"Skinner, you are a fucking quack. I have never claimed to be an attorney. I do know a few good ones though. You might need one for impersonating a doctor. You however, do not need one for impersonating a douche bag."

An interesting outburst, especially for diagnostic purposes.

As a behavioral psychologist of some reputation (world renown, I believe, if I say so myself), I don't believe anyone but Martin Gibson, and perhaps a few of my more emotionally and financially invested colleagues who disagree with some of my theories, regard me as a "quack." There is no questioning of my right to claim the title "Doctor," because, although I am not a medical doctor, I received a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and have taught the subject in several universities, including Harvard, and have conducted laboratory experiments in behavioral psychology under the aegis of these institutions. With that settled, let me go on to other matters.

If pressed, I believe I can find the posts in when Martin Gibson did imply that he was an attorney, and others in which he claimed that he was a published writer (although I believe someone pointed out that spray painting obscene graffiti on the sides of buildings does not qualify as being published). He also claimed that he was employed by a major corporation, but as noted above, this may actually be true (yet, he does seem to be able to spend an inordinate about of time during normal working hours throughout the week posting frequently inappropriate remarks on this forum; so the matter of his employment, if any, remains in doubt).

The fact that Martin Gibson mistakes me for a douche bag, or for someone trying to impersonate a douche bag, is reminiscent of some of the findings of my colleague, Dr Oliver Sachs, who published a book entitled "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat." However, I do not believe that Martin Gibson's problem is autism, although it may be related to a form of semi-controllable Tourette's syndrome.

The fact that he attacks me personally is not at all unusual. When a patient displays hostility toward his therapist, it is a common stage in that therapy and is to be expected. What does concern me is his persistent separation from reality, claiming that he is various things that he is not, his claim to possess special knowledge (acquired, presumably, by supernatural means) about the personal habits, sexual behavior, and personal hygiene of people he has never met, and his obsession with things scatological, a phase most children pass through at approximately age 3, and which, if it continues into adulthood, indicates a particularly serious infantile fixation. I am most deeply concerned about his persistent maintenance that the personality he displays when he is hiding behind anonymity is not his real personality. It is obvious that while he is anonymous, this is the time that he feels most free to let his true personality emerge. It is then that he can indulge his compulsion to behave in a manner that would be completely unacceptable to his family and social circle. Perhaps he needs this outlet as a sort of safety valve in order to maintain his tenuous grasp on reality.

Although there is no guarantee of a cure for this condition, a rigorous program of operant conditioning and behavior modification is indicated. A good beginning, perhaps, would be to have him sit on a stool while facing a corner and wearing a dunce cap.

Diagnosis:   wacko.