but anyone who could have read any intention to do harm into Sam's alter ego would have to be daft indeed.
Should he have notified a mod first? Yeah, probably. Is that an issue about which I'd want to lose a member of his calibre? Definitely not! That was the exact type of issue that the ToS was left purposely ambiguous about, so that the mods would be forced to apply a group consciousness to individual situations. Hard-and-fast rules lead to idiocy, and banning Sam is clearly just that- who was he EVER going to hurt?
Zero tolerance policies lead to zero intelligence. Any decent set of rules needs interpretation, and if the members of said group don't like the conclusions, they are free to leave. I may do exactly that. I can't vote as a mod anymore, but the stupidity around here is making it less and less attractive to remain as a member. The real Dr. Rock left because of the influx of fucktards and shitwits, I think (as usual) he was the wisest of all. It's not a decent place to have a conversation anymore with all the pc bullshit.
I hope that what I am about to say doesn't ruffle any more feathers or inflicts a greater sense of loss or pain to some members.
Fact is, I openly admit that I belonged to Sam's Post-Whore faction and upon the time of his banning, tried to plead his case or at least encourage some more thought about that matter. A lot of my posts on this site of late have been though subtle, reflective of how I feel and my own sense of loss and pain.
However there are a few points that I feel need to be raised:
1) Sam is gone. Regardless of whether his ban is lifted or not, he has left
the building and I am certain he does so with a great sense of
happiness and appreciation for the time that he has spent on this site
as well as for the members that he encountered during the course of
his stay. Sam is gone, one thing that we may have overlooked is the
possibility that he may have left, out of his own choice as well.
Operating from a place of hurt, anger or disappointment - I mention
these emotions because that is how I have been feeling of late...to
the point of considering leaving as well (Madame Z, though I am
certain that you will you are going to whip the shenanigans out of me
for saying this, but if you leave, I will be forced to hunt you down and
drag you back) however the question remains, will it be for any good?
I doubt that Sam is willing to come back and possibly for reasons other
than his being banned.
2) I am certain that he didn't intend for all of this division and opposition
to break out, and I admit to being part of it. I apologise to the mods
the members for any "problems" or unpleasantness that it may have
caused. It was not deliberate, I was operating from a real sense of
loss and pain. I know that if I were in Sam's shoes he would want for
this war on his behalf to stop (though names and issues haven't been
said out loud until of late, they have been alluded to)...in the process
of trying to defend him, we are in the process of tarnishing his memory
where we have much to be grateful for by way of his posts, his
kindness and the laughs that he brought (though he clearly suffered
from "multiple personality disorder" :biggrin1
. Sam was a gift and we can
either choose to focus on the gift, or we can ruin the memory by
indulging in upheavals to the point of at the mention of his name, all
that we will be able to associate with it is our sense of hurt and the
division that came about because of his being banned.
Here's a link to a post that I have made to that effect in the place where I felt it fitted best:
http://www.lpsg.org/874173-post143.html
3) I don't see anything constructive coming out of this if we are going
to place emphasis on Sam as opposed to the ToS. I really do feel
that yes, we can look at this in the light of what has transpired of
late, but from a place of "What can we learn from this? What can we
do to ensure that should this situation ever happen again, it doesn't
lead to division and upheaval which in turn affects everyone? What
can I learn from Sam that will enable me to be as great a contributor
to this site that he has been."
This is the greatest issue at hand, certainly not Sam's being banned.
Let's agree to let Sam rest in peace.