WOOHOO!! They finally got rid of that pesky purgaowner. Kudos to editors.

For anyone who doesn't know, purgaowner was a sleazy, unethical businessperson who used this forum for one purpose only and that was to promote his/her/it's service and bash all competitors.

Purgaowner, if you are reading this, be advised that Fodors is more than just a message board, it's a community. We know who is for real and who is not. And don't come back under a new name, because we will know it's you. Good riddance.

Hi P_M.. did you see the thread where a person asked about Turkey and a travel agent posted on his thread admitting he checked up on him and making remarks about his conversations with the travel agency??? I have never seen that here before! Ick!
I guess the people in the Travel Industry are feeling a bit desperate since we can book our own travel so they are watching these boards too..

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34597999

Here is the thread I was speaking of..

If that thread is still around why hasn't it been removed, also?

I agree that the board is more or less a community but sometimes a few of the
<b> self</b>-appointed guardians get a little boring.

Purgaowner posted a typical thread this morning bashing a Greek hotel. Many people, myself included, replied to tell him what we thought of this practice. I came back in just a while ago and saw that the thread was gone, and so is purgaowner. I posted this thread to thank the editors. I'm sorry if you find this objectionable, Intrepid.

PM-it wasn't a Greek hotel, it was the Pantheon B&amp;B-Purga was apparently a shill for venere.com, and wanted people to go to its site, rather than other Italian search engines, to find rooms.

Scarlett, as I've posted on that other thread about the Turkey incident, there is more than we're being told. There is no way the person accused (Tom)could have known which agency to call or would have been able to find out the name of the poster with the comment unless the poster had already had some sort of personal contact with him. Somebody isn't telling us everything.

Intrepid, you may object to these &quot;self-appointed&quot; guardians, but I recall seeing a slamming post about the Pantheon View B&amp;B which I had bookmarked on my favorites. After seeing that post, I removed it and made mental note to NEVER stay there. Now I find it was a totally meaningless post by this &quot;character&quot;.

Sorry, but I applaud those who take steps to get rid of dishonest and misleading posts and posters. This board is only as good as the posts on it, and if it becomes filled up with faulty information and fake reviews, the whole value of it is down the tubes as far as I'm concerned.

If I remember right you once thanked me for recommending the Covent Garden Hotel and you liked it (maybe the thanks came from another poster, I recommend it often). But what if I had been a fake poster who worked for the hotel, and it turned out to be a falsely advertised &quot;dump&quot; and you followed advice to stay there. Wouldn't you rather have had the faulty advertising banned so you wouldn't fall victim to it?

I agree Patrick! And I notice that person's rampage thread has been deleted.

&quot;be advised that Fodors is more than just a message board, it's a community&quot; - well said, PM, very true, and thank you!

Yeah I remember him specifically because I have stayed at the Pantheon View B&amp; B before - and am returning there again next week. I was surprised that out of all of the positive messages left on Venere - he posted the 2 really negative ones. And I called him on it in that particular thread.

I recall that he did so in another thread too. I was really suspicious at that point because I've hada few friends stay at the same B&amp;B and they had a great time.

Spygirl, thanks for setting me straight that it wasn't a Greek hotel. That post ticked me off so bad I didn't read most of it. I must have read &quot;Parthenon,&quot; instead of Pantheon, my bad.

There are many reasons I visit this board. I enjoy the company of our regular posters, that's the main reason I keep coming back. I enjoy sharing my experiences to help others. I also seek unbiased advice, and that's why I dislike anyone who comes here only for personal gain.

I do not consider myself a self-appointed guardian of this board, but I will write the editors whenever I read something vulgar. Yesterday a no-good troll said something very obscene to my pal Faina, and I did notify the editors. I bet a lot of other people did too because vulgarity doesn't belong on this board. That nasty troll is gone, for now anyway.

Thank you all for your replies.

thanks to all!!
In order to Pantheon view see here:
&quot;This place is terrible&quot;http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/S...ome_Lazio.html

Yikes! Sorry P_M but it looks like that purgaowner is still around!

Apparently not purged ENOUGH! See above...he's back with an s attached to his moniker.

And dumb too. Wouldn't you think after reading all these messages about what an unethical person he is, he'd at least post somewhere else? He probably didn't read them. Idiot.

Now this is actually funny. What a clever new name, I never would have guessed it's the same person. Does he really think he won't get purged again?

I suppose there's the slight possibility it's a troll who's taken on this identity to have more needling fun, rather than the original purgaowner.

But one thing that is useful to remember from all this. Somewhere or other I read that a few hotel owners are writing up negative reviews of possibly competing hotels for TripAdvisor and/or other forums. Somehow I suspect this guy was in that category.

what's to stop him from re-registering under another name?

Sandi, if a poster gets especially nasty, his ESP gets blocked, so he/she/they can't re-register. There was a nasty one on USA board who was blocked.

If that's the case, Faina, they should have blocked that person who insulted you on the sink stopper thread. That's the worst thing I've ever seen on this board.