Hi all - look we all know that I can be more than a little abrasive when people I don't know come in out of nowhere and accuse me of not knowing my facts, or lying about history. It's one of my weaknesses. I hope everyone also knows that I generally try to be patient and get people to work together (even if it's in what Mr. Kemp calls "teacher mode"), asking specific questions, giving specific examples, etc. I hope that my positive contributions over the long haul outweigh the negative ones. If that's not what people think, I really should just take off ;-)
The most recent unpleasantness is really weighing on me. Llywrch e-mailed me and asked me to feed no trolls while he tried to get some cooperation, and I pretty much have - but in the meantime, if you look at the user contributions, you will see that really nasty accusations about me and, to a lesser extent, and one who has tried to step in, all over the site. They are almost entirely taken out of context or deliberate misunderstandings or misquotes.
I also believe that this person has shown up in at least two other guises in the past, and had run-ins with, or left comments about me or my contributions in each persona - almost all repetitions of the old HJ controversies, but with a French nationalist flair. The person is now also accusing me of forcing others in some way to join in a persecution, and also claims that I regularly try to get people to leave through bullying and intimidation (boredom and wordiness perhaps .). Oddly enough, some of the people he seems to be saying I "forced out" are the very people I think are his other personae.
Not only is there a possibility of the troll-like habit of changing identities, but I notice that many of the excuses given to others as to why he can't get along is because of a cross-cultural language problem. While it is true that he writes these comments in a quaint and stilted manner, his tirades (especially those directed against me) are amazingly fluid and use lots of polysyllables (apparently, several of us can't be understood because our words are complicated - it's kind of like that old SNL skit about the defrosted cave-man).
Anyway, could someone not currently involved (or who has not yet been blasted) PLEASE take a look? There's a frightening amount of commentary, but I think this person is not in any way aware of how to work with others or really interested in participating in a positive manner. I am not using the "b" word, but if that is already something this user is under (it has been suggested he's DW), then it's not a problem. If it's not, perhaps someone with a Voice of Authority (and in his eyes, the only authority is Jimbo, whose wrath he threatens regularly) could ask him nicely to quit his abuse and play nice?
Thanks!
Julie