Phantom Lurker, I suspect that you are trying to draw me into an argument. But I also think your question deserves an answer.

I can't speak for you. I don't know exactly why you are doing this. I can speculate, however. I think maybe you don't even know, yourself, why you do this. I suspect that you just feel compelled to do it. It is my opinion, that you just can't not do it. I think there are professionals who can help you figure out what the reasons are for this behavior, and help you find better and less destructive ways of dealing with whatever it is that you've got going on.

As far as what damage is being done is concerned, look at this thread. Several people have mentioned the fact that they don't feel inclined to spend the time opening threads anymore because such a large number of them are just your attempt to jerk their chain.

As for myself, I have become very mistrustful of people who post as guest, now. And you know from some of our previous interactions, that I used to be very welcoming of people who post as guest. I have become that way because I don't like the way it makes me feel when I know that my chain is being jerked.

You are trivializing the Mudcat. People are becoming cynical about the direction in which the Mudcat is headed. Some of that may be snob factor, but I think that most of it is just the fact that it takes up a lot of someone's time to open a thread and read the posts to it. When a thread exists simply for the purpose of jerking peoples' chains, people feel that their time has been wasted. They feel that they wish they had opened only threads that were sincere. But it's frequently not possible to tell which ones are which until after the time has been invested in getting into the thread and seeing what it's about.

And there are a lot of good hearted people here who take many of your threads and posts at face value without questioning your motives. You start a thread sounding sincere, and they respond. Then, you post to it under a second and maybe even a third Guest name, and you get an argument stirred up. This creates animosity between people who would otherwise have good will toward each other.

You may say, "Well, if that's how they are, then they deserve it." Phantom Lurker, I think you know very well yourself, that each of us has within us the ability to act negatively. When you deliberately try to bring out these qualities in people and you do it in a forum like this one that is essentially a permanent record, you pollute it. And you create an environment in which people feel less inclined to trust one another.

I, personally, think that behavior like this doesn't happen unless the person who is engaging it is experiencing some kind of profound discomfort. I'm asking you to get some help for this. I don't think I'm the only one who knows who you are. I'm pretty sure there are others. So you're not just hurting us. You're hurting you're real identity, as well.