Thanks for sharing your insight. I've learned a lot through this experience (it's a jungle out there!) and agree with you on most points except, 1) I posted nothing at futures.io and thus there was no possibility to offend mike. As a beginner trader, I do not possess enough knowledge to express my own opinion on forums. All I did after I became a paid member was download some Ninjatrder strategies. The period of my membership was just about a month before my account was locked out. 2) I started appealing to mike after I learned that I was banned for no reason. I was more disappointed that there was no explanation as to why I was banned than the non refunded membership fee. As shown in the reply, he does not care about being labeled as a scammer. If he was a nice and sensitive guy, the message was strong enough to take some measures immediately.