Aldebaran.

[Gadfly]

Now, if I glance ahead and see "Salaam A" at the end of a post, it becomes quite hard for me to continue reading the thread.

[Berkut]

Excuse me, I seem to have a cold.

*coughlinkcough*

[TeaElle]

What is this, his sixth pitting? Ninth? He's going to set a record.

I should, however, stop reading the thread when I see "Salaam A" at the end of a post. It would save my sanity from dissolving, my blood pressure from spiking and my hair from being torn out from the roots.

[Windwalker]

Post-modern brevity also includes not making a point?

[Gadfly]

Berkut, just run a search on Aldebaran. If you want your eyes, to, you know, flop about in your sockets whilst screaming like the slugs that don't exist.

[jackelope]

Maybe an Aldebaran pitting could be made a sticky.

[Stoneburg]

He has some points, and I don't find him more annoying then the other partisan people.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

And he's a fellow horse owner! That wins him points in my book.

Okay, okay, so I haven't been reading whatever he's posted in substantive discussions. Methinks I'll stay away from that so I can enjoy the pleasant chitchat we're having in MPSIMS on my particular obsession.

Shallow? Self-centered? ME??? Whyever would you say so?

[agiantdwarf]

Slight hijack, but any other hebrew speakers think that salaam allekem sounds like the hebrew equivalent of "goodbye to you all"?

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

Don't "salaam" (Arabic) and "shalom" (Hebrew) both mean "peace"? They're both Semitic languages, so they must have many words in common, or very similar.

[Zoe]

Say what you will, but he is able to stimulate some interesting conversation and a bit of thinking. I think he knows when he's twisting things a bit to be provocative, but I don't think I've ever caught him doing it just for the fun of it. At least, it doesn't seem so to me.

After my initial reaction of turning purple, grinding my teeth and reaching for the nitro glygerin tablets, I have learned to pay attention. When he is mistaken, I tell him what I think and he tells me why I am wrong. I hang onto what is worthwhile and let the rest go.

What is it that he does that manages to "get to you"? They says more about you than it does him.

He would make the short list of Dopers I would most like to meet.

[sailor]

The poor guy has two wives. What do you expect. You'd be driven to distraction too if you had to put up with two wives. And the thought of two mothers in law is terrifying. Give the poor guy a break and pity him.

[IWLN]

Sorry Gadfly, I agree with Zoe. I've gained some different perspective from him and he makes me think. Funny at times too. Salaam A

[Dissonance]

Originally posted by EddyTeddyFreddy
Don't "salaam" (Arabic) and "shalom" (Hebrew) both mean "peace"? They're both Semitic languages, so they must have many words in common, or very similar.

Watch yourself now, you might bring peace to the Middle East.

[PatriotX]

I've agreed w/ Zoe prob'ly before Zoe did.
Except for the wanting to meet him part.
My list of Dopers I'd like to meet must be a little shorter.

['possum stalker]

I like Al. I suspect you're pitting just for pitting's sake.

[jayjay]

I actually find Aldebaran, while slightly annoying when he feels he can get a dig in at the U.S., can be quite insightful when he forgets himself.

F'rinstance, in the What Went Wrong With Arab Culture? thread, he's offered some very informative posts.

As far as his sig goes, how is it any more annoying than anyone else's? He's saying "Peace, Aldebaran". Duh. I found Michael Ellis's spoofing of it in this thread to be more annoying and mean-spirited than anything Aldebaran has to say.

[TeaElle]

Originally posted by Zoe
What is it that he does that manages to "get to you"?

For me, it's his perpetual "You are refusing to see my point, so I suppose that debate here is impossible." ploy whenever people disagree with him, plus his routine disavowal of statements that made, sometimes right in the same thread. He did both more than once in this thread and that's just today's example.

This is especially prevalent when he's the only one on his side of an argument and when he's putting forth illogical and simply false assertions, particularly about U.S. law and culture. To my knowledge, Aldebaran has never mentioned that he's spent any significant period of time in the U.S. nor is he well versed in basic principles of U.S. law, but he routinely makes suggestions that run afoul of both and then gets huffy about having to backpedal (if he ever does) when those who know more than he point out his errors.

Most Dopers do their damnedest to play fair in GD threads, and it's infuriating to contend with someone who doesn't debate in good faith and routinely plays this very tiresome victim card in lieu of putting up a position and backing it up with something more substantive than their personal impressions of an issue -- especially when those impressions are drawn from a continent away.

[mic84]

Slight hijack, but any other hebrew speakers think that salaam allekem sounds like the hebrew equivalent of "goodbye to you all"?

Don't "salaam" (Arabic) and "shalom" (Hebrew) both mean "peace"? They're both Semitic languages, so they must have many words in common, or very similar.

Yes, and "aleichem"(in Hebrew) and "alaikum"(in Arabic) both mean "on you". So it's something along the lines of "Peace on you". Used as either "Hi" or "Goodbye", I think.

[gum]

So, Aldebaran gets your approval because he's a muslim? [or so he says]

You think you get a lot of insightful information from him? Why would you think that? Have you checked other message-boards with real muslim posters?

I'd think twice before I put all my trust in a single poster on this board. That would be naïve.

As for pitting him; Like most of things said in this part of the SDMB; It's no use whatsoever, imho.

[Lord Ashtar]

You know, Aldebaran probably attracted the Mods attention a while ago, what with being pitted multiple times within his first few months on the board.

I think if he was doing something ban-worthy he would have been banned a long time ago.

[Avenger]

What is the record for pittings? Is anyone counting? Surely must be held by December??

[Michael Ellis]

Originally posted by Avenger
What is the record for pittings? Is anyone counting? Surely must be held by December??

Just give Aldi time. If it he keeps it up he'll pass december's total sometime before May.

[sailor]

Originally posted by jayjay
I found Michael Ellis's spoofing of it in this thread to be more annoying and mean-spirited than anything Aldebaran has to say.

I agree. That was totally tasteless. OTOH, I don't understand the need to sign your name on every post and I wish people wouldn't. It just takes up space for nothing.

[The Great Unwashed]

What's sad is I saw the thread title and knew immediately to whom it referred....

Sorry wrong thread, back to the hivemind.

[Master Wang-Ka]

I agree with TeaElle; I don't MIND when someone DISAGREES with me. Hell, if that were the issue, I'd have been outta here ages ago.

...but to simply be "shut down" when I've caught you on one point or another... that lacks class. "Oh, oh, you simply cannot understand, we are not going to agree, so I'm outta here." Yeah, right. Admittedly, I haven't read EVERY thread the guy's ever posted in, but I've noticed a distinct tendency in that direction whenever someone nails down an irrefutable point, or catches a mistake on Aldebaran's part...

[Ilsa_Lund]

Ahem

• :wally

[Mehitabel]

That's it. You get the distinct impression he is not taking on any of the information that might challenge his world-view. He won't really debate, just make another speech. When pressed he suddenly mentions his dyslexia or his inability to grasp the English, and when called on it by other posters who are one or both of those things, he just gets rude. His continuing use of the insulting terms "US'ers" and phrases like "permit me to smile" {at the moronic thing you just wrote} despite gentle warnings and pleas to the contrary show a streak of hardcore immaturity that is being mitigated a bit lately, but still flares up quickly. He also starts and posts in political threads without letting us know which country he's in, which makes it hard to know if he was raised with constant anti-American propaganda or a more liberated media. I'm almost certain he's a Saudi and have started treating him accordingly--the air of moral certainty and wealth both match.

I am also a little confused as to why the mods don't at least warn him on his ruder statements, but that's not my job, of course. I wish I had a free pass like his, to say anything I wanted.

[Coldfire]

What, we're going to pit people now for the way they sign off on their posts?

I don't think so. If you have anything substantial against Aldebaran, you're free to start a pit thread about it, just like you're free to do this about any other poster.

This thread is closed.