[Anonymous]

I want to start by letting you, the reader, know that the statements below are not meant to sound condescending or angry.

It has recently come to my attention that Mini and Baseball are no longer welcome on this forum due to people complaining about what they write. At first, when I heard this, I was mad, but now I am sad. I am sad for the people that complained. If you really can’t handle the unadulterated truth then your parents did you an injustice in raising you. NEWS FLASH: not everything in life is going to be candy coated. Not everything is going to be what you want to hear or be in the ‘tone’ that you find acceptable. I fear for the professional world at this point. If you can’t handle criticism or truth you will never be truly successful. I understand that they come across harsh. I have even said to Baseball that I use to not like him because of the way his posts come across as cocky. However, just like in text messages or emails, things are in the tone you read them. When you keep that in mind, you learn how helpful they really are. Those of you that want to be childish and make fun of people who ‘troll’ that have passed the test, I guess this post is already lost with you. Therefore, feel free to stop reading. People that pass can bring a lot of wisdom. They have done this remember? They have been through this. Just 2 days ago I posted a question on here to get some help. Still, no one has responded. I did get an email from Mini answering my question. I hope no one else comes across the issue I did on that question because unless Mini is their friend, they will only hear crickets. It is people like him that make this website worth going on. At this point, I have the email address of the people I care to talk to. As much as I would love to continue with this site throughout my journey and after I finish my tests, I can see now that those that passed are not welcome. You may try to defend and say it is because of their tone but several people have posted that people that stay on after they pass are ‘trolling’ and should get a life. Without those that have passed giving guidance and support, this forum becomes just a complaining session about how they should make the test easier or that the test is unfair or that they ‘Knew Everything Like the Back of Their Hand but Failed! How Dare the AICPA!!’. A person with true integrity and character will say what the truth is even if it is an unpopular one. There are so few people in the world that are willing to do that and unfortunately, this site just lost two of them.

I fully expect to see people post that I am stirring up trouble or causing drama or that I am an idiot so go right ahead. I am, unlike many others on this site, am willing to listen to people’s opinion no matter how rude I may find it. Also, I am not trying to generalize and say everyone besides these two suck because that is not the case at all. Several have become my friends outside of this forum because I respect what they think and what they stand for.

I am not sure how long this post will stay up before someone reports it or reports me and I get kicked off too. However, I hope at least a few people will really think about what I have said before another quality member gets attacked and puts Jeff in the position he was put in. If you don’t like what I am saying, we can just agree to disagree and move on from there.

[mla1169]

There have certainly been a few low grumblings of hostility toward alumni. Last Friday I was really attacked on here by one person in a completely irrational and immature manner. Wondering if the blacklisted individual is anyone I know 😉

But I agree, mini's and baseball's comments are nothing compared to the real world.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

My opinion.

Sometimes ya gotta be cruel to be kind.

[Anonymous]

Here is my two cents…I think people here generally have given good and honest advice, but sometimes they also made harsh comments. There is a fine line between constructive criticism and harsh criticism, and sadly sometimes someone doesn't know the difference. Again, this is a free world and open forum. Everyone is free to come and write as they want. The thing I don't understand is that why someone passed the CPA exams MONTHS ago still spent lots of time here. It's like a college graduate still showing up at a high school prom. This is a good and addictive website, especially for someone who is bored…but life is way more than this. Becoming a CPA is just one of the accomplishment we should be proud of, but we also need to move on after becoming a CPA. We need to use this title to build a better career and better life, or just find a hobby, spend more time with family, plan a trip, or just do something more productive…..they are topics or comments here I don't agree, but that is just my opinion, and if I don't see something I like or had nothing good to say, I just keep my mouth shut. I don't have to engage in every thread.

[nebraska]

i disagree that people say worse things in the real world. yes, the people you work with will be very critical about your work. but in a professional environment, if people are caught saying racist things or harassing coworkers about the way they raise their kids, they'd definitely get talked to….and if they continually exhibit the same behavior, they would get fired.

REG (08/2011) - 73 (2/2012) - 72
AUD (08/2011) - 73 (1/2012) - 86
FAR (11/2011) - 79
BEC (11/2011) - 79

[jeff]

I like the alums sticking around – very thankful for it actually.

With that said, I've grown tired of self-righteous tough love stuff. Someone has a question or needs advice and one of the comments recently to a brand new poster: “so do you want a pat on the back or actual advice”?

Seriously?

You can be real with someone and not be an a-hole about it. Period.

[mena je twa]

Here is my take

We live in a democratic country and free speech is everyone's right….But you also have to mindful at times that you don't hurt somebody's feelings…… Everyone has a right to their opinion and if you dont like what the person is saying or don't like the thread, just ignore it and move on…

Mini has helped me in the past, when i was stuggling with the regulation part and so has kandis….I disagree with the above poster that those who have passed their exams should do something else rather then patrolling this forum. As a individual they have every right to be on any forum and any cpa blog they want, besides i think comments and tips from those who have passed this exam would definitely help others who are still trying and attempting to pass the exam.

So my call is to reinstate Mini and Baseball and give them a chance to redeem themselves. Everyone makes mistakes and i think they stand another chance…..

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[jeff]

I didn't ban Mini … I asked him to not drop the hammer on people and be more tactful. He opted to not post any more.

So much for handling this with no drama.

[Anonymous]

I am going to say this once…and gosh…I don't want to get into endless argument or trouble…

Have you ever been in a meeting or a group of friends where someone always hijacked the whole conversation? That person always had to jump into every single topic and eventually everyone just gave up and listen to him. The truth is that he/she enjoys being the center of attention. It's not about the good advice or bad advice he gave. It's about being the center of attention. It's all about ME, ME, ME. It's about the satisfaction and validation YOU received when someone thank you for the good advise, or the attention YOU received when everyone here comments how outragous of what YOU had said. Again, it's my personal interpretation.

[pacific1]

Even though I am sad to see him go it sounds like it was his choice, I do not see anything wrong with Jeff asking him to be more tactful. I agree there are times when the truth hurts but you can deliver that with a little tact and respect.

[Anonymous]

@Jeff,

My post was not meant to be taken as ragging on the choice you made. This isn't just a forum to you, this is your business. You should protect it. Obviously my information is coming second-hand. All I was told was that there were complaints about the tone of the posts and they had to either change there ways or no longer post. That is all I meant by that sentence. I should have been more clear with my statement.

To those saying there is a right way and a wrong way to critisize…Please remember that you are the one reading it and putting your own tone on there. I typically get offended when people post or text or email me something that I just don't want to hear. I have had a ton of correspondence with Mini off the forum and he is a very awesome person. He tells me what I don't want to hear. When I tell him a grade on a quiz or something is tells me. “AKB that isn't good enough.” I love it! I have tough skin but if anyone here wants to be a successful accountant either in public accounting or corporate, you better get some tough skin too! Also, there are some posters on this forum that I flat out don't like what they say. You know what I do? SKIP THE POST!! Sorry for being rude but really…you don't have to read it.

@MLA

I saw that and I was in disbelief! I kept reading it over and over. You handled yourself well I thought.

Ok STUDY TIME!

[jeff]

Rocket ship.

[Laura]

@Jeff I respect your business decision to ask for things to be said tactfully and if an individual chooses to post less or not at all based on that it's their choice. After all this is your livelihood; I respect that. You are running a business and I think a lot of us forget that this is your business.

I also appreciated the alumni when I was still a candidate. You learn from others passes and failures. If you don't find value in what the alum is saying you can choose to ignore it. The alumni are going to be the ones to keep rooting you on; after all we understand the value of the license when the exam process is over. We are the ones that can say what it has done for us when you feel like giving up.

REG-80, 77, 77
BEC-67, 68, 71, 67, 71, 74, 71, 74, 72, 77
FAR- 72, 65,67, 53, 75 (truth be known the 53 was with 4 hours of studying)
AUD-58, 62, 72, 74, 74, 75
took 5 years but I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

@akb9874…you remind me a song “Sweet Dream” by Eurythmics…”some of them want to abuse you, some of them want to be abused…” LOL. seriously, sometimes the drama here was quiet entertaining…:-)

[Anonymous]

@keeptrying…I don't think Jeff made the decision just because of it's his business. Like he said, he welcomes everyone, especially alumni, to stay even after he/she passes the exams. I don't think the decision to ask someone to tune down a little bit will impact his business positively or negatively.

[Laura]

@CPA-Convertible- I think you are mistaken. I definitely think it has to do with his business. If someone has a tone that is unsettling to people don't you think it is in his best interest (his business) that he ask them to change their ways. If someone decided to not use Jeff's site and talks about how badly A71 is based on their bad experience it will ultimately effect his business. Negative marketing travels much faster than positive marketing…

@Jeff-correct me if I'm wrong.

REG-80, 77, 77
BEC-67, 68, 71, 67, 71, 74, 71, 74, 72, 77
FAR- 72, 65,67, 53, 75 (truth be known the 53 was with 4 hours of studying)
AUD-58, 62, 72, 74, 74, 75
took 5 years but I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Author]

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