Open letter to gargoyle.

Subject: Open letter to gargoyle.
From: The Shambles
Date: 19 Jan 00 - 10:48 AM

It is Max's wish that this place be self-regulating, let us respect that view and just get on with doing just that.

This post is addressed to gargoyle. Before the present flare-up occurred, I had intended to send it personally, but that did not seem to be possible. Can I ask that you do not contribute to this thread and leave it for gargoyle to respond to or not (you can of course send personal messages to me)?

If 'it' chooses not to, or does reply, can we just read it, make up our own minds and then let the whole sad subject die with this thread? In the future, new posters could always be referred to this thread to hopefully prevent such silliness happening again. If 'it' has a point let us see it here and then let us move on.

Gargoyle.

I do find myself in a difficult position. I had resolved that I would not publicly respond to you and in the process encourage your apparent delight in personally hurting certain posters, inhibiting others and the care you take, not to upset individuals you appear to value or fear?

This you have done over a long period, for reasons and to some grand design or crusade, that you seem to understand but which I have never seen explained anywhere. Please point me to it, if such a thing exists. Whatever it might be though, it could not justify to me, the methods you have chosen to take. Do I detect that you are now feeling that your need to use such methods is now over? If so you must realise that it is unfortunately, not quite as simple as just 'wiping the slate clean'.

Rightly or wrongly, some people do feel at home on The Mudcat. To deliberately drive folk, from that home is no small deal!

In a current thread, I find that you have contributed a number of interesting ideas and to which I would like to feel I could respond, challenge or whatever. You are obviously someone who thinks that they have a brain but I have yet to detect much evidence of a heart in your postings and it is one of the things, which makes me hesitate to respond to your thoughts. You also now seem to think that you and your views are entitled to the respect that you have consistently not been able or prepared to show to others.

I have not been a regular visitor to the site but recently I have had some contact with other contributors and they related to me some of your actions toward them in that period. I don't know what your intentions were, in the actions you took or your views on the rights and wrongs of the information I received from them but the ONLY important thing is that they were and remain, traumatized by those actions. They do not feel safe to post on The Mudcat anymore. Was that the intention, if so could you explain to me why you choose certain people and not others? As I said, I have been away and if there is something else that I have missed, please point me to it?

It is important that you are aware that no one has asked me to do or say anything and that any resulting feedback from this is post is directed at me. This post is prompted by the question of how best to deal with you and your postings, in the future.

We all make mistakes and looking back, we can see if we are honest, that we could have done things better. We don't get many opportunities to put those things right, are we not indeed foolish, if we do not take them? If you are/were playing a role, is it possible that you may have become trapped in that role and that now may be a good time get out of it, if you can? If you can't then please go away until that is possible?

If you would like to have your thoughts and views taken seriously and responded to, as you obviously do. Would it be possible for you to publicly apologize to those posters, for the hurt that you have (deliberately) caused them? Without that attempt, I and I suspect many others would feel that to respond civilly to you or even recognize your existence, would be seen, by those you have tried to hurt, as something of a betrayal of them and the principles of an open forum.

Please take this in the way that it was intended, as genuine attempt to more on and improve the forum in the future and to accommodate ALL of those who would care to contribute. If you choose to take no action, as to an apology, I have no intention of dueling with you but I will (with some sadness), simply continue to ignore your contributions and will not be provoked in to any future exchanges with you.

Is it that you just want to destroy the forum, (for that is what is happening) or do you just want be the only one remaining there, talking only to yourself? For sooner or later even the few generous souls that are still prepared to give you 'the benefit of the doubt, will realise that the only effective way to deal with you and those who would use your methods, is to ignore you completely.

You may not be the sick, sad individual that you are perceived to be but you have chosen to use sick and sad methods and that is all we can judge you by.

I do hope that you will take this opportunity and that if you choose not to, that you would just leave a place in peace, that is now and will not ever be, exactly to your liking

The Shambles.

Subject: RE: Open letter to gargoyle.
From: Max
Date: 19 Jan 00 - 11:43 AM