Hinky Meter "Refugees"

playmuni wrote:I'm bemused because I read many blogs about critical thinking written by Val and yet it seems she either she learned nothing from her lectures--either that, or she thought about it and chose to shut down her site without warning to anyone on a whim, with no regard for the friendships that were solely linked by the site (where people depended on PMs for communication), the hours of research that were posted on the site, and the loyal members who should have merited a formal notice before hand.

Then to offer to sell the domain name without the content, as if the domain name alone has any value to anyone-- except name recognition, it bemuses me. Why not sell the content with the name? At least her Hinky legacy would continue.

I'm not sure Val ever really realized just how far and how many her little blog reached. Or perhaps I'm completely wrong. But if she did realize this when she blindsided her loyal followers without even a day's notice, I really think she abandoned her critical thinking and acted on impulse, which in so many ways I find ironic.

Why wouldn't she sell the site with the content? If she's willing to sell the name which will forever be connected to her personally, then why not just hand the torch to another leader who wants/or is willing to bare the brunt of all that is Hinky? Whatever her reasons, it is in her right and I personally believe she's probably going to find much peace now that she's released herself from the perpetual negativity that comes from these discussions, but what she built was honorable and respectable and it is a shame that she doesn't recognize that every CEO must leave their post at some point or another and hand it on to a successor and then walk away knowing that what happens at that point is out of their hands.

There could be other reasons why the content isn't a part of the sale, which if we're really honest, everyone has wondered about this...whether we talk about it or not.

I don't think she realized how many she reached either. The Hinky Meter will be forever connected to her, but in time that will fade. Passing the torch to someone else could be rather messy don't you think? In essence wouldn't you still be a part of it all? Like a silent partner? What if someone decided to take it in a direction you completely disagreed with? I think a total clean break is best. I do think may posters felt blind sided and I don't mean that in a derogatory way. Many posters have stated they just didn't see it coming. And then many understood when they found out why. As far as friendships, I think people will find each other.
As far as selling content, I don't even know how that works. Do all things posted and all the research become owned by the blog owner even when it's posted by someone else? To make a clean break is understandable, to make money when so many are feeling such a loss would feel like such a betrayal and I think Val must know that. She bought a domain, gave it a name and that seems to be what she's going out with. I know that domain name will be worth more money, but she is giving anyone the opportunity to carry the torch so to speak, by buying the name. Legally she will no longer be responsible for anything that happens on that site.

To clarify a bit, since I may be the "poster" who made everyone think Val has said a definite NO to selling the site and content: At the end of our recent exchange on the subject, she did say "Maybe I can sell it," but that FIRST she wanted to concentrate on getting the content preserved, saved, and back up and running as a read-only library for us refugees. She only had a short time to do it, due to GoDaddy's rules, so she was going to focus on that FIRST, and think about selling, or discussing content at another time.

She has not said a definite NO to the idea of re-opening the site with a different caretaker, at least not to me.

I asked her to keep me in mind when she was ready. I can only respectfully hope and wait. :)

Love that RC has welcomed THM refugees. I valued Val's insight and take on the cases we followed. The reality of everyday life, jobs and taking care of one's family and self is more important than keeping us in the life we were accustomed. I have also missed reading everyone's insightful posts and research on the cases we have gotten so passionate about. Love the decor in here. Where's the bar?

Welcome to Reality Chatter, all of the newest members! We are so happy that you chose RC as your new home to hang your hat, relax, have a cup of coffee or a drink and just enjoy!
~~~~~

Casa Supporter, welcome! The RC Bar & Grill is on Just for Chat! I miss your THM avatar!

http://www.realitychatter.com/t3807-just-for-chat?highlight=Just+for+Chat
RC - Just for Chat!

Ann - Tx wrote:
Welcome to Reality Chatter, all of the newest members! We are so happy that you chose RC as your new home to hang your hat, relax, have a cup of coffee or a drink and just enjoy!
~~~~~

Casa Supporter, welcome! The RC Bar & Grill is on Just for Chat! I miss your THM avatar!

http://www.realitychatter.com/t3807-just-for-chat?highlight=Just+for+Chat
RC - Just for Chat!

Thanks Ann! It's a nice place here. I thought I'd put on a different face for right now. Thanks for noticing and for the warm welcome.

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If any one has a question or concern, please leave it on the Help! thread at the Link below. Thanks!

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Reality Chatter (RC) -- Help! Your thread for Questions and Answers

Freckles wrote:

Justice4all wrote:I was able to find an archive of The Hinky Meter at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. You may be able to retrieve some of the lost information from there.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110701144100/http://www.thehinkymeter.com/

You are so incredible! Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you. From what I see from this link it's all about the Anthony Case...just as what's posted of Val's husband's site is all about the Anthony Case.

What about the other cases?

Puzzler wrote:

Freckles wrote:

Justice4all wrote:I was able to find an archive of The Hinky Meter at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. You may be able to retrieve some of the lost information from there.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110701144100/http://www.thehinkymeter.com/

You are so incredible! Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you. From what I see from this link it's all about the Anthony Case...just as what's posted of Val's husband's site is all about the Anthony Case.

What about the other cases?

As for more recent cases, I think there is a lag time Puzzler before information ends up being made available in those archives???

I do not know how long that would be though.

Puzzler, I think J4A posted info about that either upthread here or on Help! Your Q & A . . . thread.

There is some info on the Anthony Portal which J4A posted.

I posted the Link to the Anthony Portal at RC on the Help! Q & A thread.

J4A fixed it where all you have to do is click on the case. Numerous categories/cases.

I think there is a lag time on recovery. You might want to look through the Help! thread pages. I think J4A answered that question for some one the other day.

Help! Your thread for Questions and Answers -- Page 4
http://www.realitychatter.com/t3816p60-help-your-thread-for-questions-and-answers#140095
Page 4 of your RC Help Thread

Tamta wrote:

Puzzler wrote:

Freckles wrote:

Justice4all wrote:I was able to find an archive of The Hinky Meter at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. You may be able to retrieve some of the lost information from there.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110701144100/http://www.thehinkymeter.com/

You are so incredible! Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you. From what I see from this link it's all about the Anthony Case...just as what's posted of Val's husband's site is all about the Anthony Case.

What about the other cases?

As for more recent cases, I think there is a lag time Puzzler before information ends up being made available in those archives???

I do not know how long that would be though.

By the time it appears there or if, say, 2012's Hinky forum info would appear at archives place at all, Valhall might already have that content available as "Read Only" anyhow.....

Stolat wrote:

playmuni wrote:I'm bemused because I read many blogs about critical thinking written by Val and yet it seems she either she learned nothing from her lectures--either that, or she thought about it and chose to shut down her site without warning to anyone on a whim, with no regard for the friendships that were solely linked by the site (where people depended on PMs for communication), the hours of research that were posted on the site, and the loyal members who should have merited a formal notice before hand.

Then to offer to sell the domain name without the content, as if the domain name alone has any value to anyone-- except name recognition, it bemuses me. Why not sell the content with the name? At least her Hinky legacy would continue.

I'm not sure Val ever really realized just how far and how many her little blog reached. Or perhaps I'm completely wrong. But if she did realize this when she blindsided her loyal followers without even a day's notice, I really think she abandoned her critical thinking and acted on impulse, which in so many ways I find ironic.

Why wouldn't she sell the site with the content? If she's willing to sell the name which will forever be connected to her personally, then why not just hand the torch to another leader who wants/or is willing to bare the brunt of all that is Hinky? Whatever her reasons, it is in her right and I personally believe she's probably going to find much peace now that she's released herself from the perpetual negativity that comes from these discussions, but what she built was honorable and respectable and it is a shame that she doesn't recognize that every CEO must leave their post at some point or another and hand it on to a successor and then walk away knowing that what happens at that point is out of their hands.

There could be other reasons why the content isn't a part of the sale, which if we're really honest, everyone has wondered about this...whether we talk about it or not.

I don't understand, if Val is going to make the content of the site available via read only then why on earth would she be expected to sell the content with the domain? Then someone would surely bitch about that too. Someone would complain that all their research was turned over to the hands of someone else for a pretty penny that they never saw a dime of. Val's damned either way.

I don't think Val owes us anything. We paid nothing - and let's be honest, this kind of site is pure entertainment for us, it's not work, we're not getting paid, we get something out of it or else we wouldn't be here. It's like having our own personal evolving CSI show at our fingertips. We aren't shareholders - yes generally a CEO owes something to them - but not to us freeloaders. We come here for our pure entertainment and we are owed nothing and to think otherwise is definitely an indicator that it's time to roll away from the computer desk, hop on a bicycle and go get some fresh air in the real world, unplugged from Matrix.

This was inconvenient at best and momentarily shocking, but it's pretty evident that within *hours* people found their way to a new site and picked right back up again and yet spent *days* talking about it like they just washed ashore from a tsunami. I too momentarily felt befuddled and misdirected, but that feeling was quickly replaced by relief and "life as normal" when I realized there was a new place to park the bus at.

I also felt pretty shocked and amazed at the pure "gossipers" who felt it necessary to rehash, analyze and perpetuate Val's last words. It is what it is folks -- gossip. 'Cause all we really need to know -- all we are owed - is that the role of the site was out of balance with her real life needs -- end.of.story. And that should be good enough for us... but no.... we have to stand around the water cooler and speculate and gossip. It was pretty embarrassing to watch that play out. I would have expected better. FYI- I *don't* want to receive any more unsolicted PM's with Val's last notes/words and any more gossip involving Val. I will not participate. Please folks -- exhibit a little DIGNITY and maturity.

And playmuni - this isn't really direct at you at all -- your words just got me to thinking in general.

TY Play and Stolat for your input. I will pipe in with my 2 cents, which BTW is NOT directed at either of you but at all crime-related forums, THM, and Val's contribution in particular.

There is so much talk of the negativity that was going on at THM. What about all that was positive? I believe most Hinkies spent countless hours researching and contributing because they CARED, and continue to care deeply, about missing children they never even knew, or demanding JUSTICE when justice has not been served.

Speaking for myself, posting on THM or RC or commenting on a media article is not entertainment. Quite the opposite. The reason I comment is, in Val's words "Because something's just not right." As a concerned citizen and fellow human being, I simply cannot sit back and let a family suffer needlessly, nor stand on the sidelines while a murderer walks free or an arrogant corrupt elected official thinks he can pull the wool over my eyes and I will go away quietly into the night.

Yes, THM was unique. Why? Primarily due to Val's articles that cut through the crap and gave us logical insight and pause for thought. Each new article inevitably opened a door to IMO brilliant LOGICAL analysis on any given case. If Val had not opened that door, we most likely would never have crossed the threshold. We may never have gone any further than tossing around theories and opinions based on whatever we read in the media. Her articles propelled us to think outside the box. The experience at THM was linear; Val's articles were the catalyst that forced us to stop in our tracks, to interrupt our daily lives, to reflect, to research, and to consequently post our conclusions. This resulted in more "ah hah" moments than I can count.

Most importantly, attorneys and LE followed Val, THM and our comments like hawks. That is not a rumor nor a factoid. I know this as FACT. What attorney would not welcome a couple dozen or more minds focused pro bono on his or her case?? The insight and analysis gleamed was invaluable to their investigations. One cannot put a price tag on the positive contribution Val and THM made towards righting the horrendous wrongs suffered by those who no longer can speak for themselves.

Crime is ugly. Abuse, murder and injustice are despicable. While I am deeply saddened that Val decided to pull the plug, no doubt those who are getting away with murder rejoice in the ensuing silence.

well said Eileen!

Hi Guys,
It's me, Cleopatra. I just wanted to check in and say hi. I probably won't be posting much unless something breaks in the case but I wanted to say hi.
Now that THM has shut down, I guess I can tell you all what happened to me. After i posted on THM that I was on vacation, someone saw that and went to my job and told them she was a friend of mine and that I had told her to drop in and see me when she was in town. She then left a note which said she was a friend of the Shacknai's and wanted to have a cup with coffee with me. It was all a lie and meant to intimidate me. Because my name and work place had been
posted, she knew where I worked.
How did I feel about this? It P I S S E D M E O F F. ( May I add that this is an understatement?)
Big time. It really just made me defiant and I refused to stop posting.
Now that THM has shut down, however, I've lost steam for posting. I want it to go on record that it's not because of intimidation attempts, it's because I need to get off the damn computer! BTW, I am NOT inParadise!
I check in a lot on Google to see if anything has moved forward in this case. So far it has not, at least publicly.
If anything breaks, will so e of my HM friends PM me here? It will show up in my email box if I haven't already discovered it myself.
Eileen_Dover and Playmuni, after this case has seen justice, I would hope that we could be friends in real life, even if only by email.

Cleopatra wrote:Hi Guys,
It's me, Cleopatra. I just wanted to check in and say hi. I probably won't be posting much unless something breaks in the case but I wanted to say hi.
Now that THM has shut down, I guess I can tell you all what happened to me. After i posted on THM that I was on vacation, someone saw that and went to my job and told them she was a friend of mine and that I had told her to drop in and see me when she was in town. She then left a note which said she was a friend of the Shacknai's and wanted to have a cup with coffee with me. It was all a lie and meant to intimidate me. Because my name and work place had been
posted, she knew where I worked.
How did I feel about this? It P I S S E D M E O F F. ( May I add that this is an understatement?)
Big time. It really just made me defiant and I refused to stop posting.
Now that THM has shut down, however, I've lost steam for posting. I want it to go on record that it's not because of intimidation attempts, it's because I need to get off the damn computer! BTW, I am NOT inParadise!
I check in a lot on Google to see if anything has moved forward in this case. So far it has not, at least publicly.
If anything breaks, will so e of my HM friends PM me here? It will show up in my email box if I haven't already discovered it myself.
Eileen_Dover and Playmuni, after this case has seen justice, I would hope that we could be friends in real life, even if only by email.

CLEO!! So good to hear from you. I am horrified at what happened to you and I will hereby testify, if there are any {expletives} in hearing distance, that Cleopatra is NOT InParadise!!

The Reality Chatter folks have been absolutely wonderful. They rolled out a plush red carpet and adopted us refugees with open arms.

I hope you will check in from time to time. In the meantime, I'll keep you posted if and when this case moves towards justice. And when it does, the champagne is on me :-)

(BTW if InParadise is out there, somewhere lurking, you are missed.)

I agree I also miss InParadise..Hope they will post soon.

SweetT,



Getting ready for Christmas already?

Eileen,
So well said about THM.

Cleo, I'm glad you shared this with everyone. Of course I knew ;) , but I'm glad you put it on the record, because that was absolutely insane.

Darkman wrote:SweetT,



Getting ready for Christmas already?

SteetT,

Ouch! ... You're sneaky!

When Val turned off the lights and locked the doors at THM most of us were caught off guard. I am sensing some anger in some of the comments, and the thought just passed though my mind how I have been caught off guard when I've learned someone I loved, cared for, or just knew in passing had suddenly vanished from this life.

I am so glad it was only THM that was taken from us...

Adding a poem I wrote several years ago...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where Will You Go

I wonder,
When time is up
When the rain stops
When the road ends
When the party is over
When the lights go out...

I wonder, where will you go?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am so Thankful for Val, and somehow, no matter what it may seem at the moment,
I believe Val will find a way to preserve and share again the works she brought to us through THM. Val isn't a quitter, but a real go-gitter...
Could we all just be a bit more patient and give Val the time and space she needs.
I think about the rough times when the pages were slow to load and Val spent her money to improve THM for US. When we all offered to help out with our dollars, she declined.
Yeah, I was shocked when THM was closed... but I never felt Val owed us anything.
I am just so thankful Val is with us, even though THM is no more.

I think Eileen put it best, that THM started as Val's blog, but became an entity. I personally have yet to read the angry posts about Val that some people are referencing. I don't doubt there were some however.

From what I have read, the discussions about THM and how and why it was disabled, don't necessarily mean that people are angry, nor does it mean that they think Val "owed" us. I think people should be careful not to feel they need to assign meaning, or emotion, or even read too much into these comments, because someone's opinion on this particular event (how Val closed THM) doesn't define their feelings about THM or Val. I've noticed that any time someone references this, people jump in and say, "Val owes us nothing", or defends her in some way, as if she's being attacked. Out of 1000 members (for example) you'd have had 1000 different ways that each of us would have chosen to have bid farewell to this entity if we were in that position, so everyone has an opinion. It is my opinion that the members were surprised, not angry. I don't agree that anyone has expectations of Val, just questions that they are wondering if someone else might know the answer to. And if someone was pissed off...because they had a different relationship with the site than I did...then I personally take no issue to hearing it. For me, I found it almost amusing. She did warn her members many times that at any time she'd would/could pull the plug, and there must have been something very satisfying about that when she did. Maybe it is the asshole in me, but it's funny. Even though I know it's sad to so many. For me, it's like getting the giggles at a funeral. That's how I picture it in my mind. The ultimate "I told you so".

I am confident there was a lot more to the decision
than what was happening at THM.
I won't speculate as to those reasons, or even suggest possibilities. The thing is, if we KNEW the reasons I'm
sure none would find anything amusing about Val's decision.
Defend Val.. Yep... sure am and always will. Never met her
but to me I valued my online relationship with Val as strongly as any friend I have ever had in my personal life.

playmuni wrote:I'm bemused because I read many blogs about critical thinking written by Val and yet it seems she either she learned nothing from her lectures--either that, or she thought about it and chose to shut down her site without warning to anyone on a whim, with no regard for the friendships that were solely linked by the site (where people depended on PMs for communication), the hours of research that were posted on the site, and the loyal members who should have merited a formal notice before hand.

Then to offer to sell the domain name without the content, as if the domain name alone has any value to anyone-- except name recognition, it bemuses me. Why not sell the content with the name? At least her Hinky legacy would continue.

I'm not sure Val ever really realized just how far and how many her little blog reached. Or perhaps I'm completely wrong. But if she did realize this when she blindsided her loyal followers without even a day's notice, I really think she abandoned her critical thinking and acted on impulse, which in so many ways I find ironic.

Why wouldn't she sell the site with the content? If she's willing to sell the name which will forever be connected to her personally, then why not just hand the torch to another leader who wants/or is willing to bare the brunt of all that is Hinky? Whatever her reasons, it is in her right and I personally believe she's probably going to find much peace now that she's released herself from the perpetual negativity that comes from these discussions, but what she built was honorable and respectable and it is a shame that she doesn't recognize that every CEO must leave their post at some point or another and hand it on to a successor and then walk away knowing that what happens at that point is out of their hands.

There could be other reasons why the content isn't a part of the sale, which if we're really honest, everyone has wondered about this...whether we talk about it or not.

I completely agree with you playmuni. I think the site was shut down very irresponsibly and without any regard to it's members. There's no sugar coating it, the no warning shut down was a slap in the face to the members who made that board what it was! It wasn't just a single handed board for the sole purpose of one person, Val. It was a board that was made up of many members who put their time and effort into making that board what is was. My feeling is that Val let every member down with a no warning shut down slap in the face and I'm not going to make her into some hero for it.

I can think of many classier ways to shut down the site. Let's see how about an automatic form letter e-mail to all members saying goodbye, need to shut down, just letting you know, thanks for having been a member - bye. What about that? Too difficult?

The way it was shut down it was a real screw you to the members. Especially that nature of the site, being an investigative site of sorts into mysteries yet unsolved, it just adds an extra slap to it's members, a no explanation shut down from a site who's member try to figure everything out. I wouldn't go back there if she put it back up tomorrow.

playmuni wrote:I think Eileen put it best, that THM started as Val's blog, but became an entity. I personally have yet to read the angry posts about Val that some people are referencing. I don't doubt there were some however.

From what I have read, the discussions about THM and how and why it was disabled, don't necessarily mean that people are angry, nor does it mean that they think Val "owed" us. I think people should be careful not to feel they need to assign meaning, or emotion, or even read too much into these comments, because someone's opinion on this particular event (how Val closed THM) doesn't define their feelings about THM or Val. I've noticed that any time someone references this, people jump in and say, "Val owes us nothing", or defends her in some way, as if she's being attacked. Out of 1000 members (for example) you'd have had 1000 different ways that each of us would have chosen to have bid farewell to this entity if we were in that position, so everyone has an opinion. It is my opinion that the members were surprised, not angry. I don't agree that anyone has expectations of Val, just questions that they are wondering if someone else might know the answer to. And if someone was pissed off...because they had a different relationship with the site than I did...then I personally take no issue to hearing it. For me, I found it almost amusing. She did warn her members many times that at any time she'd would/could pull the plug, and there must have been something very satisfying about that when she did. Maybe it is the asshole in me, but it's funny. Even though I know it's sad to so many. For me, it's like getting the giggles at a funeral. That's how I picture it in my mind. The ultimate "I told you so".

I agree with much of what you say playmuni. And we were affected in some way, on different levels and with different reactions. We both find elements of the event amusing (not to underscore our obvious respect and appreciation for the site and participants). I interpreted your amusement as focusing on the irony in how the site was closed, (forgive me if I’m off the page there). My reaction was how people assign a hefty weight to the expectations they had of the site. When people say that Val shut down the site unannounced with no regard to the friendships formed there or the hours of research put into the site, the logical inference of such a statement is that one expected Val to have “regard” for such things – it relays an “expectation” some folks had of her -otherwise why bother to state it at all. And therefore if one expected she would have done something and she does not – the sentiment is that she failed to meet expectations. This is what I find amusing, but mostly because I cannot relate and I admit that. And perhaps it was because I have not been on the site for years as some have and I had not formed those expectations that it would always be around. On one side – I’m *very* tied to this forum and group of people and have come to value the knowledge gained and the warm feelings expressed and the dignity shared (which by the way I always felt was a huge asset to the hinky and its members – despite some folks perceived negativity, I know *I* was there because it wasn’t nearly as negative and rude as other sites). It says something to me that so many of us all gathered around a new site together, given the options to spread out and take different paths. And on the other side – and perhaps because I was a webapp developer for many years and saw things come and go in a blink of an eye – perhaps I’m just so used to seeing things in the digital world have no longevity, I never came to expect much of anything that has a digital footprint to it. I always viewed the Hinky or any site as simply a tentative place where I can graciously park myself for a while. And just like my network guy has said to me countless times – backup backup backup – backup my stuff with the expectation that on any given day my hard drive might crash – as it has crashed many times before --- I think the very same about THM or any forum – if *any* of this stuff is truly important to us, then we have our own responsibility to back it up ourselves—not Val or anyone else.

The finger points back at us if we didn't back up our own work and yet want to complain. If we want to complain about Val not putting out a warning first -- what it says to me is either 1) someone was not paying attention to the weekly threats that the site WAS at risk of coming down and 2) someone doesn't want to be responsible for their own work and shove the load onto someone.

Perhaps the positive to be taken from this is that if anyone really values their work or their friendships – back it up. People should store their own links, get emails from their cyberfriends and don’t rely on a forum PM as their only connection to these people that we claim to want to stay in touch with. And the other positive is that we have seen that within a very short amount of time – the same amazing technology that brought us together is the same amazing technology that allows us to quickly spread the word and tell the flock how to change course.

I retract saying earlier that we are here for entertainment – I used too broad category. I classify life into two buckets – work/career vs. entertainment (anything else we do with our free time). I do realize that for the most part we are all here because we share common traits – we seek justice, we seek truth, we seek to learn something new, we seek change – I’ve seen wonderful things come from these cases where many here have taken it upon themselves to get involved in searches and create petitions or post information where people can contact their legislatures to produce real change. That is commendable and I’m always moved when I see people take such action. I’m glad to be able to continue that positive experience here.

Hey, Rocking. Everyone's opinion is valid but whoa... It was Val's house to do with as she pleased. As hostess she had NO responsibility towards any of her guests to keep them warm, clothed and fed indefinitely. Sure, it would have been polite to tell her guests that they had overstayed their welcome and the key was no longer under the door mat, but she had no responsibility to warn anyone. What's the saying? House guests are like fish: after three days they begin to stink?

No one but Val knows the extent of her motives. Maybe the house was about to burn down or the Nile flu had struck the neighborhood and her immediate thought was the safety of her house guests? Maybe she was simply looking out for us in one way or another. The point is: "we" don't know and it's really none of our business. We don't have to like it, but it's extremely rude to judge a case without all the facts. Hmm, IIRC I learned that from Val.

I have, and always will have, only the utmost respect and admiration for Val, her extraordinary analytical talent, and the platform she created on which members could enter the door and contribute their two cents worth. She is missed. THM is missed. It was time to move on. Thanks to RC's graciousness and 5-star hospitality, we have a new home. Everything's cool.

Thanks, Stolat - Excellent post!! And a good lesson to all. If it's important to you, then back the darn thing up!! We're living in a virtual world here....

Eileen,
I think what Rocking was saying is that Val did burn down the house, except with everyone still in it. LOL. For members like Rocking, they're just saying, that to them...the manner in which it was pulled, wasn't the standard they expected at Hinky...a site that demanded a certain level of decorum. I don't doubt that we'll read Val's blogs again....on another forum. Those of use who like to write, usually find a place to express ourselves. BTW....who backs up a blog? LOL. If it wasn't for Mozy, I wouldn't have anything backed up. Luckilyfor me, my lame posts can RIP...they won't be missed by me or anyone I'm sure. And there's more words where those came from (unfortunately for all of you). ;)

Eileen_Dover wrote:Thanks, Stolat - Excellent post!! And a good lesson to all. If it's important to you, then back the darn thing up!! We're living in a virtual world here....

I liked your post very much too, Eileen!

I am not so in love with my words that I was crushed to see them disappear. And as Playmuni would say...I am verbose! I got plenty more words to inflict upon y'all!


All the research came from online sources, it is not like it cannot be found ever again.

Eileen_Dover wrote:Hey, Rocking. Everyone's opinion is valid but whoa... It was Val's house to do with as she pleased. As hostess she had NO responsibility towards any of her guests to keep them warm, clothed and fed indefinitely. Sure, it would have been polite to tell her guests that they had overstayed their welcome and the key was no longer under the door mat, but she had no responsibility to warn anyone. What's the saying? House guests are like fish: after three days they begin to stink?

No one but Val knows the extent of her motives. Maybe the house was about to burn down or the Nile flu had struck the neighborhood and her immediate thought was the safety of her house guests? Maybe she was simply looking out for us in one way or another. The point is: "we" don't know and it's really none of our business. We don't have to like it, but it's extremely rude to judge a case without all the facts. Hmm, IIRC I learned that from Val.

I have, and always will have, only the utmost respect and admiration for Val, her extraordinary analytical talent, and the platform she created on which members could enter the door and contribute their two cents worth. She is missed. THM is missed. It was time to move on. Thanks to RC's graciousness and 5-star hospitality, we have a new home. Everything's cool.

Well since I didn't view myself as a 'houseguest' in somebody's 'home' your analogy doesn't change my opinion. I was a member of a forum, a message board dedicated to discussing and finding the answers to what really happened in circumstances involving missing persons. All of the members contributed to making that website what it was. Just because somebody 'owned' the site does not excuse the lack of respect and common decency neglected in the shutting of the site down. We as members out of respect and common decency followed the rules of the site and contributed to it's success. It wasn't a one man show, or in this case a one woman show. It would have been nothing without it's members. She shut it down with a big screw you at the end, it's that simple. Especially since it would have taken so little effort to shut it down courteously. Just one big f/u at the end of EVERYONE'S hard work and thoughtfulness.

playmuni wrote:Eileen,
I think what Rocking was saying is that Val did burn down the house, except with everyone still in it. LOL. For members like Rocking, they're just saying, that to them...the manner in which it was pulled, wasn't the standard they expected at Hinky...a site that demanded a certain level of decorum. I don't doubt that we'll read Val's blogs again....on another forum. Those of use who like to write, usually find a place to express ourselves. BTW....who backs up a blog? LOL. If it wasn't for Mozy, I wouldn't have anything backed up. Luckilyfor me, my lame posts can RIP...they won't be missed by me or anyone I'm sure. And there's more words where those came from (unfortunately for all of you). ;)

Thank you, that was well said about Val burning down the house with all of us in it! I'll never know if I'll miss your posts on that forum because Val erased them all. I probably would have enjoyed them though and found much insight.

Wow. I'm sad to read that so many people are angry about the way Val shut down her site. I agree to an extent - some type of a warning message via email would have been nice. However, anyone who has been a part of the Hinky Family for a while could see Val's frustration level and personal demands increasing. Though I'm sad it's gone, I'm really not that surprised. In fact, I found my way to THM after another online site shut down (with no advance warning). Fortunately most of us have reunited here.

I think we all have to agree that we were a little shellshocked at how the site closed..everyone was wondering what happened and why it was shut down so abruptly??? We were all wandering in cyberspace looking for answers..Luckily I found Niecy456 and saw a post from Val that answered my questions..

I have been off THM basically since the Caylee Anthony trial ended but I loved Val and her blog very much. I'm looking forward to the discussions on this site. Any other THM oldies here?

Yes fingerlakes there are many off us here.

And the rouge winkie says goodbye.

I tried to read the trashing of Val here and can't do it.
I miss The Hinky Meter and Val so much.
That poor woman has been dealing with so much and just reached the end of her rope. I would think I'd find nothing but support for her here.
I will defend her to the end.
It was her site to do as she pleased. It wasn't a personal attack against anyone who came to visit her site.
Shame on those of you that want to attack her. I hope you never find yourselves in her shoes.

I didn't go on HM much, but got RC link at JQ.and do see nics I recognize. Looking forward to getting to know you all!

I only have a few things to say. Many of you know me as the first moderator at Hinky. Years ago, Val asked me for help and I agreed to participate because I respected her work ethic and passion so much. I still do. I resigned over minor differences over two cases - but I digress...

I have cautioned and taught many of you to use a "journal" system to document your work and copy and paste your posts for years. As it turns out - most of you didn't. This is your own fault - not Valhall's fault. She didn't advertise herself as being the "forever" vault of your rambling thoughts for forever. The site costs money to maintain and after the Anthony trial ended - the membership volume probably didn't even come close to covering her costs monetarily.

Not to mention - new members rarely read the "rules" that she spent months perfecting in order to allow everyone to have their say but respectfully consider other's opinions and the fragile state of families dealing with tragedy. Can you imagine how frustrating that must be? On top of that - dealing with family issues, etc. which she was very open about.

She didn't and doesn't "owe" you anything. You never paid her for her time, energy, love and care. On top of that - her articles were articulate and well written - not something that can be said for many of the comments that were written in response. You should be grateful for having a free place to spend your time vs bitching about her deciding she's had enough.

She's a wonderful person - living a real life with all of its good times and heartache. Just love her and move on.

Val obviously met and exceeded her frustration level. Reading her explanations on Neicey shows the depth of her frustrations.

Hindsight is always great - and in hindsight, maybe she wishes she'd turned it over to the mods to handle while she took a break and/or while the posters had a set amount of time to retrieve any information they wanted to retrieve.

Now, as it is...it seems like another burden on Val to get the site set up for "read only".

lily2 wrote:I only have a few things to say. Many of you know me as the first moderator at Hinky. Years ago, Val asked me for help and I agreed to participate because I respected her work ethic and passion so much. I still do. I resigned over minor differences over two cases - but I digress...

I have cautioned and taught many of you to use a "journal" system to document your work and copy and paste your posts for years. As it turns out - most of you didn't. This is your own fault - not Valhall's fault. She didn't advertise herself as being the "forever" vault of your rambling thoughts for forever. The site costs money to maintain and after the Anthony trial ended - the membership volume probably didn't even come close to covering her costs monetarily.

Not to mention - new members rarely read the "rules" that she spent months perfecting in order to allow everyone to have their say but respectfully consider other's opinions and the fragile state of families dealing with tragedy. Can you imagine how frustrating that must be? On top of that - dealing with family issues, etc. which she was very open about.

She didn't and doesn't "owe" you anything. You never paid her for her time, energy, love and care. On top of that - her articles were articulate and well written - not something that can be said for many of the comments that were written in response. You should be grateful for having a free place to spend your time vs bitching about her deciding she's had enough.

She's a wonderful person - living a real life with all of its good times and heartache. Just love her and move on.

Right she doesn't owe me anything! That said - I don't owe HER anything either! I don't owe her respect for the way she shut the site down. I don't owe her hero worship for running a site where many many members contributed to it daily! For some reason, it's expected that we 'understand' and 'love' her and how wonderful she is/was. Yeah OK, if it wasn't for us, her members, she would have been no where with that site. That's the truth of it. How am I supposed to know what a 'wonderful' person she is? She never explained her pulling the plug so I take that as the way it was done.

One Wonders wrote:I tried to read the trashing of Val here and can't do it.
I miss The Hinky Meter and Val so much.
That poor woman has been dealing with so much and just reached the end of her rope. I would think I'd find nothing but support for her here.
I will defend her to the end.
It was her site to do as she pleased. It wasn't a personal attack against anyone who came to visit her site.
Shame on those of you that want to attack her. I hope you never find yourselves in her shoes.

OK go ahead and defend her then. How am I supposed to know what 'that poor woman has been dealing with"? Explain it then if you will defend her to the end. What exactly was 'the poor woman dealing with:"?

STOP the Negative Comments about Valhall/The Hinky Meter immediately!

Please stop the negative comments about Valhall (Val) - The Hinky Meter immediately.

I set this thread up on May 11, 2012 to extend an invitation to all former Hinky Members to join Reality Chatter (RC) if they chose to do so. This thread was not set up as a venue to bash or criticize Valhall (Val)
It is not the way RC rolls!

Please read the first comment of this thread. Thank you. Also, you might want to read this thread starting with Page 1.

http://www.realitychatter.com/t3799-hinky-meter-refugees#135559
Reality Chatter - Comment by Ann-Tx: Hi, former Hinksters!

I think we, at Reality Chatter, graciously extended an invitation to all and we have worked very hard to accommodate a mass new membership since 5/11/12. Julie and I were here initially to welcome every one and help folks get acclimated to Reality Chatter such as navigating this site.

Unfortunately, Justice4All (J4A) and FystyAngel, Site Administrators/Owners were not available the first few days because they were out of town.

However, as soon as J4A returned, he was on this site immediately and has made numerous modifications to our already User Friendly site. I think he has bent over backwards to try to accommodate some of the requests made of him. I think he has done an outstanding job in making this site, Reality Chatter, even more user friendly to the many new members.

We are honored to have so many wonderful new members. We have done our very best to welcome the new members and to try to accommodate some of the many requests made on comment boards and via PMs to J4A, Julie and I.

For those who find it necessary to criticize or bash Valhall, please do not use this thread or any thread on Reality Chatter to do so. You are welcomed to use your PM feature here to discuss whatever you want to discuss.

Valhall (Val) never allowed her site, The Hinky Meter, to be used as a venue to criticize or bash other sites. Reality Chatter does not allow it either.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping this thread on topic!
Thank you.

Ann-Tx

Moving forward . . . enjoy your membership here!
_________

For your convenience, I will C/P the comment which was used to open this thread:


Hinky Meter "Refugees"
by Ann - Tx on Fri May 11, 2012 6:19 pm


Hi, former Hinksters!

It has been confirmed that The Hinky Meter has been shut down by Valhall.

This is a very sad day for the many members of The Hinky Meter. I could cry!

Valhall will leave Ventrilo and the Live Chat up for a while for the Hinksters to use. We can meet there to Live Chat during the Tammi Smith trial on Monday and for the duration of the trial.

Several of us Hinksters were on it earlier and were able to Chat since we had downloaded Ventrilo some time ago.

If you are looking for a place to join, you are cordially invited to join Reality Chatter. For your info, I have been a member here since August, 2010 in addition to my membership at The Hinky Meter. It is a great place and I feel safe here.

This site is owned by Justice4All and FystyAngel. They are the Site Administrators and do a great job of monitoring this site.

You do not have to be a member of Reality Chatter to read in the Forum. However, if you want to post a comment, membership is required. Also, once you join, you will see other threads and features that are not available to non-members.

There are a lot of great features here like there were at The Hinky Meter. There is the PM feature which is your private account. If you want to PM, after you join, you will need to post on any thread a time or two and that will activate your PM capability. Your comment can be as simple as, "Hi, I'm new."

You can click on Profile to post your avatar and set your settings, signature if you want one, etc.

There is also a Live Chat at the bottom of the Forum Page available to members. No audio.

The Homepage features updated articles from mainstream media in the center with additional articles to the right. To the left, is a "scrolling roll" which will let you see who posted recently on what thread. You can click on and it will take you to the desired thread.

The Forum is divided into sections. Click on a section and you will be able to view all threads in that section. You can then click on the thread you are interested in. Here is the Link to the Forum:

http://www.realitychatter.com/forum
Reality Chatter - Forum

I, like many of you, will miss Valhall and The Hinky Meter. She is an awesome lady and I am so happy that I was part of her wonderful site. I hope that one day she will decide she wants to have a blog again. I will be among the first to join!

If you join Reality Chatter, you might want to keep your "Hinky Meter" nic so your cyber friends from the Hinky can find you here. There are some Hinky members here.

If you join and need help in navigating this site, please leave a comment here. Some one will help you.

Julie, from the Hinky Meter, is also a member here. She is very knowledgeable about this site. I can also be of help (maybe)!

Looking forward to seeing some (if not all) of The Hinksters here! Hope this info will give you an idea of how to get around at Reality Chatter if you decide to join.

Ann-Tx
________________________

The following is a Link to the RULES at Reality Chatter as posted by FystyAngel, Site Owner & Site Administrator. Please scroll down and read the comment posted by Justice4All (10-10-11), Site Owner & Site Administrator.

http://www.realitychatter.com/t9-rules
Reality Chatter - RULES by FystyAngel

Rocking wrote:

lily2 wrote:I only have a few things to say. Many of you know me as the first moderator at Hinky. Years ago, Val asked me for help and I agreed to participate because I respected her work ethic and passion so much. I still do. I resigned over minor differences over two cases - but I digress...

I have cautioned and taught many of you to use a "journal" system to document your work and copy and paste your posts for years. As it turns out - most of you didn't. This is your own fault - not Valhall's fault. She didn't advertise herself as being the "forever" vault of your rambling thoughts for forever. The site costs money to maintain and after the Anthony trial ended - the membership volume probably didn't even come close to covering her costs monetarily.

Not to mention - new members rarely read the "rules" that she spent months perfecting in order to allow everyone to have their say but respectfully consider other's opinions and the fragile state of families dealing with tragedy. Can you imagine how frustrating that must be? On top of that - dealing with family issues, etc. which she was very open about.

She didn't and doesn't "owe" you anything. You never paid her for her time, energy, love and care. On top of that - her articles were articulate and well written - not something that can be said for many of the comments that were written in response. You should be grateful for having a free place to spend your time vs bitching about her deciding she's had enough.

She's a wonderful person - living a real life with all of its good times and heartache. Just love her and move on.

Right she doesn't owe me anything! That said - I don't owe HER anything either! I don't owe her respect for the way she shut the site down. I don't owe her hero worship for running a site where many many members contributed to it daily! For some reason, it's expected that we 'understand' and 'love' her and how wonderful she is/was. Yeah OK, if it wasn't for us, her members, she would have been no where with that site. That's the truth of it. How am I supposed to know what a 'wonderful' person she is? She never explained her pulling the plug so I take that as the way it was done.

Perfect example of someone who feels they are "owed" something from something they get for "free". Valhall never made any money from the site above what the costs were - not to mention the energy, thought and care that went into it. And yet, here you are... saying the most unbelievable things. Not to mention... she frequently GAVE money to victims families who needed monetary donations to cover funeral costs, etc. from little bit of money that came from the site.... UGH. This is part of why I can't be a part of these sites anymore. It's so incredibly frustrating how people feel "entitled" and that their work is so important yet they don't back their own stuff up and expect someone else to do it for them. It begs the question, "Who do you think you are?"

Not willing to hero worship something I don't respect and since this opinion is not allowed obviously - see ya!

Caylee, Kyron, Lisa, Zahra, Ayla, Gabriel, Sky, Charlie and Braden, Amir, Sierra, Jane, Isabel, Emma, Jhessye, Cody, Bianca, Amir, Marchella, Rebecca Z and S, Michelle, Aliyanah, Trayvon, Vilet, Joreyls, Somer, Adji, Skelton boys, Shaniya, Nevaeh, Jonathan....unfortunately a list without end.

With much admiration, I personally thank Val for putting and keeping the focus on these souls...for each of us to take action as our time, talents and motivations carry us.

lily2 wrote:I only have a few things to say. Many of you know me as the first moderator at Hinky. Years ago, Val asked me for help and I agreed to participate because I respected her work ethic and passion so much. I still do. I resigned over minor differences over two cases - but I digress...

I have cautioned and taught many of you to use a "journal" system to document your work and copy and paste your posts for years. As it turns out - most of you didn't. This is your own fault - not Valhall's fault. She didn't advertise herself as being the "forever" vault of your rambling thoughts for forever. The site costs money to maintain and after the Anthony trial ended - the membership volume probably didn't even come close to covering her costs monetarily.

Not to mention - new members rarely read the "rules" that she spent months perfecting in order to allow everyone to have their say but respectfully consider other's opinions and the fragile state of families dealing with tragedy. Can you imagine how frustrating that must be? On top of that - dealing with family issues, etc. which she was very open about.

She didn't and doesn't "owe" you anything. You never paid her for her time, energy, love and care. On top of that - her articles were articulate and well written - not something that can be said for many of the comments that were written in response. You should be grateful for having a free place to spend your time vs bitching about her deciding she's had enough.

She's a wonderful person - living a real life with all of its good times and heartache. Just love her and move on.

Hi, lily2!

Welcome to Reality Chatter! Yes, you were the first moderator at The Hinky Meter and you worked so very hard, at no salary, to help get many members approved when Valhall (Val) switched to the Forum. Then you personally helped folks with various things on the Forum.

Also, you spent many hours of your personal time to moderate the many comments on various threads. A special thank you for your outstanding work at THM.

Thank you for taking the time to come here and comment about the bashing of Valhall. It is sincerely appreciated. Reality Chatter (Justice4All and FystyAngel) do NOT allow bashing another site or a site owner. In fact, Reality Chatter has always been a strong supporter of The Hinky Meter by Valhall. They featured a Link to her site on the Homepage along with snippets of all new articles with a Link back to the article on THM.

Unfortunately, J4A and FystyAngel can not be on this site and on every thread . . . . every second.

This should have been nipped in the bud yesterday but we thought it would end and it appeared that it did. Not the case though as I saw when I clicked on here earlier.

lily2, I really missed you when you left THM. You did an awesome job and if no one told you often enough . . . many thanks!

Special thanks for your comment here today!

I don't see any bashing, just difference of opinions.

lily2 wrote:I only have a few things to say. Many of you know me as the first moderator at Hinky. Years ago, Val asked me for help and I agreed to participate because I respected her work ethic and passion so much. I still do. I resigned over minor differences over two cases - but I digress...

I have cautioned and taught many of you to use a "journal" system to document your work and copy and paste your posts for years. As it turns out - most of you didn't. This is your own fault - not Valhall's fault. She didn't advertise herself as being the "forever" vault of your rambling thoughts for forever. The site costs money to maintain and after the Anthony trial ended - the membership volume probably didn't even come close to covering her costs monetarily.

Not to mention - new members rarely read the "rules" that she spent months perfecting in order to allow everyone to have their say but respectfully consider other's opinions and the fragile state of families dealing with tragedy. Can you imagine how frustrating that must be? On top of that - dealing with family issues, etc. which she was very open about.

She didn't and doesn't "owe" you anything. You never paid her for her time, energy, love and care. On top of that - her articles were articulate and well written - not something that can be said for many of the comments that were written in response. You should be grateful for having a free place to spend your time vs bitching about her deciding she's had enough.

She's a wonderful person - living a real life with all of its good times and heartache. Just love her and move on.

Thank you!

emberl, this thread was not set up to criticize Valhall. Did you read the first comment of this thread?

If some one wants to criticize Valhall or The Hinky Meter, they are welcomed to go elsewhere and do so or start their own website.

J4A is at work now. I've been in communication with him. He gave his approval for me to post the comment that I did earlier.

The bottom line is Justice4All (J4A) and FystyAngel will not allow negative comments about Valhall or any other site owner. It is not the way Reality Chatter rolls.

The Hinky Meter has been shut down for over a week. RC welcomed the former members and we have bent over backwards to do that.

It's time to move forward. If someone wants to criticize Valhall or The Hinky Meter, they can PM one another or go to a site that allows it.

Rocking wrote:

One Wonders wrote:I tried to read the trashing of Val here and can't do it.
I miss The Hinky Meter and Val so much.
That poor woman has been dealing with so much and just reached the end of her rope. I would think I'd find nothing but support for her here.
I will defend her to the end.
It was her site to do as she pleased. It wasn't a personal attack against anyone who came to visit her site.
Shame on those of you that want to attack her. I hope you never find yourselves in her shoes.

OK go ahead and defend her then. How am I supposed to know what 'that poor woman has been dealing with"? Explain it then if you will defend her to the end. What exactly was 'the poor woman dealing with:"?

First of all, you apparently didn't read there on a daily bases or you would know what "that poor woman has been dealing with".
Second of all you should have saved your writings on your computer instead of relying on someone else to do it for you.