Brian Eley

[Matt Mackenzie]

It seems that Wikipedia have finally agreed to accept that he is deceased, what a farce that was.

(including some galaxy brain who wouldn't agree that Kingpin was a reliable source)

[Paul McKeown]

Well, the chess wikipedians, whomsoever they may be, seem a strange lot and do not necessarily seem particularly experienced at chess, but well experienced in the game of wiki rules lawyering.

[John Upham]

Well, the chess wikipedians, whomsoever they may be, seem a strange lot and do not necessarily seem particularly experienced at chess, but well experienced in the game of wiki rules lawyering.

Here is a log of the most recent edits:

curprev 12:53, 22 April 2023‎ MaxBrowne2 talk contribs‎ 6,352 bytes −84‎ don't think either of these are very useful undothank
curprev 12:51, 22 April 2023‎ MaxBrowne2 talk contribs‎ 6,436 bytes −14‎ →‎Life as a wanted person: rem unnecessary and vague words undothank
curprev 12:50, 22 April 2023‎ MaxBrowne2 talk contribs‎ m 6,450 bytes +1‎ →‎Life as a wanted person: s undothank
curprev 12:50, 22 April 2023‎ MaxBrowne2 talk contribs‎ 6,449 bytes −3‎ →‎Life as a wanted person: "GM Plaskett" sounds a bit pompous to my English-speaking ears.... undothank
curprev 12:47, 22 April 2023‎ MaxBrowne2 talk contribs‎ 6,452 bytes 0‎ That's a source for his birth name, not his date of birth or death undothank
10 April 2023
curprev 21:19, 10 April 2023‎ Random person no 362478479 talk contribs‎ m 6,452 bytes +1‎ →‎Life as a wanted person: fixed typo undothank
8 April 2023
curprev 13:03, 8 April 2023‎ AndyTheGrump talk contribs‎ 6,451 bytes −229‎ →‎Death: the Pitt-Kethley source is perhaps questionable (see WP:RSN discussion), but we sure as heck can't cite an obscure 'satirical chess magazine' website for someone's date of death. undothank
curprev 08:26, 8 April 2023‎ The Gnome talk contribs‎ 6,680 bytes +198‎ corrected source data; added source undothank
curprev 06:57, 8 April 2023‎ Mandarax talk contribs‎ m 6,482 bytes −1‎ Correct spelling undothank Tag: AWB
6 April 2023
curprev 16:45, 6 April 2023‎ The Gnome talk contribs‎ 6,483 bytes +999‎ updated article with death info undothank

[John Upham]

Here is the Wiki biog of MaxBrowne2:

User:MaxBrowne2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Changed the password on User:MaxBrowne after an attempted hack and managed to forget my password and lock myself out. Think I was probably using an old email on that.

I mostly edit chess articles, I find the history and theory of the game fascinating. I also edit music, film/tv or whatever other articles get my attention.

"Other stuff exists" is an essay, not a policy or guideline.

Typical wikipedia talk page discussion: http://wondermark.com/1k62/

"Ignore all rules" is not an excuse for being a dick.

[John Upham]

It is conceivable that MaxBrowne2 is amongst us although there is no likely match with any of our signed-up members.

[Roger Lancaster]

Will the thread on this particular obituary never end?

[Nick Ivell]

Probably not, and never has a thread in this category had fewer compliments for the deceased!

[John Townsend]

In terms of biographical information, which often appears in the death notices and tributes in this column, one could say that it has scarcely started in Brian Eley's case or, at least, that it has been more sparse than is usual in an obituary of a former British champion.

Edward Winter has a feature article, Brian Eley, to which, as far as I know, he is amenable to accepting suitable additions:

https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/eley.html

[Andrew Zigmond]

I have suggested to Carl that this thread is closed. As an obituary it has largely served its purpose. Obviously if any significant new information comes to light or any official report is published that can be dealt with in another thread as appropriate.

We should ultimately remember not Brian Eley but the many young lives he likely ruined.

[Roger Lancaster]

Will the thread on this particular obituary never end?

My thinking was that this has long since ceased to be an obituary and has become a post mortem. I agree with Andrew above.

[John Townsend]

It could be argued that Brian Eley should be remembered whatever he did, but we currently know so little about his life.

Andrew refers to "the many young lives he likely ruined", but that is speculative and, surely, use of the word "likely" acknowledges that. Brian Eley has not been convicted and it is normal in the UK to assume innocence in such circumstances.

[Matt Mackenzie]

In reality, he is almost certainly as "innocent" as the late Jimmy Savile. Who was also never actually convicted of any crime.

[Roger Lancaster]

It could be argued that Brian Eley should be remembered whatever he did, but we currently know so little about his life.

Andrew refers to "the many young lives he likely ruined", but that is speculative and, surely, use of the word "likely" acknowledges that. Brian Eley has not been convicted and it is normal in the UK to assume innocence in such circumstances.

Yes, although I'd add that Adolf Hitler wasn't convicted either but anyone saying he "was likely to have killed ..." is asking for trouble.

[Andrew Zigmond]

I am happy to replace "likely" with "almost certainly". It is the case that since Eley's death the laws of libel apply less, nor will he ever face justice with pre-requisites of a presumption of innocence and a fair trial.

The only people know who know the exact details of what happened are Eley's victims; those who have spoken out and many who I suspect haven't. They have to live with the truth every day.

In this 22 page thread (as some have said, probably the longest in this particular sub forum) I have to say I see very little true empathy for Eley's victims and more a desire to pick through the details for their own curiosity.

EDIT - hopefully Carl will agree with me and shut this thread down. With Eley now dead there are two "loose ends" for want of a better thread. The first is that if anybody who was abused, by Eley or indeed anybody else, it is not too late to speak out and be supported. Survivors UK are an excellent charity that specialise in supporting male victims of sexual abuse. Secondly, if there are still individuals involved in chess who facilitated Eley's actions by turning a blind eye they should be held to account and there are proper channels for this. Neither are matters for this forum.

[John Townsend]

It is offensive to the memory of Brian Eley and to his family to draw a comparison with Adolf Hitler. Besides, the latter's crimes are there for all to see.