I agree about G.Nome, hence the old-school reference. Sad to see one of the flock leave the fold, however…
Anyway, I thought I may need to clarify asshole/jerk/troll versus lunatic. Lunatics are a separate but overlapping set with the asshole/jerk/troll set.
The above example of Spoofe was a fine example of the asshole/jerk/troll set. There are no prizes for A/J/Ts in this thread. Even for funny ones.
The lunatic is indeed a rare breed. They present in a number of ways.
Lunatic #1a : Not really an A/J/T, but presents in such a way that inspires debate, at least at first.
The true #1a lunatic will start a thread in GD which inspires at least a few responses from established GD posters. The thing that separates the true lunatic from the A/J/T is his replies and followups to said thread. An A/J/T has the option of replying or not replying (post and flee). A lunatic replies using strange and beautiful Klein bottle logic with a partial implication that he has actually read some of the posts in the thread. This is the classic JDT lunatic.
Lunatic #1b : Really an A/J/T, but presents in such a way that inspires debate, at least at first.
Posts a cogent OP, but follows up to legitimate replies in an A/J/T manner. He continues to do so while still following the rules of the board well enough not to get himself banned.
Much less interesting than a #1a lunatic.
Lunatic #2 : Starts a thread somewhere which makes no sense whatsoever or is downright scary.
The key separator, again, is replies to such thread with the same air as the OP. All attempts to convince lunatic otherwise are met with resistance. All attempts to club lunatic over the head with logic are fended off like a drunk crosseyed Alaskan chasing a Crisco-coated baby seal.
Lunatic #3 : Constant replier/hijacker.
He often has no expertise or false expertise in area to which he is replying. When people try and refute him, unlike the A/J/T, he only sometimes starts a flame war. More often, he tries to convince others that he is right, which inspires more refutation and all around shits and giggles. I would put peace here.
Any additions welcome.
peace:
JDT was November’s winner. He worked hard for it and paid the ultimate price in winning. Do not try and piss on his parade. You get December’s prize, but you can start trying for January’s prize in another week.
Exams (after my qualifier) are non-existant until I go back to medical school. Now it is just publish or perish. The boss is on Christmas vacation and I am preparing fly stocks and DNA, which leaves hours of dead time every day. Not that I have to justify how I spend my time, but my enormous ego dictates that I must publically announce what I do every second of each day. Thanks for appointing yourself guardian of my free time, though. I’ll make sure to ask your permission every time I need to take a leak.
Your thread is like a bad blow job. As much as I didn’t want it, I got myself into it, and now I feel obligated to finish up. Even if it is a waste of time, unfulfilling, and will make me feel dirty in the morning.
