Jeff

lol. Okay, I probably should have posted some more clarifying info. They've done these types of studies before, and the research is 100% anonymous and confidential. The school/study has to offer and respect that type of confidentiality, otherwise it violates the medical ethics standards. Or something. If you're concerned about security, one approach might be to call the number anonymously--from a phone that's not your cell. They can probably give you some more info and assurances. Or just go the whole "my friend was wondering..." route.

Note -- This comes from someone I know and trust. I can vouch for it. If you’re interested, call the number below… From the research department at Columbia: "Research Volunteers: Healthy male and female CLUB DRUG USERS (age 18-50) needed for brain imaging scans. Live for 2-3 days on a research unit at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Earn up to $625. Call (212) 568- 6850 for more information."

Yeah, that strikes me as a pretty good breakdown of the problem. We're trying to find the right balancing act -- we don't want the place to be boring and drained of all its blood and drama...but when there's a certain level of hostility--whether it's been here for years or not--it tends to discourage new members from joining, you know? And we do want everyone, yeah, even the newbies, to feel welcome. Anyway, no easy solution... good discussion though. thanks for starting the thread.

Hey Phatman and co... Thanks for the comment. And that's a fair point about locking the thread. I do want to hear what you guys have to say, and I absolutely want there to be a forum for feedback, your rants...all that stuff. At the moment, though, it seemed that the stuff about Diana was getting out of hand, and I just wanted to end the personal jokes and attacks. Let the issue cool down for a bit, you know? And yeah, I hear you on nj/ny. People definitely still drive like morons.

Party's over. Diana works for Clubplanet. She's smart, she's funny, she's cool. If you met her in person, trust me, you'd all love her. And she's doing her job. Look, no one likes the profanity-police. We don't care if you cuss. Hell. I cuss all fucking day. And we're not here to get people in trouble, start beefs, or piss on people's territory. If you're upset, you can blame me. Not Diana. Me. She works for me, and I asked her to join the message boards, start some conversations, get some lively discussion going. Well, mission accomplished. (Pretend I'm on an aircraft carrier.) For whatever reason, some people didn't get along with Diana. And that's fine. We're not going to force people to like anyone. But then it got personal. And more personal. And then, some posters started making racist, sexist, and flat-out ugly comments. Comments that would, quite frankly, get your ass handed to you in person. Those comments were deleted. Why? Not because we want to be Big Brother. But because we don't want a hostile atmosphere, and we won't tolerate racism or sexism. Period. I'm not going to repeat the offending comments, but they were despicable. Diana is just trying to do her job, and she comes to work to see people that she doesn't even know -- people she was trying to make friends with! -- and she gets assaulted with bigoted comments, she's taunted, and she's cyber-stalked to Facebook. Enough is enough. Again, we're not gonna go all Big Brother. But there are some lines you just don't cross. And these lines have been crossed again...and again...and again. Diana won't be posting anymore on these boards. So fun's over. …So I know I’m coming off as the cranky old man. It’s a role I don’t like. (Dude – I want to be out at the bar, drinking, same as you.) But enough is enough. If you have any problems with this, you can e-mail me at jwilser@clubplanet.com. I’ll be away from the boards for the rest of the night. I’m locking this thread. Jeff Wilser Clubplanet.com Editor-in-Chief