Hello, everybody

[ChubbyTeletubby]

You are a mean, nasty man, End!

I salute you.

[Locke]

There's little point in outlining the difference between morals/ethics/standards and "repression." I do see the humor, though, End.

[End Master]

To be honest the post was just going to be a simple statement about Locke and Ves needing to just have sex with each other and getting it over with since they've been sniping each other in several threads, but I ended up going overboard again and it amused me to add Chubby and Usoki in the mix. (and Apoth as an after thought)

[Vesnic]

My God, Locke, are you ever going to get off of your high horse? Do you have any idea what an insufferable prig you can be? Who made you a knight of morals and ethics? You condescend to speak with us degenerates, missing no opportunity to remind us that you do so because, despite our many and obvious flaws, you can't help but see some opaque potential in us. Has it not occurred to you that there is a mammoth insult inherent in such statements? Yet you scream bloody murder when certain among us, to whom you seem to have taken a particular disliking, resort to crass humor or other such feather-ruffling trivialities. Do you think it is any more "ethical" of you to say that you barely know how to express enough contempt for me than it is for me to slide a sideways joke into a thread? If you look at the content of those two behaviors, yours is really the much more bitingly personal, judgmental and indecent. Are you really so sure of your absolute rightness in all things that you can make these vicious remarks without second thought? This is a writing forum. We are not a religious or moral community and we have not all agreed to any one standard of anything. We did not ask for you to come here and dispense misguided and unwelcome judgment on any of our activities. In fact, I have often found your stultifying comments to be a real inhibitor to the collective creative process. You devised your own, radically different persona in the form of Sven, yet you paradoxically invest so much self-righteous energy into the varied personae of others on this forum. I can draw only two possible conclusions from this: first, that your "Locke" persona is also a sort of joke that you take no more seriously than you did Sven or, secondly, that you have no problem creating a double standard in favor of whatever inclinations you may be feeling at any given moment. If you are actually so offended by us, then why do you stick around? If you choose to be a part of this community, then it is going to get real old real fast when you can't stop yourself from reprimanding several established users for behavior over which you have absolutely no jurisdiction. On this site, there is no law of decency, morality, manners, ethics, religion, or any of those concepts that you cling to as so absolute. We say what we want, how we want, and when we want. Of course, this means that you are free to continue spewing your nonsense for the present and future chagrin of all. However, it is likely to make you a very unpopular guy and also create considerable tensions within the forum; and if you are truly as nice as you claim to be, then you would certainly not want to be the cause of such an unfortunate mess, would you? Let me tell you that I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not changing my persona or myself for you or anyone else here. You can say what you like, but it will have all the great gravitas of Wonderbubbles in a summer breeze.

[Locke]

Thank you for being forthright and blunt. I like that, you know?

I think the Sven persona needs some clarification, first. Since it never materialized, you probably don't recall the IS-format story I proposed to write with others over the summer. That was sort of a "last straw" incident for me. As far as character flaws go, it served to highlight a major one that's plagued me for a long time: I have good intentions, but when it comes time to follow through - due in large part to a sort of apathy - I often procrastinate and then drop the matter altogether. Despite my ideals, I care what others think of me, and it became so embarrassing to continue posting as a writer of some skill and grand claims who did not write - who did not deserve your respect - that I felt it necessary to stop posting altogether.

I still lurked, though, and I found that I genuinely missed the community and my own involvement. I created the Sven persona - a character with beliefs near the opposite of my own - so I could participate without being recognized, and as something of an amusement, particularly regarding the dialect and ethnic confusion. I've come far enough in dealing with that particular flaw - and time has likely made distant enough any ill will it generated - that I felt I could reappear as myself.

Regarding the recent political thread, I openly posted thoughts that have come to be a part of my identity. When you posted what you did - such an apparently vulgar, combative, and unprovoked statement - I perceived it as a direct personal attack on that identity, and I let you know what I thought about it. It seemed extremely petty and mean-spirited to me; I could not fathom your posting it as some sort of well-intentioned humorous aside. The thought process behind that is still alien to me. I tender my apologies here for the severity of my response, but those were my honest thoughts at the time: I have always hated those who, unprovoked, mock and push buttons, and as I couldn't discern any other motive, I believed that to be your intent.

You seem to find me particularly unpleasant since my return to the forums. That's probably, in part, because I am more completely honest than I was in the past; this is particularly true on the forum where I don't have to worry about the potentially harsh aspects of that unfiltered honesty hurting those I care about. Despite that, however, I try not to be judgmental or patronizing. The phrase I posted earlier in this thread ("nothing against those of you who do occasionally; you're all obviously fine with it"), like others of similar intent and structure, was actually meant to say, "I disagree with you, but I respect our difference of opinion, and I'm not trying to be condescending or to pass judgment."

I actually think that forcefully imposing one's beliefs on others is usually wrong; accordingly, I don't. It is, I guess, a thin line to walk between honesty and perceived condescension sometimes. I can see, when I examine my previous posts for alternate interpretations, how one might in some cases mistake one for the other. I will in all fairness subject future posts to further scrutiny to eliminate such misunderstandings. When you read something I post, though, it will be the truth as I see it.

Your values and mine are very different, I think, and I doubt we will ever see eye to eye. It's my belief that simple misunderstandings on both sides stemming from those differing values and thought processes escalated things to this point. I don't think there's really a need for us to attack one another further; this is my overture to you. Shall we "agree to disagree" with less vitriol in the future, and let bygones be bygones?

[End Master]

Mmm, see this is the kind of thing that's probably going to piss off Ves more.

She'd probably rather you scream and rant at her rather than going to excessive lengths to explain yourself in a calm manner since she believes it to be incredibly condescending. (It might be how you word things, I'm not exactly sure)

Personally as long as you aren't claiming to be the master of 74 different languages, 89 different instruments, have a 395 IQ, spamming lame jokes and stupid comments while jerking it to Russian pre-op trannys dressed as Shakespeare on Shitspace you're fine in my book.

Isn't it interesting the types of "personalities" that we find that we just cannot tolerate?

Like for example, drums is always a nice target for everyone to kick around, but Usoki has particularly found him loathsome and makes a greater effort to curb stomp him when he shows up.

[Usoki]

I couldn't even tell you what, exactly, it is that I hate about drums. I guess it's his social skills. "Hi guys! I'm too stupid to figure out that I'm universally hated! Please help me with my story! I've set up a background for it- now I just need some one to write all of it for me. It'll be great. Hey! No cussing! It's not civil! Now excuse me, I have a question regarding ethics of aliens with young bodies but old souls and robots made to look young."

...the bastard. I wonder if I was abused by a snare drum when I was a child.

[Vesnic]

Thank you for your post, Locke. It helps to know a bit more about where you are coming from when you make some of these statements that I have found irritating or hurtful. When I added to the politics thread, it wasn't meant to be a personal attack against anyone here. I was merely frustrated with hearing the same tired political arguments over and over again, and in a larger sense, I have very little tolerance for any debate of this sort since I am increasingly convinced that popular opinion has little to no sway in the current political system.

I would continue to caution you not to be so hasty to judge me or my motives.

Again, though, I appreciate this overture you have made, and despite what some people believe, I am not always a fan of flame wars and anarchy. In other words, I accept. Hopefully we can grow to truly appreciate one another for our differing opinions.

[Usoki]

Well, I think there's one conclusion we can make from all of this.

Someone has stolen Ves's password.

[donteatpoop]

Congrats Jargner, you've spawned a trade of insults that has spanned several pages. This might be the most activity the forums have had in ages.

[Locke]

Maybe he's not as benign and naive as we thought? Chubby, you might have some competition...

[Vesnic]

Finding a scapegoat and then burning him is a great way for a society to purge and purify itself. So...

Find the Jargner! Tie up his arms and his legs with twine! Drag him down to the town square! Gather up all ye' kindling! And ye' A1 Sauce!

It's barbeque tonight!

[thoric]

Ves, you sound like the medieval church. :P

[Usoki]

'Twas Apoth, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome Xnull outgrabe.

"Beware the Jargner, my friend!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Locke bird, and shun
The frumious Donteatpoop!"

He took his Vesnic sword in hand:
Long time the EndMaster foe he sought --
So rested he by the Thoric tree,
And stood awhile in thought

And as in Usoki thought he stood,
The Jargner, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the Dragavan wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The Vesnic blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jargner?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas Apoth, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome Xnull outgrabe.

[Jargner]

He he he, looks like someone wants to burn me at the stake. That makes me feel important. Ooooh, a poem? With me in it? Thank you, Usoki. "Jabberwocky" was pretty nonsensical, but that's what gives it its charm in my opinion. Thank you, End, for that vulgar, but charming post. Really, thank you all, you're the best bunch of people I've ever met!