http://www.thisislondon.com/showbiz/articles/11845047?source=Evening Standard George shuts down 'b****y' chatroom 8 July 2004 George Michael has shut down his website chatroom because fans have been slagging him off. The pop superstar said he was upset to see the forum "packed full of negative comment". Some posters had accused him of looking old and overweight and of not doing enough to promote his new album Patience. Others had complained about the quality of his recent recordings. In a message posted on the website, Michael said: "Hi everybody, this is George. "I'm afraid that, having visited the forums on a regular basis over the past few months, simply to see how you guys thought the album/interviews/promotion were going, I have decided to close them down. "As many of you will know, much of my reasoning for the future is to stay away from the negativity of the media, I think that it is bad for me and for music in general, so I find it really sad to see the forums so packed full of negative comment, and that so many genuinely positive fans find themselves defending me (or themselves) constantly against attack. How pointless. "There are plenty of places to read people slagging each other off, but I wasn't trying to create one in opening the forum. Those of you that want to carry on the media's work will have to do it somewhere else I suppose." He added: "I feel bad for those of you who have always been supportive, but I'm afraid I want nothing to do with the b****ing that has evolved between some members, (many members), and perhaps unofficial sites will be a calmer affair." Michael signed off: "Sorry guys, but that's the way it goes... Peace and Love...or nothing at all." One disappointed fan branded the star's decision "ludicrous". "It's a fans' forum, it's freedom of speech and I don't think it's down to George to take his ball home and say 'I'm not playing any more'," the fan wrote. "The fact of the matter is that people have opinions and they are entitled to them, that's what a forum is for. "This just generates more negative press for George and I have to say its a bad move." The majority of posts were supportive of the star and begged him to reconsider.
Ah ha! I thought Max had been spending more time than usual around here. Once they shut down the smarty BBS, he'll be on here non-stop. ... D'oh! sorry.
yep...my careless whispers caused me to go-go back here. i should have known better than to cheat a friend, and waste the chance that i'd been given. i'm never gonna dance again...the way i danced with george and his chat board. curse the luck.
I have nothing against George. He's a great guy and does great cause with his charities. It's too bad people who hide behind their computer and abuses their privileges. Freedom of speeches my @ss. Some people are taking it for granted and abusing it and for sure a line is going to be drawn.
preach it, brutha!!! of course, it's a good thing george doesn't frequent this message board. actually...i take that back. i think it would be freaking hysterical.
Absolutely. And I am one of the biggest. In fact, I was listening to my Wham! CD in my car on the way back to the office from lunch a few hours ago. Careless Whispers is an all time classic. Screw the haterzzzzzz
It's too bad he's such a priss that he gets his panties in a wad over the opinions submitted by these faceless people on a public message board that in turn makes him tear up and shut himself off from any criticism whatsoever. Friggin' whiney wanker. Next time he stops in for some love in another public restroom, could someone hand him a tissue for those free flowing tears?
Well it is supposed to be his FAN site... How would you like it if Lakers fans came here and just bashed the Rockets? Not so much, huh?
I have thick skin and I can promise you it wouldn't bother me one bit. My posting days started on the original Jim Rome Troll site, so ignoring tired trolls has become quite easy. GM erasing his website due to harmless opinions of those on the internet is laughable. Nobody is perfect, there will ALWAYS be criticism, so why hide from the inevitable?
Let's see if that logic works here the next time a troll comes to the GARM to trash the Rockets. Guarnateed (s)he'll be banned immediately. It's a FAN site for a reason. It's not an anti-Rockets site or an anti-George Michael site. The site has a mission statement and obviously the chatroom was not fulfilling the goal of the site, so it was shut down. Seems simple enough to me.
You asked how I would feel about the situation, not the owner or moderators. I did not witness the insults on his board, therefore I do not know if it was indeed a troll job or just a few consumers unhappy with the latest product he released. If it was indeed the latter, shame on him and his low self esteem. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. He still needs to thicken that skin or the worry warts are gonna eat right through the lining in his stomach.
