Open Letter to Secretive Coin Forum Moderators

Addressed individually and collectively to coin dealers Kevin Barry, Robert Kokotailo, Thom Bray and Dave Garstang:

Dear Moneta-L moderators, I find that I am no longer receiving posts from Moneta-L and cannot now access the archives. This is explained by a message on the Group page “You have been banned from this group by the group moderator (Yahoo! ID banned: paul_barford). You may not join the group Moneta-L.,” Apart from this however I have received no notification of this fact, nor any prior warning nor indication as to the reasons behind your decision.

In the meantime insinuations are now being made by one of your US coin dealing colleagues, which prompts me to ask you to state the reasons why I can no longer follow the discussions of ancient coin collecting through the discussion list. As far as I can see, I have broken none of the terms and conditions set out on the FAQ http://www.bitsofhistory.com/moneta-l.html including the section on ‘moderation and expulsion’, there were no abusive posts, nothing about politics or anything else, since I agreed to abide to the condition set down by Robert Kokotailo and not post on this subject (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Moneta-L/message/91287).

It also appears from what others tell me that you have now decided to end your exemplary open archive policy. May I ask why?

Please at least do me the courtesy of explaining your decision. What is it you feel you have to hide? Thank you , Paul Barford

That was sent on 1st June, as yet I have had no reply from any of the four moderators who received that. It would seem that their reasons are among the things they have to hide. Lest there be any doubt, none of my posts to that group in any way infringed the published Accepted Use Policy. In other words, the moderators are unable to indicate that anything I contributed to the group infringed any of the principles that at the time of my membership governed its operation. But then we see that not all coin collectors and dealers have many principles anyway. This is why they are refusing to reply and indicate why they banned me from even reading the list.

We can only surmise that the open archive policy and open discussion of what was on the list was in some way uncomfortable to them. What is it that they feel they have to hide from beginner coin collectors and the general public?

You would think though that however hostile they are towards preservationists and archaeologists, at least one of the moderators that received my list would have had the common courtesy to acknowledge the letter. It would seem however that common courtesy and fairness are notions foreign in some parts of the North American ancient-coin-dealing milieu, but (given the nature of the business they are involved in) - this perhaps surprises nobody. Would you buy a used car from such 'gentlemen' with no documentation showing where it came from?

UPDATE 8th June: Still no reply from any of them. Quelle surprise, people like these are all too willing to throw the mud, but baulk at articulating precisely why. Would you buy a used car from such 'gentlemen' who apparently feel the need to hide their doings behind a screen of secrecy, one they have no intention of justifying?

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