Disregard, I was dazed and confused.

[Lee]

Ok, I would like to know why I get a PM about me harassing U2K, when I only went off on him once, and even that was tame. Most of what I said was harmless fun about things he said. And on top of that I always was replying to him.

Others are doing the same thing, and now a whole thread is made for it. Homage? Most are little potshots at things he has said, and people are even coming from other forums to make fun of him.

Is everyone getting asked about their intentions or just me because someone made a post about me doing it?

Edit: See my note below, I misunderstood something. I will leave the original post to avoid people wondering what the hell I was talking about.

[Dirt]

I didn't get anything.

I feel left out.

[Gromit]

Are you that bored in Cheyenne that you have to stir the pot, Lee?

[Smoove_B]

Don't sweat the technique.

[Lee]

Are you that bored in Cheyenne that you have to stir the pot, Lee?

Yes! It's too damn hot, so I am cranky and bored. Might as well hassle the mods.

Man I need to get to England, I love their weather. Lucky bastard.

[Lee]

I apologize, the PM I received on the subject was a personal note on the matter, not an official Mod PM. I mistook it. So I guess I have nothing to whine about...forget this thread even exists.

[Gromit]

Are you that bored in Cheyenne that you have to stir the pot, Lee?

Yes! It's too damn hot, so I am cranky and bored. Might as well hassle the mods.

Man I need to get to England, I love their weather. Lucky bastard.

Do a remote in Korea, then put in for a BoP to Arizona. That'll get you to England...

Worked for me.

[Lee]

Are you that bored in Cheyenne that you have to stir the pot, Lee?

Yes! It's too damn hot, so I am cranky and bored. Might as well hassle the mods.

Man I need to get to England, I love their weather. Lucky bastard.

Do a remote in Korea, then put in for a BoP to Arizona. That'll get you to England...

Worked for me.

Hehe, thats how I ended up in Wyoming again. Greenland remote, wanted CA or FL, so I get WY. Which isn't all that bad, but I wish they would do a better job of taking care people who do remotes.

[The Meal]

I apologize, the PM I received on the subject was a personal note on the matter, not an official Mod PM. I mistook it. So I guess I have nothing to whine about...forget this thread even exists.

You *know* I can't just forget about things folks bring up.

I nearly fired off a very nasty response to the OP in this thread, and I'm very glad I came to my senses before I ended up dumping a bunch of gas on the smoldering fire. Now that it's tomorrow, lets see if I can address the post in a little more mature fashion...

"Ok, I would like to know why I get a PM about me harassing U2K, when I only went off on him once, and even that was tame."

I don't think folks talked to you (myself and MHS in person {although I had composed and rejected no fewer than 3 PMs prior to our chat -- never could get the tone just right and then I found out we were going to meet up face-to-face, so I scrapped the idea entirely}, the PM{s?} you received from other staff members) because of one tame response. I believe that folks felt there was an issue that needed to be addressed because of a continual campaign of harassment.

I'd agree that the majority of what you said in response to U2k's posts was pretty harmless and oftentimes brought a smile to my face. But occassionally it'd go over the line and make me shake my head.

"Others are doing the same thing,"
Agreed. All the more reason for folks to step up and say something about that sort of behavior.

"now a whole thread is made for it."
This is probably where (our -- although I'm sure opinions on this range all over the map for everyone paying attention to the issue) differences of opinion is strongest. I don't think docvego created the thread to give folks a chance to pile on and harass U2k. Similar "poster-themed" threads have been created in the past and they haven't necessarily degenerated into nasty threads filled with personal attacks. Sure, the fact that it's U2k as the subject matter (as opposed to YellowKing or Smoove_B or The Mad Hatter or whomever else you'd like to fill in) meant that there was a larger chance of the thread turning ugly. But I don't think it was off-base from the get-go. Were someone to create a "Random Fact about ImLawBoy" thread, I don't think it'd have to be locked right up front.

So it could be that our difference of opinion comes from the contentious nature of U2k,. Is it that he doesn't deserve to have threads about him on the boards? Is he not in the same category as YellowKing, The Mad Hatter, Smoove_B, and ImLawBoy? Or is the proper course of action to leave the thread open until folks actually do cross the line and start taking pot-shots and personal attacks on each other? It was decided to leave the thread open to give the community the benefit of the doubt and to see if folks could refrain from having the thread go down the crap-hole.

Well, it didn't work that way. Some folks took advantage of the thread and started taking their subtle jabs. Not everyone, mind you, but some. Most of the entries were funny in a non-mean-spirited kind of way. No moderators/admins stepped in when these sort of jabs were taken (but then again, no reports were issued for any of these posts, and I know most of staff has had a super-busy week). A warning was placed in the thread to try to keep things civil. When folks started showing up from off-site to make bonefide attacks on U2k or to drag the drama from those other sites over to this forum, ImLawBoy made the call to nix the thread. If these folks hadn't shown up, I could have envisioned the thread remaining open (likely with a few more warnings, and probably a PM or two getting issued).

It seems to all boil down to opinion as to how much lee-way (ha!) the powes that be determine the community deserves. Some folks think the community doesn't deserve as much lee-way (there are staffmembers who think the thread shoud've been closed from the very beginning, for instance). Some foks think we shouldn't preemptively keep folks from crossing a line (I fall into this category -- just because a line is drawn in the sand, I don't think we should kill discussion; let folks cross the line {or better yet, *not* cross the line} before stepping in with the heavy sticks). It's opinion, though, and I don't think that folks who predict that the thread was going to go askew are necessarily wrong for having that opinion.

So to get back to "Others are doing the same thing, and now a whole thread is made for it." I would say that the thread wasn't made for doing the same kind of harassment, following him around all over the forums trying to goad him into some sort of reaction. I think the types of issues between why we had our conversation and why that thread got locked are pretty separate.

"Is everyone getting asked about their intentions or just me because someone made a post about me doing it?"
FWIW, any post calling your behavior out was incidental to the conversation we had and any PMs you received. Your behavior had been on the radar well before other people created a post.

Regarding who else is getting PMs sent their way, I'm not going to comment. There's a reason some things are handled in public (mostly so that other people doing or contemplating doing the same type of behavior realize that it's unappreciated/unacceptable) and at other times handled in private. I responded to this post in public, as I'd imagine you may not be the only person who is/was curious about these issues. Hopefully someone (including you, Lee!) appreciates my taking the time to spell things out a bit more clearly. I know there will be some folks who appreciate the chance to open up a dialog about why things are done they way they are (or to take random pot-shots at these reasonings).

Discussion of why things are done is always appropriate (if not always initially appreciated, although the passage of time generally brings me back to my senses in that department).

~Neal

[Lee]

(Deleted) Screw it, this whole thing isn't worth pissing off people I like on this board. Sorry for my comments.