Comments on: I know I shouldn’t

By: ID

ID — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:35:48 +0000

These situations are always difficult. But as you cannot meet them head-on, then their little empire remains the pristine showcase of their opinion. I am inclined to quote this nugget from Philip K. Dick’s ‘Valis’:

“To fight the Empire is to be infected by its derangement. This is a paradox: whoever defeats a segment of the Empire becomes the Empire; it proliferates like a virus, imposing its form on its enemies. Thereby it becomes its enemies.”

I think the tone at OT defines the agenda: no-one with a discerning mind can be swayed by that kind of rubbish. Those that are would be anyway. It is no doubt an attractor for the opinionated and the pathologically disillusioned. Yet it has a kind of negative attraction for others, which it feeds on. Remove this totally, and it will eventually slip into obscurity. Time, and patience…

By: Gill

Gill — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:04:55 +0000

I agree, Ian, that ideally they would be left alone to fester in some dark corner of cyberspace where they can continue to spew their bile & nonsense unheard. But I also agree with Ken that as long as they have a high profile and as long as they continue to slag off people’s reputations and ethics, then opposing views should also be made public.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:13:10 +0000

Ideally, you are correct. It would be best if no one visited them and their feed and visitor numbers plummeted. However, there are too many curious voyeurs (I say that because you won’t see any comments anymore, so by definition readers there are voyeurs), that will drive by to see what the latest nonsense being posted is.

A perfectly reasonable response is to ignore them. The other perfectly reasonable response is to meet them head on. That is what I chose to do, first in comments and now independently. There was another famous trouble maker that used to be on the UF list. He would routinely criticize UF and users on the UF list. It was only by taking him on that he has now virtually disappeared from the fractal scene. So, sometimes you have to engage the bully to get him to stop. In the current case, the bullies have created a safe haven for themselves and can pat themselves on the back and be proud with all their “silent” support.

By: ID

ID — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:37:06 +0000

I’m shocked! Are you trying to deny these poor addicts the cut-and-thrust of the eternal one-sided whinge? I do hope there’s going to be a BMFAC 2008: they’ve kept their foetid little flame alight for a year now, by sheltering it from the tempest. Some fresh material, though, will no doubt help it to burn brightly once more. And yet… is there not a Zen koan concerning whether the tree that falls in an empty forest makes a sound? The only sensible response to OT is to unsubscribe from the feed, never visit and allow the flame to die quietly, unseen, as the teacup-storm finally blethers itself out of existence.