Overall, Bob, it's really a sign of the way most people should treat online communities.
Something like 4 years back, I basically had it bludgeoned into me in one community I was significantly part of, after some issues with a couple of members. I won't go into details, but the two key things I took away from that are that I basically, no matter how long the interaction goes for, I really do not actually know any of the people in that community (here and USS Tamerlane are exceptions to that rule, and that's only because a member of each lives where I do *waves to Mal*), and that any community I participate in will always be one asshat away from me needing to leave for my own sake. Many times, it's just another member of the community who's been given a little more leeway than they should for the behavior exhibited, but occasionally, it's someone in charge of the community.
And the behavior of Fast Eddie is well above what it takes for me to decide to leave. I left a video gaming forum specifically because a thread on thrift hunting got seriously derailed when one member was found to be lying about the deals he was getting, and the epic dogpile that followed for several days. I started blocking people from my feed who were seriously continuing the dogpile, and left once I literally ran out of room in the block list. This was more that the mods of the forum seemed to be too hands-off, rather than someone getting their panties into a wad.
This does mean I tend not to sign up for forums or other communities without at least some level of thought given to my own contribution level. If I'm going to just lurk somewhere, I might as well do it anonymously anyway.
And even then, I always keep in mind that, I may need to walk away from any time investment at any time, with little to no real warning to me.
--
"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
Something like 4 years back, I basically had it bludgeoned into me in one community I was significantly part of, after some issues with a couple of members. I won't go into details, but the two key things I took away from that are that I basically, no matter how long the interaction goes for, I really do not actually know any of the people in that community (here and USS Tamerlane are exceptions to that rule, and that's only because a member of each lives where I do *waves to Mal*), and that any community I participate in will always be one asshat away from me needing to leave for my own sake. Many times, it's just another member of the community who's been given a little more leeway than they should for the behavior exhibited, but occasionally, it's someone in charge of the community.
And the behavior of Fast Eddie is well above what it takes for me to decide to leave. I left a video gaming forum specifically because a thread on thrift hunting got seriously derailed when one member was found to be lying about the deals he was getting, and the epic dogpile that followed for several days. I started blocking people from my feed who were seriously continuing the dogpile, and left once I literally ran out of room in the block list. This was more that the mods of the forum seemed to be too hands-off, rather than someone getting their panties into a wad.
This does mean I tend not to sign up for forums or other communities without at least some level of thought given to my own contribution level. If I'm going to just lurk somewhere, I might as well do it anonymously anyway.
And even then, I always keep in mind that, I may need to walk away from any time investment at any time, with little to no real warning to me.--
"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor