I previously deleted this thread when someone else asked about the owner, Igor but now I am going to let it stand as I will stand up to Igor who is a total bully. I don't like bullies who think they can say or do anything they want without someone calling them out on their BS.
Igor is allowing fake users to libel my company. I think it's laughable that they try to claim we have "fake photos". My company was one of the most well-known real estate companies in the history of Argentina. We were chronicled in many prominent magazines and newspapers around the world including the Economist, Wall Street Journal, New York Times (4 times), Time Out Guidebook, London Sunday Times, BBC, Boston Globe, and dozens of other respected publications.
I had a client respond today to that libelous post and Igor deleted it. That is a testament to the kind of bully that Igor is. It's the reason why I created this website. I don't like bullies and I like the sharing of information, especially as it pertains to Buenos Aires.
We have had many users from the old forum "claim" their identities. Some have the same name but others fear Igor's wrath if he sees them posting on this newer, cooler, better, funner website. They know he will block them or delete their profile.
I'm not even saying the BAExpats.org forum is bad. Quite the contrary. It's a good forum with smart and intelligent users. There is great information there and I contributed to that forum for 13+ years. I never mentioned my company until I got out a few months ago. And it was already after getting permission from Igor and truth be told, I offered to pay him to advertise and he accepted.
However, I got very concerned as I noticed people complaining about getting their posts deleted. I went on Twitter and I saw a track record spanning almost 15 years of people complaining. Then I started talking to people on that forum who told me personal stories. Then through it's a small world, I even talked to my doctor that had her own run in with Igor. Apparently he didn't like her posts so he shadow banned her too and blocked her IP address.
I spoke to Igor S. on the phone twice. One time for over an hour. I found him intelligent however, when I flat out asked for his moderation policies, he literally said, "I don't want to talk about my moderation policies". That made me very leery about not only paying him to advertise on his forum, but just creeped out as I believe in free speech.
Then I talked to a few more people that I had corresponded with over the years that have been members in good standing on his forum for many years. They too told me personal stories about how strange Igor is and various things he did.
I felt a connection with Igor on my first phone call with him and even shared personal things about a medical condition and pain that I have. He was a nice guy. But then he started to delete posts of MINE that broke no moderation rules. That's when I warned him that I would not only advertise with him but that I would resign from his forum.
The more I thought about it, the more angry I got that he could bully people and just delete their posts if he didn't agree with it. That's when I decided to create a competing forum. I didn't do it behind his back. I told him directly that I was going to do it and why I was going to do it.
I'm not even saying people shouldn't go to his forum. It's been around for a long time and there is a lot of content on it. But I think it's really really sad when members have to fear posting on this new forum for fear Igor will block them. That's just pathetic.
I had my staff pre-reserve the most active user names from that forum so no one could "poach" their handle. So anyone that wants their user name can request my office and we will give you the log in details so you can change your password and email address. We have already done this for 12 users of that forum.
Igor is originally from Russia and he kind of reminds me of Putin. Thinking he can do anything he wants and people will be scared to act against him. No, I'm not scared of that bully and people shouldn't be either. If he continues to allow people to libel me or my company that I will take legal action against him. He is based in Las Vegas so he can easily be sued.