Viewing

On 6 June 2013, "Ex-Examiner" posted an archive of saved message threads from the then-recently closed PolygraphPlace.com Bulletin Board's private forum for persons working in the polygraph field. This archive, including over 1,300 message threads dating from 2002-2013, provides a wealth of insight into the attitudes, concerns, biases, and characters of some prominent figures in the polygraph community. Unfortunately, the format in which the archive was posted (Mozilla Archive File Format) has been deprecated, which makes direct use of the archive problematic. AntiPolygraph.org has rendered these message threads into a more accessible format. A slightly edited version of "Ex-Examiner's" introductory note to the archive is reproduced below, followed by reverse chronologically-ordered direct links to the message index pages.

The discussions on the Polygraph Place examiners' forum offer a rare glimpse into a closed community and could serve as rich source material for a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation on in-group/out-group psychology.

Dramatis Personae


A number of prominent figures in the polygraph community participated in these discussions. Screen names are indicated in parentheses where they substantially differ from real names:

  • Gordon H. Barland, a former researcher at the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute
  • Patrick Coffey (thenolieguy4u), a private polygrapher from northern California
  • Barry Cushman (Barry C), current (May 2013) president of the American Polygraph Association
  • Keith Gaines (liedoctor), an instructor at the National Center for Credibility Assessment (who is not a doctor)
  • Ed Gelb (egelb), a past president of the American Polygraph Association
  • Mark Handler (Mad Dog), a prolific writer on polygraph topics
  • Ralph Hilliard (detector), owner of PolygraphPlace.com
  • Donald Krapohl (dkrapohl), second-in-charge at the National Center for Credibility Assessment and editor of the American Polygraph Association's journal
  • Dan Mangan, a private polygrapher who is skeptical of the scientific basis for polygraph. In the end he was banned from the forum.
  • J.B. McCloughan, a polygraph examiner with the Michigan State Police and currently a director of the American Polygraph Association
  • Paul Menges (CHSBOY), a former instructor at the National Center for Credibility Assessment (deceased)
  • Raymond Nelson (rnelson), a private polygraph examiner who now works for the Lafayette Instrument Company
  • Jack L. Ogilvie, a senior examiner with the Phoenix Police Department and a forum moderator
  • Lou Rovner, a forum moderator and one of the few polygraph examiners with a Ph.D. (though you would never guess from his writing)
  • Jim Sackett (sackett), a polygraph examiner with the Las Vegas Metropolitan P.D.
  • Dan Sosnowski (Dan S), owner of a private polygraph school and past president of the American Polygraph Association
  • Ted Todd, a polygraph examiner for the Contra Costa County Prosecutor
  • Milton O. Webb (skipwebb), Army CID polygrapher and past president of the American Polygraph Association

Suggested Readings


Discussions about George Maschke and/or AntiPolygraph.org
(a frequent topic; these are just highlights):


Discussions about Doug Williams:


Polygraph Place Bulletin Board Private Forum


This archive comprises 33 message board index pages, each with navigable links to some 40 message threads. Many links within these pages refer back to the Polygraph Place bulletin board, which is no longer online, so use your browser's back arrow to navigate back as necessary.

 Viewing