Man, I left for a few days. I come back, and this is the first thread I see. (Hard to miss with such an intriguing title).
I won't pass judgement on I0c as a person, or on Brad as a person, based purely on this situation; that wouldn't be fair to either of them. But I will pass judgement on their actions:
Brad deleted a news item submitted by I0c due to its potential legal ramifications for liable/slander (never understood the difference...). I0c, in turn, got mad at Brad for doing so and called Brad names (or *a* name, at least). Then a bunch of people got together and took sides.
Like I said, I don't think I0c is a bad person based on this thread. I have far too little info to make that sort of leap in judgement. But I *do* think his actions were *very* wrong concerning this issue. Not just for his choice of words, but how he chose to deal with his feelings.
There are a number of places for people to go and vent when they're angry. There are even a few that condone the sorts of personal attacks that occurred here. But *this* place is not one of them. This is a community site, and degrading personal attacks have no place here.
I'm relieved to see the swelling of support for Brad in this, but not just because it's for Brad; I believe it's good because it shows that there are many people who feel the same way I do, that a community site isn't the right place for this sort of crap.
At the same time, I'm disappointed with some people coming on here and saying "Cut I0c some slack..." Um, no. However great of a guy he might be, he was simply wrong to make that sort of statement in a community setting. Private email to Brad, sure, if that's what makes him feel better. But in a *public*, *community-oriented* forum, it's severely misplaced.
And speaking out against this kind of behavior is *not* hypocritical. Have I called someone names at some point in my life? You betcha! But do I do so in public community forums? Not since I graduated elementary school.
The point is this just isn't the place for this kind of behavior. I have left message boards when thy've devolved into this sort of petty crap. And I know I'm not this site's biggest contributor, and no massive swelling of support/pleading would result from my saying "I can't take this anymore; I'm leaving"; but it would be a real shame to see this site fall because of the childish repsonses from a couple of members, followed by *support* for that kind of behavior!?!
Forgive me for once again writing a book. But I *do* think I0c was wrong, and I think the only fitting response at this point would be a public apology for this (since the insult was made in public after all). And I don't care if it was Brad or Citizen JoeSchmoe who was it's original target. It's simply misplaced here.