Tiscali apologises for forum slurs

Tiscali UK has apologised to a Merseyside man after he became the victim of ridicule among some of the ISP's forum moderators.

The comments came to light last month when a software glitch meant that posts - which should only have been seen by Tiscali's authorised forum moderators - became accessible to all users.

Although these "private" posts should have only concerned matters regarding the forums, it became clear that many were personal comments about some of the boards' posters.

Karl Davis, a regular contributor on the Tiscali forums, was shocked when he found he was the subject of some of the comments.

He said the remarks mocked him, turned him into him a figure of fun among the forum community and caused him a great deal of embarrassment. According to Davis, the personal attacks questioned his integrity as a respected forum contributor and undermined his credibility among Tiscali's forum community.

He complained to Tiscali demanding an apology and action against those behind the offensive remarks.

Yesterday, Mr Davis has finally won his apology when a notice posted on the ISP's forums expressed "deep regret" over the posts.

The apology continues: "We wish to apologise to anyone mentioned in the Forum Moderators forum who was offended by remarks made. The posts were never intended to be viewed by anyone other than the community team and small group of moderators.

"Regardless of that, the moderators concerned accept that some remarks were inappropriate, and should not have been made. Notably, we would like to apologise to Mr Karl Davis. We are very sorry for any offence, embarrassment or distress caused to Mr Davis, who is a valued member of the forums with a long and respected posting history."

A spokeswoman for Tiscali UK added that the moderator at the centre of th incident would be reprimanded. ®