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[bradrn]

Despite all of that, I still think that we should treat Bob more kindly than we have been treating him so far. I doubt any of the above things are due to any sort of malice — I’m willing to believe that they’re just due to (possibly wilful) ignorance of the norms around here, combined with passion about this subject. (Some of his posts actually remind me of me, at the many points in time when I have been extremely enthusiastic about a subject, but have gaps in my knowledge (which I am usually unaware of) preventing me from doing it properly.)

For my part at least, I'd just note that much of the reaction is due to having dealt with Bob or Larry or George or whatever it is he's calling himself this year before. And few of those dealings were particularly pleasant; some were downright distasteful. Having waded through the recent threads, it's clear that very little has changed in the way he presents himself & his work or in how he approaches others.

Give it a couple years and we'll see the same old same old, either here or in an as of yet unsuspecting forum.

I’ve dealt with Bob before as well. But just because he’s been unpleasant to us, I don’t see that as justifying our unpleasantness to him. (Though maybe that’s just because my first interactions with Bob were fairly pleasant, civil and productive, and I was (and still am) willing to ignore his various idiosyncrasies.)

[Curlyjimsam]

I’ve dealt with Bob before as well. But just because he’s been unpleasant to us, I don’t see that as justifying our unpleasantness to him.

It certainly doesn't justify people being unpleasant to you, when you're clearly just trying to be nice.

[bradrn]

I’ve dealt with Bob before as well. But just because he’s been unpleasant to us, I don’t see that as justifying our unpleasantness to him.

It certainly doesn't justify people being unpleasant to you, when you're clearly just trying to be nice.

This is true. But, as I mentioned above, in most of my experiences with Bob he’s been fairly nice. (Or if he’s been unpleasant, I haven’t noticed.)