 2011 3:03 PM

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Dyebat. I appreciate your input, and, as usual, I trust you implicitly.

What I am questioning is whether someone has the ability, legally or illegally, to indirectly cause me and others to incur debt beyond the loans already in existence, and without my knowledge or permission. My instinct tells me the answer is yes, and my instinct also tells me this can be done easily without "hitting the books" for a long time.

Your transparency theme was honorable, but I see no sign of transparency now, and you have been denied all ability to bring forth the promised transparency. I have to assume the board did not want your promise of transparency when they shut you out. So I ask myself, self, with no transparency, do I want exposure to the unknown, do I want the potential risks inherent in a dark hole.

There is a saying: "If you don't know who the patsy is at the table, it's you."

Doggie
January 11, 2011 6:39 PM

Anonymous said...

Things are really getting creepy at SBFII. A bunch of the old threads on transparency are no longer available, and it appears Knudt and Fudgemeister have been booted. I'll check for news now and then, but that's going to be the extent of my interaction over there.
January 11, 2011 9:31 PM
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Post by Tonnie_rocca Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:52 am



Thank You (link)

I would like to thank the administrators at susan-boyle.com for finally removing my name from the membership list, a month after I resigned. More on the latest purges later. Meanwhile, please check out the websites listed on the page above, where freedom of speech is generally encouraged.

Posted by dyebat at Tuesday, January 11, 2011


List of Susan Boyle websites here.


Added today by Lchris:

Dyebat and I would also like to thank Knudt for her time spent diligently investigating the July incident to get to the truth of what happened. There is still no public retraction stating that Dyebat, CL and I were not involved in any attempt to remove Staff or take over the site. The Board report still stands. Given these latest attempts to cover-up Staff/Member involvement, and the continued defamation - we will now provide access to all of our data to Knudt so that she can continue. Stay tuned.

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Post by Tonnie_rocca Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:28 am

New message by Lchris, 13th of January 2011 pale pale (link)

Open Message to Kalua and his 'Croonies'

Your paranoia is tiring.

Please stop the 'cloak and dagger' shenanigans.

No one in the Susan Boyle online community other than yourselves wants to perpetuate the 'toxic' climate. Knudt and Citroenlady invited any and all to their new site and they meant it. The only exception is the cyber-stalker/bully and he has been caught and removed as necessary. One Board Member and a Staff Member from your site and members from various sites have joined and all have been warmly welcomed.

I realize that you do not understand the 'amnesty' that is happening there, nor what 'transparency' means. Perhaps you no longer realize that adults from various viewpoints can have civil discussions without the need for censorship. Fans can belong to multiple sites without being your enemy.

Stop sending 'spies' around to join various sites to collect 'information' to use for spreading misinformation and paranoia.

Dani, stop slinking around trying to hack your way to the posts and pm's. Just sign up and join and come in the front door to copy/paste all you need to try and continue your dramas and defamation of people.

We don't want to spend our time tracking and preventing your sick games.

Why don't you all try and make your forum the best forum possible for your members? Spend your time getting to know your members and letting them get to know you.

Rebuild your own community from a place of mutual respect and tolerance. Stop trying to destroy ours.

Understand that you have no powers outside of your own site and gullible group of 'croonies'.

Especially now as we are all working together to find the truth.

Because, there are actually more than '5 people' that care to know what really happened. A lot more.

Call me if you are ready to talk.

Posted by lchris at Thursday, January 13, 2011
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Post by Tonnie_rocca Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:01 am



More comments on Dyebat's message of the 5th of January (link)

Anonymous said...

I posted the following thread at the SBFII 6 hours ago. It was on the site for three to five minutes before it was taken off the board. I have subsequently found out that I will now be banned from that site.
Transparency is now gone!!
Whatever transparency there was on this site has now TOTALLY DISAPPEARED!In case none of you has noticed, Dyebat's threads which were closed, CAN NO LONGER be accessed!! My threads, which were closed, CAN NO LONGER be accessed!! Long term member, Knudt, has received notification today that she is PERMANENTLY BANNED for disruptive behavior!! To the administration here, truth telling IS disruptive behavior!! I fully expect to receive the same notification once this thread is posted! You, who do read it,will be in a small group, because I am certain it will be deleted as soon as possible!
I have been a member of this forum since June, 2009. I have ALWAYS loved this site! Susan and this site have always fit together PERFECTLY! They will tell you I deserve banning for being "contentious" and "disruptive". I say to you, the membership, what they refer to as contentious or controversial is me showing care AND concern for this site. I have been "controversial" because I despise the gross unfairness I have seen on this site by the administration and the moderators. They can no longer afford to have people like me or knudt around!
To the membership, I just wish you would all wake up and smell the putrid aroma arising from their actions! How can you sit there and allow them to do these things in your name!? What they have done to Dyebat is particularly DESPICABLE!!Here was a woman who bought this site JUST for the good of the membership! She had a noble purpose--that the site be non-profit and NOT in the control of Sony!And what did your administration do? They threw roadblocks in her way, they denigrated her, and took away her access! All of this forced her to resign! They did the same outrageous things to lchris!
I ask you again, how can you be content with their leadership? For me, Fahrenheit 451 is the final straw. I will not be part of a "history rewrite"!
To the board and the moderators I want to say, where are your backbones? When will the morals that I hope you have, start taking over? It is a sad day for this forum!
By the way, to the administration,why don't you let the membership know you for who you are. Let them see your "moan" thread and your list of the"pain in the ass" members!! HYPOCRISY!!!!!!! Fudgemeister
January 12, 2011 12:44 AM

andyp said...

It appears that the transparency thread and the thread "A message from Dyebat" are no longer available. I tried to access them from my favourites - I have been reviewing them. This is the message I got.

____________________

andyp, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?

If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.
___________________

Something fishy is going on here.
January 12, 2011 1:18 AM

lchris said...

Doggie, As a member, you are not in any way obligated. Those on Staff/Board during any incidents could be liable for any debts or any crimes. Such as defamation, unauthorized access, fraud, etc.
January 12, 2011 8:59 AM

andyp said...

Don't worry, fudge. I think several of us are on the way out. I am trying to stay a bit careful because I am curious as to what mess they will get the site into. Unless they insult my integrity I won't post at all. If they attack CL, Dyebat, lchris, Knudt or you I'll be there in a flash letting them know what I think. Otherwise, I want to mainly lurk so that I can know what is going on.

I received my first warning a couple of weeks ago. It was because I agreed with a post that someone else made and they didn't like the initial post. I know that I am targetted because I am not a goody-two shoes but for as long as I can I am going to try and satisfy my curiosity. Staff behaviour is descipable. I hope you rejoin the new site.
January 12, 2011 9:36 AM

Bohemian Spirit said...

AndyP and others, please be advised that it appears people are now being warned/banned based on things they have written on DJG's site. They are not content to moderate based on your posting behavior on their own site; they are using things people post on other sites as "reason" to take "disciplinary" action against members of their own site.

Effed up to the Nth degree, but there it is.

I'd sure like to know what the stakes are, that these people are willing to play such hardball in order to control a freakin' FAN FORUM in this draconian fashion.
January 12, 2011 10:46 AM

Clix Pix said...

It is extremely sad to see such unethical behavior going on at a website which is supposedly devoted to Susan Boyle. A site which uses her name in any way should adhere to the same high standards she clearly sets and holds for herself.
January 12, 2011 11:48 AM

Forever Pearls said...

It seems they have forgotten the members have done them a favor by posting there ! Soon they will lose their google ranking because that forum is becoming a ghost town,they have driven away the very heart of that forum ,it seems that they are systematically breaking down the original forum. It is a shadow of it's former self. What is their long term agenda? The biggest influx of fans was from Susan's original audition. That was a time of peaked interest. They are not going to ever have that again. Abusing Susan's fans works against Susan's interests. Is this a case of winning a battle but losing the war? Are they that dumb or do they have an agenda we are not aware of ?
January 12, 2011 1:54 PM

Anonymous said...

I know I'm on their bannation list too. I've been told by Kalua himself that I will also be banned by name and ISP.

Let them run it into the ground. I have other things to worry about, a fansite that has maybe 200 active members isn't one of them.
January 12, 2011 7:42 PM

Bohemian Spirit said...

Forever Pearls - "Abusing Susan's fans works against Susan's interests. Is this a case of winning a battle but losing the war?"

All I can say is that I'm about at the point at which I not only don't want to spend one more dime on albums through Sony, et al., I don't ever want to buy another Sony product again. If corporate is indeed behind all of this, they are ultimately hurting themselves. Why would you kick sand in the face of your market?

Another, wild thought: Maybe they didn't want to invest long-term in Susan, only to generate a ton of short-term cash cow money and then "phase out" her career with them? So this seemingly self-defeating behavior is actually part of a broader strategy to give them reason to let her go?

Crazy. Maybe. Or maybe we're crazy for trying to find a logical explanation for what might simply be a bunch of third-tier incompetents being told, "You're in charge of the Susan Boyle thing."

At this point, going forward, I would like to find a way to support Susan without supporting the corruption that appears to have surrounded her. If someone on an independent label would be willing to take a chance on her, and set her free, perhaps we will once again see the dynamic, energetic woman with a spark in her eye and a lively sense of humor.
January 13, 2011 1:59 AM

Anonymous said...

While members and people click on their fansite and forum and the Google ads, income will continue to generate for them. It was all about money, right back when Paul Woods started the fansite. Bit by bit he built it up and included things that kept drawing people in and then at what he perceived to be the climax, he put it on the market for sale. Some of the mods probably thought it would be a nice little hobby with money for jam. While the ignorant continue to log in on that site, and while those who know how to use proxy servers continue to register "pretend" members, that site will thrive from an income producing point of view. eHow.com has many suggestions on how to make money from websites. Hasn't anyone noticed that the administrators don't post and interact with the forum like when they used to be "ordinary" members, which is why they were made mods in the first place by Paul Woods (to make like easier for him)?... It is also interesting to note that when there is a bit of controversy or difference of opinion on their forum, that this also boosts the number of log-ins and clicks on the controversial thread, thus keeping the website "alive". It is no longer a Susan Boyle Fansite, it is an income generating website which uses Susan Boyle as their source of income.
It is also interesting to note how some of the mods and techies are always in invisible mode, I say "always" because their little green lights are never on when one views the "Leaders" section - for which one doesn't need to be logged in.
January 13, 2011 7:41 PM

lchris said...

Anonymous, While controversy does increase traffic, I don't think that is the reason for all the drama. Income is generated only when clicking on ads and/or purchasing from Amazon via the Subostore. I do hope all continue to support the site. It has always been there with the latest and most comprehensive Susan Boyle information. And it is very labor-intensive. I have issues with specific actions of certain Staff, but have always recognized the tremendous amount of work that site requires and the contributions of all Staff since day one.
January 13, 2011 9:56 PM
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