I for one am sick and tired of our resident white noise, otherwise known as Sentinel, historically known as Mark Serlin / Nightwatch2 / LadyLust / and whatnot.
The guy is extremely narrow-minded and never exhibits any proof to the obviously ludicrous statements that he posts. If he’s called upon his insanity, he’ll resort to statements like “you’re such an asshole” (for male posters) and “That time of the month again?” (for female posters). Just read the “you nonsmokers leave me the heck alone” thread.
I’m sure he’s convinced that his somewhat accurate grasp of the English language disqualifies him from Trolldom. I’ve got news for you, Serlin. It doesn’t. You’re a disgrace to this board and must leave.
I don’t want this to turn out into a debate about the credibility and sincerity of Serlin. This is a POLL.
All of those in favour of the immediate removal of Sentinel/Serlin from these boards, post “Yes”.
All of those against, post “No”.
I’m fully aware of the fact that this is a very schoolyard thing to do, and also that I have no power whatsoever to ban this little cretin. I just hope that a long list of “yes” posts will convince this idiot that he is absolutely and fully persona non grata. Maybe big numbers work on this fool - who knows, all other means have failed so far.
So remember, just a “yes” or “no” please. Don’t flame me for trying to do this, just ignore it if you don’t regard it useful.
Fire at will. Here’s mine: YES, sweet mother of God, let this asshole vanish into thin air!
As a wishy-washy “nice” person, I usually wait to see which way the wind blows on controversial topics. So sue me, I’m a chickenshit unless the subject is near and dear.
My vote’s No, but it would have been a Yes if Sentinel weren’t so easy to ignore.
If he were posting all over the place, disrupting threads, focusing his energy on annoying certain posters instead of spreading himself around fairly equally, it’d be one thing. But he’s not. Or if he is, I’ve missed it.
If you just wanted a Yes or No without explanation, I’m sorry. (See, I said I was a wimp.)
I’ve been lobbying to send this fuckwad to Coventry from day one, Coldy.
He is by far the most obnoxious asshole I have ever seen here. His twisted rant about non-smokers is the product of a deranged mind.
It’s not necessarry to ask for his banning, although I’d love to see it happen. Of course, he’ll come back with another name. Why do some people go where they’re clearly not welcome?
This is probably the only place anyone talks to the scumbucket, so let’s just ignore him.
His tone sounds familiar, rather Serlin-esque. He also is amazingly arrogant and rude. However, I agree with Wally, let’s ignore him. DO NOT FEED THE TROLL. I lapsed briefly on that one, but now am on the straight and narrow. DO NOT FEED THE TROLL.
Being quite new to this board, I went back through the “Nonsmokers leave me to pollute your air in peace” (or something) thread to see how sumbitchy the alleged sumbitch actually got. Yep, he’s a sumbitch alright. So? You guys might possibly be spoiled by the extremely high quality (generally) sumbitchiness to be found on SDMB, compared to most other boards I’ve been a part of or lurked through.
Sentinel, while he tends to be arrogant, condescending and abusive without anything to base arrogance and condescension upon (such as a superior intellect or better writing skills) can at least argue logically most of the time, expresses himself in proper standard English, and is even <ding! ding!> entertaining. Also, as AuntiePam pointed out, he spends his energy defending his own OP’s or posting in open topics (isn’t that what the forums are designed for?).
Sure, Sentinel’s obnoxious. And abusive. And frequently full of shit. At least he doesn’t post self-pity topics (unless you count the “antismoking ads violate my rights” rant), and he doesn’t seem to stalk other posters (correct me if I’m wrong about that; I just couldn’t find a case where he’s done so). And if you find him Trollish, well…
This is a public message board. Sentinel’s right to free speech is as protected as Coldfire’s, and Wally’s, and mine, and the other over 6000 registered members of this board.
My personal opinion of him does not matter one whit. He has a right to his opinion, and I have a right to mine. We do not have to agree. Does that make him a troll? No. Does it mean I’m right and he’s wrong? No.
Not very many people agree with the things he has to say. However, he does not completely disrupt threads with his opinions. Sure, he’s vitriolic. But who doesn’t get that way from time to time?
If you don’t like what the man has to say, either a) argue with him, or b) ignore him.
I suppose what I’m sasying here is, to paraphrase, “I may not like what Sentinel has to say, but I will defend to the death his right to say it.”
Well, I don’t know if I’d exactly throw myself in front of a train for him, but you get my point. At least he’s not doing what lswote’s doing all over MPSIMS right now. Yoinks!
I’d vote no–sorry, Coldfire!–based purely on pragmatism.
If banned, it would just feed his paranoia and he’d just come back under another name.
His attitude and style are pretty grating, but he seems to leave people alone if they leave him alone. ::shrugs:: I just don’t open threads he posts, mainly because I don’t want to get into fights of his devising: too wearing, for no discernible results.
So he’s objectionable. He’s not the only one. We’ll cope.
So you think he’s had multiple names. If he’s come back under another name, he’s not alone. If he uses multiple names, report it. Either way, a poll is beside the point.
I think he has as much right as all the other assholes/non-contributers to be here. I don’t care if established posters don’t want him here. I think he should stay, if no other reason than to be fair.
Umm, not to burst your bubble, COLDFIRE, but who the hell is “sentinel” or 'Serlin" or whatever his name is. Never ran into him. Actually, I’ve barely heard of YOU (but you DO have an impressive # of posts ). So, until this guy pisses ME off, I don’t care much, except to lean on the side of tolerance.
No, it isn’t. It’s owned and operated at the whim of the Chicago Reader, and they can decide exactly who they do and don’t want on it, or take it down altogether if tney prefer. As it is, they run it at a loss, which begins to seem less and less sensible the more jerks you attract.
Not unless you know something about the Constitution that everybody else doesn’t. Or is the Reader now an arm of Congress?
Plus, that Constitution does not apply to citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
I figured a lot of people would point out the freedom of speech principle. Which would in any other case be quite justified. However, in this case the lines of “freedom of speech” have been crossed long ago by our friend Sentinel. His reactions to anyone that disagrees with him are clearly in the “Jerk” category, IMHO. He displays no effort whatsoever to even LOOK at another viewpoint. Typical responses only include useless profanity accompanied by non-sensical unscientific links and quotes that attempt to back up the insane ideas that find their way from his derailed mind to his keyboard.
Freedom of speech is OK, as long as it does not conflict with the purpose of this board. Which it does, in the case of Senti-Serlin.
Well, I have to agree that he’s annoying, but I think, Coldfire, that maybe he’s just more so in the Pit, because in other non-PIt threads, I only see a little of what you’re talking about, the insults, etc.
He posted a rather gonzo cite in my “Pet Food” GQ thread, but when I called him on it, instead of merely insulting me, he came back with an actually not-bad, more mainstream cite. So I think he’s trainable.
And there are plenty of people in the real world who would agree wholeheartedly with his “Non-smokers get off my case” rant. They just don’t happen to post to it.
I agree with the other folks in this thread, that you can’t start banning people just because they’re annoying.
Phil, you’re right on this one. It’s not as public as I’d like to believe.
“Being a jerk” is in the eye of the beholder. I think Neo-Nazis are jerks, and I do not agree with anything they have to say. But they have as much right to speak their minds publicly as I do. If Neo-Nazis want to post here, they can try. No doubt Tuba will break her current banning land speed record, but they do have the right to try.
Sentinel annoys the crap out of some people. A lot of people. BUT, he’s got a right to be honked about the anti-smoking campaigns. He (if he is Serlin) doesn’t have to like overweight people if he doesn’t want to. He can appreciate fluffy hair & perfume all he wants, and he can state it here. We can disagree all we want, and he can tell us to get bent. We can tell him to piss off. We can scream and holler at each other until the cows come home, but so far, in his Sentinel persona, the mods have not decided he was a jerk. We may think he is, but they don’t think he’s breaking the rules. If you personally think he’s a jerk, tell him so, or not. Avoid his threads, or not.
Who says he has to? There is no law, anywhere, that says one MUST listen to another’s point of view. Not the Constitution, not the Reader. I listen to yours because 99.9% of the time, I agree with what you have to say. I differ with you on this one. Doesn’t mean either one of us is a jerk. Just means you want him banned, and I don’t think that, as Sentinel, he’s broken the board rule yet.
If Sentinel gets banned because of what he’s said the the"Non-Smokers Leave Me The Heck Alone" thread, what comes next? I know, I know, slippery slope. Sentinel is pissed because not everyone agrees with him. But Phil isn’t a kid person, and he started a pretty vitriolic thread about kids in movie theaters, and no one called for his banning. Why? Because it would have been wrong. Just as calling for Sentinel’s banning at this time is wrong.
). So, until this guy pisses ME off, I don’t care much, except to lean on the side of tolerance.