Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to Uh Frank This Is Flame

Uh Mark
Robert / Robert Shepherd — (archived)

(I thought about which form of my name to use, and this is one of those rare occasions where both are appropriate. I'm commenting as an individual on our personal flame war, but I'm also explaining my actions at the boundary between "Robert" and "Robert Shepherd". You might say you've reached the "root level" now--this is the "I" talking who supervises both those subpersonae.)

(Robert): Well, guy, you're back, but that thread is locked, and I have to wonder what's left to talk about regarding the "treason!" issue. The discussion continued long after you left and the issue's been thoroughly dissected. If you were looking to garner support for your position, there's no disputing that you failed utterly.

(I): Focusing so obsessively on the awkwardness with which I switched roles is to a large extent, I think, a red herring to distract attention from the real issue. Which is not to say that it wasn't awkward. You happened to catch me as I'm making the transition from being detached and partipating infrequently, to jumping in and participating a lot now that there are other moderators who can take over moderation when I'm participating.

But it wasn't as awkward as you try to portray it. It all started on Community with a post by "Robert" titled "I'm offended too". Not only is the use of my first name a signal that I"m not moderating, but the use of the first person in the subject line, and joining with other individuals with "too", is another rather strong clue. When I'm moderating my subject lines tend to be imperatives, like "Knock it off!" or "Take it to Flame". The text in the message body is imperative in tone, and I acknowledge that that's where the confusion started to creep in. I felt like I was expressing my determination to fight Gary over the issue in a flame war, and in fact that it was the opening shot in a flame war...as far as I was concerned. But I can understand how other people might read it differently.

I'll work on that.

(Robert): But on the main question of shrieking "treason!", the jury is in, and the verdict is overwhelmingly against you and Gary.

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