I have finally taken the action that many of you have requested; I am banning "MsTerry". This has been a difficult decision since many of his posts (he's a man) are fine. However, there has been a consistent pattern of obnoxious, taunting, mean, "in your face" posts that clearly seek to get a reaction, preferably defensive, at all costs. In a word acting like a troll.
Wikipedia defines a troll as:
I'd say he fits the bill to a T. True to the nature of WaccoBB.net, he is more conscious and witty than your garden variety troll, using his considerable skill to twist things in order to deliver his stinging payload, while being witty or in some way "defensible". He has pissed off countless users and derailed many worthy conversations.In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.[2]
Besides the particular user who he succeeds in making upset, there are all the readers that are also affected. Yes, there is the option to ignore his posts, but that is beyond the ability of many users, and new or infrequent users will have no idea who this "woman" is.
Beyond that, and most importantly, it undermines the sense of safety, compassion and respect which is what I want to engender within this conscious community. Without this sense of safety, users leave or choose not to join, or are less transparent and trusting because of the harshness that is tolerated here. I will be moderating more closely in the future to restore this sense of safety and respect.
In light of the fact that MsTerry does have some redeeming value, I am going to let him continue to post to the Censored and Uncensored category. That way, unsuspecting readers and posters in the other categories will not have to deal with him, while he can still post and others can read and interact with the knowledge that they do so at their own risk.
The Censored and Uncensored category is not included in our Daily Digest by default, but it's easy to add (see how). You can also subscribe to get individual emails of his post by marking him as your "Buddy" (see how).
I realize some of you (including any sockpuppets that MsTerry still has or creates) may not agree with this action, while many will applaud it as long overdue. There are sure to be concerns about "freedom of speech" and that this board should be open for all to use. I don't agree. You can see my thoughts on those issues here. After allowing over 2,500 posts (including the one from his former username, ThePhiant) my patience is exhausted and it is clear that his presence here does more harm than good.
And to MsTerry, I hope you will be honorable and respect this decision and not try to create alternate aliases.