Why Yes, As Curator Of We101, I Did Retaliate Against You Because I Bear You A Personal Grudge!

As I have blogged before, in the current corporate environment in which I work, most local blogs (excepting JR's) are considered subversive and are inaccessible - blocked by something called "Websense".

The only way I have to keep up with the local blogs during the day is via We101 - where I can at least pull up the bulls-eye summaries or intros.

For quite some time, I have listed my blog with the Greensboro blogs (a city where I clearly have strong familial and educational ties) . . . as that aggregator link clearly gets more traffic than the relative blogging black-hole of Asheboro.

Roch Smith, Jr., as curator of We101, knows that. And until today it was not a problem.

But Roch (who has openly trashed and dismissed me/my case as unimportant on multiple occasions - and bears me a grudge because I do not bow to his intellectual superiority in all things) is clearly disturbed that some of the tide may be turning . . . despite the marginalizing tactics employed by other blogger kings. Joe Guarino, as a fellow physician-blogger, was one of the the first to express understanding and sympathy. Mr. P, Cara Michelle, Dale and Brenda knew the truth when they heard it and offered a shoulder-to-cry-on every now and then. Bubba has always been in my corner. More & more of my neighbors in & around Asheboro are tuning in - as the same people who screwed me are screwing them. And now others in the GSO blogosphere are beginning to ask questions about exactly WHY our journalists don't consider my story of local healthcare woe "relevant" or newsworthy. Some bloggers have even made public appeals for help.

Roch clearly cannot stand it. It's taken Mary Johnson over three years to get some "traction" (Cone's term, not mine) in the blogosphere, but she's getting there.

I've got to admit, over the last few months, I've deliberately limited my interactions with much of what Brenda calls "the old guard". I've concentrated on my own blog. I still check Cone every day (it's a reflex I'm trying to curb), but I rarely read him (honestly, even before Bubba left, it was a bit of a snooze). And, of course, JR is a bust. But when the buttons are pushed, they are pushed.

Yesterday, in response to mis-leading and inaccurate statements he made about my legal situation over at MeB's blog, I put up a post directly directed at Roch. Let's review . . .

One Does Not Take On Cone

It's not like Roch doesn't do it to others.

I had a few observations to make about Roch's "laser logic" . . . not to mention his legal expertise when it came to his own affairs.

And I mentally steeled myself to do fair battle on the blogs.

But this morning at work, as I perused the entries at We101's GSO link (saved in my "favorites" roll), I noticed I could not pull up a link to that post. I even tried Asheboro . . . but kept getting an error message. Something was clearly wrong.

A bit paranoid in the corporate setting, I e-mailed a few bloggers . . . to find out if it was a quirk of the computer I was using. Very quickly, I was advised that they could not find my posts - and links appeared to be disappearing/shifting around.

Bubba suggested I e-mail We101. So I did. Please note that while We101 considers e-mails "private", I can waive that "privacy" (specific to these e-mails) . . . especially when it pertains to what appears to be retaliatory behavior on the part of their curator.

To coin a phrase, local bloggers have the right to know. Here we go (in red and blue . . . now that brings back the memories!). Me first:

It has been brought to my attention that a blog post (from yesterday) on my blog (Dr. J's Housecalls) appears to have been deleted from We101.

The deletion appears to be selective - i.e. designed to protect the behavior and statements of Roch Smith, Jr. (of We101) from criticism or scrutiny. If this is so, a double standard is certainly in play. And Greensboro 101 would seem to have a problem with free speech.

Please correct the problem immediately or provide an explanation.

In short order, I got a response from Roch himself:

None of your blog posts have been "deleted." Your blog is still accessible on We101 under Asheboro, NC.

I responded:

I have requested that my posts be placed under Greensboro, N.C. (dues to my family and educational ties to the city) and until yesterday, they were.

I would also point out that technically, I do not live within the city limits of Asheboro (at least not yet).

If my blog has been moved to "Asheboro", We101 has pulled a fast one (possibly to minimize GSO traffic to my blog?).

Moreover We101 (you perhaps?) did this very suddenly (i.e. immediately after I put up a post critical of YOU) without my knowledge or permission. Do you care to explain?

His snarky response (signed, "cordially"):

Let me know if you move to Greensboro, and I'll modify your listing on We101.

I responded:

That was the wrong answer and demonstrates everything that is wrong in the Greensboro blogosphere.

You appear to be admitting that, as We101 curator, you made the sudden/independent decision to move my blog to the "Asheboro" category yesterday (a move that will generate less traffic) . . . and you did so with malice and in retaliation.

I'ts not your decision how or under what town I want my blog listed. It's mine. At least it was until yesterday, when I "top-leveled" a conversation that started over at MeB's - taking you to task for incorrect and/or misleading statements YOU made there - about things you actually know little about - with no evidence to support them.

Please return my blog to the Greensboro category of We101 immediately.

Roch has not answered as of the publication of this post. Several folks have asked to be advised of any response he may make.

But what's Roch gonna say? "Why HELL YES, as curator of We101, I did retaliate against you because I bear you a personal grudge!"

I wonder if Mr. Smith, Jr. ran this fast one by his Board . . . or any lawyers We101 may have on retainer.

Now The Poet has advised me to "stay focused" on my case and my blog and not fight this fight. "While Roch may disagree with you he is not one of the people who screwed you over."

I hear Billy. I really do.

But that's not entirely true. As I told Billy, Roch showed up at MeB's because MeB's questions - posed to journalists (none of who showed up) threatened to upset the "she's just a whack-job" applecart he/Cone/others have worked so hard to load. "Junior" offered a "synopsis" of my case & current legal situation which was distorted and INCORRECT . . . implying that he knew things or had special knowledge that he doesn't. I called him on it . . . both at MeB's and on my blog.

When Roch/Cone/others pull crap like this . . . I pretty much have to answer . . . I cannot let it sit . . . and it sometimes takes quite a bit of work and untold hours to undo the damage these bloggers-of-the-not-so-laser-like-logic do.

It DOES screw me over and slow me down and set me back. The effort alone is soul-sucking.

Roch is not playing fair. He can dish it out, but he cannot take it. And he is acting like a jealous and vindictive two-year-old.

His idea of "community" is to kick me out of it. It's the act of a coward.

I honestly don't know why Fec "loves" Blogsboro so.

In the beginning I believed. I really did.

But crap is just crap.