Dark side?

Alethea Thompson wrote: lol, novice by TOTJO rank. Look me up sometime, you'll find I am far from novice. Hint: I also go by Setanaoko in the community.

Eh, he's banned again now anyway. How's that for "being able to move about freely"? Heh. Although I'll grant him the fact that he did "change others' perceptions of him"... just not in any ways beneficial to himself.

Ah, well. He will continue to reap the bitter fruit of having his own way, until he decides to mature a bit. I always wonder at the motivations of such a person ...usually in vain. He did manage to start a 10 page thread, though.

I'm sure he's proud of that too.

Barrera wrote: I'm sure he's proud of that too.

The taller a tower of pride someone builds themselves up into, the easier it will be for them to get struck by lightning eventually and come tumbling down. The more proud they are, the harder their face will hit the ground.

He can revel in his "victories".

Alethea Thompson wrote: lol, novice by TOTJO rank. Look me up sometime, you'll find I am far from novice. Hint: I also go by Setanaoko in the community.

See, Ally, this is why we have one username for the community.

Lol, but they are both major parts of my life! I can't just stick to one.

True. I'm William Kaede almost everywhere, so it's my nature. Hell, even some groups out in the world call me Will. At least put the other name in your Sig. I may even put in positions on other parts of the community.

I have a double first name. Some call me one or both, but who calls me what is how I know who actually knows me and who doesn't.

Its slightly sneakey, almost sithian in nature. My dad did it too.

Hello all...long time lurker, first time poster.

First, I want to say that I love how a topic that was obviously intended to be inflammatory and create strife within your community was fairly effectively reduced (elevated?) to a (mostly) civilized philosophical debate. I have seen other entire online communities utterly decimated by less. So...well done everyone

However, I'm a little concerned about 2 things. 1) While Menace, or DeathStar, or whatever he wants to be called now obviously had malicious intent, I'm not clear on why the moderators/admins of the community felt the need to censor his influence by banning him. I saw nothing in his posts that was in breech of the community's rules (he was argumentative and wanted to be inflammatory (which he failed miserably at) but is that enough to justify a "banishment"?) Sorry, I don't mean to question the wisdom of the mods/admins/coucil, I certainly didn't seek out every post of his on every thread...perhaps I'm simply not in possession of all the facts and he did in fact "have it coming"...I'm just curious.
and 2) Has no one here ever heard the "old" internet saying, "don't feed the trolls"? Obviously Menace was, as his name implies, a troll. There is no reasoning with a troll, there is no convincing a troll that he/she is wrong. There is, frankly, absolutely no point in conversing with a troll what-so-ever. But, if ignored, trolls cause no trouble, and can, in time, come to appreciate the community that they came originally to destroy.

Now, my "2 cents" on the source topic...

I find any debate over the light and dark "sides" of the Force to be purely academic. Anyone, in my humble opinion, who lives in the "real world" (and I will grant in good faith that all here do) knows that there is no light side, there is no dark side, there is simply the Force, and what you choose to make of it. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with academic exercise...all exercise is, in fact, good for us and helps us grow as individuals and in our own understanding and faith.

I wasn't the person who banned Menace (as the non-Council moderator I don't have the power to ban anyway) but I was involved in several discussions about him and it became clear that he had broken rules of the site. Unless the banner wants to explain I see no reason why you need a breakdown of what rules he broke but I can vouch that there was a valid reason for his ban (plus, he was banned once and then given a second chance with a new account, but continued to flout the rules of the site...he was certainly given the opportunity to behave himself and continue as a member here).

Alluvius wrote: Hello all...long time lurker, first time poster.

Welcome to the Order then!

Alluvius wrote: First, I want to say that I love how a topic that was obviously intended to be inflammatory and create strife within your community was fairly effectively reduced (elevated?) to a (mostly) civilized philosophical debate. I have seen other entire online communities utterly decimated by less. So...well done everyone

I've seen this happen several times here and it always manages to renew my faith.

Alluvius wrote: However, I'm a little concerned about 2 things. 1) While Menace, or DeathStar, or whatever he wants to be called now obviously had malicious intent, I'm not clear on why the moderators/admins of the community felt the need to censor his influence by banning him. I saw nothing in his posts that was in breech of the community's rules (he was argumentative and wanted to be inflammatory (which he failed miserably at) but is that enough to justify a "banishment"?) Sorry, I don't mean to question the wisdom of the mods/admins/coucil, I certainly didn't seek out every post of his on every thread...perhaps I'm simply not in possession of all the facts and he did in fact "have it coming"...I'm just curious.

I think that was probably explained best through these posts .

Alluvius wrote: and 2) Has no one here ever heard the "old" internet saying, "don't feed the trolls"? Obviously Menace was, as his name implies, a troll. There is no reasoning with a troll, there is no convincing a troll that he/she is wrong. There is, frankly, absolutely no point in conversing with a troll what-so-ever. But, if ignored, trolls cause no trouble, and can, in time, come to appreciate the community that they came originally to destroy.

Often times, what appears to be a troll may be someone with genuine questions or who is attempting to understand but has not reached that point yet. I learned this after my first post when I believed someone (who is still a current member, btw) to be one. Many members here often debate simply to broaden our perspectives and to see things another way. If this is how a troll gets their giggles, so be it. I just hope some of what was said sticks in his mind.