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Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 7:31 am

JESUS!!!! You guys don't have to analyse and make value judgements of who WHAR is as a person. This is an Internet based message board, not real life. He acts irritating at times and says and does things that some people don't like. He broke the rules and got banned because of it. I don't think the decision to ban him was personal, just business as Spooky expressed.

While it is interesting to make character profiles of people and to ones panties up in a bunch, so to speak, over other peoples provacative Internet behaviour, don't get too comfortable with the thought that people are what they seem to be on this site.

Gillibeanz · Post by **Gillibeanz** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:52 am

Copenhagen Fan wrote:don't get too comfortable with the thought that people are what they seem to be on this site.

Good point Cope. I personally have never been anything but myself on here - I really don't see the point of pretending to be anyone else or something im not- whats the point? I've made many goodfriends through the internet - hell I even met my partner that Ive lived with for 7 years now - we actually met in a chatroom! Now I would have come unstuck on that one if i'd given him aload of lies!!

But you are quite right - a lot of people do live other lives through this media........

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:22 am

Gillibeanz

My point is that you can't judge a book by its cover. I'm not saying that people lie or try to deceive, just that people maybe exercize some of their demons and show their bad sides and act out because they need an outlet for their darkness

I've met a LOT of people over the Internet, including my girlfriend, so I agree with you in that there IS indeed a lot of value to be gained with Internet communication/interaction.

My main point is that we can of course only judge people by their behavior here, but in WHAR's case we just don't know who he is at all. A pesky gnat of sorts, but I actually enjoy his irritating demeanor in a way. I don't take it too seriously. After all, it's all about fun.

My girlfriend recently wrote a dissertation on Internet identities and it was interesting to think about some of the factors that are present. One of them was that there are RULES in a community (or imagined community) where people take sides and create codes. People define themselves and their identities by taking sides of different moral issues! Very interesting...but I have a short attention span so I can't be bothered to ellaborate.

invisible Pole · Post by **invisible Pole** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:44 pm

What bothers me is a strange feeling that this board could actually be one of very few places where he could communicate with people.
I'm not defending him - he got what he deserved, though in his teenage naivety he had not expected another ban, and it's clear he has to learn a lot. All I'm saying is that 90 days is a long time indeed and if for someone the world means EC Fan Forum (+ Daryl Palumbo) 3 months can be eternity.

Could anyone please describe the picture again as I haven't seen it ?
Just kidding...

oily slick · Post by **oily slick** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 4:34 pm

you can ban him for life as far as i'm concerned. there is nothing even remotely interesting about whoever he is to me. i hope the spookys feel no agony whatsoever over a decision such as this. the idea that this is some sort of democracy or guaranteed first amendment haven is ludicrous. you choose to be here and can come and go, but to intentionally disrupt is that old "your right to swing your fist ends at where my nose begins" thing. why would you err in favor of someone primarily interested in tormenting at risk of alienating those that are here primarily for fun, camaraderie, and occasionally interesting talk. it is not like it was borderline; it was zebrasnake in the making all over again. i wasn't so sure after the first banning and the circumstances were different, but it was obviously just deteriorating into a mess this time and he can just find somewhere else to go.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:12 pm

Word. Just for that, I'm giving up meat for a week in oily's honor.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:19 pm

Hey, everyone has a right to cast stones, and if it makes you feel better, then throw away, Mr. McManus...Throw away! (excerpt from "Usual Suspects", not a reference to Declan).

I suppose the anonymity of the board alows us to castigate without fear of repraissal. Hey, WHAR screwed up. I support the decision to cleanse this place of the barrage of derogatory remarks and the borderline smut that spews forth from the kid.

But it wasn't entirely unprovoked. He is an immature, ignorant kid who doesn't have a clue that comments that he makes are racist, sexist, and sometimes so inflammatory that they derail entire threads. What I suggested was that there is something that should strike us all, on a much larger scale then "one WHAR" on "one forum" in an infintisimally small subsection of the WWW. There is something here worth thinking about, and worrying about, I think.

Should we add a new category to the forum, entitled "Rehab/Time-Out Room for Obstinate Punks"? No. I just hope that there is some meaning in this for others, because there is for me. There is a generation of WHAR's out there. And before you barrage me with the example(s) that you have as your offspring, your nephew, your friends daughter who is the perfect young adult, I'll save you the effort. I know. There are many examples of great, productive youth, ready and willing to contribute to changing their world to a better place.

Think for a minute of the provocation. Most jokes run their course. The "I'm off to Work" thread is a daily slam at the naivete' of a kid. The whole We Run and Hit thing had to be very discouraging. And I am equally quilty of provoking the kid. The same barrage coming at me would have left me long gone from the board, but potentially, quite depressed.

All I am saying is that the kid was trying to be better, and he failed. There is a message here. I guess I am wrong, but I saw the turn to old ways post-provocation, not before. I must have missed something...

And give me a break. WHAR is no ZebraSnake. I, like NoiseRadio, have first hand evidence that the differences are profound. Profound. ZebraSnake threatened marriages, families, professions, and the general wellbeing of certain board members. She crept out from under the digital rocks that she hid under and became a very real presence in a very real world. WHAr, on his worst day, was never as bad as the evil that was Zebrasnake...

Gillibeanz · Post by **Gillibeanz** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:16 am

For anyone feeling sorry for WHAR he asks for it every time so he shouldnt be surprised at the outcome. Dont worry folks - he will be back like the proverbial bad penny and post furiously to make up for his absence

Post by **BlueChair** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:34 am

WHAR is just a bratty kid. Zebrasnake was clearly mentally disturbed and took vengeance on fellow board members who challenged her.

The only similarity is that both posted way too much, though I guess I shouldn't talk

Goody2Shoes · Post by **Goody2Shoes** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:44 pm

If I may be so bold as to interpret another's remarks, I'm not sure that when Oily said that WHAR is a "zebrasnake in the making", he meant that he was as malignant as she. I think that perhaps he meant that the whole situation seemed about to spin into a similar event where one member is consistently and deliberately provocative, threatens to monopolize every thread with remarks designed to get maximum attention, and just plain gets on everyone's tits. Heated arguments over proper punctuation are just as ridiculous as those over the meaning of "tarbaby". And I'm not sure it's safe to assume that just because he hasn't yet personally threatened people (and who knows that he hasn't?), that he is any less deserving of his ban than if he had.

If he's depressed over his ban, he's a big boy; he'll get over it. If he was trying to improve, he failed, and why should the Spookys have to bear the onus of constantly policing him to avoid hurting his feelings?

The early responses to the I'm Off To Work thread may have been provocative, yes, but it looks to me that it has evolved into a running joke about the mundane details of our lives. Since he also subsequently posted on the same thread without whining about how people were picking on him (which he has done on other occasions), it looks to me like he also eventually grew up and got the joke himself. Give the kid some credit.

Post by **DrSpooky** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 3:39 pm

I personally think that the I'm Off To Work thread is a lot of fun. It is right up with with the threads by our resident advise gurus Cope and ElVez.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:45 pm

My comment was not that that thread wasn't fun. It was, however, developed as a parody. In retrospect, however, I think the parody was lost on WHAR, so no harm done.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 12:15 am

"He's just a confused kid." - Charlie Malloy, On The Waterfront

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:05 pm

When you pee on everyone's campfire, again and again, you can't expect people to just sit and take it. WHAR may be a bratty kid, but the way you learn to stop being a bratty kid is by suffering a few consequences. My son learned not to touch a hot stove bacuse I never let him near one. The one time he got close, he felt the heat bfore touching it and removed his hand. I'm grateful that he learned it before getiing burned, but I for one did not. I touched a burner once as a kid, and I learned that my parents actually knew what they were talking about. No permanent damage done, but I learned. Some people keep touching the burner, over and over, as if they expect the red hot surface to suddenly be cool. It's like watching To Kill a Mockingbird for the tenth time and actually thinking Atticus might get Tom Robinson off this time.

I think WHAR has more problems than just being bratty. I think he's malicious. I may be wrong. But I don't feel sorry for the fact that he is facing some consequences. And if people gave him a hard time while he was here, he should have paid attention and stopped being a prick.

Post by **DrSpooky** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 4:07 pm

noiseradio wrote:It's like watching To Kill a Mockingbird for the tenth time and actually thinking Atticus might get Tom Robinson off this time.

How will I ever enjoy it now that I know how it ends. Plot spoiler.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 11:06 pm

Rosebud is a sled, Bruce Willis is dead the whole time, and the Titanic sinks.

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:40 am

And Darth Vader turns out to be Atticus' father.

Post by **BlueChair** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:11 am

and Phil Connors wakes up and it's February 3rd!

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:07 pm

Pam wakes up, and Bobby's in the shower. The whole season was just a dream!

What the heck is Family Guy?

Post by **BlueChair** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:18 pm

haha.. great episode!

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 4:32 am

DrSpooky wrote:I personally think that the I'm Off To Work thread is a lot of fun. It is right up with with the threads by our resident advise gurus Cope and ElVez.

Dr. SPooky..thanks for putting me in the good company of ElVez...but I don't think that my thread was very well recieved

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 4:40 am

noiseradio wrote:When you pee on everyone's campfire, again and again, you can't expect people to just sit and take it. WHAR may be a bratty kid, but the way you learn to stop being a bratty kid is by suffering a few consequences. My son learned not to touch a hot stove bacuse I never let him near one. The one time he got close, he felt the heat bfore touching it and removed his hand. I'm grateful that he learned it before getiing burned, but I for one did not. I touched a burner once as a kid, and I learned that my parents actually knew what they were talking about. No permanent damage done, but I learned. Some people keep touching the burner, over and over, as if they expect the red hot surface to suddenly be cool. It's like watching To Kill a Mockingbird for the tenth time and actually thinking Atticus might get Tom Robinson off this time.

I think WHAR has more problems than just being bratty. I think he's malicious. I may be wrong. But I don't feel sorry for the fact that he is facing some consequences. And if people gave him a hard time while he was here, he should have paid attention and stopped being a prick.

Dude, you need to lighten up. WHAR was nothing but a harmless and minor irritation, albeit an irritation that at times pumped life into the Board, and at other times spamed us and clogged things up with junk. If you think that he was some sort of real threat to the morality and the actual "culture" of the Board, then you REALLY need to lighten up. You also tend to call people "prick" a lot! As far as pricks go, WHAR was a gnat of a prick............you're a much more dangerous, brainwashing, lynch mob type of prick that uses morality as a sword and labels "The Bad Guys" and woos the masses with righteousness on your side. Not that I mind it.......or worry about it too much. More power to ya. In fact, you kind of remind me of Bush......you should go into politics.