For anyone who thinks I and the other moderators sometimes go overboard....

Don't doubt for one minute that you, and this board, are being USED by certain MLM'ers to recruit, recruit, RECRUIT.

They come in wanting to "help you" navigate the big bad world and find financial freedom.

They want to protect you from the "naysayers" (that would be us).

They want to explain away the "negativity" that will destroy your dream.

Some do it crudely and stupidly. They're easy to spot.

Some do it articulately and sweetly. They're not so easy to spot, and that's why you (don't) pay us to spot them for you.

These people -- who are all, of course, making truckloads (sorry, I meant "private-courier loads") -- of money in their respective "programs" (and, strangely, always looking for a new one, but I digress) -- are NOT only in it for the money.

Now that they have found success, their goal is to "help people like you."

There have been many over the years -- more than I can count even using all 27 toes -- but the most recent offenders have been EPI (Emerald Passport) recruiters. Often the EPI posts come on the heels of Liberty League (LLI) posts (bashing one, singing the praises of the other).

I have been on top of one Randall Riecke for several days -- asking him, reminding him, commanding him -- to quit promoting his crap on his board.

Randall is "The Reasonable One." Kimberly was "The Articulate One." Shari is "The Loud One."

Doesn't matter. They're all only after one thing:

YOU.

I have recently taken to going through Randall and Shari's posts and removing all contact information, and I have disabled the "email notification of responses" feature so it won't get out to the person who asked despite being nuked on the board.

(Why not ban them, you ask? Only dummies and machines can be effectively banned, dear Kiddies. The EPI people are neither.)

Here is Randall's last post (cut and pasted; the original has been zapped):

============================

>> Leslie, Leslie

>> Now you're changing my phone numbers on my post...

>> I just thought you would like to know, I've gotten more
>> advertising out of your discussion board and it paid off...
>> thank you..People are more than curious now than ever before.

>> A person of your caliber would never make it in the military...
>> too bad you really don't know what its like to fight for your
>> country...if you did, you would see why its most important
>> to express our freedoms such as speech...we are a very
>> fortunate country to have freedoms that we do....
>> Randy

==============================

Two points to make here:

He says, "I've gotten more advertising out of your discussion board and it paid off."

Finally, the confession.

And he is absolutely right: "People are more than curious now than ever before."

It doesn't matter whether the publicity is good, bad, or ugly. ALL publicity creates interest, and interest creates sales.

Old-time FIBers know better than to fall into the trap.

Take off the blinders!

Don't let yourself be suckered in by writing style, personality, likeability, or "desire to help"

That's what they've been doing all along... using the board for advertising and setting you up to be the next victim (sorry, I meant "helping you to join the ranks of the filthy rich").

Ol' Randy goes on to say: "you would see why its most important to express our freedoms such as speech...we are a very fortunate country to have freedoms that we do...."

I couldn't agree more.

What he can't seem to understand is that there IS no freedom of speech on this, or any other, private message board.

And THAT, dear Kiddies, is because we ARE a very fortunate country. We have the right to run our businesses, and the spaces we pay for, as we see fit.

And I see fit to look at these people for what they are.

They're like fleas. You can't get rid of them completely... but you can keep them under control.

Don't get sucked in.

Luv,