June the 4th, I go down to the thunderdome for the first time. It is a charming place where some of the meanest anonymous gather to take care of those who dare expressing some form of dissent.
Short chronology. An opening post complains about the fact that raids reports are frequently moved from the sub-forum Breaking news to Local events. The following posts support or criticize the OP. At some stage, I post to say that Breaking news was intended for information found on external media (newspapers, TV and radio broadcasts, online news). The discussion goes on. I insist on my view and I am told that I should stop playing with the definitions (an alarm signal I did not understand at the time). A little bit later, I go back to the actual definition and make a new post acknowledging that my understanding of it is perhaps too restrictive. I rally a recently made proposal that would sort things out.
But it is too late. Shortly after that, I am accused of bawing and this is a high crime…
First round
The thread is moved to the dome and I become the target of attacks that I will describe on general terms. Using a pseudonym with feminine connotation, a mod calls me a bitch, and then pictures are posted representing pimps (black, of course), of pills to treat diseases common in the profession. From the beginning, I instincticly decide to answer to them, but with words and remaining (almost) always polite. Then a long list of gore and macabre pictures are posted, just for the fun. I answer to almost every post, in a lightly manner, even though provocative. At some stage, I quit for a while, after mentioning that I would come back.
When I come back, I post something about “little wankers” to light the fire again. Still warming up, the mod posts pictures of “me”, at least in his imagination (we will come back to this below). Then pictures of US black leaders of the 60’s and 70’s and then of the Ku Klux Klan. As I express my surprise about his own horror scale, he plays is master card: a self-scatological picture. When I ask him if he publishes only pictures because his mouth is full, he is not amused. He publishes the same picture again and again, with some “artistic” variations that tend to reduce the initial impact. Finally, he asks me if I am gay; that seems to be its supreme insult. I then ask him if he is a scientologist, as his horror scale seems very similar to theirs. He confirms this and, happy with himself, informs me that he is going to bed. He will not come back.
Some others, who followed the exchange, try to take over, but the heart – or the inspiration – is gone. At that time, I have the (wrong) impression that I won the argument.If I had stopped then, I believe that the whole thing would have come to an end, even if I became the laughing-stock for the oldfags.
But there were these pictures of “me” or more accurately the way they were posted.
Second round
Slightly shoked, but trying to understand what happened, I read once again all the posts. I identify the warning that I missed, regret that my conciliatory post went unnoticed and look again – quickly and gripping my nose – at the pictures. I notice something unusual about “my” pictures. They have been posted under my name. On the two first ones, their edition by the mod is clearly visible (I remember that from the time I was one); on the third one, nothing. So, he was cheating – tending to prove that he was losing the argument – but at least it was visible on the two first ones. But one might think that I published the third one.
I send a report to the mods, asking if the theft of identity was allowed on Enturbulation. Without any answer in a reasonable time (more than 12 hours), I decide to ask the question openly.
I know that this will put me in trouble, but the question is too important to be left unanswered. So, I publish another thread, mentioning the possibility of an abuse of my account by a mod or an admin. Answers mention that these issues are usually treated by sending one of them a private message. I answer that I am not willing to potentially contact the one who did it. The thread is then sent to the dome. Users propose alternative ways to obtain the same result (that turned to be wrong) and laugh at me. I insist and ask a simple question: how did it happen? Finally, a compatissant admin informs me by PM that posts can be modified in an invisible way. This is completely new for me. So I post an apology about the mention of abuses, but air my concerns about these invisible changes.
Third round
Nauseated by what I perceive as a violation of my identity – even a fake one – I spend hours thinking about it. As a laughing-stock for the oldfags – but the author of threads judged interesting by some readers in the “normal” part of the forum – I have a vision of what could happen: a mod or an admin could consider funny to modify those threads too. This idea makes me sick. So I decide to anticipate this potential threat by removing the most important OPs I made in the past.
When the first posts ask about what happened, I answer shortly, mentioning the respect of identity issue. I am told to shut the fuck up. Two OPs are restored from the backups. I removed them again. A mod warns me that I have to stop. I answer that I have the right to remove them, as I wrote every word in them. He answered that they were useful for the overall project. I receive an infraction. More important, I have the confirmation that posts can be modified – in this case restored – in an invisible way, including in the “normal” part of the forum. I mention that I do not agree with that too and ask that at least the edition should be visible. Infraction.
Since then, at least one of my threads was taken over by somebody else. All mention of me have disappeared.
For the time being, I stay quiet on Enturbulation, but I decided to open this blog. Time will tell how Enturbulation will handle this.
