RIP Sokar. Terrible way to go out but you went out fighting sir! Obviously Sokar was a polarising character, and while a good portion of his content was tasteless i more often than not got a good laugh at how outrageous his posts were. I'll miss reading some of that stuff. The rest of you who dont like the guy, fair enough but have a bit of respect. If not for Sokar then for yourself. The guys dead, it wont impact on your real life one bit. If WF is such a big part of your life that you need a dude to kick the bucket in order for you to enjoy it more, then time to disconnect for a while. Saying all that, I reckon Sokar would have a little chuckle and enjoy knowing that even in death he was able to noise people up. RIP Sokar ya baldy cunt!
Terrible news. I'd have WF erased from existence if it meant bringing one person back from the grave. RIP.
So let us not talk softly now... Courtney, I'm sorry you died so young and in such a horrible way, and my condolences to your family. What saddens me in particular is that if you'd ever dropped the Sokar mask, we probably could have set the political thing aside and found common ground in our taste in music and a host of other subjects. Not sure why you chose to stay behind the mask, even in PM, but maybe being the devoted family man and all-around good guy you seem to have been everywhere else except Wordforge made it necessary for you to let off steam somewhere. And I'm sure you'd get a kick out of the irony that the same people who invoke the mantra "Everyone plays a role on message boards and there's no reason to get butt-hurt about anything anyone says about you in the RR" are the ones who can't seem to distinguish between criticizing the mask and criticizing the man. Not sure whether or not Tamar will feel the need to drop the ban-hammer on me again, so before I go, I just wanted to say: No harm, no foul here, dude. Castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually.
I only wish. That said, it this did turn out to be a wacky prank, I'd have to leave the board. It'd be some sick, twisted shit to convince us any member was dead.
Because she, Demi (I think) and I dropped Sokar's first name in here and in one of the other Sokar threads in the RR. It's not clear whether that was commonly known amongst the board before he passed away, so it's a possible PI leak infraction, even though it was common knowledge thanks to Facebook. And I'm not redacting, in my case.
Yeah, Sokar the character could be downright annoying and frustrating. I've said that before. The person behind Sokar felt like he needed or wanted to act this way, and that was his choice, and the end results are what we see here. Still, the real person is dead, and I am one who hates death with a fiery passion, and here it has claimed someone else; a real, thinking, feeling human being who loved and was loved. It is a chasm of darkness, a thoughtlessness void of eternal oblivion. All it does is take, and so once again I say that I hate death. So I honor Sokar's memory for two reasons: The first is that he was a human being, and that despite his troll persona, at times he seemed like he had great depth and feeling, and I would have liked to have known more of that, and I feel that chance is now gone. Secondly, is that I will spit in the face of death any and every chance I get. Fuck death, and fuck cancer. May it be eradicated from the fears of mankind, and soon.
Sorry that the person behind the "persona" is dead. "Sokar" was entertaining...at times...but his act (especially the racism/bigotry) was played out a long time ago. And I say that as someone who tended to agree politically with a lot of what he posted here. And for those of you who say, "He was a great guy IRL! " or, "I have a Wordforge 'persona', but I'm really a swell person IRL! ", all I can say is that unless I know you IRL, all I have to judge you by is what you post here. I don't think there's anything "unfair" about that at all.
Re: So let us not talk softly now... http://wordforge.net/showpost.php?p=2344606&postcount=109 Here is precedent that a first name after death shouldn't bring a ban.
You are wrong. They were all started in the Red Room...when the threads ran their course, they were all moved to the Archive which is a sub-forum of the Green Room. All the yearly remembrance threads are the same way....begin in the Red Room so everyone can see them and then moved to the Archive. I haven't been here because I've not been well. I came back here especially to make sure everyone knew what happened. The ridiculous notion that I would start a memorial thread to create drama is so ludicrous I frankly can't believe people who I believed to be much more intelligent than that would float such stupidity. Usually, people can behave perfectly well when asked to be considerate in a memorial thread. That some refuse to use some manners and act like an adult is all on them. I refuse to accept blame for other people's bad choices. I told you the truth, that you want to make up dasterdly motivations to shift blame is just another stupid move. I think most people know better and know I posted it here for exactly the reasons I stated.
Re: So let us not talk softly now... I've assumed once a poster is dead, what is there left to hide? It's kind of nice to be able to pay last respects to the person when we know who they are instead of the handle.
And if you did, he wouldn't, either, even if by some chance he remembered who you were. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what WF considers "class."
I think it's fine to want to examine and assess Sokar's time among the TrekNets, but that's clearly not what some are doing; and it's also clearly not the same as some of the grave dancing that's been happening. Not to mention.... some have been doing it since before the guy, the real guy, is even buried. Maybe be careful about that, dancing on a grave while it's still empty, lest you yourself fall in? At the end of the day, this kind of behavior, and those who feel the need to indulge in it, does nothing more than reflect a type of depravity about the offending posters. In every other way, it remains pointless in purpose. What is to be gained by saying "Yea, well, didn't like the persona anyway." It's not exactly news is it....since we all already know how most people feel about one another on here. So why partake in it at this time, other than to show your own depravity? Does it contribute something to the more significant circumstances at hand? Further, while I get the distinction some are trying to draw between the person and the persona, for some it just seems like a cop out for getting a bit of a last dig in. And that's just sad, because that's not getting the last word in -- the last word is when both persons are there, and you oratorically destroy someone where they can't even respond. This on the other hand is just screaming into the dark, just re-enacting the trauma Sokar perpetuated on you while reimagining yourself as victor this time. It's a psychological defect. Think of it this way: If Sokar had been banned or left or what have you, that'd be one thing. Add him to your cemetery sig of departed posters all you want. But that's clearly not what happened. The person died. And for me, once a person dies it's a whole other game. Person>>>>>persona. I will say this though: it seems people are much more affected by words on here than they normally let on. After all, a person dies, and the first thoughts some can muster is "His persona offended me." We may think it's all fun and games in the RR, but it seems some take things to heart, and what they really feel unconsciously comes out. Something to consider as you continue your interactions on here.
I suppose your memory is better than mine, but this post made it seem like all of the memorial threads have been in the Green Room. And again, the Iraq and Afghanistan memorial threads have always been in there and Elwood's thread established that precedent. I don't know why you would want to memorialize someone's death in the Red Room, a forum dedicated to a no-holds-barred atmosphere, but there ya go.
That post was referring to the threads about soldier deaths and people continually harassing Garamet about the "real reason" she started those threads. I don't think any of the member death threads were called "In Memorium" and I'm pretty sure Lanz wasn't referring to them at all as until this thread no one questioned anyone's intentions in posting a death announcement.
I didn't even know he was sick. And what a terrible way to go; I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Guess it just shows that life might not be either long or fair. And a reminder that it won't kill you to be a little kind to those you meet during it.
I read the thread. Oh God, that's right, I forgot. You're the guy with the fucking Iranian fetish because you know a few of them. I could care less one way or another about Iran or Israel. Aaaand, I was "not" speaking of any British posters, I was however invoking PIERS MORGAN's CNN persona as an example of how some are behaving in this thread. Mr. Morgan is British, no?
If you're a sensitive gentle soul, this isn't the room for you. Read the goddamned welcome mat in FAQ. It even says point blank that this is a highly contentious room. But just because someone behaves poorly, does not mean you must act the same, especially under these circumstances. We all make our choices. Though, it is "unique" yet not all surprising to see this event bring out the really true colors in the members of our little quorum here.
Yep, even if you hate the other guy, you can still keep your shirt tucked in, stand up straight and show everyone that you do have a modicum of class. You needn't require much. But keeping certain things to oneself, or just choosing to say nothing during certain events like these will say much more about you, than about the descendent.
It's always upsetting when a member of this community passes. Sokar was a fixture here. I never paid too much attention to his posts, but he could add a good 5 pages to a thread with single, ridiculous post. I've seen pancreatic cancer and it's ugly. The amount of pain that man endured is something I hope I never have to face. Rest easy, Sokar. Having said that, I wasn't expecting some of the posters on this thread to show such an amazing amount of bitterness and lack of class. Regardless of the various justifications put forth, some of you really need to grow up. It's hard to look graceful when you're dancing on a grave.
Personally, I don't see the controversy about starting this in the Red Room. Courtney barely spent any time in all the other rooms besides maybe Media Central. I doubt he'd want it any other way.