Liberal and Desmostylus, will you two for Chrissakes stop hijacking threads for your own obnoxious screechfests? Right here on our stage, on the front page of the Pit, you two have stomped your muck-daubed feet all over the Bush says Freedom thread and the Abu Ghraib whistleblower thread. And that’s just the first two threads I’ve opened this morning. Never mind the fact that the flaming feces you’re flinging has Og-all to do with what’s being discussed; oh, no, it’s way more important to slug out another round in your ongoing “I know you are, but what am I?” yammerjams.
There’d be a lot more light and a lot less heat around here if you two would pull your heads out of each other’s asses.
Maybe true, but the “Bush sez Freedom” thread is just more wanking off from people who hate Bush. A more pointless thread would be hard to imagine, so how can you spoil it? And why were you bothering to read it? You pretty much know that anything with “Bush” in the title and Rashak Mani as the poster is gonna be another content-free “USA is the suxxor” post.
Perhaps they can show that they aren’t completely ruled by kneejerk reactions against one another by uniting in a common purpose. If there’s a thread on this board that can unite them, that one is it.
mhendo, thanks for the reminder. I’ve posted links in both threads.
Finagle, I wanted to read the “Freedom” thread because now and then some fire does break through the smoke in threads like that. If I choose to read predictable partisan palaver, I’d hope it would at least stay on topic.
Tapioca Dextrin, I’m not junior modding, or making accusations of trolling. I’m Pitting two Dopers who are annoying me with their obnoxious conduct, a time-honored tradition in this forum. If you disagree, hit the ! button yourself.
EddyTeddyFreddy, I wanted to give you my thanks, as well. The sad thing is, I rather like both posters, or at least I used to, but now, when they start in on each other, I find myself skipping their posts. It’s a bit of a shame. I’ve learned things from both of them, especially Liberal, but the person who taught me so much seems to have vanished.
I appreciate the criticism, and I think your point is valid.
Certainly, our posts are disruptive. I accept responsibility for participating, but there are two points I have that perhaps you can consider, and give me your advice. Point one: it is almost invariably the case that, when these disruptions occur, I have posted an opinion pertinent to the OP, and indeed, you can see that, in these two instances, that is the case. So, point one is that he starts it — but that does not excuse my participation because I am sufficiently self-assured that I can refrain from responses to random drive-bys, however… Point two is that it is almost invariably the case that his sideswipes have nothing to do with the OP, and everything to do with some personal attack, which I also could deal with except that he makes inaccurate statements either about my philosophy or my history on the board. The notion, for example, that I take my classical liberalism from Ayn Rand is as ludicrous as saying that Bush takes his neo-conservatism from Karl Marx. Or, as another example, saying that I have ever been the boards loudest defender of Bush is an outright lie since I have steadfastly condemned his tyranny since his usurpation of the office.
Is it necessary, in your opinion, that I leave such matters alone, without addressing and rebutting them? Would you? Ought I to leave for newcomers (and some old timers as well) the mistaken impression that my silence constitutes tacit agreement with his screeds? Would you do the same? If I followed you from thread to thread, as he does me, and routinely interrupted everything ongoing just to make accusations about your motives, impugn your character, ridicule your username, and make false statements about your posting history — what would be your response? Perhaps you can give me insight on how to handle the matter.
Lib: You could open a Pit thread yourself and everytime Des does this, direct him to that thread. That way you address your concerns, but leave all the fighting in a thread specifically designed for that purpose.
Lib, I agree it’s hard to stay silent when being attacked, especially when one feels it’s an unfounded perversion of one’s opinions and beliefs. Turning the other cheek has two to four lives, and then what?
On the other hand, I’d say it’s astoundingly obvious by now that Desmo is acting from personal animus rather than reasoned disagreement. To respond in kind to the sort of foam-flecked invective he’s addressing to you merely debases your own credibility.
It seems to me that the most effective response is to ignore anything he says and to continue debating the thread’s topic with other, civil participating Dopers, in the calm way you’re capable of when someone hasn’t pushed one of your buttons. (I’ve offered similar advice to Starving Artist, and he’s found it useful.) I’m sure that the animadversions will continue for a while, but your complete lack of rejoinder will take the fun out of it. I very much doubt that any newbie or clueless old-timer would fail to take away the message you wish to convey in such circumstances.
To put it bluntly: Any time you’re tempted to return fire, ask yourself: “Is this rip really necessary?”
A good idea, John, at least on the surface. Unfortunately, it occurs with such frequency and regularity that I would run the risk of criticism over opening so many threads pitting Desmostylus. You see, the problem, in my opinion, is that his longstanding and ongoing personal grudge against me has been recently exacerbated by moderatorial warnings from Coldfire and TVeblen, the latter having given him a stern final warning about jerkness. He doubtless blames me for his plight, and so has decided to avail himself of every opportunity to hijack threads and attack me.
