Why do people make such a big deal out of this? Some of you act as if this was real life.

Personally I think the forums have slowed down tremendously in the past few years.... So if there are no rants and troll fests to read then what to do while I wait for the VPN to connect... All possible offense intended ;)

DISCLAIMER
I don't believe I know @mm in real life - that I know of.

COMMENTS
Online bullying - even by alleged adults - is never kind and irrelevant whether on forums or real life - it's abhorrent, regardless of venue.

I don't recall @mm ever calling anyone an asshole or any other epithet. His writing style may occasionally lean towards pompous and his opinions perhaps polarizing, depending on whether one is familiar with @mm and his particular perspectives or contexts - but I don't recall him ever being vindictive, vitreous, or otherwise personally offensive, aside from his particular opinions.

So congratulations gokm community - you've just bullied someone who's different than you out of the forums. @mm was a rather mild contributor - so I'm surprised and frankly disappointed at how a small minority of members literally ganged up on the guy to oppress him.

Disagreements will always occur in communities (eg the right to bear arms) - some even polarizing - but the goal is to understand other people's perspectives - even though we may disagree strongly - we should nevertheless at a minimum respect other people's beliefs and opinions - even if we disagree.

Since we're nitpicking - how about some gay-bashing - and don't forget to flame the qinglish contributors, etc ad infinitum. Seriously - I'm shocked and dismayed - but then again - maybe I'm just really old and don't get all excited about most things anymore - and don't really get why several people were so happy to jump all over @mm and even happier that he's exiting (according to HF, yet again).

@mm's recent comments on cultural colonialism was indeed a lively thread - but name-calling? That's just an attempt to bully someone to either accept your personal opinion or to coerce them into silence (or withdrawing) in lieu of logical intellectual debates - which I suspect was @mm's true motive...since he's rather progressive in his opinions.

@GOKM EDITORS
The forum TOCs specifically state personal attacks are out of bounds - lively discussions ok. Name-calling NOT IN JEST is a unadulterated personal attack. I'm guessing y'all are too busy to monitor the forums (damned if you do, damned if you don't). What to do?

Hmm, well, I rarely agreed with @mm (and often strongly disagreed to the point of disliking sharing a nationality with him) but all the same its somewhat embarrassing how things went down. That said, I am a bit surprised he opted to leave. He made it pretty clear he did not like his perceptions of how other "foreigners" behaved and how he thought it reflected on him, but he seemed pretty clear that he lived in a different (fantasy?) world, so not sure what he was expecting if he was not just trolling for fun from time to time.

Petition to bring Billdan back. Now petition to bring mm back. When someone says UP is good, attack him and explain why DOWN is best. If another says DOWN is great, then attack him and claim UP is best. The more ridiculous the comment, the more attention you can get and the more ridiculous the comment, the more the need to persuade them to change their beliefs.

This is real life for many because it is the only life they have. This is why so many feel personally attacked by any statement made. Who cares! Get offended!

Why does someone need so many aliases?
Why do the moderators allow people to continually create so many new names and never stop/block them?

I think there is truth to this virtual lie. When someone lies and deceives, they lose credibility, just as in real life. Therefore, others have a right to call a spade a spade. You reap what you sow.

Now that mm is gone, boredom has set in, so there is a need to beg him to return to entertain the bored masses.

This forum serves 2 purposes, some good info from time to time, but mostly entertainment from the dancing baboons.

Lets see who feels offended. Wait, they will make themselves known in just a few minutes.

But wait, let me continue making posts in Nevet = Gaoxing thread. No, let me continue to talk about Fish & Chips until this topic is completely exhausted. Or how about I tell the whole world how much my monthly expenses are in Kunming or how much you SHOULD spend each month.

This is why I love to revive old threads to see how many morons NEED to put in their 2 cents or ask, Why did you bump this old thread?

hahhahaha, now we know why you bump old threads. you sure are amusing, considering you're not a dancing baboon.

I admit I play the part of a dancing baboon when I make sarcastic remarks to other baboons. I realized long ago that this is not a place to be serious or take things seriously. Unfortunately, not everyone here will admit this.

internet forums are inherently flawed because you have a bunch of strangers exchanging ideas, people from all sorts of different backgrounds, and people who are not like-minded, and people who might not associate in real life. and that's why most people (wisely) don't bother posting ever.

@Magnifico: I'd say the 4 reasons that you have given as causing internet forum flaws are precisely those things that should be considered virtues - if and when they don't appear as virtues, it's because contributors are more interested in their egos than in intelligent discussion. So the issue becomes: what is it in the global culture, or anyway in the global internet culture, that produces so many fragile egos?

yes, fragile egos is another issue. exchanges on forums are usually much more brutally honest than in real life conversations, where avoidance of conflict is more common. i think the competitive culture produces unhealthy egos, but i don't know.