I am happily unmarried. Just as Lynx et al are unhappily unmarried.

In my part-time life as a board moderator, I find that the best way to deal with trolls is not to feed them.

I am happily unmarried

Happily for women everywhere.

It's funny that even though I said something very similar to Ben, nobody said anything to me...perhaps because I'm also a woman? Sounds like Ben isn't the only one with some gender bias issues. It looks like you're all kind of a little angry with the male species in general...

the sacred place where everyone too shy in high school can now wing their attempts at clever insults at the people who wouldn't date them in the 10th grade.

Be it death threats or pathetic, adolescent arguments like these, the anonymity of the internet protects all of us from having to defend ourselves like adults. No "troll" would ever hold someone else accountable for their threats of violence, because by default, he or she would be held accountable for his or her groundless accusations and school-yard name calling.

This whole concept (blogs with commentaries) went from enlightening to worthless in the span of a minute. I'm done.

No one likes, except for fetishists, bbw's. Obviously, this is to your detriment, but your cats are happy.

I love women. I love equality, as long as it is applied equally. I find it amusing that the hens see infractions where none exist. They are just the like the liberal arts professor (group of 88) who castigated the Duke lacrosse athletes even after exculpatory evidence was withheld and the accuser roundly disproven as a liar. The issues here are that Kathy Sierra, a woman of dubious technical qualifications (though she has been a physical trainer!) cries wolf and the hens circle their wagons and automatically presume she is telling the truth and they offer no substantiation for their claims. Typical.

Nah, it isn't because you're a woman. I'm just sick of seing Ben come on here and well, be him. If you rack up a record of idiocy and woman hating the way he has, maybe some day I'll call you an idiot too. I hope not, I hate to feel compelled to call anyone an idiot. Ben just pissed me off today.

Yes, this blogger seems to have over-reacted and yes, many people get death threats on-line. However, what you said and what ben said differ substantially in one important area. You said she shouldn't be so scared. "Grow a spine" I believe you said. I too think she needs to be more courageous in the face of threats, but then I'm not the one that is needing to face them and neither are you.

Ben, on the other hand, immediately called her a liar. Why? Other than his hatred of all women, I mean? Because another blogger said that he wasn't one of the ones that made a threat. Ben interpreted this to mean that she may have made up some of the threats. Therefore, in his "brain", all the threats are ficticious and she is a liar with nothing to fear.

And, as I've mentioned previously, read his posts, he's a complete moron.

Look, Ben Dover/Tom Payne, here's a letter from you in which you talk about your wife:

http://letters.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/02/05/spanking_bill/permalink/c06057506bd81545b412a71496277433.html

You write:

Waxing Freudian are we, Mama? The Ben Dover thing is a whim and a bad pun; I usually post as Tom Payne. Now tell me that means I love to inflict payne. I pity your children if you're capable of reproduction. My wife was a teacher who studied extensively in early childhood development. Our youngest son is getting his masters in a similar area of inquiry. Our children were NEVER abused, they excelled at every level in scholastics, athletics, and, most importantly, interpersonal relationships. They made great choices, up to and including their own spouses, with whom we have extremely close relationships. Our grandchildren are here several times a month; one is here almost every day, since her Mom, our younger of two daughters, lives a mile and a half away. Yeah, we sure alienated our kids. You must not have actually read any of my posts; I'm only saying that rarely it is imperative, for the child's personal safety or to correct incipient defiance, that a short swat on the tush is vastly preferable to an injured or dead child, or an openly defiant one over whom you have little influence. A parent is not a buddy; it may be the most important thing many of us ever do. The proof is in the person the child becomes. Good luck with "child whispering" or whatever the hell it is you endorse. Just don't make assumptions about the kind of father and grandfather I am based on some stupid sign-off name I chose with no thought whatsoever. Now, riff on that, Mama. But stock up on paper towels; you're gonna be pissed off and on a whole lot, from what your posts indicate. Have a lovely non-violent evening, Madame.

-- tom payne

Hmm...

www.violentacres.com

you remember siftee--the gent that advocated something about cum and throat slitting?

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=110040082

LOSER.

I recall a friend once describing Ouija boards as the spiritual equivilant of running out into the street, grabbing the first person you meet, draging them into your living room and asking them deep personal information about yourself and your future.

Blogs and message boards are the 21st century equivilant of Ouija boards. You put yourself out there and are shocked when people with erotomatic fixations and various other sick opinions rant and rail at you, and that doesn't even take into account the general run of the mill morons you are likely to meet as well.

Although no one deserves to receive hatefilled diatribes in their inbox, no one deserves to sit next to a decompensating homeless scizophrenic on the subway either. The best you can do is protect yourself in the future, and maintain some notion of distance between you and those you interact with.

On the internet we all live in New York City, packed tight, and in each other's faces. Like city dwellers for millenia it is up to all of us in internetberg to avoid eye contact and be about our business whenever possible, and cease our conversations with the crazies as soon as we realize they are such.

It's horrible that this woman had to deal with this nonesense, but it is a great warning to everyone on the internet, block crazy users, and protect your personal information.