Peanut Gallery Commentary on the Staff Log of Bannings and such like.

[Thumpalumpacus]

The strong mix of bile and saccharine around here sometimes gives me headaches

This, to a tee. The extremes seem so artificial, to me. I can find fault with those whom I love; I can love those who are flawed.

... just as I hope folks see me, flawed and lovable.

[Joods]

That's the thing with opinions and free speech. That's what it is . Opinions and free speech. The fact that one "says" they think this person has such and such, is not a medical diagnosis. It's an opinion and with that comes the freedom to give that opinion. And it should be treated as such, no matter what sort of experience the person with the opinion says they have. What I find interesting is that EP will tell you himself, that he admits to having some of the things some of us think he has. So, if person A opines that he may have "x" and EP agrees with it, then really, no one should be getting upset about that. At the end of the day, everyone one of us here knows that no one here is technically diagnosing anyone with anything.  I think common sense dictates that a person would actually have to be physically seen by a licensed, practicing, medical professional. If we allow ourselves to get upset over opinions and free speech that stays within the rules, on a forum that has been very generous with what the members are allowed to say, then perhaps we need to scroll past those sort of posts because we allow them to affect us in a negative way.

People have been called worse on this board. I was called a fat cunt the other day. If I really wanted to blow a gasket over that, I could have. But I chose not to let the words of another member, get to me. It is what it is and I certainly don't see members of this forum standing up saying that people shouldn't be allowed to insult other people here, nor should they because like it or not, we are allowed (within rules and reason) to pretty much say whatever the heck we want here. Fat cunt is included. And if I really wanted to be a bitch about that, I could say he called me an overweight vagina, which, [i] technically[/]could be considered as a medical diagnosis. Doesn't that sound silly! Yes. it does.

To compare it another way:

It's no different than the line of work I'm going into. If I see someone has something that I have been trained to recognize, then depending on what that something is, I can either proceed with the service or I have to stop and I cannot continue. I also cannot tell them they have the "something". But what I am allowed to say is "It looks like you may have "x". I would recommend that you see a medical professional, as I cannot color your hair (or do other service) today.

So while we aren't "technically" allowed to diagnose someone with something we know they have, all we can do is suggest they see a medical professional because they may possibly have something wrong.

The tl:dr version:  
Really, all any of us here are doing is saying we think person A might have X, based on {reasons}. At the end of the day, it is NOT a diagnosis, but perhaps a suggestion that person A might want to go see a professional about the possibility of having X.  I would think that would be a good thing, considering person A can now go see a medical professional and say, I think I need some help because I may have X. So now they are getting the help they need. Furthermore, even if the person doesn't have X, it might be discovered they have Y instead. Either way, talking about it with strangers on a message board got a ball rolling that got the person help that they wouldn't have otherwise sought out. In reality, I see no harm in that.

[Losty]

Lol I find it funny that if someone says "I think X person has Y illness" well that's just free speech but if I say "I hate when people say stuff like that" well that's infringing on free speech. No, I won't just scroll by and ignore something if I feel like commenting. I'll gladly use my free speech to tell someone I don't care for the way they're using theirs. It's ok. It's not the end of the world if I think something you say is shitty and condescending. That's just life.

[Losty]

Curse this fucking green name. Every time I say I don't like something people think I mean they shouldn't be allowed to do it.

[abaris]

It may also be a sign of someone comfortable working with manipulation as a tool of expression.

He's obviously not good at this game if it is indeed his goal. If he were, we would have a higher opinion of him, since we wouldn't notice an attempt at being manipulated.

Still, for me, it rather points to a disturbed personality than a willful manipulator.

[Little lunch]

The strong mix of bile and saccharine around here sometimes gives me headaches

You should never drink out of bottles without labels.

[abaris]

By all means, don't stop on my account. Just understand I might not be able to help myself saying some snarky comment.

Which happens rather frequently these last few weeks.

If you feel touchy because you banned him. Don't be. He deserved it and I never really liked what he said. But we can still post our own opinions on him as a person, which doesn't have to coincide with yours. If you feel like mocking us for it. Go ahead.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Lol I find it funny that if someone says "I think X person has Y illness" well that's just free speech but if I say "I hate when people say stuff like that" well that's infringing on free speech. No, I won't just scroll by and ignore something if I feel like commenting. I'll gladly use my free speech to tell someone I don't care for the way they're using theirs. It's ok. It's not the end of the world if I think something you say is shitty and condescending. That's just life.

... and it's just life if someone says EP is a sociopath or offers some other diagnosis. Free speech is free speech, and that's what you signed up for. If someone wants to offer an Internet Diagnosis here on AF, they are, by the rules, perfectly able to do so. And you are perfectly able to complain about it.

That's the beauty of it, no? You offering your own opinion isn't infringing free speech, it's adding to it.

[Thumpalumpacus]

It may also be a sign of someone comfortable working with manipulation as a tool of expression.

He's obviously not good at this game if it is indeed his goal. If he were, we would have a higher opinion of him, since we wouldn't notice an attempt at being manipulated.

Still, for me, it rather points to a disturbed personality than a willful manipulator.

I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Curse this fucking green name. Every time I say I don't like something people think I mean they shouldn't be allowed to do it.

I don't take it that way, until you have that block o' text outlined. 'Til then, it's just us talking.