[nopardons]

Many long years ago, the Libertarians,big and little l,and others who are fringers, would not only run a ping list,to call in the troops against the one or two people with opposing views on a thread, but started the "wolf pack " attacks here. When they find themselves outnumbered on a thread, they accuse others of using the tactics they originated here, whether it is factual or not and most of the time,no such thing took place.

When they hurl insults,personal attacks,and/or only slightly veiled impugnations,they called it "debate". Should someone respond in kind, or not even in kind, but in refutation to the positions they hold, they hit the abuse button, write letters to Jim and the Mods, and call it harassment, personal attacks,and worse.

What galls them, is that they are a very tiny minority here, as well as in the REAL world.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Many long years ago, the Libertarians,big and little l,and others who are fringers, would not only run a ping list,to call in the troops against the one or two people with opposing views on a thread, but started the "wolf pack " attacks here.

I've seen it on both sides. The funny thing is, I've seen people who complain about it, using those very terms ("pack", "hyenas", blah blah blah) do the very same thing.

I never did get that. All the posts are available for everyone to see. If someone pings a few others to view something I've said, that's okay with me. I'm just not intimidated by it, I guess.

As for the abuse button, I don't know who's using it and I obviously have no way of knowing that - all I know is how I use it myself. I will go on record here to say that I don't believe anyone has ever been banned for anything they've ever said to me.(I certainly never asked for that.) Someone was once suspended for their treatment of me, but it was not at my request. In fact, I don't know that I've ever even hit abuse for something someone has said to me. I have used it mostly to report newbies that I strongly suspect are trolls; I have used it to report profanity, and pornographic photographs. A couple of times I have reported very cruel personal remarks that were made to others.

The idea that people (at least those I know, who are often accused of it) are willy-nilly requesting that others be banned is a myth and a figment of the imaginations of some, I think. Maybe that's going on, but I have never heard of anyone asking for such things.