For all of you who are wondering what happened to Arina Hanciulescu, one of our most favorite bloggers and friends, an Active Rain luminary who has taught us so much, the answer is right here.
After more than 600 blogs in her two years with Active Rain, and over 150,000 points (I'm doing this out of memory, so forgive me if I misquoted the numbers), she was summarily dismissed from our organization for two months. Shunned and banned from the very organization she has helped grow.
I love Active Rain! I am on my 31-st client garnered directly from AR. I've learnt more here than I have in my twenty years of Real Estate and all my classes combined (GRI, ABR, ALC, BIC, SC, NC). I also love Arina! It is people like her that have made this place the wonderful Realtor Oasis that it is. I respectfully ask the AR Brass to look into this matter and use its loving wings to lift Arina back to her well deserved place of glory. Bob, I'm hoping that you'll do your magic once again! Pretty please, lift this Angel back to her rightful place!
I went to follow the link, but it had been removed! ; ( I ran into Arina on a few posts and thought she was a very fun person. I am sad to hear this. I don't know why they would remove the post?
That is odd. When you search, all of the blogs come up but the links won't work for any of them. I read your blog from last night and it seems there is a story of some sort. Why would AR BAN anyone and if they actually ban someone, why would it only be for two months and not permanently?
She was accused of plagiarism and summarily "suspended" for two months for the infraction. She was accused, tried & found guilty without a chance to even explain herself. The doors were just slammed shut.
"No AR soup for you, Arina!"... that sort of thing.
That is odd since I have seen MANY BLATANTLY plagiarized blogs and it seems like those members still post. So I wonder who makes that kind of decision and why they wouldn't give her a chance to explain. Then, to remove posts that were up, instead of just not allowing new posts is pretty harsh in my humble opinion. So it will be two months before she is back? Will she come back or has this left a bad taste in her mouth?
I had to sweep my eyes... you are such a great person. Generous, happy full of zest and above all honest in your heart. Arina is talking highly about you and who knows maybe one day we'll meet...
I received an email that the post was taken down so your link is not working... What a shame! She only wanted to reach out for the community she loved so much and people that she miss.
I am not going to engage in a war of words with Active Rain team. I am to old for that and I know what that means...Arina wrote about me and my long political struggle in the old communist country and I smell the rat from the distance.
All I can say is that is going to pass and she learned a hard lesson. She made big enemies here on AR and she knows who they are(and what is their motivation...) but it is forbidden to talk about it. Why did she made enemies??? I don't have a clue. All I know is that she is sweet, friendly easy going, love a good joke and loves to make friends.
I was advised by a high rank of AR that it is against the rules to continue to have contact with other members for the period of time she is suspended... not even to send an email
But you can talk to me... But I understand that could be dangerous,,, So, wait for her to come back in about 2 mo, (she started counting down) and than she will make her case. In mean time she is resting here with her family, a much needed vacation, and she may even use the time to pass the California license and move out from Las Vegas... It is intoxicating!!!!!
Thank you and take god care of you. You doing great!
Mirela: I am sorry all of this has happened to your friend Arina. Things can look pretty bleak when the sting or the hurt is so fresh... both to her and to you. My best to both of you. It appears you are a good friend for her to have... take care...
....and now you can't even see the post you put up there.....so what really happened? Thanks for having the strength to speak up.....The AR police are at work.....seems a little Wellian.
Be safe Arina! We will see you when you get back! (can't wait!)
Arina, I hope you are reading this. You are truly missed. A few of us had a long conversation last night and are having a difficult time understanding what happened, especially since you poured YOUR heart out in YOUR blogs. Just know that Your friends on AR miss you and hope you come back
Won't this post hurt Irina more than help her? No one knew why she was gone, but in this one post the reason is now out there for the whole world to see.
Barbu: And I had to wipe mine reading your comments...
In light of where we've been and the obstacles we've overcome, this is "nothing"... Indeed, I know what you mean! "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely..." I have vivid memories of communist Romania and the demands made on one's very soul. Once exposed to that "pungent" environment, one can never quite purge the memories of it...
You are a very successful man! You have created a strong union with your wife, you've raised some fine children and you have a successful career. Life doesn't get any better than that, Barbu.
Arina is a kind, sensitive, bright and beautiful young woman. She has many friends here. She has helped define AR through her long tenure as one of our most popular bloggers. She is sorely missed!
I believe that Active Rain should clarify this issue publicly, but that is just my humble opinion. Ambiguity will do nothing but tarnish an otherwise good reputation.
I have never let fear rule my life. I've learnt early on that there is much more to lose when you don't stand up for what you believe in. Living with yourself as a coward is indeed the most lethal prescription in life... Following your heart's path, even when going against the grain, is always the most liberating way. Today's heresy is tomorrow's dogma...
May God bless you and your family! Arina is fortunate to have what so many are missing: a strong family to love and support her and friends who believe in her! Life is good!
Bo, Robert, Kara, Frank, Karen, Libby and Pam: Thank you for making your voices heard! You can always tell who your friends are when you are down... I'm sure Arina much appreciates your support, as do I!
I have a saying: "If you are not there when I need you, I don't need you when you are there..."
I do not know anything about what happened, except I subscribed to her blog and today it was gone. Found this. I don't know the circumstances but I see lots of postings that are not original. Far as I could tell, certainly most of hers were.
Mirela, good for you for standing up. Arina is a sweet person and I look forward to having her back here with us. Her Dad sounds like the kind of guy I'd love to sit down and have a long talk with. It would be wonderful if she got her license and worked in CA, near family.
I don't know what happened, but I do know that every single day, on MANY posts, I read material that has been copied, word for word. I know we are all guilty of copying this or the other, from time to time, for articles we all put together. I'm not sure what classifies something as plagiarism around here, since most blogs, by most of the successful bloggers are copied almost word for word, sometimes changing a word here and there... and this leaves me confused, because it's hard to know what you can and cannot post.
If, however, someone is going to be accused, they certainly should have a chance to explain themselves; and if people are going to be thrown out for being found guilty before they state their case, then what applies to one, should apply to all: me included.
I don't think it's fair to punish some so harshly, when others go unnoticed. I wish someone at AR, who has this kind of power, would at least enlighten us, as to what exactly are the reasons we can be booted, because it's become very obvious to me within the last couple of months, that copying and pasting is not it.
Arina, take the time to relax and spend it with your family, who I'm sure miss you so much. You will feel more refreshed and will have more energy to start fresh with us soon, and I look forward to reading you again, assuming I'm still here. Big hug. Take care. :)
Mirela, I too subscribed to Arina and was wondering where she had gone off to. Not knowing what happened I'm not going to give my two cents. I just hope when her two months are up she rejoins AR.
I am also a subscriber and learned a great deal from Arina - both real estate related and non. While I have no idea the back story to what has happened I do look forward to seeing her back in the Rain.
I had no idea what was going on but now at least I know, even though it doesn't make sense to me! In the short time I've been here--hers was one to the blogs I liked best and she seems like a great person to know.
I wish the best for her and when she returns--I hope she blogs about it--This just doesn't make sense!!!!!!!!
Mirela, I am sorry your friend was banned. I hope things will work out for you and her. This is one reason why people who blog on a social networking site, like AR, run the risk of interuption. Although it is very easy to post articles here and get started, you pay a price for that convenience. You lose the true Google juice value of your content and control--it's the price of admission that many do NOT understand.
I was wondering what happened to her. Hopefully she will feel comfortable to come back when the ban is lifted, as I enjoyed her posts. If anyone communicates with her, please send my regards.
I'd love to hear from you! Please don't be shy! I know Arina has lots of friends here!