> It started innocently. Dave and I noted the increasing use of Japanese in RinkChat and decided we would have some fun with it by coming in as Le_Dave and Petit_Sam and bandying some French about. That didn't work, because it turned out most of the room knew French better than either of us and started joking around with us.

My French sucks, and I had to use the Babelfish just to get into the conversation. That didn't last long, because it's difficult to translate every message to read as well as post my own translated messages.


> It was fun, don't get me wrong, but it was a stupid gag that backfired on us, so Dave and I decided we'd try a different tack. So we started talking in code, speaking using the command syntax and punctuation of C++. That didn't work either, because once again, everybody caught onto the joke and started playing along. Again fun, again a backfired stupid gag.

That probably backfired because a lot of us know basic structures of programming. Most of us are fairly computer literate, that's not unexpected. RinkWorks attracts smart people with wide ranges of knowledge.


> And so Dave and I decided we would come in as obnoxiously named frat boys and have a loud conversation with each other and ignore everyone else. (Actually, what I had in mind was mimicking what actually happened in RinkChat earlier this year between two individuals who did come on drunk and who were indeed obnoxious and whom I did indeed have to ban from the chat room.)

I have no idea why you thought this would be at all like talking in code or French. That just bewilders me.


> I think the youngest person at the time was Wormwood, whose exact age I'm not sure about since he may have had a birthday since I last knew, but who is
around the middle of teenagerhood and is mature enough to see R-rated movies.

Don't worry about my innocence, that's pretty much gone.


> After BEER and BUTT had been rowdy and obnoxious for a while, they left, and I came "back" and started pretending to ask what was going on. BEER and BUTT re-entered and were kicked, and then Stephen got the idea of pinning the charade on Wormwood and Morris. So I followed his lead, pretended to compare IP addresses, and put the blame on them. They got kicked by either Dave or me, I don't remember which, and we pretended to chew them out. The joke was winding down at this point, and we were about ready to spill, but I was just waiting to see where this was going. Neither Wormwood nor Morris particularly responded to the accusation but were somewhat silent

This is the part that enraged me the most. No one likes it when they're blamed for stuff that they didn't do: along with rage, it instills the feelings of helplessness and frustration.

I was exchanging PMs with Morris the whole time that we were both being blamed, so neither of us felt guilty or scared. In the other room, I had a short conversation with Kaz! where I had to tell him that the whole ting was a joke. Had you not explained the whole thing, or had some people left before it was resolved, I could have been blackballed. People /trust/ you, Sam; they believe you when you say 'It was Wormwood being BEER'.

I explained why I dislike fake kicks, but in case you didn't see it, I'll explain it again.

I'll try to explain it with a metaphor. Imagine RinkChat as a literal room which you, Sam, have invited us, the RinkWorks regulars, into. Now, imagine that for no reason at all, you decide to kick me in the shins. As I grip them in pain, I ask you why, and you respond: "Because it's FUNNY!"

Now, that would be the extreme metaphor. Here's the less extreme one.

RinkChat is once again a literal room. We're all talking, maybe I'm not, maybe I'm just reading. On a whim, you ask security to escort me out of the building. Confusing, embarrassing, frustrating. Maddening.


> Morris said, "Sam, I have lost a great deal of respect for you." Shortly afterward I said, "If something like that makes you actually lose respect for me, I don't want you here." I am tentatively regretful for saying that. I was shocked and angry everybody was having such an overtly negative reaction to it all, and I spoke out of anger and frustration. Still, from the way I perceived the episode, Morris' comment DID seem like a ridiculous overreaction, and it did hurt. Morris probably looks upon the episode differently; however, and so maybe the way he perceived the situation justified the extremity of his criticism of me. I don't know. This is why I'm posting. To find all this out. At any rate, Morris left, returned later and said, "Sorry. I only left because Sam told me to," and I asked him to read and reply to this forum post, when I was done writing it, and he agreed.

I almost said 'ditto' to what Morris said. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't: no sense in burning bridges.


> 1. I can accept it if Dave and I were accused of dragging the joke on for too long. Even we thought it was getting old at the end and were frustrated that we didn't seem to have a tidy way to conclude things. But I can't believe this is the only thing people took exception with. People want to lose respect for me as a person, others leave RinkWorks forever, because I carried a joke on too far? I don't believe any of them would be so fickle or hypocritical. None of us is perfect. I wish I had an infallible sense of comic timing. One of the reasons I write humor features for RinkWorks and am not a stand-up comic is because I don't. Nor do any of the people upset at me. This may have been one of the problems, but if it's the only one, or the most severe, good riddance. But I think more of all of you for me to believe this is it. Or even that it's worth holding against me in addition to other transgressions.

Jokes have been carried to far, yes. However, this joke was carried to disgusting extremes, and wasn't funny in the first place. I agree that you shouldn't be expected to have a flawless sense of comic timing or originality, but you SHOULD be able to determine when a joke is carried to far. Maybe you thought that BEER and BUTT were the funniest things in the world, but as you know, none of us did.


> An original twist to an old idea makes it worthwhile.

No, no, no. I could put an original twist on the clock radio idea: it's called Ku Klux Klock. Instead of waking you up with a buzzer, it wakes you up by spouting pro-white remarks that defame black people. Tell me, is that worthwhile?


That's all I have for now, but I'm sure I'll discover some more.