‘Nasty’ Helmuts Meskonis accused of ‘being out of his mind’ in 'Ask Me Anything chat'.

Tuesday 21 May 2024

‘Nasty’ Helmuts Meskonis, 48, a Latvian citizen residing in the United Kingdom and the alleged owner of the .uk domain-focused forum AcornDomains, is accused of 'being out of his mind' and 'not up to the job,' according to some members of his own forum who have spoken to DomainCrawls this morning.

In a 'chat' on his own AcornDomains forum, within a section clearly labeled "Ask Me Anything" ("AMA"), Meskonis writes:

'What upsets me the most > reading occasional comment/private message that this is a toxic place, and some members openly say that we (and me personally) encourage toxic behaviour. I am a peace loving person, and still, not afraid to stand for Acorn, my employees, admins/mods and myself.'

Forum member since 2004, with member name "whois-search", wrote back:

‘You read private messages?’

Meskonis responded back to member "whois-search" with:

‘Yes, I do.’

Another forum member since 2005, with member name "invincible", wrote back to Meskonis with:

‘Just to be absolutely clear, because I don't think what Andrew @Whois-Search may have been getting at when he asked "You read private messages?" above has registered with you as it did with me. Whose private messages do you read? The private messages sent to you alone or the private messages sent to all users by anyone? (Smiley face emoticon).’

Shortly afterward, and without any prior warning, the entire account of member "invincible," along with nearly 20 years of posting history, was deleted by either Meskonis or one of his forum representatives.

Earlier this morning DomainCrawls received a screenshot of the above message, which had been posted by member "invincible" prior to being deleted, from another forum member who requested anonymity, fearing 'reprisals from nasty Meskonis.' This member also told us:

'Many long-time users of the AcornDomains forum have started taking screenshots of posts for personal reference due to the past deletion of content by overzealous moderators and administrators reporting to Meskonis.'

'As a non-native English speaker, Meskonis sometimes struggles to understand intermediate English and faces significant difficulties with advanced levels. This includes the technical terminology often required in domain name discussions. Additionally, Meskonis frequently misses the nuances written by many native British English speakers, leading to misunderstandings of what a more sophisticated speaker of English might really mean. He often misconstrues and misinterprets what is being said.'

In a final message sent to member "invincible," which DomainCrawls understands was sent via email and has seen a copy of, Meskonis writes:

‘Having fun? Why do you need to behave like this? Do you feel better insulting another human being?’

Meskonis, who does not clarify what he considers insulting in his message, seems to have taken offense at member "invincible" for politely explaining what member "whois-search" might have been implying when he asked Meskonis to clarify, 'Whose private messages do you read?' Meskonis's response appears to be entirely disproportionate to the semantics of the question posed in his own "Ask Me Anything" conversation. Following these 'bizarre posts' by Meskonis, other members of the AcornDomains forum responded in the AMA.

Forum member"dee" began, writing:

‘I think it was a valid question [asked by invincible]. Fair enough if there was a genuine reason, but they were just asking questions on this thread as far as i saw . Maybe it was something else ?’

Forum member "boxerdog" followed member "dee", writing:

‘I thought he [invincible] simply asked Helmuts if he read members private messages or am I wrong?

Member "dee" responded to member "boxerdog", writing:

‘Thats why i'm asking... [what invincible asked] was a valid question as far as i saw reading the thread. And was certainly in context having read a previous answer’

Meskonis responded to member "boxerdog", writing:

‘No, I don't. Why should I? ... I don't have enough time to contact all the last years attendees of the Domain Summit (running out of hours.. literarly (sic), quite often working from 5AM). Crazy assumption’ and ‘Can we please return to a positive note? Thank you.’

Member "dee" responded, writing:

‘But you answered yes ? So he [invincible] tried to confirm exactly what you meant.’

Member "boxerdog" responded, writing:

‘Is it possible though? Genuinely interested as I have no idea.’

Meskonis responded, writing:

‘No, I am not reading other emails. We monitor the SMTP server, occasionally check issues related to held and failed messages, and that is it. Nore we are sharing these with anybody.

He [invincible] had no intention for positive conversation. Not the first time. Thank you.

Rules are very simple, and these are for everybody.

It seems that some time will be needed to reinforces the forum's standards and to show our members that everybody's safety and well-being is a priority.’

Meskonis did not clarify what he meant by stating that member "invincible" had 'no intention for positive conversation,' nor did he explain the phrase 'Not the first time. Thank you.' DomainCrawls has reached out to Meskonis for clarification.

Meskonis also did not specify whether he reads private messages sent between other forum members, choosing instead to introduce a reference to emails without explanation. DomainCrawls has asked Meskonis for clarification to avoid presuming that he may be being deliberately evasive. There is no suggestion that he is being.

According to some members, who all asked not to be named, Meskonis has 'been behaving irrationally for some time' on AcornDomains. This behaviour has caused frustration among members due to the 'heavy-handed editing or deletion of posts by moderators without explanation, followed by seemingly banning those who make polite challenges,' one forum member stated.

A forum member commented to DomainCrawls that Meskonis issued a press release about a "deleting binge" in which he removed 500,000 inactive accounts from AcornDomains and DNForum, the latter of which he also allegedly owns. This story was briefly covered by the industry news site DomainNameWire.com. The forum member, who wishes to remain anonymous, told DomainCrawls, 'Most forums issue press releases to announce new users. Meskonis is the only one I've known to put one out to announce he's lost users. It's just bizare!'

'Some long-term contributors are staying away because Meskonis handles even the slightest perceived conflict by deleting posts and telling people to be nice, even when they are simply providing polite challenges as they have always done. The man seems irrational.'

'Sadly, some members do not respond well to having their claims critiqued and scrutinised, especially when they have failed to fulfil many of their past commitments,' said another forum member whom DomainCrawls has chosen not to name. 'Meskonis recently attended an ICANN event in Paris where was seen looking embarrassed in front of other delegates after being denied boarding onto a private coach provided by PIR.org to transport attendees to a PIR.org-sponsored evening event. Meskonis was apparently not entitled to attend the event as he is not employed by an ICANN-accredited registrar.'

Another forum user, who also asked not to be named, through fear of reprisals, told DomainCrawls:

'It is possible, based on Meskonis's messages elsewhere, that he's under immense stress and having trouble securing enough attendees for his forthcoming conference in London. The event is apparently funded by others, so he is happily spending their money, but the word going around is that very few, if any, are willing to pay to attend.'

'Meskonis appears to be good at spending other people's money but lacks a deep understanding of the domain name industry. He might simply be doing this because he craves the opportunity to be in the spotlight. It seems he has a need for attention despite not having much to offer in return, as he lacks common sense, intelligence, and ability.'

'If it weren't for his financial backers, the forum purchases and the conference probably wouldn't have happened. There's a possibility that the conference scheduled for later this year may not go ahead if potential industry sponsors become wary of his character.'

'It's noticeable that the .uk registry Nominet snubbed him last year by not attending in any official capacity and apparently have no plans to attend this year either. Other exhibitors could pull out, or he may not raise the total amount of money required to make the conference happen. The attendance numbers might not justify the money being spent.'

DomainCrawls has reached out to Meskonis for comment.

Meskonis was last featured by DomainCrawls in our story 'Backlash at “Nazi Twitter campaign gaff” Monday 21 August 2023.

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