First, let me begin by saying that I definitely do not condone most of the posts that are generally made by PhonicsMonkey.



Assuming for one minute that "banning forum posters by consensus" is the way to go, we have a problem. The problem is this: Who gets to decide what level of behaviour is or is not acceptable?



Something that may be totally unacceptable to you may be more tolerable to someone else. Someone else may have a class or character of poster they would like banned...and this class may include you.



How many people have to "vote someone off" before they are gone? 10? 20? 200? Let's pick a number...50. Now...what's to stop me getting 50 of my nearest and dearest friends and relatives and voting you off?



Who defines these "let them live or let them die" guidelines? Whoever they are, I guarantee you that their guidelines will be acceptable to many here and unacceptable to many others.



Kingsnake has certain rules and regulations that are - in my opinion - pretty good at keeping out or getting rid of the most blatant examples of abuse on these forums. Even these rules and regulations are sometimes subject to criticism from affected parties.



When the new Kingsnake forums were being developed and the new moderators were being introduced, my first reaction was "oh, oh...there goes the neighborhood...hello censure and censorship". As time progressed, however, I think most people would agree that any moderation that has been performed has been doing very profesionally.



My feeling is that decsions regarding "what stays and what goes" and "who stays and who goes" should be left to the Kingsnake moderators. Regarding people like PhonicsMonkey...ignore them. When they feel the need to insert some inane or abusive (or both) post into a thread, read their post...and ignore it. If you really feel compelled to respond, merely point out to others that their response is something that should be disregarded.



From time to time, you may even find that people like PhonicsMonkey contribute something useful to this forum. Left alone with a typewriter long enough, I'm sure that PhonicsMonkey could indeed produce something resembling a well thought out and helpful post.



I would like to end this way-too-lengthy post with one of my favorite lines from "Desiderata"...I think it is most appropriate in this context:



"Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story."

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