Jersey Girl wrote:I'd be willing to guess that Shades is unaware of the totality of the trolling. How many chances should he get? Given that he's trashed thread after thread, followed grindael around when grindael hasn't initiated contact with him in nearly a year, agreed with Shades' directive to not begin grievance threads in Terrestrial and the fact that he broke his word and started another grievance thread within 24 hours of the directive, and now his persistent trolling has driven away two posters?
I'd say he's run out of chances.
But I'm not in charge here. What makes the most sense is mod queue. We also used to have suspensions around here. I do think mod queue is the appropriate response to the behavior. A poster on the queue has two choices. A) Conform to board standards or B) Reduce participation or leave.
He's had many chances to conform voluntarily. He's either unable to do so or he simply disrespects the intent of this board so much that he just doesn't give a damn. I mean, he agreed to abide with Shades directive the other day and within 24 hours, he broke it.
He either can't control himself or he won't. I think that the mod team needs to step in and take control of him.
There have been too many incidences where mg has openly committed to leave grindael alone, but he hasn't kept any of his commitments. For example, this commitment from three days ago lasted only minutes:
I have created a DMZ for myself which I will not cross. I don't have anyone on ignore, including the poster who made these comments. But I will not in any way, shape, or form have anything to do with or have anything to say to this poster from here on out. Directly or indirectly. That is a commitment which I make for all to see and understand. http://mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/vie ... 8#p1086338
[bolding added]
Even that commitment above has changed. After Gadianton asked him this:
So MG, ...Let me ask you a question. Does this mature faith you've achieved include the confidence to hurt another human beings's feelings to the point where this person leaves the forum he's felt to be a "home" as such for several years?
He responded with this:
From another thread, and a post contained therein, from last Wed. (paraphrasing a bit without changing the meaning):
I have created a DMZ for myself which I will not cross...That is a commitment which I make for all to see and understand. I do feel bad that this situation escalated to where it has. For me, the best thing to do is create a personal space...and...I don't think [there should be any] concerns in regards to having to engage in further 'warfare'.
That's not where I want to go.
Notice that the paraphrase significantly changed its meaning because he left out his commitment to leave grindael alone, which is what Gadianton specifically was asking about.
We will not get back grindael and IHAQ unless something changes, and I have no confidence at all that mentalgymnast's years-long* pattern of trolling grindael will change without moderation.
Jersey Girl wrote:Please, look at this. If I read this right, he's--what--joking about trolling here? Someone with a more objective eye, please review that in context.
RockSlider wrote:Great, back to our childish MG trolling front page.
it sounds like he's trying to argue that his reputation as a troll is based on other people's mistakes in interpretation. Apropos of nothing in another thread, he inserted a similar argument:
Because, truth be told, I'm not sure I know the real person behind some of personas that are created by others on this board. But being as it it, that will never happen, so we are left with personas that become/are 'primed up' and exist as 'real people' on this board. http://www.mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3 ... 2#p1087202
This just further cements my belief that he has no intention of stopping. He will continue to troll unless he is on mod queue.
Started reading this thread thinking it would be an abstract exercise. It's very interesting to see the examples, and also the passion people have for the subject. It's a bit of an eye-opener, seeing the examples of someone trying systematically to psychologically break someone. There's a special brand of sadism at work there.
I think it takes a special kind of person to want to destroy someone on the internet. Passive-aggressive to the max. I would imagine someone who does not feel powerful in their own life.
grindael, if you're still around, my advice to you is to realize MG's purpose, and simply do not respond. MG is trying to hurt you. When you respond, he knows it's working. Don't feed the troll. Hang in there. I enjoy your posts.
"The great problem of any civilization is how to rejuvenate itself without rebarbarization." - Will Durant "We've kept more promises than we've even made" - Donald Trump "Of what meaning is the world without mind? The question cannot exist." - Edwin Land
In case no one wants to invest time in reading the two links I just supplied, and please hear me out. grindael publicly shared that his mom just passed and that he's undergone treatment for cancer.
I assume that anyone who posts so prolifically about at topic such as grindael does Mormon history and who is/was exiting or doubting LDS is in my view, working out a journey and one that involves true passion.
This last series of go rounds with MG has broken the camel's back. It was one thing too many in a 3 year series of too much, and grindael threw up his hands and left. MG has been thwarting grindael's attempts to forward his well researched material for a period of 3 years.
So let me put board rules aside for the moment, and approach the situation this way.
This board has engaged in many acts of compassion over the years. MDB even passed the hat on behalf of Darrick. I was banned at the time, but I did view the call for assistance and responses. Here's my deal, Darrick wasn't even an authentic contributor to this forum, the only thing he really contributed was the spectacle and chaos.
If this community can act on compassion towards a Darrick, I think it should be willing to act on compassion for grindael who contributes so much to not only his own journey, but the journey of others. I think this community can show compassion to grindael by giving serious and thoughtful consideration to what has taken place.
MG who has contributed nothing to grindael's attempts to create serious, thoughtful and useful threads on this board for the benefit of those who receive it, besides the spectacle and chaos and three years of attempts to thwart grindael's efforts--is still here.
And grindael has left.
It's not just that I or others value one poster over the other. It's that MG has granted himself free reign to disrupt and essentially censor the efforts of another.
And guess what? He's fully succeeded in doing so. His reward is that he still freely posts here while the other guy has been driven off and effectively censored.
Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.
Chinese Proverb
I really need to get on with it over here, but let me add these thoughts. Hopefully it'll make sense somehow.
Sometimes two different situations are going on around here at the same time and they seem to create a parallel in my mind. You guys know me, I gotta get it all out of my gut before I move on.
You know what just occurred to me? (And this is kind of transposed from that sexual harassment thread that became so convoluted in which I myself played no small part).
MG's systematic and intentional trolling of grindael really is nothing short of harassment and abuse. It's been going on for three years (long one's in grindael's eyes I am sure) right under our collective noses and we still haven't put a stop to it.
So the victim fled the scene.
When you look at it that way, this is sad and particularly galling at the same time. And we as a community should be ashamed of ourselves.
I feel like crap about this.
Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.
Chinese Proverb
Jersey Girl wrote:I really need to get on with it over here, but let me add these thoughts. Hopefully it'll make sense somehow.
Sometimes two different situations are going on around here at the same time and they seem to create a parallel in my mind. You guys know me, I gotta get it all out of my gut before I move on.
You know what just occurred to me? (And this is kind of transposed from that sexual harassment thread that became so convoluted in which I myself played no small part).
MG's systematic and intentional trolling of grindael really is nothing short of harassment and abuse. It's been going on for three years (long one's in grindael's eyes I am sure) right under our collective noses and we still haven't put a stop to it.
So the victim fled the scene.
When you look at it that way, this is sad and particularly galling at the same time. And we as a community should be ashamed of ourselves.
I feel like crap about this.
Some of us were angered by it and spoke out but it made little difference. The regular posters can't do much else. Sometimes I think we get the idea that trolls are a given in the internet environment but that's not healthy either. And it sets a terrible precedent and encourages more of the same.
