On Jan 13, 2008, at 5:02 AM, Bob W wrote: >> >> it'll settle out. >> > > of course it will, these things always do, but that doesn't really > answer the question, does it? > > Everybody has jumped on Polyhead for supposedly threatening violence > (how's he going to do it from the other end of the internet) and in > response they are all threatening violence against him. You want to > ban one person for this but not the others. The response to his post > has been ridiculous. Nobody in their right mind could suppose he was > serious about it (any more than calls to waterboard him are treated > seriously) - he was just being a dickhead, and only slightly more > insensitive than many of the rest of us are at times. > > The correct response is either to ignore him, or to laugh at him. But > to treat that post with the po-faced seriousness people have done is > frankly as pathetic as the post itself. > > -- > Bob
Fair or not, being a member here carries a karmic burden. As long as a subscriber maintains an effort to be civil and contribute in a positive manner overall, he or she earns a bit of slack when the demons take over and he or she posts something a touch sociopathic. I could name a couple dozen examples, but let's look at, say, Bill Robb. I know I can point to him because he's a big boy and can take it. He also understands that he can be a bit of an asshole at times. For the most part, Bill is a generous, helpful and knowledgeable contributor to the list, and the PDML is better for having him aboard. There are stretches of time in which he should be beaten about the head and shoulders with a blunt instrument. It is because of his positive record that Good Bill is afforded PDML indulgence when he turns into Evil Bill. Same with most everyone who posts at least semi-regularly to the list, myself included. Ben, however, has not put enough into the bank to earn the interest given to members in good standing. He appears to be here only to be an asshole, which doesn't work. I did not ban Ben completely. He is still welcome to be a member of this PDML, but at this point he must prove to me that he is capable of being a member. If he does, in my opinion, learn some manners and push himself to be a positive contributor, then he will have his probationary status upgraded. He will then have to work to overcome what he's done to this point. If he decides instead to continue being as ass, I won't approve his posts, and he'll eventually give up and find some other place. So yeah, it may appear imbalanced in the small picture, but looking larger, I think you can see my interest in maintaining the way the PDML has worked, and worked successfully, for all these years. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
