PCGS forum deletes member accounts

A private organization such as PCGS can oversee its forums in any manner that it chooses. The “rights” on the site belong exclusively to PCGS.

Having said that, with PCGS rules in mind, it is up to each individual to decide whether they want to participate in the forums. And I believe PCGS has a vested interest in having interesting, vibrant discussions on its site. I believe PCGS knows that.

 

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More like people on those forums just violated whatever rules existed there. I don't know their rules, as I do not have an account on any of those. I do know the rules here though. Forums do not like to lose population count, they determine ad income for most.

 

It looks like she holds most of her jobs for less than a year. Let's hope CU dumps her soon.

 

As a kid, I was really upset when the theater passed rules you couldn't throw popcorn at the bad actor as they were tired of cleaning up afterwards. She seems to be under someone else decisions of rules and doing well at that. I know how tough the job can be. Hope she raises the bar for moderator pay scale Just kidding Peter!

 

It looks like Ms. Boyd was responding to members yesterday on her thread on the issue: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1008297/lets-talk-about-the-rules/p2

PCGS has paid out over $1 million in guarantee submissions in the last year which can be a long and arduous process to get them to admit their mistake, no doubt the tight grading, where they don't net down coins with minor issues is a part consequence of that:
Last 30 Days | 12 Months
NUMBER
158
VALUE
$
1,008,437
https://www.pcgs.com/statistics/

Another creepy aspect to PCGS censoring members over the years has been how they will go into members' private messaging not even respecting that fundamental privacy expectation. I have seen a number of members warn about that, and had more than one member talk about going through multiple bannings over trivial issues.

 

Restriction of Freedom of Speech only applies to Government restricting speech not a private company, entity, forum etc. they have the right to ban anyone they choose just as this site does. The company you may work for can limit your speech in the work place and in extreme situations the things you may post public ally on line, especially if it doesn’t fit with their company mantra, reputation, culture, and corporate beliefs.

 

Very true. Many people have lost their jobs over their social media activity

 

The First Amendment was originally mainly centered on religious freedom:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.[1]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Obviously private companies can create forums and other entities that they have jurisdiction over, most of them post reasonable rules; however when they arbitrarily delete content by members over a long period of time questions arise over why now? Rarely does a member suddenly become like an attack dog, untamed and unreasonable. If moderators arbitrarily censor members and content there is the question as to whether the moderators are themselves competent and following reasonable intelligent advice.

"Slander" is malicious and false accusations; "libel" or "defamation" is malicious though usually honest criticism. If the target has a history of of ripping people off then people usually don't defend them especially if they have a criminal history. So this slam that posters were engaging in slanderous or defamatory rhetoric would need to be hashed out on a case by case basis; you can't just say that someone was doing this without backing it up with debate allowed.

 

True. That's what they have always done. NGC was more friendly. They gave members more room to say what they thought and let the members discuss it. I respect them for that.

 

PCGS Collectors Universe announced today that they have un-banned RogerB and PerryHall and restored their posts.

 

They've been very lax with that over the last year or two, much much more than other companies that host forums. No company is going to allow people to crusade against their business on a forum they allow people to openly use for free.

ALL of this has been completely blown out of proportion as almost everyone banned has been unbanned and a lot of people are making mountains out of a molehill.

I read that forum basically daily and I am not the least bit surprised that she was assigned to start watching it when she was.

 

In its legal sense, defamation is a false statement that can cause injury or harm to a person's reputation, character, or livelihood. Libel and slander are both forms of defamation.
If the defamation is spoken orally it is "slander" and if written or otherwise published it is "libel."

 

After having brought even more attention to the posts in question, if that's possible.

 

I don't find that expectation especially fundamental. They're hosting the entire shooting match, they're storing the messages, and as far as I know they don't make any special claims about end-to-end encryption or whatnot.

Seems to me that it's a bit silly to expect any "privacy" of that sort. I certainly don't expect it here.

 

Insider helped. He offered to help pay for an expert to come in and restore the content. Others joined in and offered to donate.

 

That’s only a problem if they violate their privacy agreement

 

Even if they did, practical remedies pretty much don't exist.

 

For all purposes, there are no privacy rights on commercial sites, just as on your employer’s computer.

A lot of people don’t even realize there is NO SUCH THING as a federal constitutional right to privacy. Any such rights, such as the confidentiality of your tax returns between you and the IRS, are established by law.

Here in Louisiana, the state constitution has a right to privacy, but it’s of limited protection when all is said and done.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation

Ok, so since people on the PCGS forums are speaking the truth about their experiences that PCGS finds objectionable, then there is no defamation or slander. So what's the problem? You can speak the truth or what is taken as such with malice or ill intent, I guess that is another matter. Presumably the law protects truthful witness in most cases.