"Crisis of the Republic" and Pathocrats - An Exercise in Discernment
Re:
Wow, after nearly 6 years of reading Cassiopaea sites and spending the latter half of 2006 to the end of 2008 trying my hardest to catch up on reading everything I could, I'd never read this thread. It is a really great meander into all the efforts of the network and all the methods (whether conscious or unconscious) to derail, disrupt, distract, diffuse these efforts.
Another surprise was the posts of "EsoQuest" which were so lucid and contributed quite a bit to the overall discussion. I remember I think it was summer or fall of 2006 when the whole "EsoQuest episode" blew up, so to speak. He had contacted another member (or members) and tried to manipulate them with sexual advances mixed with psuedo-spiritual authority, etc. It was a shock for many on the forum (including to some extent me) but his writing had really become another fine example of word-salad by that time and I always had a hard time reading his overly long dizzying salad shooter posts.
Now, of all the disruptive types I've encountered on this forum and how they were dealt with EQ puzzles me the most because of his posts in this thread. What was the deal with him? Was he just someone who infiltrated to gain trust and then break that trust in as shocking a way as possible to cause the most disruption and trauma to members. Was he just someone who carried pathologies but disguised MUCH better than most in the beginning? I'm not sure, because, as I said from what I had read at the time of his exposure, I really couldn't stand reading his long exhausting posts, but I was unaware that he had made such valuable contributions as in this thread?
I'm really puzzled. It's quite creepy that someone so articulate and apparently sincere in this thread had such ulterior motives.
Wow, after nearly 6 years of reading Cassiopaea sites and spending the latter half of 2006 to the end of 2008 trying my hardest to catch up on reading everything I could, I'd never read this thread. It is a really great meander into all the efforts of the network and all the methods (whether conscious or unconscious) to derail, disrupt, distract, diffuse these efforts.
Another surprise was the posts of "EsoQuest" which were so lucid and contributed quite a bit to the overall discussion. I remember I think it was summer or fall of 2006 when the whole "EsoQuest episode" blew up, so to speak. He had contacted another member (or members) and tried to manipulate them with sexual advances mixed with psuedo-spiritual authority, etc. It was a shock for many on the forum (including to some extent me) but his writing had really become another fine example of word-salad by that time and I always had a hard time reading his overly long dizzying salad shooter posts.
Now, of all the disruptive types I've encountered on this forum and how they were dealt with EQ puzzles me the most because of his posts in this thread. What was the deal with him? Was he just someone who infiltrated to gain trust and then break that trust in as shocking a way as possible to cause the most disruption and trauma to members. Was he just someone who carried pathologies but disguised MUCH better than most in the beginning? I'm not sure, because, as I said from what I had read at the time of his exposure, I really couldn't stand reading his long exhausting posts, but I was unaware that he had made such valuable contributions as in this thread?
I'm really puzzled. It's quite creepy that someone so articulate and apparently sincere in this thread had such ulterior motives.
Re:
Actually, EQ was a gift in many respects. We learned a lot about pathology, for many of us new mods who weren't there for VB, and we learned a lot about networking. He was an excellent teaching tool. He pretty much did what pathological people do, but his intents were much more insidious because he insinuated himself into QFS and covertly manipulated members who were particularly vulnerable at that time. For many of us we cut our teeth learning from him.
SeekinTruth said:
Actually, EQ was a gift in many respects. We learned a lot about pathology, for many of us new mods who weren't there for VB, and we learned a lot about networking. He was an excellent teaching tool. He pretty much did what pathological people do, but his intents were much more insidious because he insinuated himself into QFS and covertly manipulated members who were particularly vulnerable at that time. For many of us we cut our teeth learning from him.
