Re: A.A.P.C. FOLKLORE, Part Seven

The True Melissa <[email protected]> posted:

> Michael Pendragon wrote in article <1786978462-17124
> @newsgrouper.org>:
> 
> > Not only does this give the Donkey a break, but it creates the
> > illusion that A.A.P.C. is broken into factions, when the truth
> > is that it's really Will Donkey vs ... everyone else. 
> 
> I'm sorry to have to say it, but a bigger part of that illusion 
> is the foulmouthed flaming. I understand your anger. I completely 
> and totally get the anger and frustration. It creates a 
> misleading first impression, though. 
> 

Definitely!

Will Donkey picks fight with people specifically so that he can play the victim.

He's not trying to fool other members so much as he's trying to fool himself.

As long as Will can convince himself that everyone here is a "malicious troll," he can dismiss any negative comments his poetry has received as trolling.

> When I first started reading this group, my impression was that 
> Will was defending himself from an army of nasty flamers, and I 
> thought maybe he only had to be taught not to feed trolls. I was 
> foolish/stubborn enough to stick around and try to teach him 
> netiquette, and I gradually saw for myself, but what if I had 
> more sense? If I had sense, I would have just walked right back 
> out, and I'd still think this group was one naive guy fighting a 
> bunch of enemies for unknown reasons. 

Agreed.

He had me fooled (and defending him) for three years.

And it's easy to see why it works -- after all, for the past 25 years A.A.P.C. has pretty much been one guy defending himself against a bunch of "trolls."

It takes a while to recognize that the "trolls" are actually the members of a group that his been run into the ground by a jackass.

> I know you've abandoned Usenet and probably don't really care, 
> but FWIW, that's what I see. 

You're absolutely right.

And Cujo also sums it up nicely below.

Those of us who are still here are only here to laugh at the Donkey.

Which makes us the "trolls" and Will Donkey the victim.

The weird thing is that it's actually a win-win situation (not the best win-win, obviously, but a win-win all the same): Will Donkey gets to be the center of attention and we get to have some fun making sport of him.