MANBOD Published Position on Rules Enforcement

A thought about "rules enforcement" as I heard that someone got a Violation Letter the other day with a 14 day warning and statement that the property defect could be corrected by SLohA at the owner's expense.  This is a non-emergency condition.

First and foremost, if the covenants on the lot have expired, there is no way the MANBOD can require you to do anything.  Only Polk County Code Enforcement applies.  If there is a Code Violation, MANBOD can call Code Enforcement.  (If there is a bona fide emergency condition, SLR can attend to it but that would not be likely to be a situation where they would charge you.)  Write back to SLohA, certify your mail and tell them your lot is not encumbered by Covenants and they have no authority or permission to enter upon your private property.

If the covenants have not yet expired--as is the case with perhaps 20% of the lots in here--the MANBOD can counsel and inform you and hope that you comply.   You can still write the letter denying your permission to enter upon the property as the Covenants do not give MANBOD the authority to perform services to your property and charge you money for it.

To the best of my recollection, there is only one rule that states that MANBOD can correct a property defect at the owner's expense and, in my opinion, this would not be upheld in a Sm all Claims Court because the underlying authority to do this is not in the Covenants.  The Covenants are the superior law, and low-level Rules cannot conflict with, replace or add to the Covenants. 

A Sm all Claims court will hear these kinds of cases and you can also ask for punitive damages.  Perhaps an owner will summon MANBOD to Sm all Claims Court someday if they place an "expense" on the "account".    The fine for services rendered without the owner's permission--and by the way--unpermitted entry onto your property to perform services is TRESPASSING--would simply remain an unpaid invoice against you personally just like any other unpaid bill.  It would not be a matter of public notice because Florida does not permit an Association to file a lien the home until at least $1000 of unpaid fines has accrued (on the other hand, SLohA seems not to pay too much attention to Florida's laws).   This cannot happen in the real world because SLohA does not have any authority to fine anyone for anything--per the Covenants.

My thought is; if you get a letter from SLohA about an intent to correct a defect, shoot back a CERTIFIED letter immediately to "cease and desist" and state specifically that neither SLohA nor its contractors or employees have permission to be on your property or perform any services to your property without your written permission.  If you do not protest in writing, and damage occurs to your property or injury occurs thereon, and you have not objected, you could could find yourself in a legal contest with SLohA and/or be on the hook with your insurance company to remedy the problem.

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and the interpretations above are my opinion and offered for informational purposes only. These interpretations should not be relied upon if you are contemplating legal action. Consult an attorney for legal advice.

Research: Many Trolls Are 'Everyday Sadists'

Anyone who's ever encountered Internet trolls, those vile, racist, sexist and often profane people who gorge themselves on others' misery, might have concluded they are psychologically disturbed.
That would be correct, new research suggests.
Trolls gleefully spew their “e-bile” using smartphone apps, online comments, texts or social media sites for no other reason than cruelty.
“It happens every night,” said Darla Jade, a radio talk show host in Kansas City whose conservative views often serve as a lightning rod for trolls. “ I get stuff on the text line all the time where people swear at me and call me the foulest names. It's easy to throw something out there when you're anonymous. That is the thing about the Internet, especially about trolls. Most of these people are cowards.”
Perhaps so. But, according to a recent paper by a team of Canadian researchers that has looked into the psychological underpinnings of trolls, they may be something else as well:
Sadist.
Yes, sadists. But not the psychopathic sadist who turn to actual physical torture or serial killing.
“We use the term 'everyday sadist' to emphasize that we are referring to sub-clinical levels of sadism, and not the more extreme forms that are seen in serial killers and criminals,” said psychologist Erin Buckels of the University of Manitoba and the first of three authors of the paper on troll personality in the February issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
“The essential aspect of sadism,” Buckels said in an email, “is enjoyment of cruelty. Persons high in sadism gain some emotional benefit from causing or simply observing others suffering.”
Although researchers delineate between cyberbullies and trolls, – cyberbullies torment specific individuals and are often know by their victims; trolls like to cast their hurt about – they are linked by their penchant for cruelty.
In their troll research, Buckels, Manitoba, colleague Paul Trapnell and Delroy Paulhus of the University of British Columbia gathered data from 1,215 individuals – split nearly evenly, half men and half women—based on questions answered on two online surveys.
Both surveys included questions about the subjects' Internet habits, such as “How many hours per day do you spend posting comments?” or “What do you enjoy doing most on these comment sites? Debating issues, chatting, trolling, making new friends, something other?”
They also included statements from well-known diagnostic test of personality traits meant to detect various levels of sadism: “Hurting people is exciting” or “In video games, I like realistic blood spurts.”
Beyond sadism, the questionnaire also looked for signs and varying levels of what are known as the three other legs of the “Dark Tetrad” of personality. Those are narcissism (I have been compared to famous people); sub-clinical psychopathology (payback needs to be quick and nasty) and Machiavellianism (it's not wise to tell you secrets).
Conclusions: Those who rated highest on the scales for narcissism, psychopathology, Machiavellianism and sadism—highest of all for the trait of sadism—were the same people who were trolls. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism, the researchers concluded.
“It seems like one of their great joys in life,” said Paulhus, “is to make fun of other people and to criticize their opinions.”
Paulhus said that trolls are often insatiably nasty. There is no reasoning with them. The more havoc they sow, getting more people to argue with them, the happier they are. It is that well-known trait that has given rise to the Internet advice: “Don't feed the trolls.” Like ravenous strays, they just come back.
One particularly pernicious form of e-bile known as “revenge porn” – in which one posts or sends sexually explicit photos or videos of another person to degrade or harass them – has become enough of a concern that two states, California and New Jersey, recently passed laws criminalizing the act. Twelve more states, including Missouri, have offered similar bills.
Compared with such acts, mere trolling seems tame.
Buckels said it's still up for debate how much the veil of anonymity on the Internet actually fuels such behaviors (Without the veil the Internet can provide, would they act this way?) or whether trolling helps vent it (Thank goodness for the Internet, lest they cause physical harm.)
“Some researchers claim that anonymity is primarily to blame,” Buckels said. “But, again, our research suggests that the picture is more complicated. Only certain types of people will act antisocially when they have the opportunity to do so. Most of the time, they can only fantasize about cruel behavior or watch from a distance without risking punishment. Direct action is far more risky, unless the situation is relatively anonymous.”
Buckels said that the anonymity of the Internet can no doubt provide a dark corner from which to strike. For some users, trolling may also offer the same outlet as do violent video games or movies, providing a dose of vicarious sadism as an alternative to the actual thing.
“Our research suggests that trolls also want to be mean to people in real life,” Buckels said. “Perhaps trolling online allows them to satisfy their appetites for cruelty without it creeping into real life.
“As someone recently suggested to me, maybe we should feed the trolls.”

Note: Now that we know we are dealing with mentally sick people maybe it will be easier to understand them.

To guest "back": you are the troll on here and you embody all you've said in your above rant on May 13, 2014 @ 4:17 pm.

You're probably a board member that's been butt-hurt over all the TRUE things being said (about you) on here.

Like guest "Keeping it Real" said: go do research on your kind that have over-inflated sense of self and your false authority, you might realize these types are prone to being psychopaths and sociopaths.