I did NOT take offense nor worry about it.

Yes, it seems alot of folks got up on the wrong side of the bed that day and jumping off the deep end. I was NOT looking to provoke but to make the point that you (as a long time user) already know while doing so in a well-meaning fun rib-poking manner. I have seen you around enough that I thought it would be OK, but you obviously have not seen me around enough to feel that you would take it in its rib-poking half-serious tone/intent.

The first post was dual, it was meant in fun (hence the smiley in the title), yet still actually make a point to newbies that might stop by. Since you’d been around along time, I thought you’d take it with better spirits. It is like I’ve said many times around here – we are ALL entitled to have good and bad days. I put together that RS:Help for newbies (tying all the other loose and/or unofficial and older Diaries that relate for newbies to learn from, including an old off-site one I did that goes into the point of understanding that “mood” is often not conveyed in emails/blog-posts and tone can be misunderstood – as happened there) but (and you can ask Neil) I often speak up because it is all of us (mostly the Site Directors/Moderators, long time or more-regular users, etc…) they learn from when we make bad examples.

I had hoped, and think it did eventually become recognizable by the second post ending with /SARCASM OFF, that it would be recognized in the spirit it was intended.

I take it you probably saw Neil’s diary about a fellow User, me and Specialist we’re asking him to take it down and take it offline. I have also interjected a few other places BECAUSE I CARE GREATLY that this place doesn’t turn into FLAME-CENTRAL and we look like the Kooks at the DailyKook or HuffPooPoo. Trolls/Mobies get Flamed, and again, people learn from examples and it gets carried into other Diary threads first as harsh tone (sometimes misread), minor name calling, then onto out-right Flaming, — not good!! I wish we could have calm discussion with those not as Conservative as we. I emailed Neil and told him a generic Diary on the Flaming and people carrying Grudges across threads would be a good thing, but not his direct attack of another user that would NOT be accepted if done by a regular User – again, that same standards thing and others learning by others (those who know better) bad examples. A general/generic written anti-Flaming, Grudges, etc… Diary could be added to the RS:Help.

So, lastly, I too offer an apology for sticking my noise in where it would be a site moderators place to do so.

I’m an old IT guy. I’ve moderated sites all the way back when these were Dial-up BBS’ – I too should know better and BUTT-OUT, but I have stupid fits!

Feel free to have Neil (or anyone, if you can’t look it up yourself) give you my email address if you want any additional follow-up offline (another thing I’m asking for around here, a redirector email system so we all have RSUserid@redstate.com to redirect emails behind the scene to our own emails without them being exposed in General Public – once Users go the email goes. Then some of the issues of whether someone means something or not can be asked or dealt with offline rather than in Open Diary).

Take Care!!! — Regards from NoMoTown

NOTE: No Users were harmed via this exchange