Re: Censor-round

[WFang01@aol.com]

Bernd, re:

>Yes.  But the e-mail we are talking about is so closely related to the list
that Paul can do a thing about it.  Look:  If, on RT's request, Paul banished
you (or Jay, or whomever) from the list, then the case would be over for
you...

Not so... I'll recall some history of the former Prodigy  super hero,
"Drunkman" (I know of one other lister that's smiling right now...)

Drunkman (one of the many names we used to call him) was an unemployed, wife
beating degernate from Long Island. He was also a pathelogical liar. It seems
he created this whole aura about himself, that later on, we discovered the
real truth and trashed him royally. The "flame wars" you have seen here are
NOTHING in comparison to what used to occur on the Prodigy Star Trek bbs. Not
only was "drunkman" thrown off ONCE, but he kept on reappearing every day
with a new account. No sooner did Prodigy toss him off, was he back with a
new ID#. I witnessed many others doing this too. 

By your example, Paul throws Mr. C off. Yeah, so? Now he posts, reads,
e-mails with his legalize@xmission.com address. Then Paul tosses him off
again. Then Mr. C creates another screen name and so on and so forth. Paul
becomes the one who's harrassed in the end. As a result, no list. 

>>Fang, this list resolved the Drug Affair and the Scalper Affair and many,
many others on its own without any help from outside.  Why should we need
some Big Brother right now? 

First off, those "arguments" while probably entertaining at the time, were,
in retrospect, pretty stupid. Regardless, there's a distinct difference
between participating in a public "debate"/"argument"/"whatever" and getting
unwarranted, harrassing e-mails from someone.

>>Agreed.  But from the many remedies to choose from, you didn't pick the
first ones, like

> - writing privately to RT, explaining the situation to him, and asking him
  to stop this nonsense,

Sure I did. And my e-mail was ignored.

> - announcing publicly on the list that if RT continues to harass your
fellow
  listers, something serious will have to be done to stop him from doing so,

"Something serious"??? Why play games?

>   - asking Paul whether it is possible to remove trouble-makers like RT
    from the list,

Again, I don't think it's Paul's job to babysit us babys. Thank him for
giving us the list, don't curse him by having to give him headaches...

>  - telling RT privately that you will contact his company if he continues
to
   `censor' us.

I don't like to play games. When I act, I'm effective. When he first started,
I asked him to stop, when it went too far, it DID stop.

>>Instead, you immediately turned to the harder `remedies'...  That's all I
am complaining about.

The point of the matter is that I was *effective*. I think we are ALL giving
him MORE brain damage by continuing to unnecessarily discuss him...

>>No.  In fact, I don't even own one, but I think there could be some in the
attic of my grandparents' house.  If you want, I can go and look.  Maybe you
want to trade them for some Who bootlegs...? :-)

No, I collect Who memorabilia, not Nazi parafanalia. However, I do have a
strong interest in the subect, but, in this case, having a German copy
wouldn't do me much good since I can't read German...

>>Maybe we are using different definitions of an `idiot' here:

The "Greek" definition is actually that of a "private individual" vs a
"public official"!

Mine is: (1) a mentally deficiant person with intelligence in the lowest
measurable range. (2) a stupid person.

Now, you can say that one ACTS like an "idiot", but I wouldn't define him as
one by any means.

>> know quite something about you:  You are an audiophile

Correct:

>> you have a huge collection of Who records

Correct

>> you like big German cars

Incorrect. I like Mercedes-Benz & BMWs. However, I prefer their smaller and
sport models. Big cars don't handle as well and in this country are
unavailable with manual transmissions.

>> but dislike opening acts at Who concerts etc... 

Incorrect. Generally speaking, I don't see the need for an "opening act".
However, if I wasn't forced to stand like a sardine and wait, but rather had
an assigned seat (so that I may frolic to & fro) and the opening act was
decent, I wouldn't really mind...

>>I don't think that it's up to you or me to decide whether someone here
needs to `get some help' or not... 

Sure it is. Because by caring a bit more than doing nothing, a person who may
need help, MAY decide to get it. Wouldn't it have been nice if someone gave
that advice to Mark David Chapman and he took it, instead of killing John
Lennon??? 

>>Now it's your turn to take my free advice:  If someone attacks you or your
friends on this list, defend yourself here.  Don't try to get third parties
involved in things that are only marginally their business.

That is advice that I usually maintain. However, I reserve the right to use
my judgement accordingly when the situation arises...

-wf