Patrick has been blocked from posting here!
 

I just posted this on the European forum:
Patrick emailed me that when he tried to post this afteroon, he was blocked and told to read the "subscriber conduct" information.
Could it be that he dared to criticize Fodor's on another thread?
Ooops, I better watch what I say, or I may be blocked!

I cannot believe it is not a glitch of some sort, maybe they got Patrick confused with someone else.
Lord knows, if everyone who disagreed with someone on these boards, we would all be banned!
Patrick is always as helpful as he can be and travels extensively, he has a lot to contribute and I think and hope he should be back on the boards very soon.

In the meantime, do people not get a warning before being banned?

And really, some posters behave like animals on these forums, getting threads deleted and frozen and they are still posting..how can Patrick be banned??
Free Patrick! **==

I've had Fodor's problems and thought that I was banned...but, alas, they corrected themselves and here I am...

Say it ain't so....what would Fodor's be without Patrick?

I'm with you Scarlett...free Patrick**==

K9
!!!!Kode Blue Kode Blue!!!!!

!!!!!Free Patrick!!!!!

Time Square NEEEEEEEDS him!!!!!

We NEED him!

Rex disagreed with fodors more than he.
Was it on this forum or the Europe? Does he even know what he said?
Patrick email us so we can help you if we knew the details.

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!! :-@

I PROTEST!! >:O

Let's turn this thread into a petition.

Let's all chant together:

FREE PATRICK!!!! **==
FREE PATRICK!!!! **==

FREE PATRICK!!!!!

After all this time he's been with us, I don't know what he could have said or done that is so unforgivable. Nevertheless, I am going to e-mail the editors to ask them to give Patrick a pardon. Please join me.

[email protected]

Geez, is this some sort of joke?

Yes, free Patrick or there will be a revolt!

Do you suppose there is a hacker on board?

WHAT!!!!???? That can't be right.

Myabe Mr. Someone on the News and Announcements forum can help or explain what is going on...???

Howard, do you know what he posted that could be so bad?

Why?

It can't be true! It must be a case of mistaken identity. I can't imagine why Parick would be blocked.

There's got to be something goofy going on here. As others have already said, there are people still posting who have been really nasty. Yes, Patrick has had disagreements, but haven't we all? And I've never seen him respond with anywhere near the venom I've seen from some others.

This just doesn't make sense. Again, as others have said, Patrick has been so helpful to so many.

Surely, the Fodor's editors are aware of the response on this board to Patrick's mother's death. Would people have responded that way unless Patrick were a much loved and valued member of this community?

FREE PATRICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cigalechanta, he thinks it might be one of two postings:
1. He questioned Fodor's idea of adding monitors on a thread on the Europe board, or
2. A posting on the US board about a wine list in Seattle.

But Patrick is one of the most helpful people on these boards!!! They MUST let him return!

Howard, could you please e-mail Patrick and let him know about the support he's getting from us? Hopefully we can convince the editors to reinstate his log-in soon.

Might be a feeble practical joke relating to ideas about how to screen "bad apples." Might have had to do with his pun regarding naked people in SF trees, though that seems mild compared to all the various naked-idity (to quote Radar O'Reilly) posts lately.

In any case, seems unjustifiable when you see what else gets posted by others who are so much more offensive. Hope it's just a mix-up.

I haven't read the Europe post, but the Seattle Whine post was not out of the ordinary for Patrick...

Free Patrick**==

Free Patrick - I want more salmon recipes :)

But Rex came on stronger or was he banned too? No more free speech?

Strange to put it gently.

BTW, I was on Fodor's and suddenly my computer froze up! I could not get it to do anything. Called my SIL, he gave instructions over the phone. Nothing worked. He had me turn off the computer manually and wait about 20 minutes. I did so. And then turned my computer on and it is working. Came onto Fodor's to check things out and see this post regarding dear Patrick!!!

What is going on. IMO opinion you couldn't have a nice gentleman on Fodors than Patrick. Was it the Seattle restaurant post, you think? If so...guess none of us better ever express an opinion again.

YES, FREE PATRICK. If Fodor's is going to start getting weird I don't want to be a member. What is going on for heavens sakes?

How about a long weekend walk out. No posting F/S/S/M? That'll help the editors understand.

I hope Patrick will come back, when they've come to their sensors.

I just read the Seattle whine post. Patrick's post was slightly nasty, as was his post on the Disney fear thread. I don't think they merited getting barred, but maybe the editors are cracking down. Perhaps they're trying to minimize the hostility that some posters have in their replies.

Yikes things are getting really weird in Fodorville.

FREE PATRICK **==

FREE PATRICK...**==

I didn't think the Seattle Whine post was out of the ordinary for anyone. And it was nowhere near the ugly things I've sometimes seen pop up on this site.

Patrick has strong views and he's not afraid to express them, but I've not seen anything from him that I felt crossed a line. I have seen Patrick consider what other posters have said, re-evaluate his stance on an issue, and thank the poster for bringing it to his attention.

And his one-liners are darn funny!

I hope to see him back soon.

I think it's just a glitch on his computer....

No, ceeu2, Patrick said Fodor's sent him a notice cutting him off.

HowardR...can you get him to email it to you and post it for us?
Free Patrick....

How do we protest to the editors? Patrick shouldn't be banned.

Just received this email from Patrick:
"Wow. Thanks. I can't believe the stir."

MaureenB, you can email them at [email protected]

I have already sent my email.

FREE PATRICK!!!! **==

OK - I'll be very careful here -- isn't it rich that Fodors editors can jump into any thread w/ sometimes useful/sometimes useless info - but on this thread and the duplicate over on Europe - NOT a whiff of explanation.

Even Patrick's ornriest posts (which are few) are much more reasonable than some of the ugly things posted here.

A deleted post is one thing but to have him banned is totally nuts.

OK - now I'll wait to get banned too . . . . .

Well, Patrick and others can be a little "snippy" sometimes, but that's half the fun. And as others have said, his one liners are great. So, does this mean no more fashion advice from mk2, or dry comments from thingorgous. It will be so "sanitary" here as to be totally boring. At the risk of being repetative...I'm getting old so I do tend to repeat myself...we pretty much know what crosses the line, and we've talked about having certain responses deleated rather than an entire thread, and good grief, if the thread doesn't interest someone, or if they take offense at something, just close it out and move on!!! Everthing is so PC and sanitized anymore, it's hard to even have an opinion about anything anymore. Banning Patrick is just too much. It's rediculous!!!!

For those who asked or are curious, Patrick sent me the message he received:
"WELCOME TO FODORS.COM
Your screen name has been blocked temporarily or Forodrs.com Travel Talk. Please review the Subscriber Conduct sectin of our Subscriber's Agreement."

Did he cut and paste that message? If so, someone at Fodors cannot spell.

It does state "temporarily" - let's see what that means.

So he's been blocked TEMPORARILY? Does that mean that Patrick is in time out for not playing nice?

Quite sad if this is true. Although I haven't read any of the posts that may have caused this, I know that I've always enjoyed his contributions and the advice he has given over the years. Especially helpful to me were his New York theater posts. Hope this can be resolved soon.