Background:
desertrunner is a personal friend I've known since 2010. He is not from the poker community, though he knows about it, and listens to PFA Radio most weeks. He has been a loyal friend to me over the years, and has been there when I've needed him.
He created an account on Poker Fraud Alert awhile back, but only posted occasionally. His first major thread was about flashlights, of all things, and it was popular and well-received. This was in late 2020.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. desertrunner clashed with a lot of members here, especially with ones on the political left. The problem was that desertrunner never quite "fit in" here, and tended to be a magnet to arguing and controversy. His presence also irritated some members here, who stated that he created too many threads, over-commented in existing threads, and was generally obnoxious. Some threatened to leave the forum entirely unless I banned him or got him under control.
Despite the fact that he was my personal friend, I did throw some restrictions and suspensions on his account. When he didn't keep his promises regarding his antics here, I had to ban him in late April 2021.
Some expected that would be the end of our friendship, but it was not. Neither of us had hard feelings, and we've talked frequently in the nearly 2 years since. He still listens to radio, and even calls in sometimes. He also occasionally posts on my other forum, Vegas Casino Talk, and is not ever in controversy over there (though that forum has a different type of crowd than this one).
He has expressed interest in returning, so I am figuring out how the community feels about it.
Desertrunner Pros
- I know him personally, and can assure everyone that he is a good guy who is harmless.
- He never threatened anyone here, nor did he ever attempt to find or dox anyone, even when things got very heated. and even when people were attempting to find and dox him.
- Knows a lot about flashlights, guns, and desert-related stuff.
- Will bring some more activity to the forum.
- Most of his biggest detractors are no longer on PFA, or at least no longer actively posting
Desertrunner Cons
- Never really fit in with the "culture" of PFA
- Annoyed a large portion of the userbase
- Refused to heed rules set down in 2021 regarding things on PFA which annoyed everyone
- His presence may bring drama all over again, after we've had a fairly long stretch of calm on this forum
I see there being three choices:
- Bring him back unrestricted, at least for now
- Bring him back, but restrict his posting and thread creation so he can't dominate the forum
- Do not bring him back
Vote now.