Matt wrote:

Personally, if Mongo or Guy chose to create a contentious-site-issues alternate account, I would disapprove of it just as strongly. There has been frankly much too much of this recently.

I know this is taking one point out of your larger context and not answering the rest, but the rest requires a more considered answer, I believe.

No, I appreciate you saying that, and I don't mean to make too big a deal out of this whole "Us vs Them" issue. Every participant in every dispute since the beginning of time has felt like "My side is being treated unfairly, whereas the other side is getting away with wrongdoing" It happens in elementary school, it happens in blended families.. In journalism, it's called the Hostile media effect, where partisans on both sides of an issue are simultaneouly convinced the journalists are biased against them.

So, maybe that's all it is. I just wanted to share my subjective experience with the community. The world is full of illusions, and no evil cabal or conspiracy is necessary to explain my feelings that Guy, Mongo, et al can be bullies with impugnity, while the slightest transgression on PM's part instantly meets with instant retribution. You generally can't trust your own impressions when you're in the middle of these things-- you just have to report how you're feeling, and trust the larger community to see if there's truth behind your words.

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One thing I am sure about, however, is that a few bad apples have resorted to the regular use of vicious personal attacks, rumors, and allegations in order to discredit the libertarian side of the BADSITES dispute, and I great would welcome any help in changing that, as it does take its toll on people. It's not a cooincidence that PM had to create a sock puppet. I get emails from people saying they silently agree with me, but don't want to speak out for fear of being flamed out of existence. And that shouldn't happen on something as beautiful as Wikipedia.

Alec