Should the troll be banned?

[emordnilap]

My gut feeling is that I have no right to ban or contribute to a ban of anyone.

My brain is abstaining on the issue.

My fingers are itching to push the 'yes' button.

[ujoni08]

Emord, I wrestled with it for ages, too. I'm annoyed that we have to have this debate, but reading through it all, I have satisfied myself that my impressions of him are grounded in reality.
Jon

[pamey]

I don't think RGR should be banned as while I don't necessarily agree with him, surely he has a right to an opinion. It is abundantly clear that peak oil is a certanty, the only issue is when it occurs which none of us will know until we look back in the future. It is also very clear that the world has changed to a very unfamiliar place for us all and it will be at least a few years until TPTB actually acknowledge the fact that growth is over and hard times are ahead.

[PS_RalphW]

My gut feeling is that I have no right to ban or contribute to a ban of anyone.

My brain is abstaining on the issue.

My fingers are itching to push the 'yes' button.

+1 I've defended RGR's rights before. But he is a recidivist. He is here
to disrupt, not for rational argument. He gives very little in the way of technical input that cannot be found over at the Oil Drum. He has posted there, where he is recognised as an 'oil insider', but he keeps a very low profile. He knows better than pick a fight with the oil professionals.

We are his play thing.

[Ludwig]

I Agree. He should go. He has already been banned on a number of other sites, if I remember correctly, as someone posted links to before. We should ask ourselves why he was banned there.

He seems to know when he's getting close to being banned, then subtly shifts his discourse to calling himself as peaker too, and saying how he is going on a personal energy descent plan, etc. I think he gets a thrill out of causing all the strife. There may be a psychological term for it.

I've noticed this too.

Normally when people get threatened with bans, they throw a strop and walk off. RGR says sorry and goes all sensible - which demonstrates that he knows he can't justify himself. He is determined to stick around, even if it means going back on half the things he's said. That's reason enough, IMO, to doubt his sincerity and to infer that his sole intention is disruption.

Although I ignore RGR's posts, it is impossible to stop everyone replying to them. Some people take him seriously, others it seems can't stop themselves. If he posts often enough, and dilutes his "message" with occasional posts that don't specifically address PO, sooner or later he'll get a "bite" - and he can take it from there.

Unfortunately it's difficult to ban someone if they aren't actually abusive - here, it's a judgment call as to what RGR's real motives are, and I know what I think.

[emordnilap]

Although I ignore RGR's posts, it is impossible to stop everyone replying to them. Some people take him seriously, others it seems can't stop themselves. If he posts often enough, and dilutes his "message" with occasional posts that don't specifically address PO, sooner or later he'll get a "bite" - and he can take it from there.

It reminds me of the Nigerian scams. Though it's unbelievable, there are people still who respond to them and of course come a cropper. I know a man personally who fell for one and lost €40,000 and was illegally imprisoned over there - and he a man in the legal profession!

So it is with some posters. Try the scattergun effect and you're bound to hit something.

[Bandidoz]

Just a quick note to say the admins are in discussion over this, and your message is received loud and clear.

Would a restriction on him to access only the "Hydrocarbons" section be acceptable?

[PS_RalphW]

Interestingly, I can no longer find any posts by RGR on TOD. I can find a reference to him in another post, but that is all.

Also, this poster

http://www.theoildrum.com/user/reservegrowthrulz

has a

Permission denied
You don't have permission to access the requested content.

whereas
http://www.theoildrum.com/user/anyoldname

returns

Not found
The requested content was not found on the server.

So he has been removed from TOD at least once in the past.

His more recent user name was reservegrowthrulz2

TOD has a more ruthless policy. It deletes posts without warning and it bans users just as readily. It is still the best site on the web.

[edit]

I have found some old posts under both his logins. Both have permission denied on his profiles, which seems to be a special, as most users are open and there is no obvious way to hide your own profile. I guess he asked the profiles to be hidden to stop his posts being searched for clues to his identity.

The posts I have found (from 2008) were technical, and not obviously controversial

[Andy_K]

I voted 'No' on the ban... I've learned a lot about oil & energy from RGR's posts on various forums over the last 4 years or so, even if it does sometimes require researching whatever he makes references to. I'm quite able to gloss over his posts whenever I don't think they're useful.

[biffvernon]

... surely he has a right to an opinion.

That's not the point, Pamey. We can all hold and express different opinions. This person is destroying the forum by his constant repetition of stuff that gets us nowhere. People are leaving. People are not joining. I'd be the last to call for a ban on someone merely because they held a different opinion.

And it's not just RGR. There are others who are sometimes personally abusive. People who would not remain upright for long if they tried it in a pub.

This forum would be a better place if everybody took a greater responsibility for their posts, ensuring that their posts are informative, questioning, witty, short and polite. Preferably all of those five at once.

[PS_RalphW]

I think this is a useful thread.

http://www.hubberts-arms.org/index.php? ... topic=81.0

I like this quote

Why are you here on this site RGR?

Because forums based out of the Isles have treated me better those based in America.

That's a surprise!

It was. Those from the Isles seem to have a more adult attitude towards information which may conflict with their belief system. Americans, raised in a more religious culture, seem to carry around some portion of that belief in everything they do, and consequently their Doomers are much more faith based and religious in nature, dogmatic, and less tolerant of anything which conflicts with that system.

[emordnilap]

This forum would be a better place if everybody took a greater responsibility for their posts, ensuring that their posts are informative, questioning, witty, short and polite. Preferably all of those five at once.

Well said that man.

[emordnilap]

I think this is a useful thread.

http://www.hubberts-arms.org/index.php? ... topic=81.0

I like this quote

Why are you here on this site RGR?

Because forums based out of the Isles have treated me better those based in America.

That's a surprise!

It was. Those from the Isles seem to have a more adult attitude towards information which may conflict with their belief system. Americans, raised in a more religious culture, seem to carry around some portion of that belief in everything they do, and consequently their Doomers are much more faith based and religious in nature, dogmatic, and less tolerant of anything which conflicts with that system.

And this:

Quote from: Brennus on November 26, 2010, 04:16:26 AM
I have an idea RGR why don't you e-mail Colin Campbell and tel him that he doesn't know what he's talking about?

Because when I take a shot at someone, I do it in the scientific literature.

[An Inspector Calls]

... surely he has a right to an opinion.

That's not the point, Pamey. We can all hold and express different opinions. This person is destroying the forum by his constant repetition of stuff that gets us nowhere. People are leaving. People are not joining. I'd be the last to call for a ban on someone merely because they held a different opinion.

And it's not just RGR. There are others who are sometimes personally abusive. People who would not remain upright for long if they tried it in a pub.

This forum would be a better place if everybody took a greater responsibility for their posts, ensuring that their posts are informative, questioning, witty, short and polite. Preferably all of those five at once.

This forum would be a better place if you didn't lead sanctimonious campaigns against individuals.

But tell you what, just to make a ban on RGR really attractive:

He goes, I go.

[Ludwig]

But tell you what, just to make a ban on RGR really attractive:

He goes, I go.

Two for the price of one