Forums > Social Discussion > Murder over the poi/glowstringing culture/artform - Please read :(

Hey all,



Those who know me well may know that I moderate at gs.c - www.glowsticking.com. Our website is devoted to the art and culture of dancing with glowsticks. We're a bunch of ravers and hippies and kids at heart who just want to have fun doing what we do. For that we have a strict anti-competitive posting rules and say no to "dance battles". I'd like to say that we all follow the raver ideals of PLUR - Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect.



In San Antonio, Texas, a culture of poi battlers has grown. They go to clubs fighting over who is "better" and groups of "crews" and gangs have risen up. There was a website of them called String-E people in the past, where they would compete and fight and argue over who did what move first and who copied another poist.



This is the story of one of our members who got attacked for his beliefs in non-competition.

 Written by: djsparrow

It was December 29th 2006. My wife had been pregnant for three months and was about to end her first trimester. this was ultimately her last time to go out and party before the pregnancy really started to slow her down. We decided that we would go out to Sky Lounge, one of the more popular nightclubs in Austin.



Before heading out i was contacted by a GS.C member with the name "Spicy_truth". Now i knew he was from San Antonio and a member on the String-e-people website. usually that's not a problem, some of them are very laid back and fun people to hang out with. For those wondering why i mentioned that, for some reason or another the entire scene down here who has access to GS.C seem to have this fetish for calling me a biter, and a faker. why? My best guess is because i denied the culture and influences they try to force upon kids who want to start (i started in 2001 and was raised on GS.C) So ever since 2001 randomly at events and whatnot i'll either get "called out" to battle someone, will be recognized as a GS.C member, or they will actually KNOW me. Spicy_Truth had said he wanted to meet me, and wanted to talk some out. at the time i didn't know if that was a welcoming or a warning, so i told him to meet me at sky lounge.



We arrived at Sky Lounge around ten o'clock and went on to the main dancefloor. about fifteen minutes passed and then a Hispanic teenager about 5'4" tapped me on the shoulder and said,



"You sparrow?"

"yeah?"

"you're a biter dawg"

"do i know you?"

"Spicy... i wanted to tell you to your face you're a biter"

"how am i a biter? if i ever borrow any ideas i give the rightful respect to them"

"Bullshit dawg you're a biter straight up"



the argument continued for almost an hour, we had also somehow managed to wander over to the tables and sat down. no voices were raised, no fists were thrown, we even bought some drinks to quench our first to continue talking. Misty (my wife) and I had ordered water. Misty about halfway through th whole thing said she needed to go to the restroom and uickly excused herself. as she walked off i watched her make her way across the floor and my eyes were quickly drawn to the amazing lightshow going on at the Dj booth. Spicy interuppted my gaze by smacking the table with his palm and yelling "sparrow" to get me back to reality, and the conversation continued. Misty returned as the conversation ended with,



"alright whatever man, to GS.C you're a god, but to the rest of the world, you're a biter"



Spicy stood up and walked out to the dancefloor muttering out loud how i had ruined his night. he met up with three other guys that were standing off near a wall, and signalled that they were all going to leave. Misty and I finished off our drinks and went out to the dancefloor thinking nothing of this whole argument.



We made our way onto the dancefloor and i resisted the urge to string, as it was one hell of a party that night. Misty was up near the heart of the dancefloor, and i had strayed behind as i was caught in a circle doing a liquiding routine. when i was able to make my way out of the circle (maybe three minutes max) i started to look for her. i couldn't see her. dear god i had lost track of her and i had her phone. where is she, i need to find her. and i saw the most sickening sight i could ever imagine.



Misty laid sprawled across the floor not moving, people not even noticing she had fallen down. i pushed people out of the way to get to her, christ she had a shoeprint on her cheek, how long had i been in that circle? i picked her up in my arms, she was hot, very hot. i tried calling her name and gently nudging her, praying to god i could get a response. she remained limp in my arms. what the hell had happened? was it really that bad of an idea to go dancing while she was pregnant? why was she so hot? dear god how long had she been trampled?



I ran out of the club with her swinging in my arms. her breathing was so soft. as i sprinted out to the parking lot i dialed 911.



"9-1-1 emergency"

"my wife is pregnant and she's passed out"

"what is your location"

"we're down at sky lounge on congress"

"we're sending an ambulance right away"



I threw open the back doors and opened one of the water bottles i had in the back. covering her mouth, i poured the bottle over her face to hopefully wake her up and cool her down. nothing happened. i checked her pulse, her heart was racing. but if her heart was racing why was she breathing so softly? the ambulance arrived a few minutes later and i carried her up to the stretcher and we drove off to the nearest hospital.



After answering all of the questions the emergency care workers were asking, i looked at Misty. seeing my wife carrying our child in a dire state like that, i couldn't bare see it. i covered my eyes for i don't know how long. the ambulance came to a hault and the back doors were swung open. Misty was carried off to EU, and they said i could see her in a few minutes. this of course sent me into a fit of rage demanding to be by my wife's side, this was ridiculous i promised her i would never leave her side, and this was an obvious time that i needed to be there with her. it took them fifteen minutes of talking to cool me down and get me to just sit and wait. i watched that damn clock like a starving wolf, counting each second click past. a doctor was walking towards me, had the clock changed dramatically? the little arm was on eleven.

"Bourland?"

"yes"

"your wife, does she have any type of severe allergies?"

"no, only cedar fever, but it's moderate"

"Does she abuse any kind of drugs?"

"no, what do you mean?"

"well. there is an extreme trace of MDMA in her. enough to kill someone."

"Oh my god, is she-"

"no, she's alive, we lowered her temperature back down. but some things did occur"

"what. what do you mean?"

"Well we aren't sure what the MDMA has done to her mentally. you see MDMA affects-"

"yes i know, i've read up on it."

"okay, well the other problem. was. the child-"

"oh my god. no!"

"I'm afraid so."



She was released under my care that morning. Misty slept for three days straight. In the mean time the police were asking about what had happened, and i replied the entire situation to them. The police said they had nothing to go off of, all they had was an occurance and without anything hard to go with, it was a dead end.



That day Cleric and CynicDave messaged me. apparently Spicy_Truth had made a remark about all that had happened. Cleric deleted the comment that was posted on my video thread and sent it to me. CynicDave banned, IP banned, and traced where the message had come from. Spicy had posted the message from a San Antonio office supply store. i fed all of the information given to me from Cleric and Dave to the police and they said they would look into it. The next two days i worked as much as i could so i could start paying off the mounting bills from the hospital.



It was the first of the year in 2007 when i got a call from the police at ten in the morning. they asked me to come down and verify some information. i told Misty i would be back in a few hours, and took off.



Down at the police station they asked me to identify two men they had in captivity. One of them was Spicy, and the other was one of the guys he had walked away with that night. i told them yes those two were there that night. the office told me that Omar (spicy) had admitted to everything, and all i needed to do was sign a couple of papers, and i wouldn't even need to show up in court. Later that day i recieved another call stating that they had both been sentenced to 19 years each in prison.



All of that from a corrupt environment. is that really what it comes down from? you are willing to KILL someone to prove an opinion that someone is a biter, in an artform? My wife and myself will forever be emotionally scarred, and i will never have the child i could have had because of this. i want this to be a message to everyone, that this is a possibility to everyone, and every society. the culture down here is so corrupt that problems are no longer settled on dancefloors, its settled in hospitals. I could turn this whole story into one big "dont battle" message but i want it to be more than just that. i want it to be an exhibit of how bad society can get. how a culture you love so much, can become so volatile. Don't hate others, don't alienate others, don't call people biters, haters, fakers, or whatever comment you can think up. why can't we all be one thing, family? mine has already been destroyed, and the last thing i want to see is others have this happen. i swear to god, i want this to be the only incident to ever happen. i enver want to go on to GS.C and read that someone else has lost a family from the culture. and that's why i'm going to try and save what little there is to save out here. i know there are still members out here who share the same beliefs, and ideas as i do. i refuse to give up on the texas scene even though i've lost so much out here (credibility, my unborn child,and almost my wife) and i refuse to see it happen to anyone else.



sincerely,

Sparrow

I'll let you draw your own conclusions- but if you could, please reflect on this story.



If you could also give your condolences and to "djsparrow" on glowsticking.com or "djsparrow" on AOL Instant Messenger. I'm sure he and his wife would appreciate it.



Thank you,

~Kael

To do: More Firedrums 08 video?

Wildfire/US East coast fire footage

LA/EDC glow/fire footage

Fresno fire

 Written by: NYC


So... if someone takes issue with Pele's posts they should notify a moderator?

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

 Written by: Sym


No, because people only take issue with Pele's posts because she's a mod - it has nothing to do with what she said.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

 Written by: ado-p




Maybe someone should start a new thread based called 'taking issue with pele...'

Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

Spin, bounce, be one with the world, because it is yours to enjoy...

 Written by: ado-p


but for gods sake people, chill out, this is the internet....

It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.

What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

 Written by: NYC


I agree that the story sounds a bit amazing but the manner in which you (Pele) flat out and sysematically contradicted it was beyond rude. You could have asked for clarification. You could have at least acted open minded but you didn't. You constructed a long post which blasted the story. Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn't, but the tone and seriousness of the issue demanded more respect than you gave it.

Point your toes.

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

We are defined by the choices we make

Point your toes.

We are defined by the choices we make

 Written by: Naganootch


Some of HoPs guidlines.

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]

My ADD makes it so that.....Ooooo SHINY.....wanna go ride bikes....wait....where am I.....

 Written by: PK_


she had a point to make thats all. Or did i miss some thing completly

My ADD makes it so that.....Ooooo SHINY.....wanna go ride bikes....wait....where am I.....

Too many secerets are locked in side your minds, but your all equal in life, equal in love. your all building castels in the sky dreaming of a better world.

 Written by: Wikipedia


Role

The roles of moderators can vary from forum to forum, just as the purposes of the forums themselves can vary. However, on boards intended to be public, moderators are generally accorded additional powers. This allows them to enforce forum rules and conduct administrative tasks that the forum owner does not trust ordinary users to perform.

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[edit] Powers

Moderators can have some or all of the following powers, depending on the specific forum. Some of the powers, where appropriate, may be restricted to a subsection of the board (see Division of power, below).

*

Moving conversations to a different section of the forum. Virtually all forums are organized into various sections by topic to allow users to more easily read what interests them without having to sort through many topics of discussion they find boring. Moderators of most forums are able to move a conversation to a section more suited to it. On most modern forum software packages, a notice may be left in the original section so that those who contributed to the conversation earlier will be able to find it where they left it, at least for a few days.

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*

Editing posts. In the event that a post is made that contains only some content that breaches forum rules, moderators are usually able to remove that content while still leaving any legitimate content. Even if an entire post is removed via editing, users will still be able to see who originally posted it and when it was originally posted, so that users who view the thread later won't be confused by any references to it. Usually this method is used to remove illegal or grossly offensive material that would remain visible in a closed thread, or else to stop a single post from derailing an entire thread.

Most forum software shows an edit notice whenever a post is edited, to prevent words from being put in a user's mouth (or to prevent a user from erasing evidence that he said something objectionable). This option can typically be made optional for certain categories of users if desired.
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*

Deleting posts and threads. There are different kinds of deletion, and different moderators on different forums may be empowered to use different kinds. In general, something that's deleted vanishes from public view, if it continues to exist at all.

The simplest form of deletion is variously called hard-deletion, physical removal, or (on forums that don't support other deletion options) simply deletion. Essentially, content deleted in this way is not recoverable through the forum software. It may be stored in backups, and some data recovery methods may work, but such methods are usually difficult. Many forums restrict hard-deletion to only a handful of individuals, requiring lower-level moderators to use more reversible methods.

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* Splitting and merging threads. If two threads exist on similar topics, or multiple topics are being discussed in one thread, the threads can be merged or the thread can be split.
* Banning users. Some forums allow some or all moderators to restrict or eliminate a troublesome user's posting or even viewing rights. Other boards restrict this ability to administrators. Of course, suspension of a user's account doesn't prevent the user from signing up under a different name, and for this reason a few forums also allow moderators to ban IP addresses. (Many boards that allow moderators to ban restrict the ability to IP-ban to administrators, however. Indeed, on vBulletin moderators can't be assigned the ability to ban an IP address.)
* Changing user account information. Moderators in some cases may alter certain aspects of a user's account, such as the avatar or signature, in a case of profanity or other circumstances.
* Viewing IP addresses. An IP address is the way Internet-enabled computers communicate with each other, and most forums log the IP address that all postings are made from. In general, this serves to aid identification of users, in combination with less technological means such as writing style, but it is by no means foolproof (see Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and proxy server for two main ways in which it can be thwarted). IP addresses can therefore assist in stopping ban evasion, for instance. In general, ordinary users are prohibited from seeing others' IP addresses for reasons of privacy and security—if a hacker or otherwise technologically-savvy individual knows an IP address, it's possible for him to "attack" it in various ways, possibly taking revenge for the expression of views he disagrees with or the like.

Many other powers can be allocated to moderators, but the above are all the most important ones. In general, all moderator actions will be logged for administrators to refer to later, so moderators can't take any special actions without their superiors being able to determine that they were the ones who did it.

[edit] Division of power

Most boards are owned and ultimately controlled by a single individual or corporation, which may run them personally, or delegate this function to others. In general, most mid-sized to large boards have a hierarchy of some sort, with owners at the top, forum administrators below, and one or more levels of moderator below that. Smaller boards might not have any dedicated moderators at all, with the site owner personally dealing with any problems.

On most boards, some or all moderators have powers in only certain sections of the site. One moderator might be empowered to act in the sports section, another in the general discussion section, still another in the movie section. These local moderators may be augmented by Global moderator with powers over the entire forum, or perhaps all or no moderators will be global. Administrators typically have global moderator powers in addition to their more broad-ranging powers to change the board settings, layout, etc.

[edit] Choosing a moderator

Different boards choose moderators in different ways. As noted, on some boards moderators are just friends of the owner. In others, moderators are elected by the users. On more serious boards, administrators and senior staff generally choose moderators from among long-time, respected, level-headed members. On boards belonging to large corporations, moderators will still usually be selected from among the forum membership, but may be required to go through some form of training, sign non-disclosure agreements, or the like. The Others choose kind moderators because some moderators can get very rude to people.

There are generally sufficient volunteers for moderator positions that it's unnecessary for even large, professional boards to pay them, but a few grant their staff small stipends. Boards with paid subscriptions may waive them for staff.

In Slashcode sites like Slashdot, moderators are semi-randomly selected by the software among registered users within a certain posting frequence range (not obsessed posters nor non-contributors). Their task is limited to five evaluations ("points") that they can distribute among any recent comment. Their work is subjected to an open meta-moderation system.

 Written by: Loki_the_trickster

 Written by: PK_



she had a point to make thats all. Or did i miss some thing completly

I think you did miss something

Anyway thats a moot point

 Written by: Antti_Everything



This sums up my thoughts on the subject perfectly. I find Peles post to be very offensive and disrespectful to the people involved and who personally know them. And so I have no problem understanding Naganootch for getting upset and calling names.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

 Written by: PK_

 Written by: Loki_the_trickster

 Written by: PK_


she had a point to make thats all. Or did i miss some thing completly

I think you did miss something
Anyway thats a moot point

care to be specific?.....

E anke chi e un "moot point"? tu parla inglese vero?... io penso te capisco un cazzo di questi qui, pero, quello e il mio punto. Secondo me!

 Written by: PK

Im just sorry that this thread just turned out to be yet another slanging match and a waste of time.

 Written by: wiki

Among a moderator's enforcement duties is often the duty to stop flaming and keep the board a friendly place, free of personal insults

 Written by: wiki

moderators are expected to stay out of all contentious debates, or at least to use alternate accounts to engage in them unbeknownst to common members.

 Written by: PK

When Pele makes a post, it is a personal post (so i assume) she is not making it on behalf of HoP, or as a Moderator

 Written by: NYC

And Pele, count yourself lucky that people actually believed your whole Fire Breathing accident without all the proof you demanded in your post.

 Written by: PK

E anke chi e un "moot point"? tu parla inglese vero?... io penso te capisco un cazzo di questi qui, pero, quello e il mio punto. Secondo me

My ADD makes it so that.....Ooooo SHINY.....wanna go ride bikes....wait....where am I.....

 Written by: Loki_the_trickster



Oh and for those of you questioning the quickness of the Texas law system........well this is a state mind you that if you murder someone and three or more credible witnesses see you do it you dont just sit on death row for years and years like most states with the death penalty......oh no.....in Texas you go straight to the front of the line and will be exicuted within days or weeks of being sentenced. So in a case like this where the offenders in question admit guilt, I see no reason that in a state like Texas that they wouldn't get sentenced quickly. In all honesty when I read how quickly the sentencing came down I questioned it for a second, and then I remembered that this happened in Texas and it made sense that it was so quick.

My ADD makes it so that.....Ooooo SHINY.....wanna go ride bikes....wait....where am I.....

 Written by: PK_


E anke chi e un "moot point"? tu parla inglese vero?... io penso te capisco un cazzo di questi qui, pero, quello e il mio punto. Secondo me!

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]

 Written by: NYC


In fact, I'm surprised this thread hasn't been locked or deleted.

Written by: Doc Lightning talking about Marmite in Kichi's Intro thread

I have several large jars of the stuff. I actually like it... a little. And don't tell anyone I admitted to it.