Jon Pretty

but you brought up the case where you reached out to people giving you a bit of stress. that doesn't apply here. the power dynamic is completely different. this is why i inferred you don't understand the nature of oppressive situations.

I think these absolutes belie the reality of nuance. You're calling one situation "completely different" when it suits you, and then likening another to the US civil rights movement. This characterization in terms of extremes isn't persuasive. Not to me, anyway.

i seriously think when A bullies B, B reaching out to A is different than A reaching out to B. I don't see how that couldn't be the case. That would require some real mental gymnastics.

Here's the gymnastics: in the sorts of situations I'm describing, including @fpmortals's, notably the previous time @fpmortals got banned, about half the people thought he was trolling, and half the people sided with the moderator. That makes it unclear who is A and who is B.

Except, in that one party had the power to ban in one forum, but no power to in other forums.

@propensive your stamina for this conversation is admirable.

Wow, I'm impressed anyone else kept reading long enough to realise... but in all seriousness, I don't want to be lazy with a conversation someone else is passionate about.

did any of the aggrieved people or moderators express regret or remorse? sometimes a "oh shiz, sorry about that. what i meant was..." can be very powerful, instead of this escalation. (which i think is related to jon's point about people talking together)