Fred Bauder wrote:
No, calling other Wikipedia users "morons" will get you in trouble, especially if you try to excuse yourself with the explanation that you thought the other user "really was a moron".
To be clear, I never claimed that my belief that the other user "really was a moron" is a defense.
I stated that I knew that the fact that I believed this is not going to help me (in other words, it is not a valid defense).
I stated that although I did believe this at the time, I no longer do and regret that I used this word (which some members of the ArbCom seem to think constitutes another personal attack).
I have not tried to offer any defense. I have, however, offered mitigating factors -- first, that I felt provoked by a nasty attack on Wikipedia, and second, that the words I used are more mild than the words used against others and against me.
Having made these two points, I then wrote that I nevertheless admit that what I said was a personal attack and that I regret this. I have also posted more explicit apologies for these and other remarks. Perhaps I was mistaken to believe that others would interpret my apology as an admission of wrongdoing, rather than a defense.
Steve
Steven L. Rubenstein Associate Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology Bentley Annex Ohio University Athens, Ohio 45701