Where has he gone?

[Doggit]

Police profiler possibly - that's if you believe any of the TV progams.

Seriously, a good psychologist could, but not a psychiatrist, but I wouldn't have said he was.

 

[scousespark]

Sorry Doggit. I meant no offence referring to the psychiatrist. I had just assumed autism was within their field of expertise.

I doubt there are many in her qualified to diagnise and any who are would be unlikely to be so unprofessional to sir them in public.

 

[Doggit]

No offence taken, believe me. Whilst both should be able to make remote observations, a psychiatrist is more interested in solving peoples problems, so will ask searching questions, whereas a psychologist is more interested in a persons make up, and will make observations about their behaviour.

For some odd reason, men tend to more autistic etc than women, but there is a wide variation on the autistic spectrum. Asperger "sufferers" tend to hide their autism better than most, but as there about 15 signs for it, but not all will have the same symptoms, so I suspect for a lot of people with aspergers, it's sometimes a judgement call rather than an absolute diagnosis. But once you start to spot the traits, others tend to become more noticeable.

Oddly enough, if you go on to other work related forums, there's a lot more respect shown to other members; this site seems to be different in that so much trolling and aggression goes on. This thread has been interesting in it's respectful search for a reason behind someones attitudes

 

[JohnW2]

I just question how anybody, even a pyschiatrist or psychologist, could determine whether bas is on the spectrum because of his posts.

(S)he obviously couldn't - as I wrote, to attempt to do that is, IMO, "ridiculous and unacceptable". Indeed, in the grey areas between 'extremes of 'normality' and 'abnormality' (however classified/labelled), even psychologists/psychiatrists who had spent hours talking to someone would probably not all agree.

Kind Regards, John

 

[dishman]

Just come across this now. I am not actually surprised this has happened. I have not gone through the whole thread, but I think I got the gist.

Personally I am glad he is no longer posting for now.

I usually try not to get involved in intra-forum disputes and arguments as there is so many more important things in life to worry about.

However, I have had, in my limited interactions/posts on the forum, my own dealings with Mr Ban.

While, as others have pointed out, he could give out good, accurate and correct information. He also seemed to revel in making posters on the forum (expert or not) feel stupid and actively seek out conflict when there was no requirement for it. It was not a helpful attitude and it was not conducive to learning. It was, in many ways, bullying. I even found myself debating whether or not I should post a question on this forum and actually considered the abuse I may or may not receive in the process. His attitude even led to me using certain parts of the forum less. He needed to learn that this is forum is for all (stupid questions or not) and not an individuals personal fiefdom to dole out abuse as they see fit.

In a recent interaction he ridiculed the fact I misread a graph (such a petty thing). Even when I admitted I had misunderstood it, he still continued to point out how stupid he felt I was for making the mistake. It was pathetic behaviour and I should have complained, but did not. I even wrote a draft reply (mini-essay) on how appalling I thought his responses were but decided not to post it, as it felt like I would be just feeding the fire.

As I have said, this forum is for people to learn from each other. It is a place for people of all skill levels. It is a place for people to ask any question they wish, to be respected and to get a respectful answer.

Despite the knowledge in his particular field and (I am sure) numerous useful posts. If he does not change his ways or apologise, good riddance I say.

 

[SimonH2]

... it's sometimes a judgement call rather than an absolute diagnosis.

I suspect it's only in very extreme cases that it's not a judgement call. And indeed, it's not something you can diagnose just by looking at how someone acts on a forum - though that may be something taken into account when assessing all the information available.
I was lucky in that when I decided to "tackle the issues" my county of the NHS had just set up an assessment service which conveniently was located in the same town as my work. Had I done something 6 months earlier then I'd have been having to travel to the other side of the country for sessions.
The assessment process involves several in-depth interviews with a Clinical Psychologist or specially trained staff in his/her team - and filling in a number of questionnaires* designed to probe various aspects of one's thought processes. They don't just interview the individual, they interview relatives and others who know him/her - they said the insights about my early life from my mother were particularly useful.
After all that, the team get together and between them they make that judgement call, and then write up a report.
Usefully, they then offer some counselling sessions where you can explore the issues and ways of dealing with them. The psychologist dealing with me is planning to write a book - apparently I'll be in it, he said he found me "interesting".
Then having got a positive diagnosis, you have a recognised disability. Your employer has a legal duty to provide an assessment of your workplace and provide any reasonable adjustments needed. There is a DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) scheme called Access to Work (ATW) which can fund a preliminary assessment and adjustments. For some disabilities this might be funding special equipment - for the NDs (Neuro Different) people like us, it tends to be counselling sessions and sessions for your manager and co-workers (to help them cope with you !).
* They were surprised when I pointed out an error (bottom of page cut off) on one questionnaire that had been in use for a while

 

[John D v2.0]

for the NDs (Neuro Different) people like us, it tends to be counselling sessions and sessions for your manager and co-workers (to help them cope with you !).

That's so sensible and I have no idea why most people are left to work out why some very smart techie people are how they are. A little bit of training would go a long way, certainly in my industry (software) given the numbers yet to be /not diagnosed I'm sure it would make things easier for everyone!

 

[SimonH2]

Yes, some counselling/training would go a long way in helping NT (Neuro Typical) people cope with ND people. And as you say, there's a lot of people in "IT" type jobs who seem to exhibit traits of ASD.
My feeling is that it's a natural effect that people who have difficulty dealing with people tend to go into trades where they deal with more logical things (computers) - and can avoid dealing with those difficult illogical people. In some areas, there are people who go out of their way to hire "aspies" because they know that if they manage them properly, then they are the best people for some jobs. Two that come to mind that I've read about are database administrators and "code breakers" (GCHQ have specifically targeted them for their analytical skills).

 

[big-all]

If only that were the case - as exemplified by many contributors on here.

if people take the correct honest information and find the small negative rather than the big positive then thats there problem there loss

 

[Risteard]

Frankly ban-all-sheds is an imbecile. Amusing at times but boring more times. I certainly don't believe he is owed any apology by anyone.

 

[JohnW2]

... Even when I admitted I had misunderstood it, he still continued to point out how stupid he felt I was for making the mistake. It was pathetic behaviour .... Despite the knowledge in his particular field and (I am sure) numerous useful posts. If he does not change his ways or apologise, good riddance I say.

Yes, there was a lot of behaviour like that, which was not only annoying but, as you imply, undoubtedly did some harm to the forum.

However, I'm not sure that you understand the circumstances which led to his withdrawing. On this occasion, the tables were essentially turned. Someone else (seemingly incorrectly) accused him of 'lying', refused to admit that it had been a false allegation and 'kept going on about it'. BAS's response was to repeatedly demand an apology, which was never forthcoming - and that was essentially what ultimately caused him to withdraw.

So, in this (unusual) situation, an apology would have resolved the problem at the time (and might still do so), but that would be an apology given to BAS, not by him.

Kind Regards, John

 

[dishman]

So, in this (unusual) situation, an apology would have resolved the problem at the time (and might still do so), but that would be an apology given to BAS, not by him.

Kind Regards, John

Ahh, thank you for the clarification. I was up early so did not have time to read through the thread in more detail (skim reading). I thought it was the other way round.

I would not condone any person telling/spreading lies about any one else on the forum, however, there does seem to be a certain irony in someone like Ban demanding an apology from someone else.

While I do not know the particulars of the dispute, I (unfortunately) have very little sympathy for Ban in this regard having being on the receiving end of what I would term unwarranted abuse.

As I said, I do not doubt his knowledge on given subjects within this forum (although those more qualified are better to give an opinion) and he seemed to get respect in that regard. However, he also quite often seemed to view this forum has his personal mouth piece. Any opinion or viewpoint that challenged his own or questions that he deemed too stupid to warrant a respectful reply were often met with a needless and uncalled for confrontational approach. None of which was good for the forum or the community that keeps it alive.

Ban has to accept that this is a public forum where there will be a whole gamut of views and opinions from the informed to the ill-informed and so on and so forth. Regardless of whether he has a supposed condition or not, no one person has the right to treat the forum as their own personal domain and a place where their opinion is the law.

Some people (and I am not saying this is the case here) enjoy having a reputation (good or bad). Overtime, they will often play up to that reputation, for example, of being severe, defiant, obsessive in detail and belief in the ultimate authority of their opinions (whatever the traits may be). People may say "oh that is just xxx's way" or enjoy reading them rip someone apart. However, if that behaviour is not managed, then an open public forum like this can begin to become exclusive. New people can be immediately be put off ever posting again or as others have pointed out, join to specifically bait said posters. It can be ultimately destructive for a very useful public forum and community such as this.

 

[JohnW2]

Ahh, thank you for the clarification. I was up early so did not have time to read through the thread in more detail (skim reading). I thought it was the other way round. I would not condone any person telling/spreading lies about any one else on the forum ....

If you have the time, have a look at the (now rather edited) thread in question - or simply look at what is reproduced in message #71 in this thread ...

...As I understand it, BAS made a statement which, by virtue of a qualification it contained ("with a fixed impedance") was indisputably true. However, the other person responded not just by saying that the statement was incorrect (which would have been bad enough), but by saying that BAS has "LIED" (just like that, in capital letters). During the subsequent exchanges, he was seemingly not prepared to admit his mistake or retract the accusation, let alone apologise. Had I been in BAS's position, I certainly would have felt aggrieved, although I'm not sure that I would have actually withdrawn from the forum!

.... however, there does seem to be a certain irony in someone like Ban demanding an apology from someone else.

Indeed - and, as a number of us have observed, definitely ironic that he should leave for having been put in such a position, when there had been so many previous occasions when he could not have been surprised if he had been 'thrown out'! Whenever I have had 'powers' within a forum, there has always been a "three (sometimes two) strikes and you're out" policy. BAS probably had hundreds of 'strikes', even just in terms of 'public warnings' in the forum, yet was still "in"!

...However, he also quite often seemed to view this forum has his personal mouth piece. Any opinion or viewpoint that challenged his own or questions that he deemed too stupid to warrant a respectful reply were often met with a needless and uncalled for confrontational approach. None of which was good for the forum or the community that keeps it alive.

All agreed. Most on-line discussion groups have a "BAS" or three, but they usually don't survive if they persist.

Ban has to accept that this is a public forum where there will be a whole gamut of views and opinions from the informed, ill-informed and so on and so forth. Regardless of whether he has a supposed condition or not, no one person has the right to treat the forum as their own personal domain and that their opinion is the law.

Again, agreed - and that has often been said.

However, if that behaviour is not managed, then an open public forum like this can begin to become exclusive. New people can be immediately be put off ever posting again or as others have pointed out, join to specifically bait said posters. It can be ultimately destructive for a very useful public forum and community such as this.

Exactly. I, and others, have made that point repeatedly over the years - and, as the proportion of his posts which were (good) answers to (electrical) questions gradually diminished over those years, some came to question whether his continued participation was, on balance, an asset or an encumbrance to the forum.

Kind Regards, John

 

[bhm1712]

I liked B-A-S

I've been here for a few years and he was here when I started coming. For me, it won't be the same old place without B-A-S. he may have been very strict with newbies especially those who refuse to take the right advice, but let's be honest he said a lot of things we all wanted to say but just didn't.

 

[dishman]

I certainly could appreciate the advice he gave, and respect it.

But it is not his place to be strict with anyone ,especially newbies. It is not his place to take umbrage with those who refuse to take his advice, however good it was. That's what advice is, something to consider.

As for "saying the things we all wanted to say but didn't", that is exactly what I meant above about people just waiting to see a post get ripped apart. That is when the legitimacy of the forum is put at risk as it becomes the "lets see what xxx's reaction will be to this" forum.

I understand why you liked him. He was a forum "character". But once someone feels they have the final word over what is allowed and not allowed to be asked on a forum, or what kind of question is worthy to be on a forum, it can get out of hand.