So the smear campaign is in full effect. Oh, no, not from the troll.

The angry mob is taking exception with being (called) an angry mob.

"The reaction from members to the Troll has been significantly more damaging to mudcat.org than the Troll itself." Drew some serious ire.

I got emails containing…

If you had made sure that when people joined up, they had to verify their IP address and email etc etc, we in the Uk would not be in this position. It is all your fault and you need to sort it out...

I have much to say, and much to do, but now I have a two front war on my hands. So, some quick clarifications, facts from the horses ass…er, mouth, and some tips for survival in the weeks and months to come.

It is being said that I have a negative opinion of the UK and wants to reduce the number of UK members. Fact is:

A group of members, who happen to be in the UK, have been very vocal on mudcat about their opposition to our troll. They disrupt the community to get our attention and drive our action, when we do act they criticize the manner in which we did, they don't listen when we talk, accept anything as the truth, ever take our advice or heed our warnings, and blatantly disregard the initiatives we try to put in place to deal with this issue. This is the angry mob. Ironically, they have assimilated all of the same traits, strategies and characters of the troll, just with the exact opposite ideology.

They are creating Facebook groups and pages and fake profiles as we speak (sound familiar?). They are passing around an 8 year old list of member emails collected publicly by our members (not us) a decade ago, and saying that the database has been hacked and that I emailed it, etc. etc.

I have no uncertainty or prejudice or malice when I state that this angry mob is more destructive to the mudcat community than the troll could ever be. The people involved are not affiliated or organized or strategizing together or anything like that, but the same handful of folks always ended up at the center of every scuffle. This goes back years, well before any troll. They have been bullying our volunteers and members they didn't like with all sorts of grand reasons and were immediately outraged if I didn't share their adamance and shoulder their cause. So today, I'm a xenophobe and a fascist.

Breaking up is so hard.

So this gang, who I won't out publicly just yet (because they will out themselves with obvious and outlandish calls for attention such that Fred did this morning), is now saying that I am blaming the victims as a defense mechanism and coverup for my failures in the security and safety of the technical infrastructure of mudcat.org. So you'll hear a lot about that. Not the case, and we have probably 100 people who are directly aware or involved of perhaps 5 years of conversation about this, and about 1000 members who have complained and left because of them.

They are trying to make this ideological and larger than it is. I'm prejudiced against and look down upon the UK, I support extreme political parties, etc. etc.

We're dealing with maybe 10 people here, longtime entrenched members. I've already heard things like "well if he/she isn't welcome here, I'm leaving too." That's OK with me. We are prepared and willing to take a significant hit in membership and believe with all sincerity this is the only way to save this community. Nothing personal, unfortunate, but I serve and am trying to save the whole.

I have other pressing matters in my life, so I'll have to pick this up later, but must leave you with some survival tips…

If you hear "Max says this" or "Max is going to do that" or "Max believes in blank" and you didn't see it come out of my mouth, question it. If you really need an anwer and can't wait for this to blow over, post it gently in an active thread, if none are active wait for one to be opened. Be patient, be prudent. The truth will come out.

Remember they are using misinformation, sensationalism, fake identities, misrepresentation, manipulation, references to technical and legal matters that are fictional and just plain ignorant and coming up with new stuff every day.

If you feel unsafe, uncomfortable, unhappy, at any time, you should log out and walk away.

If you have an issue on Facebook, there is absolutely nothing we can do. We have no power or influence with them. I cannot stop fake mudcat groups or influence their policy or help get anything removed, etc. I am just one of their 600 million customers. Their safety, privacy and security page is here. Use it. Report all fake groups and identities. And protect yourself.

Good luck gang. Hang onto your hats, she's gonna blow. I'll see you on the other side…

If YOU don't make it back, let me say that it was MY pleasure and an honor to have been in your company, thank you for hanging out, and I am sorry I couldn't make it last forever.