A Toast to Banned and Disappeared Posters

[Project Willow]

^^ I've just been wondering that myself.

[Jeff]

Me too.

Simulist, status report.

[82_28]

Yup, simulist, montag and most recently Stephen Morgan. Where are you all? We miss you.

[82_28]

Oh and uncle $cam. I begged him a bit on Moon of Alabama to come back a couple months ago during the Egypt time. Looks like it didn't take. Ah well. . .

[Jeff]

Oh and uncle $cam. I begged him a bit on Moon of Alabama to come back a couple months ago during the Egypt time. Looks like it didn't take. Ah well. . .

From page 14 of this thread:

His account has been deactivated, and he knows why it was well enough that he hasn't questioned it, and I think I'll leave it at that.

[82_28]

Oh. So that's the story.

I've wound up a number of places $cam posted at for the last ten years. How small is this Internet world of people like us anyways? I found RI through Billmon and Fantastic Planet way back when. Fuck, we're so databased.

[Gnomad]

We are so.

Such is life.

(me, Ive been like, hard at work. Work, it squeezes the juices right out of you. Dang it.)

I still miss OP ED.
Hope you are all right and still alive, dear. It was great to rub the ethereal appendages with you, fella.
All the best.

[Hammer of Los]

I must say that I am always super happy to see the Penguin/Gnomad, the author of my favourite laugh aloud moment post.

But poor Stephen! Oh do allow me my moment. I shan't pm him, I try to avoid pm's if I can, you never know when you are inviting the attention of a demented stalker. Not that I am suggesting Stephen is that, well he may be a bit demented, as are at least half the forum goers here, but I doubt he is a stalker.

I saw it all coming, of course. That's my problem, I always do.

The benefit of the devil's advocate in increasing our ability to see clearly should be obvious. Stephen was always polite, and willing to engage in discussion. People can learn through open dialogue.

I thought accusing him of hate speech was frankly hyperbolic.

And for the most part, I'm not convinced of the wisdom of the recent ruling. Sorry, but it was obviously going to put pressure on Stephen to leave. Perhaps that was the intention; it's not as if the board is actually being flooded with real misogynist hate speech, is it? Of course, it is certainly possible I missed it somewhere on that enormous misogyny thread because I know I have not read every page. I don't have that sort of time on my hands. But I have felt people encouraging me to leave before now, and it is not pleasant. Perhaps it was only my paranoia. But I empathise when folk get jumped all over. I sometimes think you need a thick skin to stick around here. Having said that, as internet haunts go, it is usually surprisingly civil.

Anyway, Stephen if you are listening, please reconsider continuing to post here. If the spirit and content of some of your recent posts in the misogyny thread caused some offence, might you not simply accept that in the spirit of friendliness and respect for other's feelings, and agree it would be correct not to participate any longer in that thread but perhaps continue to contribute in any and all other threads you please? That's reasonable, isn't it?

You and Barracuda are so funny together, I would miss the repartee.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God!

Can't we all just get along?

And a little self-censorship ain't so hard. Now me, I have to resist the temptation to talk about the moon hoax and no plane at the pentagon all the time. Not to mention chemtrails. Sorry, I just did, didn't I?



I hope I'm not speaking out of turn.

[barracuda]

I wouldn't fret over Stephen too much. I noticed he took the time to pop in here and change his avatar this morning.

[Stephen Morgan]

I must say that I am always super happy to see the Penguin/Gnomad, the author of my favourite laugh aloud moment post.

But poor Stephen! Oh do allow me my moment. I shan't pm him, I try to avoid pm's if I can, you never know when you are inviting the attention of a demented stalker. Not that I am suggesting Stephen is that, well he may be a bit demented, as are at least half the forum goers here, but I doubt he is a stalker.

I choose to take that as a compliment. Although it does take me back to Project Willow's claim that I represent the perception of a physical threat to other members of the board. The care-bear of Damocles, that's me.

I saw it all coming, of course. That's my problem, I always do.

Quote somewhere about the merciful god who gave us forgetting. From Lovecraft I think. Google just brings up Bible stuff. But, yeah, it's good not to know too much. Comforting.

The benefit of the devil's advocate in increasing our ability to see clearly should be obvious. Stephen was always polite, and willing to engage in discussion. People can learn through open dialogue.

I thought accusing him of hate speech was frankly hyperbolic.

I certainly thought so.

And for the most part, I'm not convinced of the wisdom of the recent ruling.

I don't suppose my view needs stating. A noteworthy distinction, though, my conspiracy theory is the first one, as far as I'm aware, to be declared by the board administration to definitely not be a New World Order plot.

Sorry, but it was obviously going to put pressure on Stephen to leave. Perhaps that was the intention; it's not as if the board is actually being flooded with real misogynist hate speech, is it? Of course, it is certainly possible I missed it somewhere on that enormous misogyny thread because I know I have not read every page. I don't have that sort of time on my hands.

Yeah, me neither. One reason I was glad to be out of it. Still going, I see, although I'm pointedly ignoring it now. I mean the insults and personal abuse weren't very pleasant, but being banned from defending my core position pretty much makes any continued involvement in it pointless. I mean, I could post the actual origin of the term politically correct, but it's not worth the potential aggro. I mean I went into the witchcraft thread expecting to talk about witchcraft, because I've read about witchery quite a lot. I don't see black magic as a sex-issue, but some people do and I got dragged into that misogyny train wreck.

That's one of my problems with posting here now, for as long as some people see the divide between the sexes as the primary dividing line among man kind any thread on any issue is liable to go horribly wrong.

But I have felt people encouraging me to leave before now, and it is not pleasant. Perhaps it was only my paranoia. But I empathise when folk get jumped all over. I sometimes think you need a thick skin to stick around here. Having said that, as internet haunts go, it is usually surprisingly civil.

It is quite civil, you're right there. Of course I spend a lot of time on Usenet, which is quite an uncivil sort of place.

Anyway, Stephen if you are listening, please reconsider continuing to post here.

I might just do today. I mean, Jeff did say I'd be welcome back. A bit of euphoria going on due to finishing some tedious unpleasantness I had to do.

If the spirit and content of some of your recent posts in the misogyny thread caused some offence, might you not simply accept that in the spirit of friendliness and respect for other's feelings, and agree it would be correct not to participate any longer in that thread but perhaps continue to contribute in any and all other threads you please? That's reasonable, isn't it?

Wild horses could not drag me back into that thread. Obviously I intended to educate not to offend, but the same can't be said for everyone. I've always tried to be polite and reasonable, you said. Thick-skinned too, I should add.

You and Barracuda are so funny together, I would miss the repartee.

HE PMed me. Unlike some people I could mention. Might just try that stalking thing.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God!

Sons. Of God. "huios", Greek. IF your version says "children" it is adding to the words of God and therefore the translators and compilers are covert servants of satan. Buy a new one, or learn classical Greek. And Hebrew, if you want the Old Testament too.

Can't we all just get along?

And a little self-censorship ain't so hard. Now me, I have to resist the temptation to talk about the moon hoax and no plane at the pentagon all the time. Not to mention chemtrails. Sorry, I just did, didn't I?



I hope I'm not speaking out of turn.

There was a plane at the Pentagon. It was laying down chemtrails when it crashed. And the moon footage was actually filmed on a sound stage at the secret base on Mars. You heard it here first.

[Stephen Morgan]

I wouldn't fret over Stephen too much. I noticed he took the time to pop in here and change his avatar this morning.

A bit of the old invocation of wand with material basis on talisman, like. Also, the logo of the Office of Government Commerce. Also, see here.

[82_28]

Good to see you back grumpy old homeboy. I hope that your health issues are resolved.

[Stephen Morgan]

Good to see you back grumpy old homeboy. I hope that your health issues are resolved.

I seem to be the only one who's returned, but I don't think I've had any health problems.

[82_28]

I was looking for the Seattle Times first instance of using the word "nuclear" and came across this strange juxtaposition of ad and story and also another ad for Montag!



As Montag would say, "haha".

[AhabsOtherLeg]

Stephen was always polite, and willing to engage in discussion.

Hahaha! Classic! Can't really fault him on his willingness to discuss things right down to the wire, right enough, but there's no point pretending he isn't abbrasive and dismissive in equal measure when the mood takes him. I'm sure he'd admit that himself, which is one of the good points about him.

Of course I spend a lot of time on Usenet, which is quite an uncivil sort of place.

Yeah, the Usenet background did help me understand you a bit better when you mentioned it. It's definitely a place for STRONG OPINIONS that have to be vigorously defended (often pre-emptively) from attacks by the other folk with STRONG OPINIONS. Sort of a school-of-hard-knocks. If you don't learn to fight at the drop of a hat on there you pretty much have to leave, or become Mike Corley and only post OPs with no follow up regardless of how vicious and prolonged the barracking becomes. It's (generally speaking) not that vicious on here, but a trained fighter still has his instincts.

I seem to remember finding your blog once as well (wasn't web-stalking, just wondered where you were coming from) and from that I ended up on the various MRA forums and blogs. Seemed to be a mixture of the banally self-evident (domestic violence against men is bad, legal discrimination on grounds of gender is bad, belittling men is bad) and batshit insane hate-speech (all the rest of it, and there were metric tons of that).

For the record you would've been acknowledged as being right about the witches on that thread if you'd just called them cultists or something, but it was pretty obvious the thread was about gender (and class) oppression by patriarchal organisations, with the a priori assumption that the witches under discussion were female (and innocent of witchcraft, for the most part). You were right about Helen Duncan as well, sorry for not saying so at the time.

I don't really like anybody getting banned for their opinions (and it's obvious that Jeff doesn't like doing it either) unless those opinions are about other posters, and are repeatedly expressed to the point of harassment or personally targetted undermining, but a forum does need some rules or it just turns into a shithole shouting-match where nothing intelligible or worthwhile gets said. Like Yahoo News comments.

Anyway, I'll toast Montag, since I fear I might be one of the main reasons he left. He should come back. Going to post on his Morrisey thread, maybe he'll read it.