Catalogue of support

Unedited (where possible) copies of e-mails I have received, posts to MPU Forums, or posts to MSN.

This is not an exercise in self-aggrandisement or hubris, but a genuine attempt by me to convey to others the strength of feeling that exists on this scene but is continually and ritually ignored and/or trodden underfoot by "the men would be kings".

Please note that certain terms or names (you're going to have to guess what and who yourself) have been XXXXed out in the Catalogue Of Support when used in certain contexts following my receiving a threat that if derogatory comments were not removed from my site the matter "would be taken further".

So just so you understand, not only have I now been banned from posting to and even reading MPU Forums, threats are also being made against my website, the website that 1200+ of you read every day. It seems that some people will stop at nothing to attempt to silence the voices of those they disagree with, and if that means damaging or destroying the first fruit machine emulation website on the internet then so be it - that's how much they care about you.

If anyone can give me any good legal advice on what the situation is regarding comments about individuals made on websites please do so. My suspicion is that no one can stop you saying "I think Person X is a wanker", as that is an opinion, but saying "Person X steals cabbages and sleeps with his neighbour" is unacceptable as it is slander. However, in the meantime I won't take any chances, it's more important to me that this website and its resources stay on-line than it is for me to post messages supporting myself. Scene first, me second. That has always been my philosophy, it's why this site was founded, and it's why it's still here now.

UPDATE - Thanks to those with the legal knowledge who have advised me on this.

First, you can say pretty much anything you like about someone as long as it is an opinion (and you don't even have to explicitly state that it is an opinion). So for example, if I were to say "I think Person X is total wanker", or even, "Person X is a wanker", that is fine, and they'll tell you as much in a court of law. It is only if I were to allege a specific thing ("Person X is a murderer") that I could get into trouble. I won't go back through the posts added here before I learnt this and un-edit them, but I will apply the knowledge to all new posts that I add.

Second, I have been told that the written word would come under libel, speech would be slander.

Thanks to those "in the know" who have clarified this for me, your support is very much appreciated.

I use your site as my first daily check point for new things on the scene, your write-ups frequently make me smile.

It is a shame a few prima donna's feel insult at the slightest thing, a good bit of banter makes the scene a livelier place.

I have had no dealing with the MPU forums, but this Harvey chap sounds like somebody far too touchy to be running them. Censorship is evil in all its forms, sometimes there is a fine line, but from all I have seen (including the forum entries) you did not cross it.

As for the 'sound as fuck' comment, being a fellow northerner I too use that phrase quite often. IT IS A COMPLIMENT!

As for this locking business, have these guys ever heard of 'open source', they are more bad guy Microsoft, than good guy Linux.

Alex,

Thanks for the laughs in your reviews, and even moreso, thanks for offering
such a superb resource for the Fruit Machine Emulation enthusiast. It's a
sad day when someone such as yourself gets banned from a large part of the
community such as MPUForums, especially when part of that reason is when
someone misinterprets "sound as fuck" as an insult.

You carry on Alex - your site is the best as far as I'm concerned. I've always enjoyed it. Of course, the beauty of the web is such that no one individual can dictate in the way a certain individual is. Shame on you "H".

support for free-speech, and I've followed your website since day one (or nearly!). We chatted over e-mail once (fanmail from me actually!).

Allo.

Just thought Id let you know that I dont read the MPU forums, or whatever, but if this harvey is giving you trouble, remember this:

You totally rule all - your rants and reviews are excellent, and despite the fact that I don't know the man, Harvey is surely one of those people who hangs around forums thinking they are important.

Alex

You have the best MPU3/4 site bar none. You are not afraid to speak your mind. You are not prepared to follow any fucker who throws toys out of their prams when they dont get what they want. You are a top guy, dont let them get to you. Take your anger and use it like a cloak, wear it all of the time and let it shield you from the gob shites Harvey, Gary, Pandy etc. Long live the Web Hovel!!!!

Take Care

I have visited your site for some time now and have always found myself coming back for more. Don't let people get you down. Just stick GTA3 in your PS2 and sniper some of your foes from on top of the car park.

This is why moderated forums are crap. All it takes is one or two over-sensitive egomaniacs and bang, suddenly people who've made massive contributions to the scene are summarily kicked out. If you don't want to argue with someone, then don't. Ignore them. It takes two to tango, and banning someone for arguing, on a forum, is just a symptom of people excited at the novelty of power, nothing more and nothing less.

It's totally futile, anyway - people can always get back in, and all you end up with is the moderators and the banned wasting valuable time on a fruitless wild goose chase when they could both be doing something more constructive with their time. If a bit of lively language was the worst problem the world had, we'd all be smiling. Doesn't this forum enable automatic profanity-censorship anyway? Language is just an excuse. Some people just can't take being disagreed with.

This is a post from the "Alex is banned" thread on MPU Forums. (Note: the person who made this post is not the person who has forwarded the .htm files of the thread to me, just in case Harvey fancies banning someone for passing MPU Forums secrets to the infidels or something).

you should not have been chucked off full stop. i also donated money to keep
the mpuforms running and i think that one person should not be able to throw
another out of the community without a peer vote.

it is very very wrong, i am most upset , i enjoyed reading your posts which
were usually well thought out arguments.

Ive only just begun with the emulation thing but that Harvey sounds like a sprout compared to your cabbages so id much rather go with MSN

Well I have to say I have just been laughing my tits off (if I had any)
reading about your latest exploits on MPU forums.

I briefly saw some of the fracas surrounding your 'dis-pleasure' of the
large updates for small problems and I have to say:
"Alex, you are completely right"

I visit the hovel around 5 times a week to get the latest files, but I can
get these anywhere. I use you site because it is funny, you have a take on
life that keeps me smiling, it is a rare quality that should be cherished,
not hidden away.

If that Harvey character cannot take a little intellectual intercourse then
that's his problem, X xxxxx xx'x xxx xxxx xxx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxx xx xxx
xxxxxxx xxxx!

Keep up the good work Alex, your fine by me.

Take it easy Alex,Harvey has gone too far this time,the guys a xxxxx and thats all there is too it,as far as i'm concerned and many others,you are the voice for mpu34 and no-one can take your place,mpuforums without you there to inject your great humour,will become boring and communistic.
you deserve better.
very good luck
A friend

p.s i see gary's babyish whining got mpu34arguments removed,but it's back on a different server and can be found here.
http://mpuxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.com/

URL censored by me in case Gary goes for this site too. Also removed the word used to describe Harvey just in case, fill in the blank with whatever suits you best.

Personally i think your comments and the way u go operate is spot on.. ure reviews and points usually put a smile on my face and i say keep it up, people have got to learn to take things with a pinch of salt and maybe chill out a bit.

Thanks Alex for a great site that keeps up to date with the latest developments on the scene.

hey alex

if you want your own forum i will get someone to make one for you using ikonboard 3

free of charge, you could prolly do it yourself but id consider it as a favour, i dont know whats gone on and i dont want to as im nuetral BUT i use your site a lot and i owe you at least this.

This is a generous offer and one that I will seriously consider, if we are forced to accept the regrettable reality that there are to be two MPU discussion boards, the alternative to MPU Forums may as well be as good as possible. Thanks for the offer, I will get back to you soon.

Although I don't visit the forums (not having the time is the main reason), I have been an avid fan of your site and would like to offer my support to you.

Your site is the most up to date site on the net for fruit machine emulation and I have had quite a few hours of fun playing these machines on my PC!

Keep up the good work, and do not leave the scene - I love reading your comments about the machines and the new releases, they even give me a bit of a laugh!

i'm sorry, too. i will be a regular visitor to both of the message boards, though i do hope that you will return to mpuforums, i find the treatment you have received unfortunate and harsh. how it can be said you are worse than road hog mad was, i don't know, because he blatantly and openly posted absuive and offensive remarks at everybody, and was let back a few times only to do the same again. i hope you will at least be given the chance, too.

Funny, I thought the whole point of a forum was to discuss different things. Seems I was wrong, you can only agree with Harvey, or if you argue your case with him, then you risk being banned.

Just sign up with another free ISP account, freeserve, virgin or whatever and rejoin with another name. Phil's been doing it for months.

Hmmm, aren't these fruit machines normally played in pubs and clubs and children would not normally be allowed to play on them ?? something to do with the gambling law me thinx LOL, what an XXXXXXXX Harvey is with his two tier rulez for the scene.

I for one wholeheartedly support your site, your active involvement in the scene and would commend the rationale and the impetus and drive that you have given the scene over the past few months.

While I'm downloading the new dx mods and roms I take some time to read what you have to say ..... shame on you Harvey for being such a wimpy XXXX !!

Thanks for a great site and resource !!!

Words used to describe Harvey XXXXed out, as I am not yet sure what can and can't be considered actionable on a web site, and I don't want to take any chances with the plug being pulled.

Having only discocered fruit machine emulation at the beginning of feb i'm fairly new to all this but having read the comments on MPU Forums i'm a little pissed off that one of its main contributers have been banned for expressing their opinions!!!

OK i've read some of your posts and ok they can be a bit harsh but lets face it if they can't deal with it then tough shit!!! Thats what a forum is there for to express opinion!!!

Keep up the good work and kick that cunt in the bollox by making the msn community the friut machine site out there

your'e the best alex,just want to say you don't deserve what has happened.
keep your chin up

I don't think that this action has been taken in the best interests of the forum. It seems much more personal than that.

Alex has put a lot of effort in to this "scene" and I think that the treatment has been extremely harsh.

You don't know me, but I have been a daily visitor to your site since it was featured in PC Zone a whiles ago (before that, I didn't even know a fruit machine emulation scene existed). I have always been a great fan of fruitys, but have never had the resources or knowledge to play them properly, or to the extent that I would have liked.

I have watched with interest throught the days of plague when the scene was supposed to be dead, and inwardly 'shaken my head' at the foot stamping tantrums thrown by some of the 'big names' of the scene. What are these people like?

It has now got to the point where, after reading your responses to Harvey's public death sentence, I feel compelled to write and share my absolute amazement at the treatment meted out to yourself. No matter how I try to analyse it, I return to one thing... how can you be ejected from MPU Forums for using it for it's intended purpose?!... It seems to me that this is personal, rather than a punishment for a serious breach of 'rules'.

I can't claim to be a stalwart of the scene (I've never even visited MSN or MPU F), however, I feel Harvey's godlike axe weilding belies one thing only - his desire to have his own way, and 'don't you dare cross me' childishness. I will continue to make my once, twice, or even three times daily visits to the web hovel. Here I have found not only a great resource for hours of 'cheap' and entertainig Fruity action, but also a place which constantly entertains with write-ups which demonstrate an excellent sense of humour, and grasp and use of the English language.

If Harvey and the other Toy Cupboard monitors still feel the need to ban you from playing on the 'Big Toys', then its time to start avoiding them in the playground... next they'll be telling the teacher that you called them names (poo-bum and gaylords are examples).... Oh dear.

As I said... I don't claim to know all that goes on in the MPU world, but this seems to be unjustifiably unfair on somoene who clearly devotes a hell of a lot of time and effort to something he strongly believes in.

A childish action in the extreme by "Mr Webmaster Sir" and one that he was obviously looking for the first opportunity to take.

If this action was really in the best interests of the forum and if you were really upsetting so many people then why weren't the members of the forum asked to vote on your expulsion? The answer is that you wouldn't have been voted off and that wouldn't have suited Harvey.

Sorry to hear that the powers that be have removed you from MPU Forums seems a pritty childish thing to do, I hope that this action will not stop you from running your excelent web site and bringing us all the new games as and when thay happen, and i hope the powers that be over at MPU Forums will see the light and let you back in.

alex,
i hope you dont let the power-hungry freaks over at
MPU forums and their arse-loving diciples effect your
passion for the community or your excellent website.
your site is the reason i became interested in the
community and your opinion and reveiws is the one that
i trust the most. fuck the forums and fuck XXXXXX,
XXXX and all the faggots who have thier toungues up
their arse's constantly. keep up the good work and
NEVER keep your opinions to yourself. you made this
community what it is today, maybe XXXX has talent but
the personality of a frog.
fuck them all.

well i think that this just proves the website alex posted correct. alex is one of the main men around here, and just because he has his own opinion on things and may ruffle a few feathers of XXXXXX and XXXX (and their boyfriends apparantly...you know who you are) well you wont accomplish anything by banning him execpt making the forums a lot more boring.
i know it doesnt make much of a difference, and that no-one will really care, but out of principle i will never come back on here or use the emulator again until alex's membership is reinstated.
he has the best website, best reviews and most entertaining opinion, this whole community is going to lose out because XXXXXX is crying again. wanker.