Okay, I think this has gone far enough now.
Yes, the T&Cs apply to everyone but when a housemate or reality contestant joins the boards then it really is a unique case. That's why we have moderators; situations aren't always cut-and-dry and we have to be flexible according to the particular situation.
In this case you really do have to bear in mind the wider picture. This is a person who has been scrutinised to death on the boards over the past year - everyone has had their opinion and there have been thousands of posts about him. I'm not saying that that shouldn't be the case - he applied to be on the show, after all - but if you then expect him to come here and not have a right to reply then that is grossly unfair. After all, he is on the receiving end of exactly that sort of thing from others. So it's impractical to make analogies with 'normal forum members', because he is a forum member who is a subject matter.
That's not to say some of the things he posted in particular didn't step the bounds - they did - but Fed has apologised for and explained that.
On the other issue, reporters who aren't staff or moderators are perfectly entitled to express their own opinions on the boards, within the bounds of the T&Cs. Asking that they refrain from doing so or suggesting that they are posting because they have issues with colleagues is ridiculous.
The great tragedy with this thread is that Emzi did a superb interview with some really great material, which has unfortunately been overshadowed. As I don't see this thread swinging back on track it's going to end here, but if anyone would like to start a new thread on the points covered in the interview, please go ahead. As a reminder, in future please use the red shiny 'alert' button to report to us any posts which you think are troublesome and one of the moderating team will take action where appropriate.
Thanks
Neil
Dgital Spy Ltd
