BS: death of a forum persona

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 05:48 AM

Ya' know Ted, you just may have hit upon the best possible demise for PFD...........

How about this? After years of punk-ass wild guitar solos involving assorted theatrics including licking his guitar, PFD succumbs to lead poisoning.

Works for me.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: M.Ted
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 12:04 AM

At least one Mudcatter has been pulled into the death scenario. It's an old game that predates the internet. If you're interested, Dave's Wife, PM me I can tell you a little bit about an a serial death scenarist that practiced her trade long before the internet caught on. I actually met her, though I didn't realize it until later.

As to you, PF, don't give up. I thought you were real. Please don't tell me that you don't have a collection of cheap chinese electric guitars. I'll feel like a first rate sucker.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 11:05 PM

At Bobert's request, I have begun a separate thread:

Native Behaviors in Mudcat Society

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bee
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 10:39 PM

Dave's Wife, I am horrifically (if that's a real word) fascinated by your topic of study. Yikes!

I've seen exactly what you have on Mudcat, which is as you say, nothing, compared to the heavy-duty soap operas on the huge sites you're describing.

About eight years ago I was active on a couple of very large social forums, and while there was some of the sympathy gathering-story debunking stuff going on, the most obvious unpleasantness was the development of what can best be described as 'clan feuds', where segments of communities would begin by bickering over some imagined (or even real) sleight, continue with wholesale slander and namecalling, progress to code-hacking to interrupt each others' sub-forums, include a little real world harassment, and end by everyone leaving the original forum to go start their own. I just quit those forums cold after a couple years. There were some very interesting and lovely people on them, but the daily drama got really old.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bobert
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 10:02 PM

Wow!!!

Here I worked in socail work with mostly mentally ill people for half my life but, ahhhhhh, Dave's Wife, you be da man!!!

Did I say man??? I meant mam, ahhhh, mam...

I don't have a clue what you are talkin' about but who cares... The medium is the message... Jus' like the way you talk...

BTW, you are a "Harold and Maude" fan, ain't ya'??? I thought so, cauue there's alot of Maude in what you observe and the way you write about it...

But here's my request... How about startin' yer own thread entitled "Anthorpologist's Study of Mudville"... That would be great... Really, I ain't playin' here...

Ahhhhh, not that yer posts on this thread is bad 'er nuthin'... I'd jus'ike you to have yer own kinda Dr. "Anthropologist" Phil kida thread..

(Screw you, Bobert, what do you think I am??? A sideshow freek, 'er what???)

No, no... You got it all wrong... You got it all wrong...

B~ (as in blocked out...)

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 09:32 PM

Curled your hair did I, Litlte Hawk?

Yes, every online community has certain shades of this kind of behavior but for it to manifest in the full-blown manner as I described, there needs to be a steady influx of newer members in enough numbers to sustain recruitment into either little "gang" or "gangs" as the case may be. While one board will rarely have more than one truly dominent vampire with accolytes, there are often a series of subtle cons going on with accumulated sympathizers.

For example:

On one site that had one of the Death soap operas playing out, there was also a gal soaking up all kinds of sympathy over a fictious miscarriage. She began the ruse by just relating a harrowing miscarriage but the response wasn't terribly high. With so many young female users, miscarriages were common events. people said "gee, I'm sorry " but that wasn't enough. She upped the ante by explaining that her miscaariage was all the more tragic because she was being a surrogate mother for her gay brother and his partner and her miscarriage rendered her incapable of ever having more children. That elicted the desired response and she was love-bombed with symptahy and ROAKS (Random Acts of Kindess). ROAKS are often the desired outcome of a ruse not just for the value of getting free little gifts in the mail but because it brings the ruse offline into real life.

So, we had the "husband" of a "dead" user sucking up sympathy, advice, ROAKS and compassion at the same time as the "Surrogate Mother" suffered a miscarriage of her "gay brother"s baby. Both were being attacked by the same dominant Vampire, let's call her Nissa, and Nissa's crew of lieutenant vampires. Even while that was going on, Nissa and her crew were ever vigilant for any suspect claim of suffering, often spenmding hours scouring hundreds of an individual's posts looking for any subtle inconsistancy and ready to pounce on any new "ruse" worthy of their vigilante attention.

Many people would label Nissa the Vampire and her crew as trolls and they would be wrong. We have trolls here on the Mudcat but I do not believe we have a dominant vampire (almost exlusively a role adopted by females, males have other bullying patterns which don't apply to this discussion).

We have, however, on occasion had troubled individuals peddling ever-increasing tales of woe and tragedy. If you recall some of those threads, you may remember that the set of rules as I described them came into play to a degree. The person(s)gathered supporters, thanked them profusely, was awared ROAKS and caring advice. The person(s) had some naysayers who were often attacked by the supporters. This went on until a new tempest in a teapot came along or until the troubled party moved on. Thankfully, we don't seem to have any full-blown self-appointed avenging angels complete with minions.   

No, in these cases, the threads about the ever-increasing tales of woe served an established purpose - a troubled person in need of support got some whether the siuation described was real or imagined. In fact, we have a number of caring skeptics on mudcat who couch their skepticism in endearingly caring language such as "I don't know if what you say happened as you say but if it did, I am so terribly sorry for all involved and let me add you to my prayers/thoughts/wiccan healing spells/etc and I hope that you feel better." It's actually very touching to see someone holding themselves back from the role of "truthsayer from the darkside"!

I love Mudcat.

Nuff said

PS. Yes, I print out exchanges of these types and keep them in a field notebook. I blackout the real names or screennames and assign them code-names but I do keep a key-book in case I ever have to give printouts to law enforcement and I have had to do that twice.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Little Hawk
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 09:01 PM

Good lord.

You know, Dave's Wife, there is a bit of that sort of thing going on here at Mudcat too, although to a much lesser extent. What I mean is, there are individuals here who develop a grudge against whoever, and they are then apparently willing to go painstakingly through every post that someone has made in order to pick up "clues", as you put it, so that they can make nasty personal attacks on their chosen target. It happens. I've seen it happen now and then.

Fortunately it does not happen to nearly the extent you have described in your post above.

Anyone who posts personal information on any forum like this one is risking a certain amount of toxic attention from various predatory people. It's very similar to poison pen gossip in a small town, and it goes around and around and around.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 08:46 PM

Bee - you have the nack for this sort of thing and understand the well-established rules. Perhaps YOU should kill your persona?

I wish I could say that the shopping/coupon/deal sites where these kinds of things go on are low-class or trashy and that's why it goes on. They're just really well-established sites with huge volumes of visitors and it's the size that permits that kind of thing to cycle through again and again.

I think that most of the con-artists who fall into those sympathy-cycles are leading very isolated and desperate lives. There is always a fresh crop of new mommies with their first baby, stuck at home and barely getting the bills paid who seem to easily buy into these kinds of ruses. I suspect those gullible women are being victimized in other, crueler ways in their real lives and that they gain something valuable by offering their trust and belief to the Con artist. It reaffirms their humanity. They empathize with the victim.

There is a flipside to that too in that there are always a few "truth-sayers" on those sites who call out the con artists in particularly vicious ways with elaborate put-down lanaguge. Those are also women but tend to be older, divorced or alone, empty-nesters who collect accolytes who wait with baited breath for them to sink their fangs into some would-be widow or mother of a newly dead persona or.. into the flesh of of some user who posts an exaagerated story of the woes of their life or their bad day. Those woman do not empathize with the con artist - they see them as victimizing the trusting ones and appoint themselves as online avenging angels. What they get is praise and admiration for being "wise" and "wordly" and strong. Oddly enough, the women who flock to them also tend to have histories of victimization but they have chosen to ally with the bully and curry favor in return for sanctuary from future taunts and attacks.

I truly loathe the Vampires the most - the women who get their kicks posting elaborate taunts and tracking down people via Zaba Search or google to analyze every clue in each post a target has ever made. When they succed in finding their real world addresses, typical activites include sending them poison-pen letters, signing them up for magazine subscriptions or CD club memberships they can't afford, or registering them on porn sites or for porn catalogs. The vampires say the con artists "asked for it" by trying to con people into believing a sob story but the way I see, at least the con artists didn't do anything blatantly illegal.

Why do I observe this behavior, you ask? I can't help it. It fascinates me as an anthropologist. The predictable patterns that emerge and the amazing similarities between the individuals who voluntarily adopt these roles.

The Con artists have supporters and so do the vampires. The Con artists want to play the victim for sympathy and the Vampires seem to be saying "Ok lady, you want to be a victim? OK. Wish granted. Now let me teach you the true meaning of the word." It's like high-tech junior highschool but its being carried out by adults with an adult's capacity for inventiveness and vindictiveness. Truly nasty pieces of work these vampire women.

There are a few anthropologists who study online bullying who also find these patterns fascinating and we send eachother data from time to time. It seems that this kind of thing is equally popular in the UK as it is in the USA but in the UK, the offline harrassment is less direct.

Well - I'll shut up now. I'm hijacking this thread away from its topic and over towards a whole different issue - a related issue yes, but not what we began with.

However, keep all of what I've related in mind if you're tempted to think the Mudcat is messed up! by comparison, I'd say we're a much more open lot.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bee
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 08:25 PM

Isn't 'punk' what you call that soft wet stuff that's left in the middle of a rotted tree trunk, which when dried makes really good firestarting tinder?

Seriously, I like the punkfolkrocker, he's got honest, if appley, charm.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 06:23 PM

. . . but what IS punk?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bobert
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 06:22 PM

Well, Punkster, if you really want "death" then I'd just recooomend the usual for punk rockers and that is bang yer head against the wall until you can't any more (lol...)... That oughtta work but...

...ahhh, why change... It's okay to be a punk-rocker... Really is...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: GUEST,Penelope Rutledge
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 01:40 PM

You're the very soul of discretion and good taste, Bee-dubya-ell. I'm surprised that no one has thought to name an industrial waste management landfill site after you. Thank you for omitting my presence from "the menage".

* PR

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 12:13 PM

Well, Ms Penelope, I suppose one could omit your presence from the menage, but that would only leave Shane and Chongo as role models for the "new-and-improved" punkfolkrocker. In that case, the poor boy would remain virtually unchanged. Oh, I suppose he'd probably kick the cider habit in exchange for Labatt's, and he'd surely develop a fondness for poop slinging and public masturbation, but there's a rumour that he already has a propensity toward those pastimes anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: GUEST,Ms Penelope Rutledge
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 09:42 AM

My, you do have a rich fantasy life, don't you, Bee-dubya-ell? Not getting out enough lately? Is that the problem?

* PR

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 08:33 AM

Lock him in a room with Chongo, Shane, and Penelope Rutledge along with a .38 Special, a case of Moosehead, and a riding crop.

If he survives for eight hours he'll be a changed man, guaranteed. What's not guaranteed is whether said change would be for the better or for the worse.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bee
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 06:09 AM

Dave's Wife, you need to patronise a better class of message board, but that is funny!

Mind you, I have seen a few episodes of this type on large sites I used to use, but there was a real shortage of galpals who'd buy into the scenarios for more than a day or two, until some astute person would point out the raving inconsistencies.

Still, pfr should give your method a go. Has to be really outrageous, though. Maybe not a car crash but a cider-fueled stumble off a cliff into the ocean, where he is attacked by bull seals thinking he's after their harems, followed by a desperate attempt to escape only to be hauled into the briny deeps by an Architeuthis(sp?). Widow's first post should be a folk song written to commemorate his untimely demise.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 05:19 AM

Death is always a serious matter, even virtual death. I would recommend considering the options before commiting yourself to the ultimate demise. I mean will the world be a better place without you, or will you be a better person without your forum persona? I certainly don't know and given that I am a forum persona, why should I?

Maybe the real people on this forum should decide, or deride as they deem fit.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, one more figment in an unreal world

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 05:16 AM

"Remember all the time to listen to what you are saying, and did say, as well as speaking."

Is that allowed?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 12 Nov 07 - 05:04 PM

You Could sign in as GUEST,punkfolkrocker's Widow and tell us how he met a sad end in a fiery car crash and how you aren't really him , just his widow looking up all his old intrnet huants so you can let his cyberopals know he has sadly left the building for good.

That's how people do it on other board's when their Screenname/persona has overtsayed it's welcome or gotton into some horrible dispute and now they want it to end but don't know how. it's also how Internet Sympathy-Junkies do it. They keep up the charade for a few weeks writing heartfelt thanks to the chumps who buy into it and flying into familiar rages against the folks who don't and who call them on their silly scheme.

Soon, your 'Widow" will have a gaggle of gal pals who will defend her to the death, shout down anyone who dares to suggest your death is a fake and send her cute cards with stickers all over them. next to arrive will be the invitations to become their friends on Facebook and MySpace. Your Widow and her new gal-pals can even set up a page on the Internet memorial Candle site to commemorate your passing. It will all be so very touching.

If you like your new "widowhood", you can even run with that for a few years until her mother/sister/brother has to come on and share the sad news of her fight against terminal breast cancer and act as the go-between, collecting heartfelt get-well e-cards and reporting back to the gals on her progress. When you as the Widow are finally ready to become the Mother/Sister/Brother, you let everyone know the Widow lost her brave battle and start the whol cycle all over again with shouting down the naysayers and thanking supporters.

Don't laugh - I've seen this happen a number of times almost exactly as written with the only changes being method of death and type of terminal illness.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Nov 07 - 04:10 PM

Ask Chongo or Shane what to do.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 12 Nov 07 - 04:06 PM

Just be yourself use your own name life is not a pantomime.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 12 Nov 07 - 04:33 AM

Don't know what method to use, Murder or Suicide, but the location ought to be at The Catspaw Picnic Area and Battle Site.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 06:55 PM

I don't think he should be "killed off", but rehabilitated. Take a clue from "Clockwork Orange", and incarcerate him somewhere with a powerful sound system, on which are played for hour after hour [insert list of names], giving renditions of [delete as appropriate: The Wild Rover/Fields of Athenry/the full version of Tam Lin].

If you can't incarcerate him, just lock him up. The music treatment still applies. Open the door 3 years later.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Folk Form # 1
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 06:51 PM

I actually love the name and look out for his postings. Have you not thought of giving the name to someone else?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Little Hawk
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 06:38 PM

Which meds do you require, Richard?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 05:21 PM

Meds, please, LH.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Little Hawk
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 05:19 PM

Little Friskies are a form of dried pet food made for cats. Smarter cats refuse to eat them.

"punkfolkrocker", here's another way you could dispose of your lovable persona. Acquire a large amount of plastic explosive. Pack it into a cardboard tube. Grease that tube with vaseline. Attach a fuse. Shove the cardboard tube up your persona's figurative ass, light the fuse, and give him a royal and final sendoff to the literary stratosphere from whence he descended.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 05:11 PM

What are those in English?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Little Hawk
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 03:04 PM

Feed him "Little Friskie's" till he explodes.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 02:44 PM

Backwards?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Peace
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 02:39 PM

Turn him into a bird and have him fly in an ever-diminishing circle.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: peregrina
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 02:01 PM

death? why not reincarnation as a new mudcat being?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Azizi
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 01:55 PM

back then when i could use him to irritate and subvert the pomposity of all the old nasty petty sanctimonious
supercillious spell-checkers and moral high ground grabbers.....
-punkfolkrocker

I just have to say that I love your use of words in that sentence.

Does punkfolkrocker, your persona talk like that? If so, it'd be a shame to do away with him.

On the other hand, if this is the way you really talk and punfolkrocker's speech pattern is different than this, then it'd be a shame not to "hear" the real you.

Couldn't you do like Little Hawk does and have "punkfolkrocker" the persona make an appearance as a bona fide Mudcat character every now and then?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 01:52 PM

point well taken but
grandstand troll or judge
I assure you are attributes that
accompany even the wisest most profound words ever uttered on this planet.

You know, its the eye of the beholder thing again.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 12:03 PM

""how should i finish him off ???"

I saw a couple of 'em dive off big speakers onto their heads once...didn't seem to affect 'em (more's the pity).

Just change the name...you'd be surprised how identity affects demeanor.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 10:47 AM

back then when i could use him to irritate and subvert the pomposity of all the old nasty petty sanctimonious
supercillious spell-checkers and moral high ground grabbers.....

Well, you could try what a lot of us try, and that is to simply be yourself instead of looking to Mudcat for opportunitites to grandstand, troll, or judge other members. :~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Bee
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 10:40 AM

Read Stephen King's The Dark Half and whistle up some sparrows. That should take care of either pfr or your other self. Then, if successful, write an apology to e.e. cummings' dusty spirit for so thoroughly abusing his schtick to channel cider-fueled internetting.

If not successful, have him burnt in wicker by "the old nasty petty sanctimonious supercillious spell-checkers and moral high ground grabbers".

Personally, I think actually spelling most words correctly enhances communication, but what do I know, I'm a painter.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Ebbie
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 10:36 AM

PFR, you asked:

"how should i finish him off ???

suicide..??

murder...???"

I'm sorry we ignored that aspect. My thoughts on the matter are that it in all likelihood will be murder. There has to be a certain level of sensitivity for one to consider suicide.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: number 6
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 09:38 AM

Discovers Merle Haggard and Rebel Yell (straight bourbon).

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 08:51 AM

Or Benedictine... they didn't name that because they liked the uniform...

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 07:03 AM

You'll have to drink mead in stead of cider.... (or maybe absinthe)

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Rapparee
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 07:02 AM

Join a cloistered monastery.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 05:53 AM

A filthy habit Giok.

I have a better idea. Remember "Sheena is a punkrocker"? PFR could meet Sheena, fall in love, settle down, get a mortgage, they could become domestic and middle class, and have 2.4 children and a labrador.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 05:20 AM

Are you not feeling yourself?

G

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: autolycus
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 05:11 AM

Writing proper because you think you "should" is not satisfactory, and punkfolkrocker will persist, probably. It's like your underdog.

   it would be different if you 'wanted' to write in full sentences and everything.

   you might like to try the Gestalt method of sitting in one chair/on one cushion facing a ditto, and talk to punk, saying what you want. Each time you;'ve done, or ask the other a question, switch to the other place and respond/reply, So on the first switch, punk will have summat to say.

Remember all the time to listen to what you are saying, and did say, as well as speaking.

Continue until resolution, transcendence of the conflict or exhaustion. Not for silly little things like feeling silly or boredom. The toilet or food may be avoidance. Innit.


    Ivor

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 03:44 AM

Send him to a desert island with Pete Docherty and Amy Whinehouse, for eternity.

eric

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 03:31 AM

OD?

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 02:46 AM

Being Punkfolkrocker, I'd lock him in a room with a closed loop tape of works by Bach, Wagner and Richard Clayderman.... that's guaranteed to have him chewing his own legs off to stick 'em in his ears.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: Ebbie
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 02:04 AM

Oh boy- this could get violent.

Subject: RE: BS: death of a forum persona
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 01:06 AM

you sneaky drunk bastard imposter..

you know its only because of me you are still alive..

how dare you try to kill me off !!!



oh.. and i used your credit card to buy another telecaster today...


hows that for CAPITAL LETTERS and punctuation

you murderous weaker multiple personality folk plucker doppelganger boy..!!!