Nerds. Nerds EVERYWHERE...

[sinister]

Well, sorta. Sinister...Ben....Ahem...

Deep nyms: left-handed son of the right hand.

I only add the ben when necessary though, as sinister sounded bad-ass when I was 13 and just becoming a script-kiddie.

[BlueShiftRhino]

There is also no way he could be prosecuted even if it were true.

Actually, if the events occurred as described and the victims located, a prosecution is quite possible, due to long SOLs for class A felonies and delayed-start SOLs for underaged victims.

The problem is the two-part premise. Did it really happen? If it did, could the victims be located (without Oggie's help)?

So, I guess I actually agree, actually. [sic]

[sinister]

Twitter is a funny place. You would think FTB / Skepchick / et al would be a little less excited about telling the world they doxxed someone.

And I have typed 20 paragraphs and erased them all every time I finish. There just simply isn't a good way to express the depravity of these people on a forum.

I guess it's time to take up interpretive dance.

[JacquesCuze]

I don't want to stop the hate-on for Damion, because tonight especially it's well deserved, but I have to admit his name came across a tweet I found interesting.



That petition is here:
http://www.change.org/p/bay-area-scienc ... al-program

I think this petition and others like it, directed towards Skeptic and Science conferences that PZ would go to are a good thing.

[Removed tags to remove personal information - Gumby]

[ConcentratedH2O, OM]

Just noted for the permanent record.

One of Meyers's commenters makes egregious use of race-specific (African American) language, while their avatar shows a pair of pale-ass white cunts.

http://i.imgur.com/dIL53U9.png

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... ent-863766

[James Caruthers]

Come at me bro. See what happens. Escalate hell, The Peez's ass would be pinked by a mile-long rug burn. And he knows it.

Peez has been emboldened by more and more outrageous behavior going unchallenged. Less serious shit than this got Laden exiled.

The cat's out of the bag. No stopping it now.

Yep.

But some people keep expecting Lucy to hold the football long enough for them to kick it.

The thing that makes the Pit more "moral" than FTB is the same thing that allows PZ and his crew to run roughshod over the atheist-skeptical community with bullshit accusations, outright lies, doxxing and attempts to get people fired.

[mordacious1]

I don't want to stop the hate-on for Damion, because tonight especially it's well deserved, but I have to admit his name came across a tweet I found interesting.

[zapped]

That petition is here:
http://www.change.org/p/bay-area-scienc ... al-program

I think this petition and others like it, directed towards Skeptic and Science conferences that PZ would go to are a good thing.

I thought we were being careful about removing names before posting tweets and what not.

[guest]

I don't want to stop the hate-on for Damion, because tonight especially it's well deserved, but I have to admit his name came across a tweet I found interesting.



That petition is here:
http://www.change.org/p/bay-area-scienc ... al-program

I think this petition and others like it, directed towards Skeptic and Science conferences that PZ would go to are a good thing.

Why This Petition Is A Waste Of Time

They don't give a shit.

Watson herself wrote on the petition that she doesn't give a shit. Because people shouldn't say things about people!

They're not going to cancel a quiz show that has famous people on the panel, even if the quiz is just an excuse for her to be photographed with famous people.

[Removed tweet tags to remove personal information - Gumby]

[BlueShiftRhino]

Why is Zvan responding to my tweets? Does she not use the BlockBot?

[guest]

Twitter is a funny place. You would think FTB / Skepchick / et al would be a little less excited about telling the world they doxxed someone.

And I have typed 20 paragraphs and erased them all every time I finish. There just simply isn't a good way to express the depravity of these people on a forum.

I guess it's time to take up interpretive dance.

She didn't like having her own address posted online. What a hypocrite.

[JacquesCuze]

I don't want to stop the hate-on for Damion, because tonight especially it's well deserved, but I have to admit his name came across a tweet I found interesting.

[zapped]

That petition is here:
http://www.change.org/p/bay-area-scienc ... al-program

I think this petition and others like it, directed towards Skeptic and Science conferences that PZ would go to are a good thing.

I thought we were being careful about removing names before posting tweets and what not.

Gah! Sorry about that. I had tried to be careful most of the day about this. Thanks for pointing that out, perhaps the FT or one of his minions can fix that for me?

[Southern]

An important note: more than one person here has now directly stated that Peezus was specifically and directly accused of fucking/raping a student.

That is simply not true.

Stop the fucking bullshit.

To the best of our knowledge, based on what PeeZus said, a student threatened to accuse him of assaulting or sexually assaulting her, but so far as we know, did not carry that threat through, C'mon people get your fucking facts straight.

Jesus!

As long as Shermer raped Carry Pop or whoever the fuck was that person was, then PZ is a rapist. A self-confessed one, no less.

[James Caruthers]

My eyes are really blurry this evening, but it seems when I follow the form to allow me to report the skepchicks tweet and gives me no impression they won't investigate it.

http://i.imgur.com/iug1rwr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JxwK4ig.jpg

Which leads us to wonder...

How the fuck can Melodramatic Melody and all of the other assorted braindeads on Twitter get people banned for a comment on a hashtag that they don't like?

Do I need to spell it out? I bet I've been ninja'd already, huh.

Anyway, THEY ARE LIARS. THEY (probably) LIE WHEN THEY FILL OUT THE REPORTS, TOO.

I could just lie and say "yes I am Skep, take this down please" and they might do it.

Twitter also seems to have a pro-SJW bias in enforcement. Someone like thunderfoot can get banned for, I dunno, opposing feminism? Meanwhile I've seen the nastiest shit directed at women and minorities who were antifeminist. I mean, fuck, this is actual doxxing being spread via the medium of Twitter? What kind of shithole social media website allows Doxxing?

[JacquesCuze]

[John Greg]

d4m10n said:

To be clear, it's not okay to say true things about Billy, but it's totes ok to say Ben fucks cows.

Got it.

That is a truly fine and pure example of mendacious sophistry. Perfect. You should start speech writing for Republican politicians. You could get rich.

[James Caruthers]

...Damion could chill a bit and realize he's not exactly doing himself any favors. Either works for me.

Will do, off to bed.

You guys have fun protecting the identity of an admitted serial rapist.

Send it to the cops or shut the fuck up.

There's always a good chance Ogmeister's lying, and if so, you'll have doxxed someone who didn't "do" anything except lie about committing a crime. But he wasn't under oath and he could always tell the truth to the cops, in which case you're the asshole for doxxing.

Whenever we discuss Oggie, at least half of the Pit lines up on the "he's probably lying" side. You seem to think we all believe Oggie is genuine, or maybe you're being dishonest.

Also, "serial rapist?" That's a FTB-esque stretch of language. What is "serial" about his crime, exactly?

[Ape+lust]

To everybody who was properly skeeved, thank you very much! I had to rush through it myself, and I've made pics with goatse. :dance:

PZ has complained about photoshops, and surprise, surprise, he's lied about it. Most of the shoops he claims to have seen are pornographic. He's described a typical pic as a caricature with a big nose and little dick. Riiight.

So, when PZ looks in and sees himself smooching his ever lovin' sugar dumpling, he should remember that the Pit could be having a blast shooping him into porn. It would be easy. Fortunately for him, we're not seething tenured dirtbags.

[Southern]

Also, "serial rapist?" That's a FTB-esque stretch of language. What is "serial" about his crime, exactly?

The series of lies that he keeps telling to troll everybody. I'm not falling for that, fucko.

(I want to be like Dammon when I grow up. An online petition against Twatson! So cool.)

[bovarchist]

Well, on the up side I guess we no longer need to be cautious about linking to or repeating Skep's info. She just signed the petition under her own name. Congratulations, you're officially 'out' :) -tacklecuddle-

[Clarence]

... he should remember that the Pit could be having a blast shooping him into porn. It would be easy. Fortunately for him, we're not seething tenured dirtbags.

Speak for yourself, "sugar dumpling". I don't think 'having a blast' would be a good description of the making of a porn pic with PZ shooped into it. Unless 'having a blast' is another way of saying 'puking your guts up'.

Anyway, yes this Becky/Peez shoop of yours is vomit inducing and makes me cringe.

Really good job, but for the love of GOD or SATAN or fucking CTHULHU, please keep your sick, disgusting, perverted, diabolical ideas about PZ Porn shoops to yourself!

And I Swear To God, if you make one and put my Dear Suey into it.... :x :x :evil: :!: :!: :!: :snooty:



;) ... about the violence, not the barfing

[JacquesCuze]

To everybody who was properly skeeved, thank you very much! I had to rush through it myself, and I've made pics with goatse. :dance:

PZ has complained about photoshops, and surprise, surprise, he's lied about it. Most of the shoops he claims to have seen are pornographic. He's described a typical pic as a caricature with a big nose and little dick. Riiight.

So, when PZ looks in and sees himself smooching his ever lovin' sugar dumpling, he should remember that the Pit could be having a blast shooping him into porn. It would be easy. Fortunately for him, we're not seething tenured dirtbags.

Certainly more disturbing than the shit gifs. Did you really shoop that all by yourself? I imagined a platoon of shoopers, each sent in to shoop a 20x20 square of pixels, none of them privy to the entire design.

/ObMontyPython

[Clarence]

...Damion could chill a bit and realize he's not exactly doing himself any favors. Either works for me.

Will do, off to bed.

You guys have fun protecting the identity of an admitted serial rapist.

Send it to the cops or shut the fuck up.

There's always a good chance Ogmeister's lying, and if so, you'll have doxxed someone who didn't "do" anything except lie about committing a crime. But he wasn't under oath and he could always tell the truth to the cops, in which case you're the asshole for doxxing.

Whenever we discuss Oggie, at least half of the Pit lines up on the "he's probably lying" side. You seem to think we all believe Oggie is genuine, or maybe you're being dishonest.

Also, "serial rapist?" That's a FTB-esque stretch of language. What is "serial" about his crime, exactly?

I can't answer that. The incident as Oggie describes it (assuming it is true) was a singular incident. Of the two incidents he was supposedly involved in the first merely had him as much a victim as anybody and his misbehavior was confined to the second, so unless Damian knows something we don't...

[Clarence]

Certainly more disturbing than the shit gifs. Did you really shoop that all by yourself? I imagined a platoon of shoopers, each sent in to shoop a 20x20 square of pixels, none of them privy to the entire design.

/ObMontyPython

This is actually quite brilliant and is the only way I can imagine someone safely producing PZ Porn.

[Clarence]

I was actually one of the few other people on the Pit that had no particular problem with Damien, but...

...he's getting on my last nerve.

I was pretty ambivalent to him as well, then it was like he came in shit on the floor and wiped his ass on the drapes.

I guess he got called back to the bus station men's room, those cocks ain't gonna suck themselves.

While insulting Omen Man is fun, I have a more pressing question:
Shouldn't there be a comma in your sig?

[Opyt]

To everybody who was properly skeeved, thank you very much! I had to rush through it myself, and I've made pics with goatse. :dance:

PZ has complained about photoshops, and surprise, surprise, he's lied about it. Most of the shoops he claims to have seen are pornographic. He's described a typical pic as a caricature with a big nose and little dick. Riiight.

So, when PZ looks in and sees himself smooching his ever lovin' sugar dumpling, he should remember that the Pit could be having a blast shooping him into porn. It would be easy. Fortunately for him, we're not seething tenured dirtbags.

That, and while I have faith in yours (and Gumby's) strength of character, I don't think most people on the 'Pit have the stomach for anything remotely approaching PZ-in-porn.

And no, I am not issuing a challenge as I'd rather put "scat porn" into a google image search than see something like that.

[Clarence]

.
Doxxing Manifesto

This deals with Doxxing so trigger warning.

First up - I've made it clear that I understand and agree with the Pit rule "we don't doxx". And I've been a prat to Aneris about it and lectured others. All of that stands. Double plus.

I also note that we are fighting an enemy possessing very different values.

Zvan has made it clear that she will doxx anyone she finds sufficiently annoying or ideologically unsound. She will set the bar. And that bar is subject to change.

Benson is like a fucking hyena or vulture waiting for the hard work to be done and then tearing a few strips off.

Peez is an utter Dr Mengle - not only doxxing (ie highlighting private info, publicly available, but not 'open') But also fucking inciting a mob to light torches and stampede the employer.

Skepchick have now adopted the Benson stance.

And not a single precious snowflake of a horder has popped up to say "I inderstand the point, but doxxing and employer rage is off the table" not a single shitty one of them.

Meanwhile we wait for the next hammer-fall like a pathetic Neville. Skeptickle waits for her admin group to summons her in for a joke. And we flail about with petty FB posts, receptionist harrassment and meaningless Twitter alerts.

It's analogous to a battle where one side periodicly fires off banned nerve gas ... because they can.
And they will keep doing this until there is a reason not to. But the best we can do is say "hunker down, we will get back to tanks and bullets soon, carry the infected to the rear"

So how does this get resolved in real life when dealing with fuckwit groups and states?

We say:

"nerve gas is off the table. It's fucked. And you're fucked if you use it. But. But if you do, if you force our hand then there will be shitty un-necessary consequences. Comprend?"

And with any threat you need to be prepared and equipped to carry through.

How could this correspond to the anarchy and bullying from SJL that is so far unchecked?

...........

** I AM NOT PROPOSING I WOULD EVER TAKE UNILATERAL ACTION ** but if we want a proactive group response, and given the fucked up events of the past few days - this is the approach I'd possibly take.

Situation
We are getting our arses handed to us by an enemy prepared to take advantage of our values. They have no incentive to stop.

Mission
To remove doxxing and employer alerts from the table as an acceptable weapon - for both sides. But in a way that doesn't publicly humiliate FtB

Execution

General outline -
we publish a manifesto decrying doxxing, committing to continuing our non-doxxing, but threatening swift proportional response to any future Skep tickle level infringement. We are publicly purposely vague, but we privately make it clear to PZ the specifics of what a response would be.

Detailed tasks -
General consensus agreed here (ok that's optimistic)
Matt word-smiths. Moderators edit and draft is PMed to all(?)
Manifesto is published via social media
Specific doxxing info on an especially loved horder is retained by no more than two moderators
Protocols developed for release - hopefully in theory only.
Limited doxxing info provided privately to PZ as "proof of life" - hopefully he will back channel it.

Timings
ASAP - before this strike is written into history as a victory. And as a clear counter response to the lasted atrocity.

.............

And Gumby, relax, I'm not going to ever tactically doxx. But yes, the info alluded to by others is out there and easily available. I know this for a fact. And it does provide us leverage - to ban the doxx. Or we can wait till next time. As long as it's not me.

As I said. I'm happy to wipe this proposal from the table. But I'll be fucked if I won't at least throw it out there.

I would support this. I'm quite in Sinisters Camp at the moment. Yes, I do have 'doxxing' limits but they are far beyond the very High Standards the Pit has so far employed because I realize that when people are allowed to do something to you but you are not allowed a proportional response, they tend to continue to abuse ones kindness. The SJW's and FTB (pretty much one and the same) started this.

[Clarence]

I should say I am honored that Andrew enjoyed my short poem.
It's part of a series on Sexy SJW Ladies.
I'm thinking of suggesting that me and Gumby should combine our artistic talents.
Just think of how well a book of my Sexy SJW poetry and Gumby's PZ Porn would sell!

I feel alive at this moment of creation!
Now I understand why monks created canticles to the Most High!

[sinister]

Just to reiterate, you cannot doxx a public figure. To redefine doxxing as noticing what someone has been telling everyone for years would take some serious post-modern word salad.
- PZ would be doxxed if you printed his home address, yes.
- PZ is not doxxed when he is recognized as the self-title Fifth Horseman of Atheism, Author, Public Speaker, and Professor of Biology at UM.
That second definition there is important because he uses all of that to lend weight and credence to his status and voice.

To say a professor should not be doxxing people, and asking for mob justice is not "wrong." It isn't. It isn't even questionable. No one with an authority position he holds should use it to cause people harm. Especially when the action was a response to a harmless post on an internet forum. Authority figures are expected to act with the deference such a position entails. That's true for me, it's true for everyone.

Quite honestly, it doesn't even have to cost his job. He could own up to the mistake, and show that there is potential for redemption (unlikely as that may be.) There is no reason to think that accountability must result in a detrimental conclusion. Accountability and responsibility, they're what separates us from them.

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

What separates us from them is critical thinking. I believe we agree that we should NOT be "indolent hand wringers." Brive1987 made an excellent suggestion earlier. If it is unsuitable to the pit, it could be taken elsewhere. But I think an honest discussion about it needs to happen.

I am also a bit concerned that Skeptickle has been absent the pit today. I am hoping that she is not unduly stressed by her doxxing.

[Brive1987]

Who says PZ would be the incentive to stop future goddamned doxxing?

I don't want anybody doxxed, but if FtB needs encouragement then the insurance has to be viable. Yes it's MAD but as a child of the 1970s and 80s I know that works.

My vote would be to take Oggie hostage because a) he sought kiddie-rape points b) he may be a kiddie-raper c) the stupid cunt has doxxed himself and d) he is someone the horde actually care about so the plan may just work.

To reiterate, I don't want anyone to be doxxed. The question is how to stop the rogue nation-state now using this vile tactic at will. Or whether we should even bother to try.

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

There seems to be a divide over "doxxing" vs "other real-life consequences." I would submit that the two are not the same. Somebody already sticking their head above the parapet and taking shots at people might be instructed by a shot fired back. They are not invulnerable. I do not think we would take the high road by doing nothing.

[sinister]

What separates us from them is critical thinking. I believe we agree that we should NOT be "indolent hand wringers." Brive1987 made an excellent suggestion earlier. If it is unsuitable to the pit, it could be taken elsewhere. But I think an honest discussion about it needs to happen.

I am also a bit concerned that Skeptickle has been absent the pit today. I am hoping that she is not unduly stressed by her doxxing.

She faved a tweet of mine poking the idiots earlier. I think she's ok. There is also a lot of support being shown for her. I don't think there is a person among us who doesn't get all riled up when it comes to skep.

You just don't attack the nicest person here. There is an entire userbase more deserving than her. No you lurking FTB short-bussers, not because she is a woman. It's because she an educated, engaging, and kind person that has earned respect through words and deeds. Perhaps something you could try emulating someday.

Grumble... grumble...

[sinister]

Seriously you can't doxx PZ unless you screw with his home, and that is wrong. Always. See that, PZ and Lousy? Not when convenient, always. At that level of problems, authorities should be notified, not your blog readers.

Hey, More free lessons in how to be a mature adult for the FTB lurkers!

[deLurch]

I suspect this was the form that was abused to get thunderf00t kicked. So don't abuse the form. Use it to report tweets that dox people.

No. If you really want someone gone, mass-report him/her for "spam". twitter reacts very quickly on that one.

I am very much against false flagging.

[Skep tickle]

Tough day, thanks everyone for moral support & kind words & thoughtful considerations about how to address the big picture situation (a hard nut to crack).

[blitzem]

The look very comfortable.

But they are plotting something. I know they are. :o

The mom (center, grey tiger) just jumped on my keyboard and typed "Myers is a douchebag". Thankfully, I was able to erase it before it got published.

Lol, smart cat.

[deLurch]

...Damion could chill a bit and realize he's not exactly doing himself any favors. Either works for me.

Will do, off to bed.

You guys have fun protecting the identity of an admitted serial rapist.

And releasing his identity accomplishes what, exactly? Unless you are privy to a lot of information I know nothing about, we have no means of establishing the veracity of his story. There is also no way he could be prosecuted even if it were true.

Let oggie rot in his anonymity. Maybe I'm a poor judge of character, but this miserable wreck of a human being who spends all of his free time groveling for pity points in the pharyngula lounge thread does not seem like a credible threat to anyone. If you have evidence that I'm wrong about that you should go to the authorities.

OK. Two parts of interest to that statement. State laws vary on how long statute of limitations last. If we knew the state where it occurred in we could come up with a reasonable idea if that has expired just by looking at the state laws. The laws on raping minors can have either extended or unlimited statutes of limitations in various states.

Now IF, it was possibly within that range, then it would be up to the police in that jurisdiction to determine the veracity of the this person's online ramblings. If someone admits to killing someone online in a non-joking manner, the cops can figure that one out.

[blitzem]

Never trust a man who prefers dogs to cats. Dogs are subservient, cats are partners.

Nah, dogs are morons, and like to play with and roll in dead things. I prefer cats, but they are still on the creepy, alien side sometimes.

[blitzem]

The look very comfortable.

But they are plotting something. I know they are. :o

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/5496241664/h3A7D9CFB/

:o :D

[BaconNutellaFiend]

...

So, when PZ looks in and sees himself smooching his ever lovin' sugar dumpling, he should remember that the Pit could be having a blast shooping him into porn. It would be easy. Fortunately for him, we're not seething tenured dirtbags.

https://i.imgur.com/zl8UWdX.jpg

[zenbabe]

I thought Carrie's comments from Nugent's deserved some amplification:

http://easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/881/2497368294.png
http://easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/881/7359974913.png
http://easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/881/9967247299.png
http://www.michaelnugent.com/2014/10/07 ... nt-1067859

Particularly the bit in the 3rd one about Pharyngula and other FTB commenters' being "inward looking" and not really caring about people outside the bunker. Spot on. The unbelievable truth is that the Pit is a much more of a "safe space" than creepshows like skepchick and the 'gulag.

That's very cool.
Love "and they mostly like cats" bit.
fwiw I emailed much the same thing to Nugent a couple of days ago, as a protest against PZ's accusations. Essentially I said that I have found the pit to be one of the safest places to be, and that even when the 'pit itself is triggering it's -still- pretty damn safe. Aside from Carrie, I know I'm not alone in that feeling and thought.

When I read the blog and comments on a FCu(n)t site I just want to flee.
Like when the elevators in the Guide building in Hitchhikers all slam their doors shut and speed to ground floor before disaster strikes.

http://waxy.org/random/images/weblog/mi ... 175138.jpg

[Satan]

Tough day, thanks everyone for moral support & kind words & thoughtful considerations about how to address the big picture situation (a hard nut to crack).

Please report the Skepchick Twitter account to Twitter if you haven't done so already. Twitter refuses to act on third party harassment complaints. However, if you complain, there is a remote possibility the Skepchick account could be suspended or banned. It's not much, but it would send a message that FTB-Skepchick abuse campaigns will have a cost to their PR infrastructures.

[paddybrown]

Was anyone else moved by the way Rebecca came slashing at Skep? I didn't see anybody send up the FREE BEER signal. She came unbidden, ready to do or die by her friend. It's like her tender feelings were suddenly revealed in a selfless moment and...

I'm sorry, I can't go on. Love stories always make me weepy.

http://imgur.com/P1JcdvF.jpg

Awesome. If deeply unpleasantly so.

Reminds me of this:

[youtube]UtEH6wZXPA4[/youtube]

(And when looking for that, I found this:

[youtube]r5zBy4O3CnI[/youtube])

[zenbabe]

Was anyone else moved by the way Rebecca came slashing at Skep? I didn't see anybody send up the FREE BEER signal. She came unbidden, ready to do or die by her friend. It's like her tender feelings were suddenly revealed in a selfless moment and...

I'm sorry, I can't go on. Love stories always make me weepy.

http://imgur.com/P1JcdvF.jpg

omfg APE!
:lol:
I post about this being a goddamn safe place and you post that without a trigger warning I can't even!
:laughing-rofl:

[paddybrown]

Which of course leads to this:

[youtube]G2kD1YUtA5o[/youtube]

[Satan]

How the fuck can Melodramatic Melody and all of the other assorted braindeads on Twitter get people banned for a comment on a hashtag that they don't like?

IIRC there's at least one committed feminist on the Twitter exec board.

I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if high profile feminists--especially ones with verified accounts--have non-public Twitter support contacts who will ban ordinary accounts no questions asked.

[Satan]

What kind of shithole social media website allows Doxxing?

Social media sites which have a large feminist demographic?

I don't think its a coincidence that the two social media sites which have a demographic bias for young women and effectively turn a blind eye to doxxing are feminist havens.

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

I will give Damion a break, because I think he's as pissed off about this whole bag of shit as we are.

I've been typing post upon post and have been deleting them all before clicking the submit button, because there's a lot of shit I could say in anger. And a not-small part of it is about people noticing my underwear on that cat pic and yet not complimenting me on my massive bulge.

That's cold!

Surgeon -4 hours.

[zenbabe]

Don't worry Phil, Scented is sure to notice :)

May your frenchy girth be blessed with relief from your Medieval torture device in a mere four hours

[Snapfingers]

Sorry if this has been posted already, it's a very long sob-story about the pain of being man-trolled and it will make you cough up your bladder. It perpetuates all the SJW victim-myths and is of course being lapped up by the unbearable righteous pricks I follow in my real-life twitter account.

http://seriouspony.com/trouble-at-the-koolaid-point

This month is the 10-year anniversary of my first online threat. I thought it was a one-off, then. Just one angry guy. And it wasn’t really THAT bad. But looking back, it was the canary in the coal mine… the first hint that if I kept on this path, it would not end well. And what was that path? We’ll get to that in a minute.

Later I learned that the first threat had nothing to do with what I actually made or said in my books, blog posts, articles, and conference presentations. The real problem — as my first harasser described — was that others were beginning to pay attention to me. He wrote as if mere exposure to my work was harming his world.

But here’s the key: it turned out he wasn’t outraged about my work. His rage was because, in his mind, my work didn’t deserve the attention. Spoiler alert: “deserve” and “attention” are at the heart.

A year later, I wrote a light-hearted article about “haters” (the quotes matter) and something I called The Koolaid Point. It wasn’t about harassment, abuse, or threats against people but about the kind of brand “trolls” you find in, say, Apple discussion forums. My wildly non-scientific theory was this: the most vocal trolling and “hate” for a brand kicks in HARD once a critical mass of brand fans/users are thought to have “drunk the Koolaid”. In other words, the hate wasn’t so much about the product/brand but that other people were falling for it.

I was delighted, a few weeks’ later, to see my little “Koolaid Point” in Wired’s Jargon Watch column.

The me of 2005 had no idea what was coming.

Less than two years later, I’d learn that my festive take on harmless brand trolling also applied to people. And it wasn’t festive. Or harmless. Especially for women.

I now believe the most dangerous time for a woman with online visibility is the point at which others are seen to be listening, “following”, “liking”, “favoriting”, retweeting. In other words, the point at which her readers have (in the troll’s mind) “drunk the Koolaid”. Apparently, that just can’t be allowed.

From the hater’s POV, you (the Koolaid server) do not “deserve” that attention. You are “stealing” an audience. From their angry, frustrated point of view, the idea that others listen to you is insanity. From their emotion-fueled view you don’t have readers you have cult followers. That just can’t be allowed.

You must be stopped. And if they cannot stop you, they can at least ruin your quality of life. A standard goal, in troll culture, I soon learned, is to cause “personal ruin”. They aren’t all trolls, though. Some of those who seek to stop and/or ruin you are misguided/misinformed but well-intended. They actually believe in a cause, and they believe you (or rather the Koolaid you’re serving) threatens that cause.

I might of made it half-way through before my eye-rolling gave me a headache. There are hundreds of millions of people who use the Internet. You get trolled.

Hell, back when I blogged fairly heavily between 2004 and 2007 I got trolled and I was, pretty much, just a nobody. Even so, I got the same kind of shit. And I'm a dude and I used a dude pseudo-anonomous handle.

And that was NOTHING compared to the trolling and doxing I got at the hands of some Oakland Raider fans. I had a very unflattering 'page of hate' and all my personal ID out there. I had to change my home phone number and my office phone went to caller ID and any number that didn't match a known client number went to voice mail.

And that was just over an innocuous comment.

Shit happens. Welcome to the Internet. Even if 99% of the people are 'nice' you've got that 1% that just shits it up on a regular basis.

Well, you had it easy.
I had two pages of hate, and I had to change my phonenumber twice and I had to move my family for three months to a paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt. But if you tell bloggers about that today they won't believe you.

[Michael J]

How the fuck can Melodramatic Melody and all of the other assorted braindeads on Twitter get people banned for a comment on a hashtag that they don't like?

IIRC there's at least one committed feminist on the Twitter exec board.

I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if high profile feminists--especially ones with verified accounts--have non-public Twitter support contacts who will ban ordinary accounts no questions asked.

I don't think so, I think it more depends on the reporting path. We are taking the Doxxing reporting path but if you just say you find the tweet threatening then you can stretch the truth and say that you find the tweet personally threatening then it will go through. Secondly I think that if enough people block somebody they will be removed from Twitter. Given the amount of tweets I think that this would be largely automated (A new account with few followers would be kicked off before an account with 1000's of followers).

[Eskarina]

I will give Damion a break, because I think he's as pissed off about this whole bag of shit as we are.

I've been typing post upon post and have been deleting them all before clicking the submit button, because there's a lot of shit I could say in anger. And a not-small part of it is about people noticing my underwear on that cat pic and yet not complimenting me on my massive bulge.

That's cold!

Surgeon -4 hours.

Awwww, here, have a pouncetug or two. Then you can complain about the cold. Atchooo.

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Well, you had it easy.
I had two pages of hate, and I had to change my phonenumber twice and I had to move my family for three months to a paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt. But if you tell bloggers about that today they won't believe you.

Four Yorkshiremen?

[Jonathan]

Good luck with the surgeon, Phil.

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Thanks.

[Michael J]

Question for veteran slymepitters. Back during Elevatorgate, I spent most of my time at ATBC and avoided Pharyngula like the plague whenever a feminism blowup occured.

Is the mood any different now? I feel that they are all more on the defensive rather than on the attack but I could be imagining it.

[Tribble]

It's funny isn't it, when one of the only people on the Pit who would vouch for Damion is attacked, he comes around to be a fucking idiot for attention. You are just a gem aren't you?

Why engage with him? He's really just another Myers type. Full of shit and way too much ego hidden behind Internet Tough Guy.

[Tribble]

...Damion could chill a bit and realize he's not exactly doing himself any favors. Either works for me.

Will do, off to bed.

You guys have fun protecting the identity of an admitted serial rapist.

We don't know. You do. You drop that canard as if you're what, morally superior. I'm gonna be laughing at this for a long time. Think I'll even put it in my sig.

[Tribble]

Which of course leads to this:

[youtube]G2kD1YUtA5o[/youtube]

I watched all the Armstrong & Miller scenes on YouTube. We don't get quality comedy like that in the States. If we did, I might actually subscribe to TV again.

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Damion did wear his Slymepitter shirt at some con, which takes more balls than Myers has ever had. And as I said a bit upthread, I do believe he might be as pissed off about this shit as we (or at least I) are. You can say some pretty stupid shit when you're pissed off.

I don't like Damion's argumentative style. I don't like his fence-sitting much, and I think he should take a more defined stance on what's going on. But I do like the guy himself. He's pretty nice and funny in everyday conversations. Plus, we have the same haircut.