Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on January 30, 2015 at 7:54pm

Im a pro privacy and freedom guy, but realize there are double agents ,troublemakers,defenders of their forgeries etc. out there. I am who I am so have no problem with people identifying themselves. I say give em one warning then toss them.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 30, 2015 at 9:06pm

Ok, Chad, before you pass judgement on me, just remember, we're friends! ;0)

And by the way, I like an open exchange of ideas as well. You might just come across a concept or piece of information you had never considered before.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on January 30, 2015 at 8:35pm

I think people shouldn't be labeled or accused until they've at least been messaged and had a chance to answer. I personally try not to post about a "scammer" unless I've already messaged them and received a response or unless they are just a blatant seller of forgeries.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on January 30, 2015 at 8:57pm

Just another point - if rules are out in place where negative things can't be said then it needs to be implemented the same for everyone - no bashing of psa, jsa,gfa even coaches corner. Is that right?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 30, 2015 at 9:02pm

We can't fight forgeries if members can't make their legitimate points. That's why we need to confirm identities.

It's a tough situation. We don't want to cause members grief by identifying them or lose good members because they don't want to face the risks of using their real names. But our most important role is to help make autograph collecting safer.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Lougheed on January 30, 2015 at 9:14pm

You have been making autograph collectors safer for many years, Steve. AML, your baby no matter how tough things can get, is the only true "Safe" ground for autograph collectors, new or seasoned. We, as members, need to remember that we are also responsible for this great forum.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Meyer on January 30, 2015 at 10:02pm

Your the boss Steve. I support whichever decision you make.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 31, 2015 at 7:37am

Thanks, Rick. We're all members of this community, though, and to keep it effective and thriving I want to make sure we get it right.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Gregory on January 31, 2015 at 2:47am

If people want to say something or accuse someone I was always taught they should be prepared to say it in a court room if need be.

As such confirming identity via a phone call or text should not be an issue. That way we get rid of a lot of potential timewasters and avoids any issues.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on January 31, 2015 at 7:10am

In my opinion, as of late there has been a fair amount of wild and reckless accusations. A credible member of this community who has contributed for years and helped countless members here was accused of knowingly approving and selling fakes by someone whose real name is unknown. Barely anyone said a peep and some others piled on. Disgusting. 

A reputable auction house run by decent and honest people who has had a long-standing reputation for offering high quality, authentic material has been thrown under the bus based on information posted by an un-objective party... and members here are tossing around speculation and conjecture when they only have seen filtered information that is only half the story.

No one is above fair criticism, but there are always people -- usually posting under a generic screen name -- who take it a step too far and carelessly and callously smear reputations based on their own wild conspiracy theories. Yet I have NEVER seen an apology or retraction from any of these armchair experts when they are shown to be wrong. 

The rule should be this: if you don't have the guts to use your own name and stand behind your words, don't say it.

If you wouldn't write it in a letter and sign your name to it and send it to the local newspaper, don't post it here.

The Internet has its share of disreputable sites where cowards post fabricated information and phony complaints under fake names because they would be easily sued and held accountable for their defamation if they used their real names -- this site needs to be better than that.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on January 31, 2015 at 8:03am

Valid points Steve, but with all due respect, your opinion is a bit biased.

The point of this forum is to help collectors, the auction house and member you speak of both made mistakes that were worthy of disclosing to help the collector, and to hopefully help them learn from their mistakes. It is a great thing to help people, but if you are directly involved in the autograph business, selling or authenticating, or both - you are fair game for criticism.  That is the only way the collector benefits.  If we let these things go unaddressed, the collector loses.

That said, I think wild, baseless accusations need to be addressed by the moderators, just not in the self interest of protecting friends. Anyone involved in the autograph business needs to be able to be discussed and criticized fairly. Both parties should be welcome here to discuss their end of the story at any time, and collectors should not be scared off from posting valid arguments under threat of legal action.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 31, 2015 at 8:58am

Hi, Steve Zarelli. Just a couple of things. I started a discussion where I pointed out a couple of instances where two auctions houses clearly sold JFK secretarial signatures as real. I don't think they did so on purpose, however. But, I thought it was important to make members and thus potential future buyers aware so that they, as well as the auction house, might not make the same mistake again. I used to think that big auction houses always got it right, but now I know that's not always the case. And it can cost people a lot of money.

Second, you'll notice that I only use my first real name in posts. That's because my last name is pretty rare (except maybe in Italy). In fact, in the entire USA, there are only two people with my name, me and one other. If my last name were Jones, it would be much simpler. And personally, when I post about autographs, I would just as soon keep what is in my personal collection to myself and others in this forum. So that's why.

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