He who quits loses. That's one thing I've learned from experience. Here's some more: he who quits develops the habit of quitting, and he who makes a habit of quitting makes a habit of losing.

Sometimes telling people off works. Usually it doesn't. But just letting it slide *never* works. What's worse, it encourages the offender. At the least, telling off jackasses helps stem the tide. It's a form of psychological warfare. So until something better comes along, I'm sticking with what sometimes works.

Plus, it's such a big site, and such a total waste. Shouldn't I least try to salvage some value out of it? Kuro5hin is a big cyber-toilet. What are toilets good for? Complete the analogy, and you have... trolling.

Trolling is fun, for the troll, and for any bystanders who happen to have the right sort of a sense of humor. And as for the trollees, the ones there deserve whatever they get. (Before 9/11, my contempt was of a more benign sort. I knew they were appallingly stupid, but I didn't yet know them to be evil.) I'm thinking of branching into sock puppets. I want to develop and try out some characters for, I dunno, maybe a comic strip, or a satirical novel. What better place for it?

And to set the record straight: I've only ever submitted one article in earnest, and it was accepted. Actually, that was kind of a throwaway, too. I'm pissed off over other people's articles being censored off, not mine. I don't even bother to submit because of what I see going on.