MDJunction "People Hurting People" Ann Arbor, MI Internet

MDJunction's motto is "People Helping People."  I joined over a year ago hoping to make friends and get support for challenges I was dealing with in life.  It appeared to be a safe place to do so.

I enjoyed the site very much at first.  I made friends and even became a designated "advocate" member.

Unfortunately, everything changed very quickly when I discoved that there was a discussion forum called, "Opinions" and I decided to read it.

I was immediately taken aback by the use of profane language and bullying taking place by a group leader.  It really bothered me, but I wasn't sure what to do.

I considered contacting the owner of the site, Mr. Ron Lev, but decided I should simply address the situation to the fellow members first and see if it could be settled that way.

I wrote a comment in the "Opinions" thread expressing my concern.  I stated that I perhaps the thread started out with other intentions, but what it had become was not anything positive.  It was, on the contrary, hurtful to our own members.

Very soon after posting my comment, "flash," it was GONE!!!

I had a private message in my box that said nothing about my comment, but that ridiculed me for spamming the group with my diary entries. Members have the option of creating their own diary at MDJunction, and I had been enjoying creating mine.  I was contributing on the average of one entry every two days.  There is absolutely no restriction on how much you can add to your own diary, so I was really startled and confused about the accusation.

I simply replied that I didn't understand what they meant.  I was just enjoying writing in my diary and did not mean to bother anyone.  

The reply was that someone like me, who was in "so many groups" (there are individual groups for different medical issues) should know what spamming is.

In the meantime, I flipped through the "Opinions" thread, wondering where my comment had gone.  That is when I spotted comments from this person.Her aim was clearly public defamation of my character, simply because I questioned the necesity of a thread that bashed fellow members. Of course, since she had deleted my original comment, other readers did not know what I wrote and could have thought that I wrote something nasty.  

I decided to handle this directly with this person, but not publicly.  I sent her a private message telling her that I was not intending to be her enemy and that I didn't know why she was writing about me so negatively in a public way.

This only served to prompt more public teasing.  Now, she took a list of all the groups I belong to...posted it...and made fun of the fact that I had so many problems!  Does that sound appropriate for a website like this to ANYONE?

My response to that was to take my list of groups and write a short explanation about why I was in each group.  I have daugthers, ex's, parents and myself to cover.  Yes, I've had a lot of crap to deal with in my life, but each and every group I was in had a legitimate reason.

I sent this to hear, again, with a nice preface.  I told her I didn't expect her to read it all, but wanted her to know that I cared enough to write this out for her and still hoped we didn't have to be enemies.

Her response, once again, was the public teasing.  

I tried to write something back on the "Opinions" thread (nothing mean) and discovered I had been banned and that my posts would not show up there.

I decided to send my bully a "hug" with a nice note, still hoping kindness and treating others as you wished to be treated was the best way to handle anything.

All I can tell you is that the bullying continued.

Two days ago, I decided to ignore this person and was simply communicating innocently with other members, when I noticed EVERYTHING I WROTE was being deleted!

I had already contacted the owner of the site about the bullying and had gotten a quick, "I'll look into it" response, but was not hearing anything back as this situation continued to escalate.

I refuse to apologize for sticking up for myself and for other members, in the hopes of preserving our right to be guaranteed we would not be bullied at MDJunction.  

Anyway, the final result, up until now, is that my entire account has been banned until further review.  

Apparently, my bully has the ability to delete and ban things on a whim of her own.  As you can see in a prior ripoff report, I am not her first victim.  

It has been two days since my ban.  I have written several times to Mr. Lev but have not gotten any communication from him.

I understand that he is a busy man, but I also think that he has a responsibility to make sure the site he created and claims to monitor is SAFE for its members.

Many of us have issues with anxiety, self-esteem, etc.  If we go to a pace to help with those things, this is the last thing that should happen.

I am confident that when my account is finally reviewed, it will be restored. I have not done anything wrong and am sticking up for myself and other members who have been mistreated.  

If the one member shoe is creating all of this drama is not taken out of her position of group leader, and does not have her account banned, then I doubt I will continue to use the site.  

I caution others, especially from the mental health community, against joining this website and thinking it is a safe place for support.  Until changes are made, it is a place where you may find, "People hurting People."